Title of File with Underscores

Course One –Project 3

Joining of Materials withoutAdhesives: Water Works

Essential Question:

What is the most efficient method, most appropriate materials, and most effective joint design to transport a pressurized product (without bonded joints)?

Engagement Scenario:

Moving liquid materials, such as water is a civilization challenge. The Romans were able to move water great distances through the use of aqueducts. This method was repeated in the design of the city of New York, which receives its water from aqueducts moving the water hundreds of miles.

Historically, civilizations have used stone, cast iron, wood, concrete, clay, ceramic, plastic, nonferrous metals, and steel for water transportation systems. How were all these materials joined together in the transport of water? What considerations of transporting water safely had to be kept in mind while designing such systems? What resources were available? How does your community transport and store its water today and why? Is the system recently updated or is it made of old materials and system design? Do you see a lot of water leaks and pipes breaking at different times of the year? How are those pipes and materials joined? What other questions can you think of that should be considered in designing a similar system?

Nuclear power plants sometimes use electricity produced on off-peak times to pump water to higher elevation for storage that could be used as kinetic energy during peak hours or to be used in case of an emergency. The water piping may be go down and go around some obstacles, or make a 90 degree turn. The Sommers NuclearPower Plant has asked your engineering company to design a demonstration prototype system to transport 2 (two) liters of water, from a source building to a cooling station one meter from and one meter in elevation below their Water Supply. The nuclear plant executives are offering this design challenge to award a five-year contract to the team that designs a system that transports water with the smallest percentage of water loss and least expense. You and your team decided to take on this challenge.

The Sommers Power plant executives asked you to design the water transport system using specific criteria and constraints.Because of some nuclear regulation, only glass tubing of 6 inch length can be used as a transport material. The supply line must go vertically down to a depth of ½ meter to avoid other plant construction. At a depth of ½ meter below the water supply a horizontal run of at least ½ meter is required. Thereafter, any path to the cooling station can be plotted. You will research and determine what water transportation materials you will need.You are also required to design a way to join the glass tubesin order to provide a system of support (pressure fit) without the benefit of using adhesives or any other bonding process.

You and your team will need todesign and build a prototype system, and create a report describing the design, the data you collected, and the results of the tests you performed to be presented to the nuclear plant’s Board of Directors and executives in order to compete for the contract.

NOTE TO TEACHER: The goal of this project is the importance of the joint design and joint “fit-up” rather than the materials used to build the water transport system.

Course 1 Project 3 – Essential Question & SceanarioPage 1