Final Project Report

Design and Improvement of Water Aeration Product(driven by solar powered water pump system;
determining its functionality, manufacturability and aesthetics)

Title:

UNCONQUERED SUN SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES INC 11600 County Road 42 Tecumseh, ONN8N 2M1 Direct Contact: JOSEPHE PAPIC Mentor: NOEL HARDING

Faculty Supervisor: Dr. Walid Abdul-Kader

Submitted On: April 2, 2012 SUBMITTED TO: Dr. Jill Urbanic

TEAM MEMBERS

Ofofon Enyong Abhay Apte Sumeet Sharma

103019251 102503168 102805602

INDUSTRY SPONSOR UNCONQUERED SUN SOLAR TECHNOLOGIES INC Name Sean Moore David Binder Joseph Papic Partner & Director of Business Development TEAM MEMBERS Student Name Ofofon Ita Enyong AbhayApte Sumeet Sharma Student ID # 103019251 102503168 102805602 IMSE Option General General With Business Minor Email enyong@uwindsor.ca aptea@uwindsor.ca sharma1e@uwindsor.ca JosephPapic@UnconqueredSun.c om Title/Position Founder & CEO Managing Partner Email Sean@UnconqueredSun.com Dave@UnconqueredSun.com Signature

FACULTY SUPERVISORS Name Dr. Jill Urbanic Dr. Walid Abdul-kader Department IMSE IMSE Email jurbanic@uwindsor.ca kader@uwindsor.ca Signature

SIGNATUREPAGE

PROJECT TITLE: Design and Improvement of Water Aeration Product The work presented in this report is solely the effort of the group members and that any work of others that was used during the execution of the design project or is included in the report has been suitably acknowledged through the standard practice of citing references and stating appropriate acknowledgments The work presented in this report is solely the effort of the group members and that any work of others that was used during the execution of the design project or is included in the report has been suitably acknowledged through the standard practice of citing references and stating appropriate acknowledgments.

Student Name Ofofon Ita Enyong AbhayApte Sumeet Sharma

Student ID # 103019251 102503168 102805602

IMSE Option General General Business

Signature

Date: 2nd April 2012

Table of Contents
Chapter 1 ..................................................................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 1 INDUSTRY SECTOR ................................................................................................................................ 3 PROBLEM DEFINITION ......................................................................................................................... 5 LITERATURE REVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 7 1.1 History.................................................................................................................................................... 7 1.2 Solar radiation ....................................................................................................................................... 7 1.3 PV Terminology .................................................................................................................................... 8 1.3.1 Solar Cells ............................................................................................................................... 8 1.3.2 PV Module .................................................................................................................................... 9 1.3.3 PV Array9 1.4 Pond aeration. 9 1.4.1 Stratification of Water ............................................................................................................... 10 1.4.2 Aerators ...................................................................................................................................... 11 Chapter 2 ................................................................................................................................................... 13 2.1Phase 1:Product Planning ................................................................................................................... 13 2.1.1 Functional requirements Charts..................................................................................................... 13 2.1.2 QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD) ......................................................................... 14 2.1.3 List Of constraints............................................................................................................................ 15 2.1.4Technical Attributes ......................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.5 Engineering Specifications .............................................................................................................. 15 2.1.6 Product Structure tree ..................................................................................................................... 15 2.1.6 ATAR Model ................................................................................................................................... 16 2.2 Phase 2: Product Design And Improvements .................................................................................. 18 2.2.1 Design Brainstorming ...................................................................................................................... 18 2.2.2 Design Variants ................................................................................................................................ 19 2.2.3 FMEA ................................................................................................................................................ 20 2.2.4 Prototyping of PVC Pipe Structure ................................................................................................ 20 2.2.4.1Material Selection .................................................................................................................... 20 2.2.4.2 Material Procurement ............................................................................................................ 21 2.2.4.3 Prototype Building .................................................................................................................. 21 2.2.4.3 A PVC structure Design build ........................................................................................ 22 2.2.4.3 B - Hose network(steps to build hose network and specifications) ............................... 23 2.2.5Troubleshooting ................................................................................................................................ 25 2.2.5 A Pump Housing ........................................................................................................................ 28 2.2.5 B Hose Network Issues .............................................................................................................. 26 2.2.5.C Rotor Flush Housing .............................................................................................................. 27 2.2.5.D Flow Rate Issues ..................................................................................................................... 27 2.2.5.E Mounting of Solar Panel ........................................................................................................ 28 2.2.6 Test Analysis ................................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.6 A Flotation Test .......................................................................................................................... 28 2.2.6.B Foam Test ................................................................................................................................ 29 2.2.6.C Pump and Sprinkler System Test (without Rotor-Flush filter)...30 2.2.6 D - Rotor-flush Filter + Pump + Single Impact Sprinkler Test..32

2.2.6.E - Final product test (DO level test)33 2.2.7 Comparative Design Analysis ........................................................................................................... 34 2.2.8 Environmental Impact of PVC design: .......................................................................................... 35 Phase 3: Process Planning ........................................................................................................................ 35 3.1 BUY/MAKE MATRIX.35 2.4 Phase 4: Process Control .................................................................................................................... 39 Results and Conclusions ........................................................................................................................... 42 Future work:.............................................................................................................................................. 42 APPENDIX ............................................................................................................................................... 43 Timeline ..................................................................................................................................................... 44 Phase 1: ...................................................................................................................................................... 45 A 1.1Functional Requirements Charts.................................................................................................... 45 A 1.2House Of Quality .............................................................................................................................. 46 A 1.3List of Constraints ............................................................................................................................ 47 A 1.4Technical Attributes ........................................................................................................................ 48 A 1.5ENGINEERING SPECIFICATION SHEET.50 A 1.6 Product structure tree (PVC model) ............................................................................................. 54 A 2.1 Pugh Matrix ..................................................................................................................................... 55 A 2.2 Design variants (PVC Design)54 A 2.3 PVC Detailed Design ...................................................................................................................... 60 A 2.4FMEA ................................................................................................................................................ 63 A 2.5Bill of Materials ................................................................................................................................ 64 A 2.6 Prototype Building.64 A 2.6 a Pictures of Testing...65 A 2.6 b - Pictures of build66 A 3.1Macro Process Plan PVC Design Product...69 A 3.2 Flexsim Layout Plan............71 A 3.3 Warehouse Layout Plan..69 A 4.1Tool Chart Industrial Engineering Tools Used...74 A4.2 TEST DATA Tables..77 A4.3 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE .80 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................................. 81

List of Figures & Tables Fig # Fig 1 Fig 2 Fig 3 Fig 4

Page No 2 8 9 10

Fig # Fig 5 Fig 6 Fig 7 Fig 8

Page No 11 12 12 22

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As part of our final year project we have teamed up with Unconquered Sun, a Windsor based company specializing in the manufacture of Solar Photovoltaic Panels. Their product lines boast of some of the best industry standard panels that are lightweight and have leading edge module efficiency rates. As part of their future outlook they intend to expand their product portfolio with newer and fresher products that can be modeled around their branded solar panel, and to that end we have teamed up with them to design a new line of products that would be used for pond aeration. The scope of our project requires us To create a new product line which would aerate dirty pond water, prevent algae growth and promote better aeration. We also have to explore the marketing, design variants and process planning options for a safe, manufacturable and commercially viable solar powered pond aerator. Not having precedence in market provided us with a blessing in disguise situation, wherein it gave us the opportunity to expose ourselves to various design methodologies, divulge in radical designs, and experiment with different combinations to come up with fresh new designs, but on the other hand it increased the scope of our project. To provide us with a structured plan we have divided our product development plan into 4 different phases starting with Product Planning, Product Design, Process Planning and ending with Process Control Plan. Various IE tools were employed during each stage to provide us with a structured frame work for data collection, analysis and conclusions. Our final design comprises of an Unconquered Sun branded Windsor 245 PV model, resting on 6 in diameter PVC pipe structure, with a connected sprinkler that shoots out water. This in turn disturbs the surface water making it unfavourable for algae growth and at the same time the influx on fresh water increases the oxygen content and aerates the water body.

Chapter 1
Introduction
Over the years, the carbon based (coal, natural gas, gasoline) and nuclear powered nonrenewable forms of energy have been our major and in some case the only form of energy available to us to fulfill our energy needs. These non-renewable forms of energy have led us to never seen before pollution levels and consequent effects of global warming. This alarming rate of environment deterioration has led people to look beyond the realm of the conventional sources of energies, and channel their energies towards the use of renewable source of energy, and our capstone project is but one attempt to harness the abundant solar power.

This concern has given government and the private companies enough cause to pioneer and join causes to generate alternative sources of energy, which is clean, renewable and cost effective in the long run. The result of this collaborative work is the introduction of Green Energy Act, 2009, which provides companies subsidies to invest in renewable energy industry. The Ontario Government has started the Micro-Fit program to encourage entrepreneurs and established companies to invest in solar power sector by safeguarding a part of their investment with various schemes and incentives.

Since the first observance of Photovoltaic effect in 1839 by Alexandre-Edmond Becquerel, the principal has been widely used in the manufacture of Solar Panels as a packaged, connected assembly of photovoltaic cells. The solar panel can be used as a component of a larger photovoltaic system to generate and supply electricity in commercial and residential applications. Over the years there have been some amazing design improvements in the solar panel. From being bulky and cumbersome to use, they have now evolved to becoming sleek, compact and very efficient.

