Week 5

Summary

Written by Trumann (4 Nov 2021)

What was done this week

Group A's progress

Week 5 was a important week as the group managed to complete the construction for the 2nd acrylic prototype for the Engineering show photoshoot and future experiments. The color of the acrylic was changed from opaque yellow and tinted black to transparent neon green and tinted black as seen from Figure 1 and 2 respectfully.

Figure 1: Previous acrylic prototype parts

Figure 2: New Prototype without pipes and valves taped to hold in it together

The acrylic parts were glued with purely MTC 90 acrylic glue this week instead of a mixture of GOOP silicone sealant glue and another acrylic glue. The prototype was then left to dry.

In the following practical session, leak proofing of the acrylic prototype was tested. Water was dripped into the prototype to find leakage points and then more acrylic glue will be added to cover it up. However, even after further gluing, the prototype was still not leak proof.

Figure 3: Water leak testing using dropper

Follow-Up

Group A will have to figure out how to make the prototype leakproof before making it functional. This could be achieved by applying sealant silicone glue to cover up any outstanding holes.  

Once it is leakproof, other parts like pipes and valves and the electrolyte containing chitin/chitosan can be added and experimented with. There maybe design updates to the current prototype and the blog will be updated accordingly.