Engineering Design
Where: Mali, Africa
City: Bourem
Population: 27,000~ (2007 Census)
Problem: There are huge agricultural and health issues in Mali, Africa as there is a lack of clean water, as most of the water there is heavily polluted, and not safe to drink. There is also a lot of trash that litters amongst the streets, and to make matters worse, there recently has been some conflicts near the area. This area is in dire need of support and supplies, and due to the recent reluctance of aid being sent to this city, I hope to introduce a new cheap product, that will at least help clean water for these people.
Engineering Solution: The product that I have here is a product that is a combination of a portable water storage, a water filter, and a possible solution of giving the people there good clean water, for hard times to come. This design will be created by using a material known as Low-Density polyethylene, as it is cheap, durable, and very reliable. It is a plastic that is nearly impossible to break, and is a great material to store water with. To add to the added durability, the filter inside of the water storage will cleanse the water, so when it comes time to be used, the people who own the product will have a moderate amount of clean water that can be used for a variety of items. The filter will include cheaper materials that last a long time in order to reduce the time it takes for the filter to no longer be useful, and need replacing. The materials include a charcoal layer, sand layer, gravel layer, carbon layer, and a cloth filter that can be substituted for normal clothing, or any kind of cloth. This would purify the water down to about 15 microns, which is very safe to drink. Since the water storage would be about the size of a 10 gallon Gatorade cooler, which would be sufficient for creating enough water for a family of 4 in Africa to drink for about a day. The only problem with this would be production costs, and the replacement of the filters, which would take materials and money that need to be adjusted.
City: Bourem
Population: 27,000~ (2007 Census)
Problem: There are huge agricultural and health issues in Mali, Africa as there is a lack of clean water, as most of the water there is heavily polluted, and not safe to drink. There is also a lot of trash that litters amongst the streets, and to make matters worse, there recently has been some conflicts near the area. This area is in dire need of support and supplies, and due to the recent reluctance of aid being sent to this city, I hope to introduce a new cheap product, that will at least help clean water for these people.
Engineering Solution: The product that I have here is a product that is a combination of a portable water storage, a water filter, and a possible solution of giving the people there good clean water, for hard times to come. This design will be created by using a material known as Low-Density polyethylene, as it is cheap, durable, and very reliable. It is a plastic that is nearly impossible to break, and is a great material to store water with. To add to the added durability, the filter inside of the water storage will cleanse the water, so when it comes time to be used, the people who own the product will have a moderate amount of clean water that can be used for a variety of items. The filter will include cheaper materials that last a long time in order to reduce the time it takes for the filter to no longer be useful, and need replacing. The materials include a charcoal layer, sand layer, gravel layer, carbon layer, and a cloth filter that can be substituted for normal clothing, or any kind of cloth. This would purify the water down to about 15 microns, which is very safe to drink. Since the water storage would be about the size of a 10 gallon Gatorade cooler, which would be sufficient for creating enough water for a family of 4 in Africa to drink for about a day. The only problem with this would be production costs, and the replacement of the filters, which would take materials and money that need to be adjusted.
The picture to my left represents a good example of what a filter should be able to cleanse, as it shows what happens if your filter is not able to cleanse the water to a certain point, and how you should adjust and create a well-working and very efficient filter. It also shows you what a multi-layered filter does to gradually remove particles from the water, by slowly making the holes in the water smaller, so that smaller micron particles can not pass, while water is still able to pass on through.The tight filter helps prevent any large particles of dirt and such to pass through, along with much of larger debris.
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This picture to the left shows of a Q drum, which is a designed water mobility product, which is made up of Low-Density Polyethylene, which is highly durable, and would be able to be pulled around, instead of having to carry all of the water back to your home or village. If implemented, and added inside with a filter, the q drum is tilted at an angle that the water will flow a certain way. This will allow the ability to create a filter that will be a one-way opening, that will only allow water to come through, and with centripetal force, the water will force its way through the filter, cleansing it. However, since this would take up half of the Q drum, I would suggest creating a 10 gallon version of this, as a 10 gallon gatorade cooler is able to carry enough liquids for a sports team to drink from, for a 2 hour football game, a 10 gallon design of this hybrid Filter/Q Drum/ Water Mobility Device would be able to provide enough drinking water for a large amount of people that currently reside in this small town of Mali.
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