Figure 1: Diagram of Photovoltaic Cells

The motivation for this product is deep rooted in the financial and physical hardships of the pond owners. With the change of seasons, the pond ecosystems adapt to the changes. A by-product of this change is the advent of algae growth in the ponds. Algae growth accompanies with it various other side effects. An alga is a bacterium in essence and it grows with the same ferocity and because it is a plant, it extracts all the oxygen from the pond, leading it defunct for other aquatic life. To add to that it is also an eye sore. This has caused pond owners to spend thousands of dollars each year in aerating their pond and keeping it clean for their livestock and aesthetic purposes. Sensing a need to be fulfilled in the market we are making a product that will provide pond owners with an efficient and economical solution to aerate their ponds, in the form of a Solar powered Aeration system. This product comes as a single floatation structure with a solar panel attached on top, an inbuilt dc pump, filtration system and a sprinkler system. The product is designed in a way that it does not require any major set-up nor frequent maintenance. All it requires is sunny and sunnier days. We have tried to present this report in a structural sequence showing the approach, methodologies and various tools that aided us through the four stages of product development. This report takes a closer look at all the four stages of product development and the tools that we used. Towards the end we will present the results and conclusions of our experiments and tests that we performed with our prototype and down the line extrapolate its market potential

INDUSTRY SECTOR
Founded in 2008 Unconquered Sun Solar Technologies Inc. is a Windsor Ontario based manufacturer of premium high efficiency, lightweight photovoltaic modules engineered with the rugged North American climate in mind. With a focus on quality and performance, Unconquered Sun provides the solar industry with a superior Ontario made alternative. As both the Original Equipment Manufacturer of The Windsor Series lightweight Ontario Compliant panel and the Leading Solar Project Developer in Southern Ontario, Unconquered Sun is the first truly vertically integrated company of its kind. With a plant capacity of 18 MW and plans for further expansion in 2013, Unconquered Sun is a driving force behind Southern Ontario's resurgence as a sustainable base for the manufacturing of renewable technologies. They are in the process of expanding their product portfolio and have added new products to their product portfolio. Unconquered Sun Solar Technologies provides in house Engineering, Procurement and Construction capability for all roof top and ground mounted Solar Projects. With more area installations completed than any competitor, Unconquered Sun has a proven record of customer satisfaction. After gaining a strong foothold in the domestic market, Unconquered Sun has plans to expand into other emerging markets and strengthen their export base. Their target market revolves around developing countries which face dire irrigation and electricity problems which it believes can be fulfilled by its existing array of products like the solar powered water irrigation pump. Unconquered Sun is a part of an ever expanding solar power industry. Since Windsor is the southernmost part of Ontario, it gets most amount of sunlight , which makes it one of the most suitable places to use solar panels for energy generation. In addition to that the Micro-Fit program initiated by the Canadian government has also added fuel to the ever-expanding Solar energy market. To remain in control Unconquered Sun plans to divest in other markets by expanding their product portfolio. After gaining a strong foothold in the domestic market, Unconquered Sun is looking into entering into export market. They have identified some of the countries as their test grounds to
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see how its products are received there. Their main concern lies with the expanding economies, where electricity penetration is a problem. People face the daily challenge of supplementing their energy needs and have to find other means to fulfill it. These kinds of markets are perfect for Unconquered Sun to promote their products like solar panels and Solar powered irrigation kits which can help people supplement their energy needs, in a cost effective and environmentally conscious way. Nigeria is one of the potential markets into which Unconquered Sun is actively looking to expand, because of their access to abundant sunlight year round and their predisposed acceptance of the solar power as a viable energy source has made it a viable testing ground for Unconquered Sun.

PROBLEM DEFINITION
The primary problem being addressed in this project is the effective aeration of the pond. Unlike a river, which is constantly renewing itself with fresh water, a pond is a closed system. This means that anything introduced to the water will affect the water balance, if it is not filtered out. There are a number of impurities that end up in the pond which includes but are not limited to debris, chemicals from fertilizer run-off, animal dump and aquatic plants at the bottom of the pond. These Impurities carries nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus that supports the growth of algae. Algae, unlike other phytoplankton are a rapid growing bacterium which if not controlled can rapidly bloom, depleting the oxygen content in water and further destroying the aquatic ecosystem. This process is known as eutrophication. Other effects of eutrophication include discoloration of water, pollution and increase incidences of fish kills. Eutrophication poses a problem not only to the ecosystem but water treatment problems to humans as well. This has caused pond owners like farmers and golf courses owners to seek desperate measures to control these rapid growing algae bacterium. It has been a major concern to the government and to that effect there are policies like clean Water Act of Ontario in place to protect existing and future water sources. Incentives are provided to people who use clean and renewable water management policies. Policy concerning the prevention and reduction of eutrophication can be broken down into four sectors: Technologies, public participation, economic instruments, and cooperation. The term technology is used loosely, referring to a more widespread use of existing methods rather than an appropriation of new technologies There have been comprehensive studies on algae growth and tests on how to deal with this problem in the past. Most of these studies have uncovered that the rate of water renewal plays a critical role in eutrophication. Evidentially, that is why stagnant water found in the pond retains more nutrients than bodies with replenished water supplies. Theoretically, it is a reasonable assumption that replenishing the ponds oxygen artificially and creating disturbance/turbulence can effectively control algae growth. There have been alternative claims which states that regular predetermined disturbance in water can indeed provide algae a better pattern for sunlight to enhance its growth.
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At present, technologies like underwater - air pipe diffusers used for creating disturbance in water and floating fountains whose sprinkling action captures oxygen from the atmosphere and deposits into the pond. These alternatives are powered by electricity and a few with renewable energy source. We are working with solar PV makers Unconquered Sun to create a new line of products, which would aerate (increase the oxygen content) dirty pond water and prevent algae growth in the water body. As industrial engineers, we are going to apply our classroom experience to help Unconquered Sun to explore the marketing, design variants and process planning options for a safe, manufacturable and commercially viable solar powered water pump. The product, solar powered water pump-pond aerator; is the first of its kind product in the market, that utilizes renewable source of energy (solar power) to clean and aerate ponds. This opportunity to gain first mover advantage or FMA comes with its competitive and economic advantages. Introduction of Ontario Green Energy Act of 2009 is also a great incentive to expand in the renewable sources industry because of the various government subsidies and tariff programmes initiated by the Ontario government which protects investment done in this area. During the planning stage of the product line we have to take into account the potential environmental impact this product could have. The analysis of potential future impacts leads us to choose better process, materials and technology so that these negative impacts can be minimized, and if there are some positive impacts, then we can accentuate them to maximize their impact. Being the first of its kind product in the market, this product will have a very big economic and commercial advantage. As of now Unconquered Sun is part of a highly competitive solar PV panel manufacturing industry. By introducing this new product line they can cash into an untapped market, and by successfully launching the product it can differentiate itself from the other companies.

LITERATURE REVIEW 1.1 History

A French physicist, Edmond Becquerel who discovered the photovoltaic (PV) effect, first observed the physical phenomenon responsible for converting light to electricity in 1839 Becquerel noted a voltage appeared when one of two identical electrodes in a weak-conducting solution was illuminated. The PV effect was first studied in solids, such a selenium in 1870s. The first PV cells converted less than 1% of the suns photons into electricity were very expensive to the tiny amount of power to produce.

In the 1980s, photovoltaic became a popular power source for consumer electronic devices, including calculators, watches, radios, lanterns and other small battery charging applications. Following the energy crises of the 1970s, significant efforts also began to develop PV power systems for residential and commercial uses both for stand-alone, remote power as well as for utility-connected applications. During the same period, international applications for PV systems to power rural health clinics, refrigeration, water pumping, telecommunications, and off-grid households increased dramatically, and remain a major portion of the present world market for PV products. Today, the industrys production of PV modules is growing at approximately 25 percent annually, and major programs in the U.S., Japan and Europe are rapidly accelerating the implementation of PV systems on buildings and interconnection to utility networks

1.2

Solar radiation

Solar radiative energy has its origin in a nuclear fusion reaction in the sun. The resulting energy is emitted as electromagnetic radiation in the spectral range 0.2 - 3. The sun releases a huge
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quantity of energy in terms of human capacity or need. Energy output per second is 3.86x10 megawatts, several billion times the electric capacity of US utilities. The intensity of solar radiation in free space at the average distance between the earth and the sun is called the solar
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constant, and has a value of 1353 W/m .

1.3 PV Terminology
PV systems are made up of a variety of components, which aside from the modules may include conductors, fuses, disconnect controls, batteries, trackers, and inverters. Components vary somewhat depending on the application. PV systems are modular by nature, thus systems can be readily expanded and components easily repaired or replaced if needed. PV systems are cost effective for many remote power applications, as well as for small stand-alone power applications in proximity to the existing electric grid.

1.3.1 Solar Cell

The PV cell is the component responsible for converting light to electricity. Some materials (e.g., silicon is the most common) produce a photovoltaic effect, where sunlight frees electrons striking the silicon material. The freed electrons cannot return to the positively charged sites ("holes") without flowing through an external circuit, thus generating current. Solar cells are designed to absorb as much light as possible and are interconnected in series and parallel electrical connections to produce desired voltages and currents.

Figure 2: Solar Cells

1.3.2 PV Module

A PV module is composed of interconnected solar cells that are encapsulated between a glass cover and weatherproof backing. The modules are typically framed in aluminum frames suitable for mounting.

1.3.3 PV Array

PV modules are connected in series and parallel to form an array of modules, thus increasing total available power output to the needed voltage and current for a particular application. Figure 2.3 shows an application of PV array.

Figure 3: PV Array

1.4 Pond aeration

Oxygen in ponds comes from two sources: photosynthesis and diffusion from the air. The most important source, photosynthesis means the synthesis of food with the help of sunlight, is the process plants use for manufacturing food. In the presence of sunlight, various aquatic plants (especially algae) add oxygen to water as a by-product of the photosynthesis process. At night when there is no sun , there is no photosynthesis, thus no oxygen is produced, but respiration of
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algae, fish and bacteria continues to drain oxygen from the water. Most of the time there is a desirable balance between how much oxygen is produced and how much is used, but under some conditions, the balance can be upset, with more oxygen being drained out as opposed to what is added back to the pool and the oxygen concentration becomes low enough to stress or kill the fishs. The amount of oxygen in pond water can vary considerably from pond to pond and from hour to hour. Typically, however, oxygen concentrations are lowest at dawn and highest during late afternoon. The movement of oxygen in the pond water is facilitated by the air pressure difference between the pond and the atmospheric air. When the air pressure in water is lower than the air pressure, the air is forced in the water. This continues until the air pressure in the water equals that of atmospheric air. When this happens we call it the saturation point of the water. At this saturation point there is no net flow of air between the air and the water.

