We're Not All Here!

Today is April 26th, the day of the final trial. The room is alive with permeating, pulsating excitement. The tension is palpable. The quiet is deafening in its quiet-sounding quietness...and then Cassie strides into the room, head high, shoes completely tied (all by herself!), dressed neatly and every inch a confident commander. Ashwin and Matthew sense a wave of inspiration enter the room, and look up from their stupors, catching the eye of Cassie and knowing, with all their hearts, that this day was destined for a victory like none other...that this day was made for something greater, something more, something that spanned generations and continents and even planetary divides.

Well, actually, the truth is slightly less romantic and inspiring. Yes, Cassie did tie her shoes all by herself, but this morning when Cassie, Ashwin, and Matthew met, Cassie looked half-asleep, and only Matthew looked every inch an inspiration after his dedicated track workout that morning in which he drove his teammates to reach greater heights with his daring feats of fatigue-defying running. Anyway, the team minus Anisha headed down to the Tech for a trial run, the last of the year. Bruce, Matthew's dad, had gone to the Tech at ten in the morning to put the Screeching Beagles on the list of sign-ups to guarantee them a spot to test their device. Once there, the device ran smoothly and effectively, and all team members, even the not present Anisha, were impressed with the results. The clear trapping chamber was bubbling much mor furiously that it did at the bakcyard test rig, which was good because that meant that the device ended up moving more water. However, after this trial run the team did accept that with the current device, volume will not be a competive standpoint, as the device does not move water in large quantities. The device did exhibit other strong points, however, and the audience did seem generally impressed and enamored with the "coolness" of the device. And in our book, coolness is the only thing that matters. Only thing. Ever. That's why we wear tails and floppy ears at the day of the Challenge...

Mo

We're All Here!

This meeting, on Friday April 25th, was a momentous occasion because it marked one of the first meetings in recent history that the entire Tech Challenge team was grouped together to celebrate the weekly festivities of food, drink, and a little bit of work (possibly). Cassie, Aswin, Mathew, and Anisha were all in attendance, and the first pat of the meeting was used to bring all the members of the team up to speed on all of the new failures, succeses, and ideas that the device provoked in recent weeks. After Cassie and Matthew relayed the successes of the past weekend's backyard trial on the homemade test rig, Anisha and Ashwin, in a blatant move of insubordination, disbelief, incredulousity, and lack of confidence, demanded openly and vigourously to see the real device in live action. Cassie and Matthew complied, knowing the isistent nature of their troublesome teammates, and the annoying tendency of their teammates to get what they want. So the team headed out to the backyard to test the device, and the device again worked. However, Cassie and Matthew were slightly surprised at the relative lack of bubbling, and therfore productivity, of the device in the backyard as compared to the previous weekend. However, the wise sage Matthew again saved the horrorstruck Cassie with his timley observation that the flow of the actual waterfall at the trial tomorrow would ultimately be faster and produce more bubbling than the hose in the backyard, as wonderfully green and useful on hot summer days as it is.

The latter part of the meeting focused on what needed to be done for the device to prepare for the trial tomorrow. Small, simple changes were needed, such as changing the tube dowel that transported the water to the top and reinforcing all the pipe fittings. The team's morale was high, as they (or we, depending on the formality of this blog post in terms of the standard accepted English grammar concerning the idenitification of the speaker) expected to have great success at the trial tomorrow. Now, only time will tell the outcome of the coming trial. We (or they, for the same reasons previously mentioned about standard English grammar, which has actually been quite disavowed in recent culture due to the prevalence of this so-called "texting" and "instant messaging"...darn those kids these days! hooligans, rebels, no-goods, bums, lazy indolent slobs all of them!) can only wait for the coming battle, and sharpen our swords in preparation for the challenge ahead...

Mo, the soon-to-be Conqueror
(well, if he conquers, he will graciously accept this nickname to inspire his troops, and if he doesn't conquer, he will graciously accept anyways- for the troops, it's all about the morale of the troops...)

Backyard Test Riggin'

So today, after the failed attempt by Matthew and his dad to navigate the enormous crowds at the Tech Museum to participate in the trial, Bruce, Alec, Matthew, and Cassie once again busted out the backyard test rig to try out the device. Matthew was not feeling very well the previous day, and as a result Matthew and his dad went late to the trial, hoping to sneak in at the end, when they were informed that they would have to wait until at least 6:30 for a trial run, as the board sheet with all the sign-ups was illogically crowded up to eighty teams. Matthew, being the dashingly in demand person that he is, had to leave by four at the latest to attend the Saint Francis junior prom, so Matthew and his dad left the trial with the assurance of a backyard test rig to help them out with them ineptitude.





So at the backyard version of the trial, Cassie and Matthew experimented with different combinations of pipe length and pipe density. To their surprise, Cassie and Matthew found that small, slight changes in pipe length actually completely changed the effectiveness of the device. Hoewver, they wer more impressed by the fact that the device actually worked, due to their innately doubtful nature, so they naturally did not worry too much about the specifics at the moment.



