Eco Project Research

John Tobias, Brian Jestice, Anthony Cairns, Diane Kohlin

Eco Project Research

Country / Geographic Region Republic of South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798

kilometers (1,739 mi) coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

South Africa is known for a diversity in cultures and languages

English has a large role in public and commercial life, it is nevertheless only the fifth most-

spoken home language.

About a quarter of the population is unemployed and lives on less than US $1.25 a day.

The extreme southwest has a climate remarkably similar to that of the Mediterranean with wet

winters and hot, dry summers

This region is also particularly known for its wind, which blows intermittently almost all year

[hide]Climate data for Cape Town, South Africa

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Average high

°C (°F)

26.1

(79)

26.5

(79.7)

25.4

(77.7)

23.0

(73.4)

20.3

(68.5)

18.1

(64.6)

17.5

(63.5)

17.8

(64)

19.2

(66.6)

21.3

(70.3)

23.5

(74.3)

24.9

(76.8)

22.0

(71.6)

Average low °C

(°F)

15.7

(60.3)

15.6

(60.1)

14.2

(57.6)

11.9

(53.4)

9.4

(48.9)

7.8

(46)

7.0

(44.6)

7.5

(45.5)

8.7

(47.7)

10.6

(51.1)

13.2

(55.8)

14.9

(58.8)

11.4

(52.5)

Precipitation

mm (inches)

15

(0.59)

17

(0.67)

20

(0.79)

41

(1.61)

69

(2.72)

93

(3.66)

82

(3.23)

77

(3.03)

40

(1.57)

30

(1.18)

14

(0.55)

17

(0.67)

515

(20.28)

Avg. precipitation

days 5.5 4.6 4.8 8.3 11.4 13.3 11.8 13.7 10.4 8.7 4.9 6.2 103.6

Sunshine hours 337.9 299.9 291.4 234.0 204.6 174.0 192.2 210.8 225.0 279.0 309.0 334.8 3,092.2

Source: Hong Kong Observatory[51]

Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights

Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates,

tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas

Land use: arable land: 10%

permanent crops: 1%

meadows and pastures: 65%

forest and woodland: 3%

other: 21%

Irrigated land: 11,280 sq km (1989 est.)

Environment:

current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation

and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers

from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion;

desertification

natural hazards: prolonged droughts

international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,

Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship

Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,

Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea

From: http://www.postcolonialweb.org/sa/geography.html

Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain

Elevation extremes:

highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m

volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted

in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano

All of the data and information above is an important aspect of our research. It helps us

to know what kind of environment we will be sending our floating houses to. It will help us

make good enhancements and changes to prototypes we create so they can work to their best

potential. Knowing the amount of annual rainfall will especially help us with our designs.

This is the South American Flag; although it isn’t

essential to our research, it will be good to know.

This is a picture of the

country South Africa, The

exact location of where we

will be shipping our houses

is important for obvious

reasons.

A more detailed map of South Africa will help us

determine where in South Africa needs the houses the most. Areas near rivers or coastlines are

most likely to flood

Need

http://www.actsa.org/Pictures/UpImages/pdfs/ACTSA_South_Africa_country_profile.pdf

Pretoria – With the incessant rains introducing a whole new dynamic to the lives of millions of

South Africans, the nation has joined hands to deliver much needed relief to those who have

been most adversely affected by the floods.

The Department of Social Development, business sector, civil society and faith based

organizations have formed a task team, which will primarily coordinate humanitarian assistance

to people across the country.

“The function of this team is to … respond to the immediate emergency priority needs, while at

the same time, laying the foundations for early and eventual long-term recovery of the affected

communities,” said Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, during a media briefing on

Sunday.

South African authorities say at least 39 people have died in flooding and thunderstorms in the eastern part of the country.

Provincial disaster management confirmed Friday that 26 people, including 4 children, have died as a result of adverse weather conditions in the rural Eastern Cape province since mid-December

VISITOR FACT SHEET: THE DECLARED STATE OF DISASTER DUE TO FLOODS IN SOUTH AFRICA

1. The general public, investor community and tourists are encouraged to continue with their

planned projects in, and travel to, the areas where a state of disaster has been declared BUT to

also consider warnings given and other precautionary measures issued in respect of specific

areas falling within and outside the borders of the declared areas.