Figure 4: Photosynthesis Process

Dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration measures the amount of gaseous oxygen (O2) dissolved in an aqueous solution. Adequate dissolved oxygen is necessary for good water quality. Oxygen is a necessary element to all forms of life.

1.4.1 Stratification of Water

One of the most unusual properties of the water is the fact that its density does not linearly decrease with increasing temperatures. Instead, it has a maximum point at 39F. Above this point, the density of water decreases with temperature. As a result, a lake or
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Ponds can stratify because water attains maximum density at 39F. It becomes less dense (lighter in weight) both above and below 39F. This stratification of the water layers creates a layer of water that floats on the top of the water surface and breaks the contact between the outer air and the pond water. In a natural setting strong winds or rains can disturb and break the top layer of water and help in the mixing of different water layer and dissolving of oxygen in water. This is the natural process via which the ponds aerate itself. An artificial aerator provides the same functionality of disturbing the top layer of water, disturbing the equilibrium and dissolves Oxygen into the water.

Figure 5: Water Stratification Process

1.4.2 Aerators
Aerators work by increasing the area of contact between air and water. Aerators circulate water so fishes can find areas with higher oxygen concentrations. Circulation also reduces water layers from stratification and increases oxygen transfer by forcing oxygenated water away from the aerator. Because many of the units are electrical, wiring should be properly protected, housed and installed to avoid any hazards from an electrical shock. To this one of the major advantages of the solar powered water fountain is that there is very less wiring involved on it.

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Aerators influence the rate of oxygen transfer from air to water by increasing turbulence and surface area of water in contact with air. Aerators are of two basic types: splashers and bubblers. An example of a splashier aerator are the fountain aerators. It splashes water into the air to absorb adequate oxygen and then splashes onto the water surface with a force necessary enough to break through the upper strata of water layer. Splashing action also causes turbulence in the water body of being aerated. This turbulence helps in mixing the upper layers of water with the below layers. This turbulence to a large extent also prevents the formation of algae as it devoid the algae bacteria the suitable conditions of stale still water to grow on.

Figure 6: Splasher(Fountain)Figure

7: Diffuser

Bubbler/Diffusers aerators rely upon release of air bubbles near the bottom of a water body to affect aeration. A large surface area is created between air bubbles and surrounding water. Rising bubbles also create turbulence within a body of water.

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Chapter 2
We have divided our product development into 4 phases of development which takes on the logical and structural route. The motivation of dividing our project into 4 phases is derived from the fact that product development is an enormous task and requires a structural approach to data collections and analysis. The phased approach has provided us with a structural format for data collection and also it provides us with the relevant tools we require for data collection and analysis. We start off with phase 1 product planning, stage 2 for Product Design and Improvements, stage 3 for Process Planning and design and ending with phase 4 with Process Control.

2.1Phase 1: Product Planning

During the product planning stage we had the job of understanding the problem statement, finding all the relevant information about the product and all the features associated with it. To that end we initiated our information gathering with the creation of the Functional requirements Charts.

2.1.1 Functional requirements Charts

The first stage of our product development came from the creation of the functional requirements charts. Given the design problem, the first task was to identify the functional requirements (FRs) of the product, i.e. the requirements pertaining to what the product will have to do. This is different than a product's behaviour. Behaviour is how a product responds to a stimulus, whereas a function is how that stimulated response serves some purpose in an environment. FRs focuses on the operational features of products. This is an important philosophical point: the key to a product is how it functions in operation, not during manufacture, or transport, or maintenance, or during any other lifecycle phase. The creation of the functional requirements charts helped us in gathering

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relevant information for our product and also helps us structure our thoughts and clarify the objectives of the product to be. 2.1.2 QUALITY FUNCTION DEPLOYMENT (QFD)

This is a basic tool used in product and process design to translate the voice of the customers into the voice of engineer Steps carried out: We identified and contacted our potential customers, which are mainly the golf owners to gather basic information on the requirements they have for the product (voice of the customer). We really wanted to assess what is important to them in the product, how they perceive it and what more they could possible want from the product. We want to make sure this product is customer oriented as possible and try to match these requirements as closely as possible to the technical capabilities of the company Unconquered Sun. A copy of the questionnaire we used for this interview and a few responses is attached in the appendix. (APPENDIX REFERENCE NUMBER). The voice of customers also includes the requirement of our management, unconquered sun and regulatory standards. These requirements are represented on the left side of the QFD. Then we had the customers rated the importance of these requirements on a scale of 1-5. The next step was to find out how our customers rate our product in relation to other competing product based on their requirement. These ratings are represented on the side of the QFD. The next move was to convert the voice of customers into Voice of Engineers or technical attributes of the product and indicating the direction of improvement. The relationship chart is where the team determines the relationship between the customers needs and the companys ability to meet those needs. It has to do with determining the strength of the relationship between the technical descriptors and the customers needs and matching them. Then the design attributes was rated in terms of the organizational difficulty at the bottom of the QFD and target values where set.

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 Correlation Matrix: this room is where the term House of Quality comes from because it makes the matrix looks like a house with a roof. The team members examined how each of the technical descriptors impacts each other and mark the relationship where it is strongly positive or negative or it is moderately positive or negative. The final stage is where the team calculates the absolute importance of each technical descriptor, which is the sum of the products of the cell value and the customers importance rating. The technical attribute with the highest score is the technical aspect that matters the most to the customers. In our case, this attribute is the safety and size of the product with a score higher than 300.

2.1.3 List Of constraints

After the completion of the functional requirements charts we had trickled down to all the relevant elements of our product to be. The identification of these elements helped us come up with the list of constraints that applied to each, either because of their own limitations or because of the limitations from our stake holders. the list of constraints was a very major step in our product planning because it help us give our product a scope which further helped us in our progress towards the product design.

2.1.4 Technical Attributes

Refer to Appendix # A 1.4

2.1.5 Engineering Specifications

Refer to Appendix # A1.5 AND A1.4 AND A1.3

2.1.6 Product Structure tree

The PBS is identical in format to the work breakdown structure (WBS), but includes only the physical architecture of a product. The product structure tree includes the data and service elements necessary to complete the system, as well as all the individual product elements. This provides the reader a visual aid in understanding the breakdown of the product and provides him with a much better understanding of the product and its functionality. (Refer to Appendix # A 1.4)
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2.1.7 ATAR Model

Estimating the adoption rates for any new product can be a daunting process. One approach is to estimate the yearly percent of sales based on the market size. For example, if the market size is 1.0 million units you might estimate annual sales as follows: Year 1 1% (10,000 units), Year 2 3% (30,000 units), etc. Even after completing extensive research, these numbers are often little more than an educated guess with a great deal of uncertainty. These estimates can be supported by a sensitivity analysis to help deal with this uncertainty.

The ATAR model provides a framework to help estimate the adoption rate in each year. The ATAR model (Awareness, Trial, Availability, and Repeat) is based on concept of Diffusion of Innovation. In order for a person to be a regular purchaser of the new product they must first become Aware that it exists. Once they have become aware of it they must make the decision to Try it out. In order to be able to try it out, it must be Available for them to purchase. If they are happy with the trial, then they may decide to adopt the product, that is, Repeat the purchase again.

Now, relating this model to the solar powered aerator. 7% of the gulf courses in Canada, statistics shows that there are about 2300 golf course. This data is from 2008. From the survey on the golf course around Windsor, each gulf course has at least two ponds. Hence in total the market size for our new product is 4600 units.

Awareness: This depends on the extent in which this product has been advertised. The advertisement of this product has been going on since 2011 just before the project started and about 1700 pond owners showed interest in purchasing this produce. Thus the awareness percentage is (1700/4600) 36.96% of the market.

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Trial: implies that the aware customers who actually decide to purchase the product to try it out. Looking at the amount of aware customers, lets say in the worst-case scenario, 30% will actually try the product.

Availability: Relates to the ease with which the purchaser can find the product to purchase. This is directly related to the number of channels (retail stores, internet, etc.) that are available to the purchaser. This product will be marketed and distributed by unconquered sun, which is located in Windsor Ontario. Local gulf courses will be able to access this product easily than out of province gulf courses who might have to wait for a while before they get their ordered product. Judging by this, the availability percentage of this product is about 70%.

Repeat: Means that the trial was successful. In the case of convenience items, the purchaser has decided to make repeat purchases. For one-time shopping goods, or specialty goods purchases, repeat may mean recommending the product to a friend. This product can be a convenience item for the golf course owners who own at least two ponds and may re-purchase the product if the trial was successful. For ordinary pond owners, they might recommend the product to their friends or relatives. My perception form the standing and progress of this project, a 50% repeatability probability is a fair assumption.

Assuming the market size for our new product is 4600 units as explained above. The ATAR model applies as follows:

Year 1 Percentage of potential purchases that become aware of the product:36.96% x Percentage of the aware purchasers that decide to try the product: 30% x Percentage of the purchasers that are able to find the product: 70% x Percentage that like the product and decide to buy a second one: 50%

The percentage of the market that will adopt the product in year 1 is: 36.96% x 30%
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x 70% x 50% = 0.0388% (179 units)

This process is repeated for each year of the 10-year adoption period. In applying the model it should be kept in mind that each element is still an assumption, and is therefore subject to uncertainty. It is important to remember that the product is in the pre-production stage during the first year or two. As this is a testing stage, the adoption rates during this stage will be limited.

2.2 Phase 2: Product Design And Improvements

After the product planning stage once we have gathered all the information regarding the product we move onto the product design and the improvement stage. In this phase we have discussed all the design aspects of the product and the design methodologies we have applied to get them.

