Week 1:
The group met up, brainstormed the basic design and structure of the heat pipe, and discussed applicable ways of utilizing it. We have decided to design a heat pipe that would be vertical and made out of copper, which can withstand a temperature of 200 degree Celsius. Additionally, the group made a consensus that the design should have a copper cap and a threaded copper cap on the other end for ease of access. The group also researched the best liquid to use for the heat pipe and found that water would be a good choice of liquid because it is cost-effective, has an ideal temperature range, and has many fundamental properties like high specific heat capacity and capillary action. We are also considering a number of wicks, but are leaning towards a grooved wick.
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| Brainstorming ideas |
Week 2:
The group got together to finish up the draft for the design proposal. We finalized our choices for components and the general design, got all of our planning for the timeline done, and marked down the resources we'd need to complete the project. We also did some work on this blog, like updating the background, FAQ, project overview, and team biographies. The group then researched various materials necessary for designing a heat pipe and calculated the total cost based on the prices we'd seen for similar parts. As soon as we were finished with the draft, we started doing more research that would be useful for our final proposal and the subsequent design and manufacturing process.
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Revising design proposal
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Week 3:
Our final proposal is finally finished, and with it, so is our bill of materials. The group is picking up the pace with preparations for our first build, and we'll be heading out together to buy everything we need on Friday. The group was also given a tour of the workshop in the innovation studio, which further reinforced the fact that we're drawing closer to actually getting something tangible done as a result of our planning. We're all excited to begin the physical work on our heat pipe, and getting a working model is everyone's top priority.
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| Getting materials |
Week 4:
We've made significant progress on the structure of our heat pipe. We assembled all the pieces without soldering them to make sure they all fit together and discovered that everything was working as intended. We did, however, also make a major change to our design. The grooved design that we proposed is difficult to implement, and we were told by a few people in the machine shop that there was no equipment there capable of making the grooves as designed. So, we decided on a mesh wick instead. A roll of copper mesh was ordered, cut, and placed inside our pipe within a few days. There are only a few things left to do before beginning testing, and we hope to accomplish them next week.
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| Copper mesh wick |
Week 5:
The group visited the Innovation Studio's workshop and were assisted in soldering together the components of the heat pipe. To begin testing, we decided to start a test run with 140 mL of water. With how large the pipe was in length and width, positioning the pipe for the experiment became difficult. Once the pipe was properly setup, the heat gun was activated at 900 °F. We then recorded the temperature at various locations of the pipe, and noticed that the temperature of the pipe was increasing, however, the temperature had gradually dimmed down the further we measured away from the initial heat source. Brainstorming about this issue, we began thinking of implementing insulators to direct the heat flow through the pipe, and to also conduct future tests with lower volumes of water to reduce the amount of water needed to vaporize. The group will conduct further testing the following week.
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| Measuring out fluids for the pipe |
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| Conducting tests and gathering data |
Week 6:
The group decided to get an insulator for the heat pipe so that the pipe would not lose energy. The group visited the Innovation Studio's workshop to measure and cut the right amount of insulator for the heat pipe. Afterward, the group decided to have a second test run to see if the insulator made an improvement for the heat pipe.
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| Heat Pipe with insulator |
Week 7:
The group conducted a few more tests on the heat pipe with the addition of the insulator. However, issues had arisen with the setup during testing. The pipe had slid down from being clamped as tests were done, altering the data gathered near the end of the test. The group had also used this week to finish a draft of their final report, detailing the work that had been done throughout the previous week with an analysis of the gathered data. Analyzing the graphs of test runs with the insulator and without, the group found that the insulator had served as an efficient means of preventing heat loss to the environment through convection.
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| Setting up tests for the heat pipe with insulator |
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| Melted insulator adhesive after tests |
Week 8:
A final test was conducted to ensure that our results stood up to multiple tests, and there was finally time with very few technical difficulties. Our heat pipe is quite large, and the testing equipment is clearly not designed to support a heavy pipe. As mentioned in last week's post, there was an issue with sliding that caused a number of other problems for our test. This time, however, we affixed the ball valve in such a way that its handle could be supported without fear of opening it accidentally and causing a leak. Overall, the test this week was uneventful and led to data that made sense. Following the test, work was done on the tutorial section of the blog (which is finally complete, go check it out) and the final presentation.
Week 9:
The final testing of the heat pipe was last week. Thus this week the data that was collected is going to be analyzed to see if the heat pipe is efficient. Afterward, the data would be used for writing up the final report and the presentation.
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| Group members working on final report and presentation |
Week 10:
The group gave a presentation of their work to professor Speidel and peers, highlighting the findings, challenges, and what have been learned from this exploratory project related to heat transfer. This concludes our ten week design project.
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| Group members posing with the finished design after presentation |
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