CP5065-2021S1-2A01-Group2

For the lesson in week 13, we learned about operating principles and mechanism designs in everyday products. The things in our daily lives are all designed based on working principles that are either mechanical, electrical, chemical or magnetic in nature. For example, in order for a distillation column to work, the operating principle is the difference in the relative volatilities of the two liquids. In solvent extraction (LLE), the operating principle is the distribution ratio of the two liquids in the solvent. For our chemical product, an insulated vaccine carrier box with modular parts to hold different vaccines, the main operating principle is heat transfer. Our chemical product ensures that the vaccines are stored at the required temperature during transport to prevent the vaccines from becoming ineffective. The box is most effective when there is little to no heat loss to the surroundings, thus it should be insulated well to minimise heat transfer. The box should also be made of ...

Pre-Experiment Preparation Before we attended Practical 3 in school, we had to complete a short literature review on cardboard and its various uses and applications. After that, we had to write a brief summary of what we had learned. Short Notes on Corrugated Fibreboard A sheet of corrugated cardboard is made from a sheet of corrugated or “fluted” material in the centre, placed between 2 layers of paper, and held together by glue, which fixes the flutes in position and adds rigidity and stability to the papers. The flute is the “corrugated” section between the two liners, and by changing its height and therefore the size of the flutes, it is possible to achieve different performance characteristics. The liners are made of mainly Kraft paper or Test paper. The weight of the cardboard gsm is expressed in Grams per Square Meter, or gsm. An additional fluting section and additional liner can be added to make a “double wall” or “double walled” material, which adds extra rigidity and strengt...

In week 12, we learnt about 3D printing and digital fabrication. Digital Fabrication is becoming an important enabling technology in many chemical engineering fields. It allows one to make whatever they need whenever they need it. One such example is the use of additive technology in the Oil and Gas Industry. Due to the remote and urgent nature of business, replacement parts need to be produced quickly in order to prevent the product output rate from being affected. Companies like Shell, ExxonMobil and General Electric are early adopters of 3D printing to shorten the supply chain and use generative and iterative design. 3D printing is good for prototyping as it allows for a physical evaluation of the design, and it allows for functional testing to be performed before committing to a full production run to iron out mistakes and remove errors, ensuring that the final product is suitable for release to the market. Besides prototyping, it is also good for end use parts as well. It extends ...

For this week’s lesson, we learnt about product development using Computer-aided Drafting and Drawing (CADD). Introduction to Computer-aided Drafting and Drawing (CADD) Computer-aided Drafting and Drawing is the use of software to sketch and design physical components. We will refer to Computer-aided Drafting and Drawing as CADD in this blog for convenience. With the help of CADD, shapes and lines can be crafted easily and the content can be easily copied, shared, edited and saved. CADD also allows accurate calculation of dimensions. Advanced CADD software is also able to estimate the classification and quantity of material used or the length of manufacturing time required, which facilitates budget planning. Hence, it will be useful to learn how to use and apply CADD as it will help us in product design in the long term. Pre-Lesson Activity Before W7’s lesson, we had to download Autodesk Fusion 360, which is the CADD software that we would be using. We had to acquire some basic skills...

For Practical 2, we have been tasked to complete the air pump challenge at home due to COVID-19. Background information An air lift pump is used to lift water from one location to another using compressed air. Liquid enters from one end of the pump (inlet), while a mixture of air and water discharges from the other end (outlet). The compressed air is mixed with water. Since the density of air is lower than that of water, the air will quickly rise to the top. As the water mixes with air, the density of water decreases, as the density of the air and water mixture is lower than the density of pure water. Thus, as the vapour bubbles rise, they carry along some liquid upward due to fluid pressure. Materials and Experimental Setup Figure 1. Materials used 1. Water container 2. U-tube 3. Measuring jug 4. Connecting tube 5. Air-lift pump Figure 2. Experimental Setup Experiment 1 Constant: Height of U-tube to base of Jug (b = 10cm) Independent Variable: Length of tubing inside U-tube (a) De...