An example of one of the pipe connectors that Cassie and Matthew were experimenting with

Mo

Prototype

We tried our first prototype of the pulser pump. Basically, it was two tubes joined to make a U-shape, an upside-down juice bottle in the middle of the U, and a tube sticking out of the juice bottle. Our first test was in a pool, and although we had some slight success when we used the pool's jets, the slow water flow and the leaky juice bottle hampered our progress.
At the Tech, we were very excited to get even a few drops into the container. However, the leaky bottle is still a problem, and we'll need to rebuild the prototype. Also, we need to divert some of the flow, because right now it's spilling over.

Stuff to work on:
-Replacement for the juice bottle
-Make the entire thing more watertight
-Find ways to get more air into the pump
-Divert the flow

Despite the myriad obstacles our team will now face, we're ecstatic to see that the pump actually works. Although we saw it on YouTube, and everything we see on YouTube is true, we half-believed that the pump worked by magic. It's a great design, because it contains no moving parts, can easily be rebuilt, runs on the stream itself (and not, for example, a waterfall. In a calm stream, one could easily dig trenches or put in rocks to create air bubbles) and runs continuously. We chose this design over the water wheel, which can easily break and requires a stream. Also, in real life, for a water wheel to be effective the force of the stream would have to be unrealistically strong.

Anyway, the trial went well because we saw what we needed to fix, and we also realized that our device works.

Friday, April 18th

With Anisha and Matthew away, the Friday, April 18th meeting included only Cassie and Ashwin. The first task was to test the device in the backyard, simulating the test rig with a regular garden hose. This was the first time we had the opportunity to see the prototype in action. It was encouraging because we managed to get a result when the flow from the hose was high enough. Once it was established that the prototype pump could work, the rest of the testing time was devoted to experimenting with different heights and configuration with the intake valve and water spout. We discovered some important things through trial and error. There appears to be an optimal height to maximize the amount of air that is captured in the collecting tank. Too high and no air was circulated, too low and the flow was too much and the air passed right out of the system. There was also a relationship between how much turbulance we were able to create when the water was collected and how much air was taken in. After testing various flow strengths and set ups, Cassie and Ashwin returned inside to fix some of the problems. First, a trip was made to Osh Hardware to get some replacement washers to improve the air tightness of the collecting chamber. Second, we installed a dowel to hold the output tube straight and vertical. It was attached using rope and twist ties.

Friday, April 4th

The Friday meeting meeting before the first trial! The meeting was attended by only Cassie and Ashwin who had to scramble to put something together to test at the trial. We had the beginnings of a prototype, an empty juice bottle, with an outtake hose and a single entrance hose. The time at the meeting was spent putting together an outgoing hose to complete the prototype. that would mean (theoretically) that we would have a working device to test. We had an intake hose for water and air to flow through, a chamber with a hose at the top for the air and water to collect and eventually be pushed out. The outtake hose we added at the meeting would allow the water to flow continuously and circulate the system. It took quite a bit of maneuvering to get the hose attached in a water tight manner. A lost of twist ties and coat hangers were involved. The rest of the time was used planning future meetings, working on the blog, and getting everything for the trial the next day. Our hopes for the trial were not that high. We weren't expecting success on the first try but we figured it would help us decide whether or not our design could work.

March 13th Meeting

We have made drastic changes to the device since our prototype failed so miserably. It leaked, released air, and overall did not accomplish its purpose, its meaning, its raison d'etre. We rebuilt it, as scientists do, from scratch, making a new device of ABS pipe and a spicy new container. It worked all right. We got perhaps 1/8 oz in the tank. Considering now different and reliable our device is, 1/8 oz is pretty darn good, thank you very much

I LIKE TURTLES TOO

Looking to the big picture, this design is closer to the final in that we can regulate the flow, get air in the tubes and get water in the village. Kudos, team, on a job well done!

Websites about Pumps!

Here are websites all about different kinds of pumps:

http://journeytoforever.org/at_waterpump.html

http://www.electronicpeasant.com/projects/rampump/rampump.html

http://www.instructables.com/id/Pulser-pump-Model.-A-substitute-for-lots-of-fossel/

Here is the kind of pump (a pulser pump) that we liked the best and are going to try to make ourselves during our next meeting:

http://www.animatedsoftware.com/pumpglos/glpulser.htm

And here is a YouTube video all about pulser pumps:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOn7Zu3CCxo

March 7th Meeting

We settled on the pulser pump idea because of its originality, reliability, simplicity, and adaptability. Our prototype looks a bit like an octopus. It consists of an orange juice container with three holes, and a thin tube extending from each hole. Cassie and Ashwin were nearly defeated by the difficulty of making holes, but they are scientists, and scientists never give up. So on they went, armed with Exacto-knives and pure testosterone (in Ashwin's case) and adrenaline. They holed the orange juice container. Unfortunately, we are skeptical about its viability. We will see how it works at the trial.
When we tried it out on the lawn, the water flow was inferior, and the container leaked. We need to tighten the container and have something bigger than the tubes. We absolutely must increase the waterflow and thus the airflow.