2.2.1 Design Brainstorming

The decision-matrix method, also Pugh method is a quantitative technique used to rank the multi-dimensional options of an option set. We have implemented it in our product engineering for making design decisions. We have created our decision matrix by establishing a set of criteria upon which the potential options can be decomposed, scored, and summed to gain a total score which can then be ranked. Importantly, the criteria are not weighted to allow a quick selection process. The advantage of this approach to decision making is that subjective opinions about one alternative versus another can be made more objective. Another advantage of this method is that sensitivity studies can be performed.

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The results of our pugh matrix was that our PVC pipe design (option 1, option 2) and zodiac floats design (option 4) concepts ranked on the top , which helped us in

streamlining our design process more towards these design variants. (Refer to Appendix # A 2.1)

2.2.2 Design Variants After the completion of our Pugh matrix we finalised on our 2 selected design upon which we decided to proceed further. The 2 selected designs were: 1. PVC Pipe structure: in the PVC pipe structure we will be using the 6in dia metre PVC pipes as the material for our flotation. The reasons for using the PVC pipes is because it is buoyant, inert to water, and other contaminants in water and has a long life. To add to that it is also readily available which makes it a very attractive feature for making our initial prototype? PVC pipe structure is our selected design for prototype, as it is easy to work with, is readily available and cost effective. (sketches in the appendix # 2.3) (Refer to Appendix # A 2.2)
2. Foams Structure (Pontoon) design As part of our 2nd design variant we have chosen the zodiac boats shaped floats design. This is our recommendation to the company for adding another design variant to their product line. The pontoon design is attractive for a number of reasons and has similar characteristics as the PVC Pipe structure. The pontoon design is a hybrid of PVC pontoon box and EPS floats foam housed in the pontoon. The PVC pontoon will be made by thermoforming the shape shapes of the floats. These provides a better buoyancy to the product, can be easily assembled and provides the same chemical inertness to water and its surrounding and thus preventing any kind of contamination. To add to that it has a much better aesthetic appeal to it, which makes it very attractive to the potential buyers. (Sketches in the appendix #A 2.2)

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2.2.3 FMEA Failure Modes and Effects and Analysis (FMEA) is a procedure used widely in product development. It is used for analyzing the potential failures modes within a system for classification by the severity and the likelihood of the failures. We selected the functions from the functional Requirements charts (appendix # A1.1) and brainstormed about the potential failures modes and potential effects of these failures. Following this we identified the causes of those failures. Those failure modes were ranked based on their potential occurrence levels, severity and detection. Following the identification of the potential failure modes we calculated the risk priority numbers of every failure. Based on our findings we discussed the potential actions paths which would prevent these failures before manufacturing (during the prototype build) and in turn decreasing the severity rates significantly. (Refer appendix # A2.4)

2.2.4Prototyping of PVC Pipe Structure This is the prototype building initiation stage of our project. Based on our selected PVC pipe design we will be divulging further into the subparts of the protype building starting with the material selection stage, material procurement , prototype building, design troubleshooting, design test analysis, build completion, environmental design impact and finally ending with the rapid prototyping of our proposed design variant. We start off with the Material selection stage. 2.2.4.1Material Selection Material selection is the heart and soul of any product design stage. The material was selected in conjunction with the functional requirements of the product and the list of constraints that was prepared in advance to the prototype building. Some of the products used in our aerators were not common products and for that
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we had to go through extensive product search and in some cases had to contact the manufacturers to gather more information and make an educated decision based on the expertise of the manufacturers. The conversations with the manufactures have been tabulated in our log book which represents the decision making process that went before our material selection. The materials selection is described in detailed in the technical attribute section, engineering specifications section and the bill of materials. (Refer to Appendix # A2.5, A1.4 and A 1.5)

2.2.4.2 Material Procurement After the material selection was done we moved onto the procurement stage. This was an unexpectedly lengthy and cumbersome process. For this purpose we first made the bill of materials to tabulate the materials that we required, and the exact specifications of the materials. The material procurement took us cumulatively 45 months, sometimes because of the lengthy delivery times of the specialized ordered products and sometimes because of the unexpected material requirements that came up during the prototype construction and troubleshooting stage. As this was our first tryst with the product development, we did not anticipate the unexpected behaviour of material procurement, which sometimes resulted in delays in the prototype building. All the details for this have been tabulated in the bill of materials (see the appendix # A 2.5).

2.2.4.3 Prototype Building The prototype was build with the help of engineering technicians in Essex hall, University of Windsor. Students were involved in every step of the build and troubleshooting approach was applied to produce the working prototype. The steps of build are included in appendix. Refer: Appendix # A2.6

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2.2.4.3 A PVC Structure Design Build The PVC structure was built by the operations of joining the pipe structures. The pipe structure was divided in five main sections. Pipe diameter = 6 inch Section 1 and 2 are identical and include the foam cylinders. See Sketch in appendix # A2.3 and A2.6b Section 3 is the cross joint attached with pipe cuts. Section 4 is Tee joint attached with pipe cuts. Section 5 has Pipe # P1, which has a 14 long cut-section for pump housing. That cut-section is covered is covered with Pipe # P2 which is 16 long semi-circular (arc cut) which look like a semicircular hollow cylinder. P2 serves as a gasket cover as a sheet of gasket material is glued to inner surface of P2. P2 is tightened upon P1 by 6 diameter hose clamps and gasket sheet get tightened, preventing water from getting into pumps house.

Figure 8: Pump Housing Cover System

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PVC Pipe Structure Component Type P1 Pipe Cut P2 Gasket Cover P3 Pipe Cut P4 Pipe Cut P5 Pipe Cut P6 Pipe Cut P7 Pipe Cut P8 Pipe Cut Cross Cross-joint L2 El-Joint L3 El-Joint PL 1 Pipe plug E1 End cap GC2 Gasket Clamp GC4 Gasket Clamp GC 6 Gasket Clamp

Length 52 16 64 64 6 6 5 5 12x12 9 x 9 9 x 9 1 3 5.5 5.5 5.5

Component P9 P10 P11 P12 P13 P14 P15 Tee L1 L4 L5* PL 2 GC1 GC 3 GC 5

Type Pipe Cut Pipe Cut Pipe Cut Pipe Cut Pipe Cut Pipe Cut Pipe Cut Tee-joint El-Joint El-Joint El-Joint Pipe plug Gasket Clamp Gasket Clamp Gasket Clamp

Length 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 12x9 9 x 9 9 x 9 9 x 9 1 5.5 5.5 5.5

The pipe plugs PL 1 will be joined between P1 and P7.The pipe plugs PL 2 will be joined between P1 and P8. Section 1 = P12 + L2 + P3 + L1 + P13 Section 2 = P14 + L4 + P4 + L3 + P15 Section 3 = L5 + P11 + CROSS + (P8 + PL2) + P9 + P10 Section 4 = TEE + (P7 + PL1) +P5 + P6 Section 5 = P1 + P2 All five section were put together with rubber clamp gaskets and the PVC structure gets ready to float.

2.2.4.3 B - Hose network(steps to build hose network and specifications) Refer Appendix # A2.3 and A2.6b The hose network is built to put in Section 3, Section 4 and Section-5 of PVC structure. Section -3: contains

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1. The E1 i.e. end cap was taken and hole (diameter 4) was cut into it by technician so that the lower part of rotor-flush filter can be set into E1 and glued with strong chemical-viscous hardening material to seal it. 2. The rotor-flush filter was than connected to pumps inlet hose (grey in diagram) and back-flow hose (R1 - red in diagram) from pump to rotor. Section-5: contains 1. The Hose H1 (grey hose) was connected to inline strainer and strainer was further connected coil hose; C2. The C1 connected to H2 which is further connected to Pump. 2. The water outlet of pump was connected to hose H3 further connecting C2 and then H4. The H4 was connected to Tee junction, which is flow controller. The flow controller is connected to back flow hose (R1-red in diagram) and hose H5; which is further connected to sprinkler. The flow controller has a knob which was used to controls the flow to sprinkler and back flow to rotor of rotor-flush filter. Section-4: contains 1. H4 connecting galvanized iron pipe (G1). G1 passing through pipe plug PL1 (with hole 1) and through other end of TEE joint (with hole 2). The hole(s) size is 3/4 in diameter through which the hole passes. Both holes were aligned with calibration scale; by technician.

Notes: 1. Inlet Hose network = H1 + Inline strainer + C1 + H2 2. Outlet Hose Network = Pump Sprinkler. 3. Back Flow = Flow controller + R1 + rotor of Rotor-flush filter. Pump

H3 + C2 + H4 + Flow Controller + H5 + G1

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4. Every connection of hose network was clamped with hose clamps. The joints were sealed. 5. The hose network(s) Inlet, Outlet and backflow; were tested with water flow 10 GPM with pressure of 70 PSI. Result No leakage. 6. The coiled hoses C1 and C2 (extendable) were used so that the pump can be taken out easily any time through opening in P1. The pump is mounted to P2 with mounting plate with four screws. 7. The Gasket clamps connecting Section 3, 4 and 5 allows to take hose network out at any time for checking, study or repair. 8. The hoses H1, H3 and H5 were little longer than size calculated. By can be cut down to optimized length. No significant effect on flow due this reason.

2.2.5 Troubleshooting

After the initial design completion trouble shooting of the design was our next biggest hurdle. After the theoretical calculations were done, we implemented the design in practice. The gap between theory and practical was wider than we anticipated. Various under mentioned issues were uncovered during the structure construction and they have been mentioned in the descending order of their severity.

2.2.5.A Pump Housing:

Housing the pump was our biggest hurdle during the prototype construction. The 6 in diameter PVC pipe gave us very less room to pay with in respect to housing the pump in a stable manner. The pump is the most sensitive and single most expensive part of our product and we had to take extra care for its installation. We had to take precautions regarding the insulation of the pump, so that if there was a case of water entering the PVC pipes, it should not reach the pump under any condition. Also we had to make a wooden base onto which we had to balance the

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pump. During our design stage we took extra measure to house the pump in a user friendly manner, meaning that we constructed the pump housing in such a way that if required, the pump can be taken out easily and replaced if necessary. As pump is the heart of the product, almost all the parts are connected to it, and thus the pump housing was constructed in alignment with all the other parts of the product.

