Team Biodigester:
This semester, in collaboration with a senior design team in the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) department, Team Biodigester will continue to improve the biodigester’s electrical system to implement solar panels. Before updating the electrical system, Team Biodigester steadily improved the mechanical system by adding insulation to the system and control tanks to reduce heat loss. Retaining heat is beneficial for this system to reduce the amount of work needed to maintain the fluid in the “mesophilic range,” categorized by a temperature between 30 and 40 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the team has inserted a thermocouple into the solar collector tubing to obtain a more accurate reading of the temperature of the fluid passing through. In doing so, the system will have a better reading of the fluid status to determine if heating should continue or halt to maintain the desired temperature range. Once the mechanical system is updated, Team Biodigester aims to continue running the system for as long as possible to collect temperature data from four locations: within the solar collector, system tank, control tank, and ambient area.
Team Lighting:
As the spring semester began, Team Lighting welcomed three new members! The first meeting sessions focused on ensuring that the whole team was up to date on the lighting project development to continue where the previous semester left off and complete the proper soldering and laser cutting training. Apart from becoming familiar with the project, the team is focused on understanding the development of the previous prototypes to understand the layout to improve upon the design. Team Lighting created working prototypes that can be used and tested in Austin parks and refugee camps known by Mr. Carter. These testing sites will provide the team with further feedback on improving the design.
Team Pad:
This semester focuses on conducting quality assurance tests with the pads made with the pad machine to ensure that the pads are suitable for use in terms of comfort, durability, and reliability. Before the test can begin, the team needs to finalize a survey that will collect information about each pad used to determine its success. Participants who use the pads can share their experience with each pad. Team Pad has continued to improve on the survey and has had it analyzed by a third party. Overall, the team is conducting production runs to produce the amount of pads needed for the survey and is continuing to spread awareness and gather participants.
