Content
For this project we had to come up with an engineering solution to a world problem. The problem we aimed to solve was oil and fossil fuel dependence. We decided to solve this problem by creating a generator that ran on clean renewable energy. The first prototype we made was a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine. It ran on the explosion generated by hydrogen and oxygen exploding. It generates electricity and the only byproduct is water. The second prototype involved a sterling engine. The excess heat and water from the ICE was used to power the Sterling engine. The byproduct of this was warm water.
Sterling Engine
For this project we had to come up with an engineering solution to a world problem. The problem we aimed to solve was oil and fossil fuel dependence. We decided to solve this problem by creating a generator that ran on clean renewable energy. The first prototype we made was a hydrogen-powered internal combustion engine. It ran on the explosion generated by hydrogen and oxygen exploding. It generates electricity and the only byproduct is water. The second prototype involved a sterling engine. The excess heat and water from the ICE was used to power the Sterling engine. The byproduct of this was warm water.
Sterling Engine
Internal Combustion Engine
Concepts
Engineering Design Cycle- there are 8 steps: identify the problem, research the problem, develop possible solutions, select the best solution, construct the prototype, test & evaluate, present solution, redesign
Internal Combustion Engine- an explosion causes the movement of a piston, the piston cranks an axle which generates the energy
Sterling Engine-powered by the expansion and compression of a fluid using a heat and cooling source, the movement of the fluid cranks piston which generates energy the same way as the ICE
Fossil Fuel- natural fuel which usually creates harmful emissions when used and of which there is a finite amount
Reflection
There were a couple of very successful things that we did regarding this project. One was teamwork. I think we worked well as a team. We did well with equal work and division of labor, it seemed we all did our fair share of work and did a good job of communicating what we needed done. We also had a good team dynamic. We were compatible and had a relatively easy time working together. One thing we didn't do very well was communicating what we were doing. I noticed multiple times that because we were all dividing up labor, everybody was so busy that we weren't easily able to compare our work to make sure we were all on the same track. This ended up in a bit of confusion and we ended up having to redo certain parts of the project to make sure all of our work lined up.
Engineering Design Cycle- there are 8 steps: identify the problem, research the problem, develop possible solutions, select the best solution, construct the prototype, test & evaluate, present solution, redesign
Internal Combustion Engine- an explosion causes the movement of a piston, the piston cranks an axle which generates the energy
Sterling Engine-powered by the expansion and compression of a fluid using a heat and cooling source, the movement of the fluid cranks piston which generates energy the same way as the ICE
Fossil Fuel- natural fuel which usually creates harmful emissions when used and of which there is a finite amount
Reflection
There were a couple of very successful things that we did regarding this project. One was teamwork. I think we worked well as a team. We did well with equal work and division of labor, it seemed we all did our fair share of work and did a good job of communicating what we needed done. We also had a good team dynamic. We were compatible and had a relatively easy time working together. One thing we didn't do very well was communicating what we were doing. I noticed multiple times that because we were all dividing up labor, everybody was so busy that we weren't easily able to compare our work to make sure we were all on the same track. This ended up in a bit of confusion and we ended up having to redo certain parts of the project to make sure all of our work lined up.