2.2.5.B

Hose Network Issues

We have a number of hoses running through the PVC pipe structure , which we describe as the hose network of our product. The hoses can be related to the blood vessels in our body which connects all the parts of the body with the heart. The water from the pond to the sprinklers is carried via the water hoses that we had placed inside our PVC pipes. The alterations and evolution of our final design, meant that we had to constantly alter the lengths of our hoses. The other issue with the hoses was the different hose joints that were required to join different pieces of hoses, in an efficient manner. The majority of issues with the hose network arose from our dedication to design a user friendly prototype. Since we designed the pump housing in a way that it can be taken out of the PVC pipes, we had to design the hose network in a way that it provides the pump with sufficient room to be taken out, without kinking or stretching the hoses too much. To provide the hoses the flexibility to absorb the elongation we came up with the spiral hose design solution, wherein the hoses would coil together in a small space, but at the same time can be extended in the scenario when pump is taken out.

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2.2.5.C

Rotor Flush Housing Refer to Appendix A2.6b Housing the rotor flush was a big hurdle for our prototype construction. The rotor flush is an indispensable part of our product, as this is the filtration system, which prevents any kind of impurity from entering the hose network. We experimented with a few locations to place the rotor flush, but all of them gave some or the other kind of issues. the major issues we faced while pump housing are mentioned below:

The mouth of rotor flush has to be inside the water, because it has to extract water from there. But at the same time we had to make sure the PVC pipe in contact with water should be sealed in such a way that no water comes in except through the mouth of the rotor flush. For this we used the extra strong sealant that is used for construction purposes.

2.2.5.D

Flow Rate Issues:

Once our pump, hose network and the rotor flush contraption was completed, we had to balance out the flow rate of the water coming out of the sprinklers, because that is the essence of the water aeration process. Our objective was to provide maximum water to the sprinkler, but at the same time maintain at least 1.3 gm flow to the rotor flush, for its optimal performance. For this we incorporated an inline flow controller in the hose going from the pump to the rotor flush, so that we can control the water flow going from the pump to the backflow of rotor flush, and divert maximum amount of water to the sprinkler system.

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2.2.5.E Mounting of Solar Panel The mounting of the solar panel was an issue that we tackled at the last. Once the prototype was completed, we placed the solar panel on top of the structure to see where the solar panel would be fixed. After that we designed 4 90 deg metal brackets which would hold the solar panel onto the PVC pipes rigidly, and not provide it mush space to shaft from its location. We had some radical ideas like putting hinges on one side, so that in the event of taking the solar panel apart, we can just lift it up, much in the same way as opening a door. But that idea did not bring fruit, as the hinges proved to be a much weaker joint than the stationary metal brackets.

2.2.6 Test Analysis

In this section we detail the tests that were performed during the prototype building to assess the functionality of our different parts. The following tests are mentioned in the chronological order in which they were performed. Refer to Appendix # A4.2

2.2.6.A Floatation Test

Objective: To assess the flotation of the weight loaded PVC pipes in water to see if it can sustain enough weight and still float.

Setup: We required: 6 inch diameter PVC pipe structure Total 70 pounds of weight ( Workout weights 5 and 10 pounds) Swimming Pool or Water Pond

Procedure: we performed the following steps for this experiment

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We dry joined the PVC pipes together to make the structure. We placed 2 wooden planks on each end of the PVC pipe structure for equal distribution of weight. We loaded the wooden planks with 35 pounds of weight on each end. Then we put this contraption in water.

Observation and Result: The structure floated smoothly and was evenly under water. It was observed and measured that the pipes under water was approximately 3. Therefore it can state that the structure can easily sustain 140 lbs., when fully submerged in water. Actual weight to be put on this structure = 9lb (pump) + 40 lbs. (solar panel) + 10 lbs. inner water hose network = 60 lbs. approx.

2.2.6.B Foam Test

Objective: To determine the buoyancy of the PVC pipes with and without the foam rollers inside.

Setup: We have a 6 inch diameter PVC pipe 6 inch diameter foam rollers. We used the bath tub filled with water to perform the flotation test.

Procedure: We took PVC pipe, capped its end and submerged in water. Then we took the same piece of PVC pipe and inserted the foam rollers inside and submerged in water. Then we took the readings for both the scenarios.

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Observations: Average Difference = 0.19 in (not significant) Assumed significant difference = in If foam filled pipe can sustain 4 lbs. and fully under water, then the empty pipe can sustain 4lb and partially under water. In other words, there is not much difference in buoyancy in both pipes. Result: Upon submerging both the set of pipes in water we noticed that there not a significant difference in the buoyancy of the PVC pipes and the PVC pipe + foam rollers. This signifies that foam does not add any extra weight onto the PVC structure and thus does not affect the buoyancy of the PVC structure. So filling the pipes to prevent sinking in case of breakage can be taken into account by following the results and logic proved in experiment. 2.2.6.C Pump and Sprinkler System Test (without Rotor-Flush filter) Refer to Appendix A2.6a

Objective: To determine the pressure exerted by pump and working of two sprinklers.

Formula:

Power = Voltage x Current (P = V * I)

Setup: Two Rainbird Rotor Sprinklers; Model # 32 SA (Nozzle Size = 1.0) connected to Tee junction with two 1 m long hoses (hose inner diameter = ) and third (middle) end of tee junction was connected to pumps outlet 2
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m long hose (hose inner diameter = ). An inline pressure meter was connected to 2 m long hose for pressure readings. The pumps inlet 1.5 m long hose (hose inner diameter = ) was connected to (compulsory) inline strainer. The strainer was dipped in tub full of water. The Two adapters which converter house-hold AC current into 12 V DC. These two were connected in series so that can provide 24 V DC current. Adapters further connected to pump wires. Pumps Max. Current = 6 A

Procedure: The setup was then initialized by switching on the pump. The pressure reading was taken. The flow rate was measured (in GPM) by putting the nozzle of one sprinkler in 4 litre beaker and time was noted. This action was repeated two times more. Time was counted with stop watch. The sprinkler was set on ground to check it maximum length of sprinkling.

Observations: Voltage = 24 V (Set up) Current reading = 6 A (measured with multi-meter) Power = 24 V x 6A = 144 Watts (calculated)

Flow Rate through 1 sprinkler = 6.72 LPM x .2642 = 1.77 GPM Total Flow (Pumps outlet) = 3.54 GPM Sprinkling Radius = 11 approx. Pressure through outlet hose = 50 PSI Length of hoses (not more than two meters) had no significant effect on pressure in hose.

Results: Rotor Sprinklers worked very effectively

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If Rotor-flush filter connected to inlet system, it requires back flow of minimum 1.3 GPM. Therefore, 3.54 1.3 = 2.24 Total GPM. One sprinkler will have 1.12 GPM.

1.12 GPM for each rotor sprinkler is no enough, because 32SA with nozzle size = 1.0, requires minimum flow of 1.2 GPM More over in less sunlight conditions, will not work effectively. As pump is drawing less power (<144 Watts). The idea of using rotor-sprinklers was dropped.

2.2.6 D - Rotor-flush Filter + Pump + Single Impact Sprinkler Test

Objective: To determine the pressure exerted by pump and working of impact sprinkler.

Setup: The current setup is same as in 2.2.6. D experiment. The hose network was made same as discussed in section 2.2.3.3. B The Rotor-flush filter was dipped in transparent container to observe its working. The Rotor-flush filter was placed in 4 l beaker and backflow readings were taken. Time was counted with stop watch. Procedure: Similar procedure as in 2.2.6. D experiment First the rotor-flushs back flow was adjusted with flow controller of hose network. So that its filter-rotor (self-cleaning mechanism) works at its minimum required level and also works in harmony with impact sprinkler. Then the flow rate of filter was measured. Observations:

Flow to filterrotor = 1.51 GPM

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Flow through Sprinkler = 7.8 LPM = 2.1 GPM

Results: The total flow = 1.5 +2.1 = 3.6 GPM, very close to 3.5 GPM measured in previous experiment (without Rotor-flush filter). This means Rotor-flush filter do not pose any bad effect in pumps water suction. The impact sprinkler has uniform flow under its maximum sprinkling radius i.e. 12 approximate. Moreover, the radius can be decreased or increased by changing the setting of sprinkler. Uniform water sprinkling was observed i.e. water was sprinkled from minimum radius to maximum radius at the same time. The sprinkler and rotor-flush filter was working on only one setting of flow controller. There was no low medium or high setting. In order to have those setting, a smaller impact sprinkler can be installed. Unfortunately, that kind of sprinkler can be custom made which was not possible in remaining time period of the project. The low medium or high setting will help in making the product work in low medium and high sun intensity, respectively. (Linear Current Booster Usage is Valid)

2.2.6.E - Final product test (DO level test)

Objective: To run the pump with solar panel and observe outcomes and measure dissolve oxygen in pond water after sprinkling water after designated periods of time. In brief, the objective was to determine the aeration done by the product and observe products efficiency and effectiveness.

Setup and Procedure:

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Take an oxygen meter to measure the dissolved oxygen. The oxygen meter works on DC current. Its has a probe which was dipped in water for every time the reading was taken.

The product was left stationary so that the sprinkling effect mostly covers the coast of pond. And reading can be taken easily.

Results: Significant increase in dissolved oxygen in water. Validate the logic that of sprinkling action helps in aeration. This product is now ready for optimization.

Limitation: Need more experimentation and testing and date analysis to make the product as effective aerator. The more experimentation, optimization and analysis will be done in future. (Summer 2012), as this is a summer season product.

