Project Readiness Package Rev 7/2/13
Introduction:
Administrative Information:
· Project Name (tentative): / Lightweight Concrete Arborloo· Project Number, if known: / P15416
· Preferred Start/End Semester in Senior Design:
Fall/Spring / Spring/Fall· Faculty Champion: (technical mentor: supports proposal development, anticipated technical mentor during project execution; may also be Sponsor)
Name / Dept. / Email / PhoneSarah Brownell / / 585-330-6434
For assistance identifying a Champion: B. Debartolo (ME), G. Slack (EE), J. Kaemmerlen (ISE), A. Becker-Gomez (CE)
· Other Support, if known: (faculty or others willing to provide expertise in areas outside the domain of the Faculty Champion)
Name / Dept. / Email / Phone· Project “Guide” if known: (project mentor: guides team through Senior Design process and grades students; may also be Faculty Champion)
· Primary Customer, if known (name, phone, email): (actual or representative user of project output; articulates needs/requirements)
Francius Dauphin Estimable (Johnny),
Sarah Brownell, , 585-330-6434
· Sponsor(s): (provider(s) of financial support)
Name/Organization / Contact Info. / Type & Amount of Support CommittedMSD / $500
Project Overview:
It's 2014 and still around 40% of the population has no access to adequate sanitary toilets [1]. For these 2.6 billion people the problem is not only finding a safe and dignified place to defecate, but also trying to combat deadly diseases associated with the exposure to pathogens in feces. Human feces can contain up to fifty diseases in just a few grams [2]. Diarrheal diseases kill 1.8 million people every year, and 90% of those deaths are children under the age of 5 [1]. This means a child dies around every twenty seconds from a preventable disease; that's more than AIDS, malaria or measles combined. This dire situation is mostly affecting developing and under developed regions of the world.
Improving access to sanitation knowledge and technology is proven to be one of the most effective and least expensive ways to prevent and treat life-threatening illness like diarrhea. However, some developing countries have not succeeded to adapt or sustain sanitation technology that has been introduced in past decades. For instance, between 1990 and 2010 sanitation coverage in Haiti fell from 24% to 17% [3]. Haiti has a large rural population with a relatively high population density, subsisting on small plots of land scattered throughout its many mountains. Nearly ¾ of Haitians live on less than $2/day and only 10% of rural Haitians currently have any form of improved sanitation such as a latrine. Haiti embodies the difficult sanitation challenges faced by many countries--poverty, poor infrastructure, and low levels of education—that keep the world from meeting its sanitation goals, and finding a solution that works there could have worldwide impact.
Figure 1: Schematic of the working logistics of an arborloo.
Source: http://abundaculture.org/images/arborloo.jpg
An arborloo is a simple and inexpensive movable pit latrine that allows for composting human waste into organic fertilizer to provide nutrient for a fruit tree [4] (Figure 1). Although the arborloo has yielded positive results in numerous cases, including Haiti, it has the limitation of having a relatively heavy base that needs to be constructed on site, and requires masonry skills and tools to be built (figure 2). Another disadvantage of the current arborloo designs is that it takes 2 days to install them because of the wait for the concrete to set. A design that leverages the benefits of both manufacturing techniques and local materials is preferred such that the arborloo is transformed into a modern-looking, desirable product that can be purchased in town and installed at home in the hills the same day. Or, alternatively, an entrepreneur could install multiple in one day after recruiting households to participate in a given area.
Informed by an extensive background study on sanitation in developing countries (a summary can be made available to the team), previous multidisciplinary teams of RIT students have developed four inexpensive prototype arborloo bases that could be manufactured and deployed in rural Haiti with the goal of lowering barriers to all houses having some kind of sanitation system (see P14415 and P14416). Each design has advantages and disadvantages. Subsequent refining of the base designs, coupled with privacy shelters that are robust to climate conditions and meet customer needs will create a low cost, attractive sanitation system that can be widely deployed in developing regions. Another MSD team, P14414, established a method for determining hurricane resistance of arborloo shelters and made some recommendations for designs. A business plan for introducing this product is also being developed. Such a system has potential to have a dramatic effect on community health and welfare.
From a cost perspective, at $3.78 the lightweight concrete arborloo dome design made from a mix of cement, sand, coconut shell, Styrofoam, and coconut husks (figure 3) is least expensive and performed well, but some improvements are needed. The design is still a bit heavy to carry and may not support impact loads such as someone jumping on it (was not tested). Also, the edges chip which cause it not to sit flat on the ground and are an aesthetic problem. After reflecting on the knowledge gained by previous teams, the goal of this project is to optimize the lightweight concrete domed base design to improve strength, weight, aesthetics, and durability AND to develop a low cost, integrated privacy shelter for the product.
Figure 2: Conventional arborloo concrete base (left), low cost conventional shelter (middle), and improved shelter (but too expensive) (right).
