GAQT consists of four subteams this semester: Research, Concept/Stove Design, Fan/Ventilation, and Education. The Research Subteam is continuing their work on the research paper and including more details and data to prepare for technical presentations. Neither the Stove Design nor the Fan/Ventilation subteams were in action last semester and are both working this spring to develop new ways to lessen the air pollution in Kenya. The Education Subteam will continue working on infographics for both our local community and our partners in Kenya and the members are working on transitions the EPICS GAQT Twitter account to a more educational page, rather than a page with only updates.
Even though we are still in a pandemic, we are excited to make progress on our project safely by implementing the same precautions as last semester!
This semester, our sub-teams include Alternative Fuels, Education, and Research. The Alternative Fuels Team plans to look deeper into converting the energy source used for cooking in Nandi homes into solar power. This will hopefully lessen the extremity of the indoor air pollution by a significant amount when combined with the recently implemented updated ventilation system in the homes. This team hopes to develop a system of panels on or near campus to be able to perform tests and analyze data. The Education Team is brand new this semester and will work within the Alternative Fuels Team. The goal of this team is to educate the people in Nandi, as well as the Purdue Campus and its surrounding areas, about the benefits of solar energy and our progress with our project as a whole. Their primary task is to make a brochure or flyer discussing solar energy, with hopes of being able to send it and/or present it to our partners in Kenya in the near future. Lastly, the Research team is working this semester to continue the progress of the team’s research paper and data analysis and to gather more information on sensors.
With the ongoing threat of the Coronavirus and in cooperation with the Protect Purdue Plan, we are unable to collaborate as much as usual, but with the help of face shields, masks, and social distancing, we are hoping for a great semester with a lot of progress!
Our three sub-teams this semester consist of Testing, Concept Design, and Alternative Fuels. Concept Design is somewhat of a continuation of Chimney, and primarily is focused on testing new materials and developing a prototype chimney for the test kitchen. Alternative fuels is a broader version of Biogas, as they are currently pursuing multiple fuel options and determining which is most likely down the line (Between PV panels, Biogas, and LPG). Lastly, Testing team is focused on taking advantage of the test kitchen and collecting more data for the other team. There is a lot of promise for this semester, and we'll be sure to update with our progress as soon as we get the chance!
GAQT has divided into two primary sub-teams this semester; Chimney and Biogas. Chimney has investigated the corrosion issue taking place with the metal chimneys in Nandi. As of now, the chimneys in Nandi show signs of wear and corrosion over the initial few months, so it seems necessary to either find a new material that resists the heat of the flame, or redesign the chimney altogether. The team focused mainly on the material aspect, and decided to start research on alternatives that are readily available in Kenya (mainly clays and other metal configuration). Biogas has decided to look into a more long-term issue relating to preserving the environment. Wood stoves are a major air pollutant in most 3rd world countries, so finding a feasible and safer alternative would be ideal. Biogas seems to be the most promising implementation of this, so the team made progress by developing a prototype biogas digester and researched the necessities for this concept to become a reality.
GAQT is continuing to test different designs in our test kitchen. The team is also planning a trip to Nandi, Kenya, which will take place in May 2019.
This semester, the GAQT team split up into three subteams: Fire and Safety, Sensing and Data, and Plan and Execute. We began testing different solutions for better ventilation, finding ways to keep the team safe in the test kitchen, and working on adding sensors.
Throughout the Spring 2018 semester, the GAQT built a test kitchen at Purdue to be used by future GAQT teams to adminster tests to improve the air quality of Nandi Kitchens.
