2.76 - Global Engineering

In this course, I worked on a team of 4 to develop a low cost solution to increase the profitability of aquaculture farms based in Ghana. By interfacing with the client and conducting background research with other fish farms based locally, we determined that the most effective strategy would be improving fish feed distribution by way of creating an assistive tool.  

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After determining the functional requirements together, we began rapid prototyping different launching mechanisms to see which would be the most feasible to apply in the client's environment. Through multiple iterations and bench top testing using off the shelf leaf blowers, we figured out that air launching would be an effective route.

 

I led the design of a modular component that would attach to pre-existing leaf blowers and allow for streamlined entry of fish feed pellets into the airstream. Using SolidWorks and 3D-printers, I designed and fabricated multiple versions to determine the best entry pipe diameter to achieve our target flow rate. We developed a hopper system to store the fish feed and allow it to move at the target volume flow rate. The team conducted multiple rounds of testing using fish feed shipped to us from client aquaculture sites.

 

Our findings were documented and compiled into a final presentation given to the class and client partners at the end of the year.