2.2.7 Comparative Design Analysis

Based on the final designs of the 2 structures we have prepared a comparative analysis table to depict the differences between the 2 designs. PVC Pipe Structure Design Cumbersome to assemble and disassemble The buoyancy of the PVC structure is compromised due to the circular shape Has a very intricate hose design network Pump housing is very delicate and intricate, because of less room to play inside the PVC pipes Rotor Flush Housing is very intricate and complex Foam Floats Structure Design Easier to assemble/disassemble Floats have better buoyancy because of the flat base structure Has a very simple hose design network Pump housing is very simple, as the pump is housed in the pump box Rotor flush is housed with the pump inside the pump box

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Solar panel mounting is cumbersome and is done on the circular shape PVC pipes

Solar panel is easily mountable on the floats, with the help of wooden/metal brackets.

2.2.8 Environmental Impact of PVC design:

Assessing the impact this product will have on its surrounding environment is a very critical and central part of the products success and its acceptance by the consumers. To that end we have analyzed and tabulated the impact this product will have. The sprinkling effect of the product provides aeration to the water body, thus making it clear and free of algae. It improves the aquatic life of the water body. The PVC material used, is inert to water and thus does not react with it and has no side effects to the water. The pump and the rotor flush are properly sealed in the and does not come in contact with water for it to react with it. The pump is very efficient and quiet and does not produce any excess noise.

Phase 3: Process Planning

3.1 BUY/MAKE MATRIX

At this stage of product development the biggest question that popped up was, should the whole product be custom made or based upon commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products? While it may seem like a simple decision to make, determining the right solution approach is a complex process. Although it was totally up to Unconquered Sun to determine, the team took the responsibility of making sure that the right decision was made. There were several factors that were considered to arrive at a concord decision with unconquered sun that the products components should be based upon COTS products. Taking into consideration

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(account) the companys core business requirement, strategic goal, required system support for custom made solution, it was a an optimal First, Unconquered Sun is mainly in the business of business of manufacturing solar panels, although they are looking into investing in solar products, they are not ready to neither dedicate a large amount of resources nor permanently configure their facility for the manufacturing of these products. This reason because, these products are in there birth or development stage and there are no enabling technologies out there for now that can support this production. Also, a fix facility is very difficult to change to incorporate new technologies that will eventually evolve. Accessing their in-house skills to support a custom solution, Unconquered Sun is a small company and has limited personnel with proper skill sets. It takes many skills to design and deploy a business solution that is both scalable and extensible (Dan Oliver, 2002). If they decide to build their own solution, they will be confronted with expenses for facility setup, replacing technology, extending functionality, training or recruiting personnel with the necessary skills and experience and retaining technology resources with the skill sets to develop the custom solution. The capital cost of this project cannot be overestimated as per if a mould and/or thermoforming facility is to be built for making the PVC material instead of outsourcing it.

The short-term total cost of implementing the COTS-based Solution from the bill of material in the (appendix# A2.5) is significantly less than a custom solution that may cost Unconquered Sun millions of dollars to implement. One might think the custom solution will provide the best ROI over the long term but this might not be true looking at the market sector of the product (aerator) and the inability to determine the long-term profitability using Markov Chain. The short-term cost saving from COTS products gives a higher ROI. These points are summarized in the SWOT analysis table in the appendix

The Build or Buy decision matrix below compares the two criteria based on set standard. The highest score represents the best alternative and in this case is the Buy option justifying the decision to outsource the entire products component apart from of course the Solar panel.
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Based on our decision to outsource these components and the experience of building the prototype as described in details in phase 2, the processing plan flow chart for both design was made as it is in the (appendix # A3.1) the processing steps were revised and shorten to eliminate unvalued adding activities so that the manufacturing process will take a maximum time of about 10 hour (worst case scenario) Since the materials and manufacturing process is the same for both design a single job Shop facility Layout was designed to accomplish this processing steps. This layout was simulated with Flexsim to determine the amount of machine and manual labourers needed for producing a single of the aerator.

Flexsim is a simulation software that is used to study a manufacturing system or any kind of system, analyze the situations, create and test new ideas without actually building the model to Using the macro processing plan chart, the four main activities in that will be taking place in the facility are cutting, milling/drilling and manual assembly. The facility is designed in such a way that it has four workstations. Keep in mind that the total processing time of10 hours an educated guess.

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The table below gives information about these stations.

Workstation Cutting Station

Machine /Tools Band Saw Machine

Processing time 3.5 hours

Deliverables Cut to size PVC pipes, hoses and brackets.

Milling/Drilling Station Hose system Assembly station

Multi-purpose Lathe Hand saw, hand drill, adjustable wrench, hole saw.

3 hours

Holes on brackets, PVC, solar panel and pump cover.

2 hours

Completely assembled and tested Hose System

Complete Assembly station

Hand drill, hand screw and adjustable wrench

1.5 hour

Housed hose system, assembled PVC pipes and Mounted Panel.

The Flexsim is used to model these stations. To determine the number of machines and manual labour needed, the model was first ran for 10 hours with just one machine/ human at each station. With this scenario, production was not met on time and the machines/human were fully utilized. Then, we added more resources with several run to reach a point where the production was met with reasonable utilization of the resources. The required resources are below.

Workstation

Machine /Tools

Number of machines/Human

Cutting Station

Band Saw Machine

1 machine + 1 operator 2 Machines + 1 operator 2 Operators

Milling/Drilling Station Hose system

Multi-purpose Lathe Hand saw, hand

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Assembly station

drill, adjustable wrench, hole saw.

Complete Assembly station

Hand drill, hand screw and adjustable wrench

All 4 Operators in the previous stages.

The final facility layout model with Flexsim is represented in the appendix # A3.2 The actual layout Unconquered Sun allocated for the manufacturing is about 2107 Square Feet, which is between the 7,870 and 4,15 Square Feet warehouse. The facility layout design done by the team is a replica of the optimum layout simulated on Flexsim and is attached in the (appendix #A3.3).

2.4 Phase 4: Process Control

Unconquered Sun will be responsible for creating proper measures to ensure that the end product meets the required and set industrial standard. In a manufacturing process there are several factors that affects the quality of the end product, these factors includes personnel, machines, raw materials, and the actual manufacturing process.

By personnel, we are not only referring to the manual labour used for making the product. This includes the management, marketing and sales division, suppliers, technicians, supervisors, manual labour and distributors. These are the people directly involved in the supply chain to ensure that the customers get the right product at the right time, at the right place and in the right condition. Hence, it is important that these people work concurrently with a clear understanding of the companys strategic goal to achieve an overall quality.

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The production machine on the other hand is a key factor that can determine the quality of the end product. It is advisable that Unconquered Sun invests in the suggested high standard and certified machines for its production, keeping in mind that the value of the return in investment (ROI) is a good trade-off. The individuals (manual labour) working with/on the machines must be properly trained and certified to handle the machines and the production process too. Having decided that most of this products component will be outsourced, this stage is going to be considering the quality control of the incoming components and the quality control of the assembling process. The only component that will not be outsourced is the Windsor series 245 Solar Panel which is made in-house by Unconquered Sun. Obviously, the manufacturing process for making this solar panel has in-built controls set by Unconquered Sun to meet the required industrial standards. These panels are of high quality and are certified by TUV Rheinland. During the material search and selection stage, the team aggressively sought and selected amongst all, suppliers who are reputed for quality and reliable products and services. This was seriously and sincerely done because most of these suppliers are going to be Unconquered Suns future suppliers who will be handling the basis components of this product right from the manufacturing to the shipping of these components. If these components are not manufactured and properly, unconquered Sun will be affected greatly. A defective part/component procured and integrated in the aeration system may result to a faulty product. Also, a bottleneck in the manufacturing processes may be encountered if any component is not delivered as scheduled for production. Therefore, it is important to avoid these possible future catastrophes by proper planning and selecting thus controlling the source from this initial stage. The team thought that it was a good strategy to personally contact those suppliers in other to establish a relationship them or build a good foundation with those supplies to whom unconquered sun would potentially be losing some of its products proprietorship. Some of these Suppliers are international and a few home based recognized and confirm by major engineering firms, unconquered sun itself and university of Windsor technicians. The PVC supplier, Underground Specialist is Windsor based highly trusted suppliers of PVC pipes. The pump, which is the heart of the product, is made by thermo-dynamics Inc. a Canadian certified company that is a world leader in research, development, production and distribution of Solar
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technology and equipment. The filter is made and supplied by rotor flush a UK based company and other micro-components of the product are on the shelf found in hardware stores like Lowes, Canadian tire and Home Hardware.

The production process involves all activities and steps used in making the product. These activities include processing, material handling, inspection and transportation. The processing steps as enumerated in the prototyping phase provided a base for creating an efficient manufacturing process and facility layout, one that reduces the material handling time and backtracking. The manual workers will be adept with these processes with time and this will result in an overall reduction in production time. In a manufacturing process, inspection is the most important quality assurance checkpoint. Inspection will be carried out in every workstation to check for accuracy and confirm the actual work done matches the set specifications. That is, for example after drilling the hole or cutting the material, the workers must double-check its accuracy. This is because of the tight tolerance in the dimensions of the parts and the ease of being susceptible to human labour. If these controls are evicted (overlooked), the errors will all add up and the anticipated structure of the product may not be attainable at the end of the production. This fact is based on observations during the prototyping phase. The functionality of the product is the most important area for inspection. This has to do mainly with the products nervous system. By nervous system, we mean the hose network connecting the pump to the filter and sprinkler. Extra care should be taken when constructing the hose network to make sure the hoses are of the specified length and in the appropriate position. Mixing up the hoses will pose a major difficulty in the pump housing stage. After building the hose network, the flow rate along the network should be tested, analyzed and compared with standard 3.8gpm flow rate of the pump. When the hose network is housed, the pump, sprinkler and filter performance with the Solar Panel should be inspected as well. Again, these measures come from circumstances that were encountered during the prototyping stage.

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Results and Conclusions

Upon the completion of our project we had the following conclusions: We were successful in creating a functional prototype of our product. The material selection is the most compatible and optimum in terms of the cost, durability, functionality, manufacturability with minimum failures modes. We were able to utilize a number of IE tools for our project with the help of which we performed our data collections and found the results of our experiments. The results are tabulated in the appendix.

