Week Nine

This week saw the final details of our project being completed. We finished recording for our video, and we compiled all of the recordings into a video for our final presentation. We made sure to get everyone in the video, so that nobody is left out during the presentation and so it is all inclusive. We each discussed something that we are very knowledgeable about.

For the final paper, Rich did some minor adjustments and we added charts and diagrams to the final report.

We edited the final video, and had issues with the audio, but Sandy was able to fix that issue.

Week Eight

This week, the group was able to put a better seal on the test boat and prevent leaks. It was a spray on seal that was applied on the outside and inside.

The project is coming to a close as week ten is approaching. There has been a layout and flowchart made for the final video and report, that will be turned in during week ten. The video will be based on the popular show, Mythbusters. It will follow a similar layout, as well as prove, or in our case, disprove the original myth. The video will be about ten minutes and show our progression over the quarter.

Week Seven

    The beginning of this week saw the completion of our final proposal rough draft. Liz, our teaching assistant, told us that first and foremost, we should display the most current table of values for the tests that we did in our report. After we created graphs from our lab notebook in Microsoft Excel, we began testing the electrochemical cell and obtaining more values. The copper II sulfate came in the mail, so we were able to test the cells with this. We only did basic tests during lab, to see if there would be an increase in current and any affect on electric potential. We planned to get a chart of values later in the week during our team meeting. During this general test, we observed a substantial increase in current, and a small decrease in electric potential. We also observed a rapid deterioration of the aluminum metal. This was an initial thought during the start of the term that we knew could pose an issue later on. By increasing the current, we are increasing the reaction, and therefore using up the reactants more rapidly. Within five minutes, the aluminum was already brown with copper product. We have to be careful about this, because if enough of the reaction occurs, it can substantially affect our current and potential.

    Friday the team met to test the concentration of copper II sulfate and the affect it has on the current and voltage. We tested the cell with 1.25 mL of copper II sulfate, and then increased the concentration in increments of 1.25 mL. We found that there was a large increase in current, and a slow fall of potential. The maximum current from the cell was about 16 microamps.

    On Monday night, Rich tried to get the motor to work with the electrochemical cell. He tried with multiple cells, and could not get it to work, even with the large increase in current. We discussed the options for our second deliverable this week, and decided that it would have to be the boat with the cell inside of it. We had hoped to get the motor working, but for now we have to go without it.

Week Six

This week, the team met to test the buoyancy of the boat. We discovered that using a flat bottomed boat was a good choice. We tested how much weight the boat could bear with boxes of Macaroni and Cheese, and the boat withheld 6 boxes, and only sunk about an inch. We did notice that the sealant that we used to coat the boat was re-hydrating and letting water in. We are in the process of finding a more reliable sealant that is not water-based.

We divided the final proposal report between the three of us and each individually completed out parts.

Week Five

This week the team met up to tape up the boat with duct tape and waterproof the seams with sealant. We met on Friday to do this. We also discussed the rest of the term and scheduled how we plan to complete it. We researched professors to inquire about out motor dilemma. We emailed two Chemical Engineering professors, but only Dr. Maureen Tang is willing to meet with us. Sandy will meet with her at 11:00 on Tuesday to discuss why our electrochemical cell does not power the motors that we have. We have a feeling that it has to do with the current being produced. We have not tested the current, we have only been using the electric potential and recording that. We will see what Dr. Tang tells us and suggests, and go from there. Below are pictures of the newly-waterproofed boat.                                            

Week Four

     For the project this week, Sandy and Rich met up earlier in the week to discuss the boat design. The design that was agreed upon is a flat bottomed boat that will allow for maximum storage space. A photo is included below. The basics of the boat were built, and it will be waterproofed during class week five.

     Later in the week, Jessica and Rich met up to discuss the design of the electrochemical cells. Many ideas were discussed, but the two strongest ideas were as follows: 1. we use thin box-like cells and stack them on top of each other, or 2. we make straw-like pipes and uses corks to keep the water in.

1. Stacking Boxes
    This design, pictured below, take up some space, but would increase surface are of the cells and be very stackable. The issue that this plan poses is the process of making it. We would have to come up with some sort of polymer or composite that is an insulator and then figure out a way to make this out of that material.

2. Pipes
     This design, pictured below, would be stackable in the x and y direction. We could stand them up long ways or lay them down under the deck. They could easily be picked up and dumped by someone on the boat to replenish their water (so the cell does not erode as fast). A cork could keep the water in the tubes, and there could be a wire through the cork connecting the lead to the metal, connecting the system.

We will discuss both of these ideas in lab during week 5 with the whole team.

Week Three

    This week we did more tests to see how series and parallel affected the potential. We also tested the number of cells in the series and how the number affected the potential. We tested concentration of salt in the water to see how that affected it as well.

     At the team meeting this week (Monday the 20th), we set up the ice cube tray to fit 7 cells alternating. We connected the wires to each other and the Aluminum and Copper pieces. We made sure to cut the pieces of metal all to the same size as well as put the same amount of water in each cell. We set it up so that it will be an easy set up in lab on Wednesday by twirling the wires together. We also tested the potential with 7 cells which was about 3.23 V. We tried attaching it to the motor, but the motor would not work with the electrochemical cell. We are in the process of troubleshooting to try to figure out why and how we can fix it. The motor works when attached to a battery of the same or less voltage.
Other than that minor setback, the project is going well, as we have working electrochemical cells.

The electrochemical cell