Mechanical and Chemical Engineering

Check out our IEEE research paper about our design for more information!!

Check out our IEEE research paper about our study of the possibility of capturing and treating storm drain water from rain for use as grey water for more information!!

Overview

This week we had multiple tasks of designing a carbon capture device, building a rocket, building a capacitor plane, and coding for a drone. The rocket has the job of deploying the carbon capture device with the goal of reducing carbon in our atmosphere. With the numerous tasks that we had to complete this week, we decided to split the work, and each person be in charge of their own task.  

Aeronautical Engineering

Aeronautical engineers are in charge of designing, testing, and manufacturing commercial and military aircraft, missiles, and spacecraft. They do this by working with the theory, technology, and practice of flight within the Earth's atmosphere. 

Chemical Engineering

Chemical engineers are in charge of producing a variety of chemicals and products, such as electronics, food, clothing, and paper. They do this by applying the principles of chemistry, physics, and engineering to design equipment and processes for manufacturing products. 

Design Process

Define the Problem

Climate change is one of the major issues that our world is currently facing, due to the excessive amount of greenhouse gases that are produced. These greenhouse gases are a problem because they get trapped in our atmosphere, causing an increase in our global temperature. This increase in global temperature is a major issue because it causes an increase in the rise of sea levels. Additionally, climate change will cause us to face problems such as droughts and heat waves that will make life difficult. These are just a few examples to why we need to limit climate change, which is why we need to find ways to filter out greenhouse gases that retain heat in the atmosphere. 

Practice

Prior to the construction of our rocket and capacitor plane, we practiced by building prototypes for them. We made two different rockets, the first was shot with a tube and the second was shot with a straw (Explained below). For the plane, we were given a kit and therefore were able to construct it efficiently so that we could get started on our final projects. 

 Getting Started on Our Design

This week we had numerous tasks to complete. Therefore we each split the work and started on everything at once. One of us began on the rocket sim, which is essentially a three-stage model rocket capable of launching a carbon capture device. Then, one of us began working on the 3D, CO2 capture device on Tinker CAD. Then, one of us worked on the Arduino code for the drone. Lastly, the two of us began on constructing the rocket and the capacitor plane. 

Testing 

Although we aren't able to test the carbon capture device, we were able to test the rocket and the capacitor plane. Our first round of tests were on Wednesday, which was two days after the beginning of construction. This attempt did not go as well as hoped, as it did not reach the same height as other groups' rockets. However, we were able to spot our mistake, and we fixed our rocket to prepare it for a second launch, the following day. The second launch was much better and the rocket reached the height that we had hoped. (Shown in the rocket section of the website).