Future work:
As this is an ongoing product development, there will be numerous optimization cycles, before this product is ready for market. We will be passing on this project to the mechanical student capstone group, who will do further testing on the product and improve its efficiency, and remove the shortcomings.

Suggested: As our pump only draws 144 watts of power from the our solar panel which has the capacity to produce 245 watts of energy, we can use the surplus energy to power a propeller motor that can be beneficial in providing our product a deterministic motion. More effective sprinklers can be designed to get the optimal aeration level.

42

APPENDIX

Appendix A.1.0

43

Timeline

44

Legend:

Primary
Secondry Need - Research

Phase 1:

Power Source - Sumeet Floatation - OFY, Aeration - ABHAY Contamination -ABHAY, Controlled Motion - Sumeet Backup Power - OFY

ACTION PLAN AS PER FUNCTIONAL REQUIREMENTS

STUDY DATA + RESEARCH DATA + RESEARCH + BENCHMARKING Need - Data

POWER SOURCE
MATERIAL
WEIGHT SYSTEM TYPE TOP LAYER DISTURBANCE FROM MOTION OF UNIT DISTURBAMCE BENEATH TOP LAYER SPEED (GPM) NON - REACTIVE TO PESTICIDES UV - RESISTANT MICRO ORGANISMS SUSPENDED PARTICLES APARTURE OF HOSE NON - POISONOUS CHEMICALS WATER PRESSURE NON - BRITTLE POND SIZE / DEPTH WATER FLIGHT BREAKAGE POND TYPES PERCENT COVERAGE

FLOATATION

WATER INTAKE

DISTURBANCE IN WATER

AERATION
TYPE: SPRINKLING MATERIAL POND COVERAGE AREA OF POND

CONTAMINATION

CONTROLLED MOTION

SOLAR PANEL WATER PUMP

FILTER SYSTEM

TYPES OF DISTURBANCE:

DESCRIPTION:

DC PUMP

DRAWINGS

WHY NOT AC ?

SHAPE (DESIGN)

HOW IT WORKS ? COMPONENTS

MUST HAVE PATTERN

A 1.1Functional Requirements Charts

MATERIAL INFO.

GPM

DURABILITY

Anchored Or NOT ?

LIFE EXPECTANCY

VOLTAGE

WATER RESISTANCE

SPECIFICATIONS

OPERATIONAL ANALYSIS BUOYANCY

WEIGHT

UV RESISTANT

CAUSES OF BLOCKAGE

ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS PUNCTURE RESISTANCE

SIZE

WATER PUMP WATER PUMP

SUCTION LESS NOISE

HEAT DECIPATION HEAT CAPACITY

SUCTION

NO LEAKGE

Linear Current Booster / Pump Driver

GPM

CHARGABLE BATTERY
NO LEAKAGE

ELECTRICAL SPECIFICATIONS

OPERATION

SHOCK PROOF

45

A 1.2House Of Quality

46

A 1.3List of Constraints Full Product Constraints/Constraining Factors Needs to be Shock Proof Should be easy to assemble and disassemble, for manufacturability and from an end consumer point of view Compliance with Federal/Provincial laws of Should adhere to all the Health and safety laws safety of the provinces in which the product is going to be sold. Concerned Areas Solar panel, pump, and circuitry Disassemble/Re-assemble

Components List of Constraints Concerned Areas Constraints/Constraining Factors Solar Panel 1. Size of Solar Panel a. 64.7 inch long and 38.2 inch wide; ModelWindsor 245 2. Solar Panel Efficiency b. Based on the electrical specifications of the Windsor 245 Solar Panel Maximum Power Output: 245 Watts Maximum Output Voltage: 30.1 V Maximum Output Current: 8.75 A Pumping System 1. In-line Pressure must be 20 psi or more, forthe rotor-flush and sprinkler will function

47

2. Flow rate 3. Maximum projectile distance 4. Pump

must be more than 4 GPM At least 2.5 m a. Must be a surface Pump b. Must be a DC Pump c. Must be a self-cooling Pump d. Must be a self-Priming Pump (Ability to run dry)

5. Rotor Flush (Filtration System)

Minimum Flow to rotor (of Rotor-flush) = 1.3 GPM Filtration System

1. Inline Filter

The pump has a minimum requirements for a 100 mesh filter (125 Microns)

2. Maintenance of Filtration System 3. Pump and Rotor Flush Compatibility

The Filtration System should be self-cleaning, with close to no maintenance required The pump should provide at least 1.3 GP to function properly. Flotation Material

Buoyancy of Flotation Material Floating structure should have ease of movement Floating material should be puncture resistant Contamination

Should support = 70-80 Lbs. of weight. The structure should provide least hindrance during its flow in water

should be: inert to sunlight, inert to UV rays, shouldnt react with water. Expansion/contraction shouldnt make it brittle over a warranted period of time.

Should have high heat capacitance

A 1.4Technical Attributes
Whole Product: Refer voice of Engineer House of Quality (Appendix A 1.2) Components: Pump - Thermo-dynamics Ltd. (Pump # P118330) a) Self-Priming; i.e. the pump can run dry without any damage. 48

b) The pump can run for long period (such as 12 hours) of time without stalling. c) Life expectancy of over 20 years. Comes with built in Linear Current Booster d) Ten years limited warranty. Similar to the warranty of solar panel! Solar Panel Windsor 245 a) Starts generating power at very low light levels. b) Can support the selected pump and filter in low sunlight (cloudy) conditions c) Surface material is tempered glass, very hard d) Aluminum frame keeps it light weight Sprinkler - P5R: Professional Grade Plastic Impact Sprinkler a) Plastic impact sprinkler! b) These impact sprinklers are crafted from high-impact, heavy-duty polymer to provide years of reliable watering use. c) These polymer impact sprinklers lead the industry in engineering and design innovation. d) Durable high-impact polymer and stainless steel construction. e) Full circle (360) or part circle (20 to 340) coverage, with infinite pattern adjustment. f) Water-Saving and prevents side splash onto solar panel. g) Weighted arm for slower rotation and better watering coverage. h) Straight through flow for superior performance in dirty water conditions. i) Spacing from 24 to 45 feet j) Removable bayonet nozzle for easy cleaning. Rotor-flush Filter a) Self-cleaning Mechanism Takes water from pump as back flow b) No Maintenance c) Can be used for very long period in dirty pond water conditions d) Low price and light weight PVC pipe a) Good candidate for floating structure, very buoyant if closed. b) Non contaminant to water and UV resistant (do not get brittle) c) Hard material, puncture resistant

Selected Water Pump dimensions

49

Selected Pump Performance Graph

50

A 1.5ENGINEERING

SPECIFICATION SHEET:as per products component.

51

 Specification Gathered from Suppliers 1. SOLAR PANEL Model Name: WINDSOR 245TM Maximum Power Output Maximum Output Voltage Maximum Output Current Length Width Monthly Power Generation : At left, is the total monthly generation figures in MWh for One Unconquered Sun 245 Watt Poly Panel for Windsor, ON. Remember, due selling this product in other regions, it is important to note that the amount of electricity generated will differ. (The power generation in regions having more sunlight than Windsor will be good for Aerator being used in summer time) 245 Watts 30.1 V 8.75 A 1.644 m 0.972 m Month

= 64.72 in = 38.27 in Daily solar radiation horizontal kWh/m/d 4.61 5.41 5.91 5.90 4.96 3.60

Electricity Generated MWh 0.031 0.037 0.038 0.038 0.033 0.024

April May June July August September

2. SELECTED COMPATIBLE PUMP - 24V DC; Thermo-dynamics Ltd. (Pump # P118330) Refer Appendix 1.2 Reference: http://www.thermo-dynamics.com/solar_pumps.html Serial 1 2 3 Serial 1 2 3 4 Gallons Per Minute 4.2 GPM 3.6 GPM 3.9 GPM Specifications Length Width Height Weight Pressure (Provided to flow) 21 PSI 17 PSI 10.5 International Units 324.5 mm 127.0 mm 119.5 mm 4.3 kg Watts consumed 115 Watts 80 Watts 60 Watts US Units 12.77 in 5.00 in 4.71 in 9.5 lbs Expected Level Normal Minimum N/A Image

3. FILTRATION SYSTEM (Water Intake): Rotor-flush Self Cleaning pond filter: Reference: http://rotorflush.com/index.html Contact: Jim Hosford, Rotorflush Filters - email: jim.hosford@rotorflush.com Email attached in appendix Serial Specifications International Units US Units Maximum Flow of filtered water 30 L/min 7.93 GPM 1 Minimum back - flow to rotor 5 L/min 1.32 GPM 2 3 4 5 Approx. Diameter Approx. Height Approx. Weight 110 mm 150 mm 0.2 Kg 4.33 in 5.90 in 0.44 Lbs.

Image

52

4. PVC pipe and joints (PVC STRUCTURE) Serial Specifications PVC pipe 1 2 3 Internal Diameter Outer Diameter Thickness

Joints

Image

5. IMPACT SPRINKLER: Refer: Impact Sprinkler suggested http://www.rainbird.com/landscape/products/impacts/2045PJmaxiBird.htm http://www.rainbird.com/homeowner/products/impacts/AG5-MaxiPaw.htm Reference: http://www.rainbird.com/homeowner/products/impacts/P5R.htm Serial Specifications US Units Image Min Flow Rate 2.5 GPM 1 Pipe inlet. in male 2

53

A 1.6 Product structure tree (PVC model)

54

Phase 2:
A 2.1 Pugh Matrix

55

A 2.2 Design variants (PVC Design)

Design Variants (Floats Design) 56

Foam Float Model - CAD

57

58

59

A 2.3 PVC Detailed Design

60

61

62

A 2.4FMEA

63

Occurrence 1 No known occurrence 2/3 Low 4/5/6 Moderate 7/8 High 9/10 Very High

Severity Ratings 1 No effect 2 Very minor 3 minor 4/5/6 Moderate 7/8 High 9/10 Very high

Detection 1 Certain fault will be caught on test 2 Almost certain 3 High 4/5/6 Moderate 7/8 Low 9/10 Fault will be undetected

RPN = S x O x D

A 2.5Bill of Materials

64

65

66

A 2.6 Prototype Building

A 2.6 a - Pictures of Testing

PVC pipe structure Test: 2.2.5.A Floatation Test 1. 2 3

3a.

