CEPi1 (29)

The CEPi1 team (#29) is from ABQ. This year they've submitted a project titled Underwater Mill.

Proposal
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_proposal1112.php?team_id=29

Problem Definition
Energy is the power that changes everything. We in our modern day society must harness mass amounts of energy so we can strive and expand.

Problem Solution
Water is a powerful tool that our planet could contain. The goal of our project is to use water and the paths it travels around the world could be turned to energy not just from dams but from underwater mills. They would use a fan or hydrodynamic spinning device that would spin with the force of water. The sniping kinetic energy would be transported in to a generator and charge a battery.

Progress to Date
We are in construction of the generator. Obtaining the materials for the scale of our generator is a little time consuming, but once built we will test it in different water environments. Until, we successively see the right water environment to place our generator in to achieve maximum power production.

Expected Results
Our relative guess, is that we could make mass amounts of power with relatively cheap production. Harnessing the power of gravity and water. Building only a simply generator and applying it to the right environment where current is strong and risk for damage is low. We could greatly improve our world with more energy.

Interim Report
http://mode.lanl.k12.nm.us/get_interim1112.php?team_id=29

Problem Definition
Energy is the power that changes everything. We in our modern day society must harness mass amounts of energy so we can strive and expand.

Problem Solution
Water is a powerful tool that our planet could contain. The goal of our project is to use water and the paths it travels around the world could be turned to energy not just from dams but from underwater mills. They would use a fan or hydrodynamic spinning device that would spin with the force of water. The sniping kinetic energy would be transported in to a generator and charge a battery.

Progress to Date
We are in construction of the generator. Obtaining the materials for the scale of our generator is a little time consuming, but once built we will test it in different water environments. Until, we successively see the right water environment to place our generator in to achieve maximum power production.

Expected Results
Our relative guess, is that we could make mass amounts of power with relatively cheap production. Harnessing the power of gravity and water. Building only a simply generator and applying it to the right environment where current is strong and risk for damage is low. We could greatly improve our world with more energy.

Team Members

 * Dylan Garmon
 * Daniel Duran

Sponsoring Teacher
Jerry Esquivel

Introduction
My name is Tom Laub. I work at Sandia National Laboratories doing radiation transport simulation and analysis. See the biography on my User Page.

Project Description
This is a good project that addresses the energy-need issue. In addition, I can see that you are trying to address the generation of energy from renewable resources--an underwater turbine of some kind. It seems to me that this is the device that is used in all hydroelectric dams. I guess your modification is to use it in free-flowing water?

Progress To Date
You are actually constructing the generator. While constructing a generator and testing it is a great engineering fair project, for the Challenge you also need to simulate your generator. Please get started on creating a computational simulation of your generator. You could then compare your simulations with your experimental results.

Mentor
I do not see where you have a mentor. Do you have one? If not, I encourage you to try to find someone knowledgeable water-generated energy. [mailto:consult@challenge.nm.org Consult] may be able to find a mentor for you.

Model
As I said above, there is no evidence of math models for simulating your generator. I would expect that some simple mathematical models for water-powered generators already exist and you just need to find and understand them. What programming language are you intending to use. While the graphical nature of StarLogo and the like is tempting for this kind of project, it is not the only suitable language. I urge you to investigate Java/C/C++/Perl/Python or some other procedural language too. A procedural language may be a better choice than StarLogo as this is project does not lend itself to agent-based modeling. If you need help with any of this please contact [mailto:consult@challenge.nm.org consult].

Face to Face Evaluation
Your next milestone is a face to face evaluation in February.

Rubrics
The judges will use these rubrics to evaluate your projects. Use them as checklists for what you need to communicate to the judges.


 * Expo Judges Rubric
 * Finalist Judges Rubric

Good Luck!
I am concerned that you do not plan on creating a math model or simulation of your physical generator. If that is the case, I urge you to reconsider. Good luck with your project and please ask for help when you feel lost or stuck.