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Week 7 Blog Post

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For Week 7, the final proposal is due. All the data needed for the completion of the proposal were gathered as well as the designs of each systems (rainwater catchment, greywater recycling, and stormwater management systems).  As a result of further research, the group found a design for the rainwater catchment systems that is compatible with the purpose of this project. Flexshade is a company that sells shading structures. One of their products is the Flexshade Lotus which looks like an inverted umbrella and is use for water harvesting.  This image shows the Flexshade Lotus design and the materials used for each parts. As what can be seen in the image, there is a drain located at the base of the rainwater catchment which is needed for collecting the water.  For the stormwater management system, the design for the green roof was also determined.  This images show what the base of the green roof will look like. The drainage is one of two ...
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Week 8

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Week 8 This week our final report was made as the deliverable for this project we edited the 16-page paper down to 8 to fit constraints. It was very difficult as much of the information was pertinent to the water reduction system, but had to be removed. After completing our paper we started to work on our final presentation using google slides. A 3D- model of the roof also continued to be worked on to display the lotus rainwater system and green roof. A final count of water saved and collected was also.
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Week 6 Blog Post

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     Last week, students had no definite number of students or people that is present in the Dorrance Hamilton Building. The students conducted an interview with one of the guards that is assigned in the building. Mr. David, the guard in that building during the day that the students went to the place, stated that the capacity of the building is 2000 people, with 500 students (250 male and 250 female) and 26 employees (including the faculty and maintenance persons, 13 male and 13 female) in a daily basis. Using these information, students were able to make an estimated calculation of water usage in the sanitation part of the pie chart that is posted in the Project Overview .      Also, the group was able to put together some charts and tables that will be included in the final project report. Because there is no physical prototype for our project, we do not have a legitimate budget. However, we did calculate the approximate amount that it would cost to co...
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Week 5 Blog Post

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Last week in lab, a lot more calculations were made to try and finalize our designs. For the greywater catchment portion of the project, since we want to reduce grey water in the building, we first needed to figure how much is being used right now. So far we know the following: The building has six stories with two-floors of clinical skills labs 1 bathroom per floor Women  6 toilets,  4 sinks Men 4 toilets, 2 urinals, and 4 sinks The building has water fixtures with the following rate: Toilet - 1.6 gal/f Sink - 2.2 gal/min Urinal - 1 gal/f Students found solution to reduce water usage in this part of the building which is by replacing water fixtures as follows, Men 2 toilets, 4 urinals,  4 sinks For toilet: American Standard Brand “Champion Pro” Toilet - 1.28 gallons per flush, gravity flush mechanism For urinal: American Standard Bran “Decorum” Urinal - 0.125 gallons per flush For sink:  American Standard Brand “Fluent” Faucet -...
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Week 4 Blog Post

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          The group researched and collected important information about the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building that we will need in order to calculate the average water usage and decrease it by 50%.                     Also a map of the building found on the internet was used to create a sketch on paper and also a 3D CAD model which will be altered to demonstrate the different systems we plan to implement. Sketch of Dorrance H. Hamilton (top view)           After more research was done on the green roof, it was discovered that 10 inches of soil are required for each square foot of the roof to maximize the green roofs efficiency. Research also concluded what plants are most effective when used on a green roof and that a larger variety of vegetation such as perennials and meadow species have a direct impact on the green roof's performance.
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Week 3 Blog Post

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Week 3 Blog Post              The group members list down the materials that are needed for the rainwater catchment, greywater recycling, and stormwater management systems and their costs. They also did further research of the rainwater catchment, greywater recycling, and storm water systems that might help them develop the designs of these systems.              The data needed for this project were also identified, such as the average precipitation in Philadelphia. Table 1 shows the rainfall depth for every month. This data will be used to know how much water can be collected from the systems and how much lesser the water usage from the main source is. Table 1 Monthly rainfall depth in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (data is from https://www.idcide.com/weather/pa/philadelphia.htm)
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Week 2 Blog Post

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Week 2                This week we focused on learning more about the site we would be focusing on. We discovered the exact building we’d be working o n at the Thomas Jefferson University campus would be the Dorrance H. Hamilton Building. The building is located in Center City, Philadelphia, the very urban part of the city. Because of this, little of the water will be reused for irrigation as there is none.                  It was also discovered that this specific facility currently operates as a teaching facility of the hospital. The breakdown of its water usage was determined. This data and other facts can be found at https://www.jefferson.edu/content/dam/tju/Hamilton/Hamilton_Building_Fact_Sheet.pdf “ www.igreenspot.com/watree-–-an-upside-down-umbrella-that-collects-rainwater/ ” Also, a possible location for the rainwater catchment system was discussed. This ...
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