Week 5: Initial Concept Production

     Our goal for this week is to create multiple designs for the fan ventilation system out of household materials and/or Creo PTC. Each group member is responsible for creating a new design by week 6. We do not plan on creating full metal prototypes of the fan or the exhaust pipe but instead plan on using paper and everyday office supplies to construct a dome and fan that will give the same results. An anemometer will be used during the testing process of the exhaust fan to see how much wind it will take to spin the dome and to also measure how effective is it in reducing the amount of smoke inside the house.


Figure 1: The wind mechanics of a wind exhaust fan

 

  This video link explains in detail how a wind powered exhaust fan works

     The above video explains how roof ventilators work and how effective it is in reducing the temperature in a house during hot summer days and reducing the smoke produced by wood fired stoves. Wind causes the fan to spin and create a vacuum inside the dome of the fan. This sucks up the smoke from inside the house and takes it outside the house. Our goal for the coming weeks is to make an efficient, and affordable prototype that will clearly show how the fan will help the villagers.