From February 4 to February 17, the team managed to fix the CAD file of the Cold plate, and the CAD file was sent to the machinist. Also, both plates have been delivered to the machinist, Jamar Murray as of last week and are currently being fabricated based on the design that the team has created. During the delivery, the team spoke with the machinist regarding sealing both plates together to minimize leakage and also the nuts/bolts to be used to join the two plates together. The sealing of the two plates would be utilized via a liquid gasket as that would give us the best results as well minimize the leaks in case any occur during the testing of the solution. Furthermore, the machinist recommended to getting a head gasket that would be the preferred type of sealant as well as also recommending to change the threading on the cold plate which is showcased in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Updated Cold Plate Threads
Additionally, a vendor study of a thermal infrared camera (shown in Figure 2) was also conducted by the team to see which camera would be best for the testing portion of the project and to buy if the team needed to make this purchase.
Figure 2: Thermal Infrared Camera Vendor Study
Model | Price | Link |
FLIR TG165-X Thermal Imaging Camera with Bullseye Laser: Commercial Grade Infrared Camera for Building Inspection, HVAC and Electrical | $448.00 | |
TOPDON TC004 Thermal Imaging Camera | 256 x 192 IR High Resolution | 12-Hour Battery Life | Handheld Infrared Camera | with PC Analysis and Video Recording Supported | 16GB Micro SD Card | $285.00 | |
FLIR E4 Compact Thermal Imaging Camera with 80 x 60 IR Resolution and MSX (non-WiFi) | $800 |
Finally, during this work period we were able to devise a plan that would allow us to mount the entire system in a manner in which we would have all the tubing & components of the system connected as well as transportable. The design of that plan is shown in Figure 3 below.
Figure 3:Design Testing Environment
For the work period of February 17 – March 9, the team has a few things to take care of. First, after consulting with the UH machinist, the sizing of the bolt holes for the cold plate have been adjusted. Since we had already purchased the previous bolts, they will have to be returned and the new bolts will be purchased. Since we have to wait on the cold plate to be manufactured, for this work period we will be assembling all the components of the system minus the cold plate, and testing it to assess how it runs. Lastly, to prepare for the arrival of the cold plate, we will do some testing to analyze the properties of the liquid sealant we plan to use to prevent leakage between the channels of the cold plate.
For the next two weeks of Capstone II, Team 26 foresees a couple of obstacles. The first obstacle we foresee facing is welding a reducing coupling fitting onto the heat exchanger that was acquired. This is due to the heat exchanger having a larger inlet and outlet size than the rest of the components of the system, and would require a larger sized hose to fit it. The reducing coupling fitting once welded on will allow us to have the same size hose for the entire system which will help with keeping the flow rate the same throughout the system. To weld the part onto the heat exchanger, Team 26 must weld it themselves or if we are not able to, it will be taken to a professional to weld it. Once this part has been completed, Team 26 is then able to face the next obstacle we foresee which is assembling all the components of the system together and ensuring that the system runs properly. The team must make sure that all the hoses are able to be connected properly to the adaptor fitting and that it must be seal proof by using the hose clamps to ensure that no water seeps out when the system is running. Once everything is put together excluding the cold plate and if a leakage is seen during the system running, Team 26 must find the leak, analyze what caused it, and fix it to make sure that no water will escape the system.
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