First blog post

We have an idea! Yes, impressive, we know, and only the first month of the challenge. Well, here goes. I mean, I'm not the type to dither, stall, or try to flesh out an incredibly short blog post. So, like I said before, approximately one line ago, or possibly more if the blog spaces this out more, here is the idea.
The village is above a stream, right? So we have a lever, anchored to the base of the village, that catches the streamwater and catapults it into the village. But you're probably wondering how this lever operates. Well, we have 2 ideas. First, we have a bucket attached to the catapult with a pulley. The bucket fills, and at the bottom of the tank, hits a stick thing that knocks the bottom out. You kinda have to see it. The other idea is that we divert the flow from the spigot, arcing it more so that the bucket won't fill when it gets close to the bottom. Again...you kinda have to see it.
The ideas are good. We know they are. But for the uninformed, clearly unintelligent reader, we will explain why. There is no electricity, so if this thing goes wrong in Africa, it's easy to fix without having to teach every African village how. Also, the parts are easily replaceable. This device is very adaptable, both for the purposes of the challenge and in real life. We can alter the height of the lever or size of the bottom, allowing each village to determine its own needs. This is just an idea, but we hope to go ahead with it, and fine-tune it as we go.

Brainstorming...and all the random drawings associated with it

Saturday, February 22nd

This meeting, our team continued to brainstorm possible ideas, and began to formulate a more concrete approach to prototypes. One of the first ideas we came up with was the water wheel ideas, thanks to Matthew's extensive experience as a hydraulic engineer. At first, the team was confused about how the spinning of the water wheel would generate energy, and how we would harness this energy. However, as Matthew pointed out, we were not at the stage of transporting the water yet- we were simply using the waterfall to produce kinetic energy in the form of a shaft rotating with the water wheel's progress. Below is a diagram of a basic water wheel, in all its simple pure beauty.

As Anisha pointed out, one advantage of this design is that it would be easy to adjust the power volume, by simpling increasing or decreasing the size and bucket width of the water wheel itself. However, Matthew orignially disliked the idea, because he was discouraged by its lack of creativity and its bland prospects as an innovative technique. Ashwin was also reluctant to give the idea his complete approval, citing the improbable nature of the water wheel's application on a full scale setting. However, the team did realize that this was only a brainstorming session, and that all ideas, no matter how ridiculous or how much they encouraged rule-breaking, especially that annoyingly meddlesome rule against the utilization of live animals, was worthy of consideration. However, this train of thought spurred heavy debate about the specifics of the rule against live animals, as Ashwin touched off this touchy subject by suggesting the use of dead animals, which Cassie objected to on moral and ethical grounds, and Anisha objected to on the grounds of an unpleasant odor. Matthew tactfully remained ambivalent about the issue, noting the relative merits of casual rule-bending within plausible interpretation, but also considering the stench of rotting animals.

De-briefing the troops...

Friday, February 8th

Today, February 8th, we all met to discuss what we had seen at the previous Saturday's Tech Informational Clinic. Matthew, Cassie, and Anisha all attended the clinic, though Ashwin was in a strangely mysteriously inexplicable state of disappearance. First, the team members that actually showed up to the clinic informed Ashwin about the trial rig, and the different detailed problems and concepts that the rig presented. We noted to Ashwin the rapid flow of the water coming out of the river and falling into the lower basin, and the conversely extremely slow flow of the water moving at the top of the river, before it reached its inevitable falling of thirty-nine feet to the river gorge. Anisha reminded us to note that the only real source of power was when the water fell down the waterfall spigot, and the water in the top channel wasn't a viable source.
As we discussed the rig, we inevitably started to brainstorm about possible ideas to solve the problem. Cassie argued for the necessity of facing the problem of power first and foremost, as she wanted to concentrate on power first, and realizing the actual mode for moving the water after power was generated by the waterfall. We decided to sleep on it, as Anisha had her face down on the table with her eyes closed during the later stages of the meeting.

Mo

In the beginning...

Saturday, January 26th,

Today, our team met for the first time this year, to talk before the clinic about possible options for this year. Earlier, certain members of our team suggested possibly trying a different approach to the challenge this year, and some ideas suggested were either mentoring another team or doing the challenge with a different goal, such as only using our left hands. However, as Anisha pointed out at the meeting, this type of frivolous activity detracts from the serious, life-altering spirit of the intense challenge. We realized that though may want to try different, ridiculous ways of completing the challenge, we must always hold in our hearts the spirit of saving African children from strenuous labor. We debated these ideas, and decided that we needed to obtain more information, from the people at the Tech about mentoring.
Mentoring would be a great idea to impart our skills and knowledge to a younger generation of aspiring tech-ites, but we realized that time constraints and logistical challenges could prove an impasse to the creation of possible prodigies. However, this challenge stresses the problem of creating renewable energy, and we still feel that renewing our knowledge in younger children is a way to create a lasting legacy of innovative spirit.

Mo