Figure 3: Light-Weight Concrete Dome
Detailed Project Description:
The purpose of this project is to obtain technical designs and preliminary prototypes of arborloo bases considering the characteristics of being movable, inexpensive and light-weight. A design that leverages the benefits of both manufacturing techniques and local materials is preferred such that the arborloo is transformed into a modern-looking, desirable product. A leading question for the team might be “How can we make a latrine that Haitians WANT to purchase and install at their home?” A suggested approach is: design at first without considering costs to determine best solution to this problem. Then work to find low tech substitutions such as local materials or different forming techniques that provide similar characteristics.
· Customer Needs and Objectives:
Development of the design specifications will be the responsibility of the MSD teams as part of learning the “design process” based on the following customer needs/product opportunity gaps:
§ The system is a product, not a DIY project.
§ The system costs less than $50 to users (at production level quantities).
§ The system supports the user over an arborloo hole 18-20” in diameter, 3-4 feet deep
§ The system is safe to use for users (falling, tripping, slipping, and moving to new hole).
§ The system is lightweight and moveable (pieces carried by 1 person walking for up to 6 hours)
§ They system can be installed in less than 2 hours.
§ The system can be installed with simple hand tools.
§ The system keeps pests out of the pit.
§ The system diverts run-off from the pit (ring beam)
§ The system is easy to clean.
§ The system provides privacy.
§ The system resists weather (hurricane) and pest damage.
§ The system looks “modern” in a Haitian context.
§ The system is an aesthetic home improvement product.
§ The system is welcoming and comfortable.
§ The system can be purchased or financed in parts.
§ The system minimizes environmental impact throughout the lifecycle.
· Constraints: External factors that, in some way, limit the selection of solution alternatives. They are usually imposed on the design and are not directly related to the functional objectives of the system but apply across the system (eg. cost and schedule constraints). Constraints are often included in the specifications list but they often violate the abstractness property by specifying “how”.
§ Must be able to be made using local materials and with local processes
§ Lightweight for transport to site (by donkey or human walking)
§ Lightweight to move between pits (assembled)
§ Inexpensive to purchase, maintain, repair
§ Allows financing in parts
§ Utilizes ringbeam or something similar to prevent runoff entering pit
§ Resist environmental damage (weather, pests, use)
§ Aesthetically pleasing
§ Reduces lifecycle environmental costs
· Project Deliverables: Expected output, what will be “delivered” – be as specific and thorough as possible.
The multidisciplinary team is expected to deliver at a refined, functional design prototype and all required molds, jigs or fixtures. The team should also provide a complementary design drawings (for bases, molds, jigs and fixtures) and assembly manuals, Bill of Materials, Test Plan, Clearly documented Test Results, all summarized and presented as a Technical Paper and a Poster.
· Budget Estimate: $500.
· Intellectual Property (IP) considerations:
Open Source Design
· Other Information: Describe potential benefits and liabilities, known project risks, etc.
· Continuation Project Information, if appropriate:
Previous Arborloo projects have been conducted and can be found on the MSD Archives http://edge.rit.edu/edge/P13414/public/Home , http://edge.rit.edu/edge/P14414/public/Home, http://edge.rit.edu/edge/P14415/public/Home, http://edge.rit.edu/edge/P14416/public/Home
Student Staffing:
· Skills Checklist: Complete the “PRP_Checklist” document and include with your submission.
· Anticipated Staffing Levels by Discipline:
Discipline / How Many? / Anticipated Skills Needed (concise descriptions)EE
ME / 3 / Structural analysis of base and shelter, testing methods, materials, composites, DFM
CE
ISE / 1 / Experimental design, human factors, usability, engineering economics, manufacturing process design, safety engineering, Ergonomics, LCA
ChemE
Industrial Design / 1 / Aesthetics, human factors, usability
Civil Eng. Tech / 1 / Concrete, materials of construction
Other Resources Anticipated:
Describe resources needed to support successful development, implementation, and utilization of the project. This could include specific faculty expertise, laboratory space and equipment, outside services, customer facilities, etc. Indicate if resources are available, to your knowledge.
Category / Description / Resource Available?Faculty
Environment / Access to Concrete Lab, Access to materials lab (?)
Equipment / Compression and tensile testing equipment.
Materials / Concrete (cement, aggregates, water, others)
Other
Prepared by: / Pedro Cruz Diloné/Sarah Brownell / Date: / 8/4/14
References
1. Estimated with data from The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)/World Health
Organization (WHO). (2009). Diarrhoea: Why children are still dying and what can be done.
2. Retrieved 2012-11-30;http://whqlibdoc.who.int/publications/2009/9789241598415_eng.pdf
Anderson, Gerard F., and Edward Chu. "Expanding priorities—confronting chronic disease in countries with low income."New England Journal of Medicine356.3 (2007): 209-211.
3. World Health Organization. 2010. Interactive Charts. Retrieved 2012-11-30 at
http://gamapserver.who.int/gho/interactive_charts/mdg7/atlas.html?indicator=i3&date=2008
4. Morgan, Peter (2007). Toilets that make compost: Low-cost, sanitary toilets that produce
valuable compost for crops in an African context. EcoSanRes Programme, Stockholm
Environment Institute. ISBN 978-91-976022-2-8; http://www.ecosanres.org/toilets_that_make_compost.htm; Retrieved 2012-12-04.
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