Test: 2.2.5. 4

C - Pump and Sprinkler System (without Rotor-Flush filter) 5 6

6a

67

Test: 2.2.6. 7

D - (Rotor-flush Filter + Pump + Single Impact Sprinkler)

68

A 2.6 b - Pictures of build

PVC pipe structure 2.2.3.3 A PVC Structure Design Build 2 3

1.

3a

2.2.3.3 B - Hose network 5

6
69

10

11

12

Full Product 13

70

14

Phase 3:
A 3.1 Macro Process Plan Macro process plan (Float Design Product)

71

Floatation Suppliers

Pump Box Suppliers

Aluminum Rods Suppliers

Sprinklers Supplers

Join the 2 halves of EPS foam together to make Floats

Installing the pump+ inline filter in the box

Weld the Al. rods together to make the frame

Procure the Sprinklers

Place the EPS floats in the Pontoon Shell

Installing the rotor flush in the box

Apply finishing touches on the Al frame Structure Solar Panel Suppliers

Sonic weld the 2 halves of the Pontoon shells together

Connecting the pump with the rotor flush with the water hose network

Al frame completed

Perform finishing on the floatation structure

Closing the pump box and provide finishing touches

Mount the Sprinklers on the Al Frame

Drill Holes on the Solar PVC frame

Mount the Solar Panel onto the flotation Structure + frame Flotation structure completed Pump box assembled Assemble the pump box and the frame together

Do final inspection of the product

Mount the frame+pump box+ sprinklers on the Flotation structure

Make It ready for shipment

Macro Process Plan PVC Design Product

72

A 3.2 Flexsim Layout Plan

73

A 3.3 Warehouse Layout Plan 74

75

A 4.1

Tool Chart Industrial Engineering Tools Used 76

Date Created Last Modified - 02/21/2012

LEGEND

Project Phases
PHASE - 1 Code - A Code - B Essential Not Essential, can be used PHASE - 2
PRODUCT PLANNING PRODUCT DESIGN AND IMPROVEMENT PROCESS PLANNING AND DESIGN PROCESS CONTROL

100% DONE In-Process Not Started

Dropped

TOOL / TEMPLATE CHART CAPSTONE PROJECT

PHASE - 3 PHASE - 4

SERIAL:

Tool / Template NAME

QFD (Quality Function Deployment) MS Project - Gantt Chart (Timeline) SWOT Analysis - (Strength, Weakness,
Opportunity, Threat)

IMSE COURSES
(Course - System Analysis and Design ) Mfg. Product Design) Course -

PHASE
All Phases All Phases All Phases PHASE - 1 PHASE - 1

% Completion Status 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16

(Course - System Analysis and Design ) (Course - System Analysis and Design ) Self Prepared (Course-Mfg. Product Design) QFD_House_of_Quality.pdf Self Prepared

Functional Requirements Chart Co-Relation Matrix Functional Requirements QFD - House Of Quality List Of Constraints

PHASE - 1 PHASE - 1 PHASE - 1 PHASE - 1 PHASE - 2 PHASE - 2 , 3 PHASE - 3 PHASE - 2,3 PHASE - 3 and 4 PHASE - 4

100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Techanical Attributes (Specification Table) Self Prepared Product Structure Tree ATAR Model PUGH MATRIX MAKE V/S BUY Decision Chart PROCESS MAPPING (MS VISIO) FMEA
(Course - System Analysis and Design ) (Course-Mfg. Product Design) (Course-Mfg. Product Design), (Course-Mfg. Product Design) Macro Process Plan

(Potiential Mfg. Product Design Faliure Mode Effective Analysis of Product)

FLEXSIM Analysis PROCESS CONTROL QFD_House_of_Quality.pdf

Flexible Mfg. Systems + Simulation Self Prepared

References:
Tool # 10 (http://www.ciri.org.nz/downloads/Quality%20Function%20Deployment.pdf)

A4.2TEST DATA Tables:

77

Foam Test Diagram

Diameter = 4 Length = 50 cm Weight (empty) = 900 gm

Measures (Average) 1. 2 3 4

Empty Closed Pipe W1 W2 Length Under Water 1 lb 1 lb 0.9 in 2 lb 2 lb 1.9 in 3 lb 3 lb 2.8 in 4 lb 4 lb 3.65 in

Foam filled Closed Pipe W 3 W4 Length Under water 1lb 2 lb 3 lb 4 lb 1 lb 2 lb 3 lb 4 lb 1.1 in 2.0 in 2.9 in 4.0 in

Pump and Sprinkler System Test (without Rotor-Flush filter)

Beakers Volume 1. 2. 3. Average 4 Liters 4 Liters 4 Liters 4 Liters

Time to fill beaker 35.8 Seconds 35.7 Seconds 35.9 Seconds 35.7 Seconds

Flow in one sprinkler LPM (Liters per Minute)

6.72 LPM

(Rotor-flush Filter + Pump + Single Impact Sprinkler) Test Flow Rate measurement: Back flow to filter Beakers Volume Time to fill beaker Flow in one sprinkler

78

1. 2. 3. Average

4 Liters 4 Liters 4 Liters 4 Liters

41.9 Seconds 41.7 Seconds 42.1 Seconds 41.9 Seconds

LPM (Liters per Minute)

5.72 LPM

Flow rate measurement: Impact Sprinkler

Beakers Volume 1. 2 Average 4 Liters 4 Liters 4 Liters

Time to fill beaker 30.6Seconds 30. 8 Seconds 30.7 Seconds

Flow in one sprinkler LPM (Liters per Minute) 7.8 LPM

Final product test (DO level test) Wind Speed = 20 km/hr (both days) Sprinkler Working Reading Time (min) Day 1 (Cloudy) 1 2 3 4 5 No No Yes Yes Yes 00 20 40 60 80 12.2Degree C 12.1Degree C 11.9 Degree C 12.3 Degree C 12.2 Degree C Day 2 (Sunny) 1 2 3 4 5 No No Yes Yes Yes 00 20 40 60 80 12 11.8 10.9 11.1 11.4 7.5 7.8 7.4 7.9 7.8 4.8 4.9 6.5 7.2 7.9 7.9 Degree C 7.7 Degree C 8.0 Degree C 7.6 Degree C 7.7 Degree C 4.6 4.5 6.4 7.1 7.8 Air Temperature Water Temperature DO level

79

A4.3

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE

Hello We made this questionnaire to help us assess the market; assess your interest in Solar energy, your level of inclination and most importantly your likes and dislikes. This questionnaire is modeled to invite you, educate you and discuss new and exciting ways to harness solar energy. It would be our privilege if you would like to participate in this questionnaire. Both questionnaires are modeled on the premise that you are our primary customer, and we are designing the product for you. We encourage you to answer this, as the answer sheet will hardly take one page to fill (use as much space you want). 1. How do you perceive solar energy? A. Will become more useful in coming future. B. It is stable source of energy. C. It is good but has a long way to go. D. It is a future prospect that doesnt interest me. (Tick any)

2. Please state any myths or concerns you might have regarding the solar energy. 3. Are you someone who would be interested in looking at Solar Energy as a long term solution in exchange with short term financial investment? (Tick any) A. Yes B. No C. Maybe, depending on the offer We are developing a product which will aerate pond water by sprinkling water on the surface of pond (like a fountain). It will help pond water to look clear and clean. It will reduce the algae growth in pond. It will use solar energy. One of our partners is a Windsor based company, Unconquered Sun who manufacture high quality and efficient Solar panels. 4. Do you have a pond? If yes please see the following questions. A. How big is your pond (long/ wide) and how deep? B. Where is your pond? (What are its surroundings, such as pond adjoining a lake, man made lake, behind your house, in a golf course, etc? What do you use your pond for? C. If you are a fish farmer, does Aeration helps in improving fish life? 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Does the algae growth alter the aquatic habitat (fish, lobster etc.) of the pond? Apart from algae, are there any other impurities in the pond that concern you? How do you tackle the above situations? What are the means of removing algae; used by you? Any Chemicals? Do you use any aeration systems like floating fountain, air pipe diffusers, etc.? Name it? What was the initial investment made on your current aeration system? How much it cost? How much money and time do you spend in a month or year for the upkeep of the pond? Are the issue you have informed us shared by your fellow pond owners? In choosing an aerator, what factor is most important to you? A. Price B. Safety C. Cost saving D. Environmental friendly E. Efficiency F. All of the above

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Bibliography
1. Retrieved from http://www.enge.vt.edu/: http://www.enge.vt.edu/terpenny/Smart/Virtual_econ/Module2/pugh_method.htm 2. Retrieved from SRAC.TAMU.EDU: HTTPS://SRAC.TAMU.EDU/INDEX.CFM/EVENT/GETFACTSHEET/WHICHFACTSHEET/183/ 3. Retrieved from www.epa.state.il.us: http://www.epa.state.il.us/water/conservation/lake-notes/lakeaeration.pdf 4. Retrieved from www.sunandclimate.com. 5. Retrieved from http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov: http://photovoltaics.sandia.gov/docs/PVFEffIntroduction.htm 6. Retrieved from http://www.wmo.int/: (http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/IMOP/publications/CIMOGuide/CIMO%20Guide%207th%20Edition,%202008/Part%20I/Chapter%208.pdf 7. Retrieved from inventors.about.com: http://inventors.about.com/od/timelines/a/Photovoltaics.htm 8. http://www.blog.thepondguy.com. 9. http://www.thermo-dynamics.com/solar_pumps.html. 9. Khan, K. B. New product forecasting: an applied approach. 10. www.pondandgardenwholesalers.com. 11. www.unconqueredsun.org/Panels--Instructions--Warranty.html. Retrieved from www.unconqueredsun.org.

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