2. The numbers that foreign tourists / business people can call to get the latest information

on the state of floods in the country or the areas they intend travelling to are the following:

· Weatherline: (+27) 082162.

· EMS: (+27) 10177 (Emergency services)

Information from the visitor fact sheet will help us know what exactly we’re working against.

Knowing locations of disaster areas will also help us know where people need our houses the

most.

In South Africa, weather-related incidents, including floods, lightning strikes and tornadoes, are

thought to have killed 40 people between mid-December 2010 and 17 January 2011, and more

than 6,000 people had been displaced, according to the National Disaster Management Centre.

Recyclable Materials

Acceptable items are the same for the curbside program, drop-off locations and staffed

recycling centers except as noted below (see Exceptions):

FIBER MATERIALS

PAPER

White or mixed office paper, computer paper, file folders and manila and regular envelopes, mail items, junk mail, brown paper grocery bags, telephone books, and magazines/catalogs

Food-free pizza boxes, paperboard, cereal and gift boxes Newspapers with slick advertising inserts Flattened cardboard pieces no larger than approximately 2 ft x 2 ft NO bound catalogs over 1 inch thick or glued bindings - NO plastic or foil backed paper NO soiled or wax-coated cardboard like frozen food boxes and milk/juice cartons NO wrapping paper

CO-MINGLED MATERIALS

GLASS

Food and drink bottles and jars (clear, brown, green, blue) - remove lids and rinse. Leave labels on

NO window glass, mirrors, light bulbs, drinking glasses/mugs, oven/cooking glassware, pottery

METAL & ALUMINUM

Steel “tin” cans such as soup, vegetable or pet food (rinse and put lids inside), empty aerosol cans (remove plastic lids)

Clean used aluminum foil, disposable roasting, pie and cake pans, beverage cans and clean aluminum food containers (flatten to save space if possible)

NO pots, pans, coat hangers, or paint cans NO medical waste such as needles

PLASTIC

Household containers such as milk jugs, cups, squeeze bottles, clear food packaging, soft drink, laundry and dishwashing detergent, margarine and whipped topping tubs, bottles and jars marked #1 thru #7 with the recycling symbol are accepted in the program. SOME ITEMS MARKED ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AND ARE NOTED BELOW. Clean thoroughly and leave labels and lids on. Flatten to save space if possible.

NO medical waste such as syringes NO motor oil or antifreeze jugs, plastic bags or buckets, pumps or sprayers, paint

containers or plastic cutlery NO plastic or styrofoam packing material such as peanuts or rigid. Styrofoam cups,

plates and food containers are also NOT accepted. (See below for styrofoam recycling.)

BATTERIES

Household batteries, such as sizes AAA, AA, C & D are accepted at all staffed recycling locations and the Household Hazardous Waste site (HAZBIN) only.

Household batteries are not accepted in the curbside or unstaffed drop-off programs.

EXCEPTIONS: The following items can be recycled ONLY at the STAFFED Recycling

Locations.

Antifreeze - No containers larger than 5 gallons

Motor Oil - No containers larger than 5 gallons

Oil Filters

Automobile, Boat, and Motorcycle Batteries; Household Batteries

Inkjet and Laser Toner Cartridges

DVDs and CDs

Floppy Disks

STYROFOAM (MOLDED POLYSTYRENE)

Molded Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is NOT accepted in any of Louisville Metro's Recycling

Programs. This product is generally found as packing material for computers, appliances, fragile

items, etc. (This does not include styrofoam packing peanuts) However, product that is clean,

white and contained (bagged) may be taken to:

Foam Fabricators, Inc.

950 Progress Boulevard

New Albany, IN 47150

948-1696

There is a receiving bin where citizens may place this material for recycling. For

large quantities, please phone the number listed above and make an appointment for delivery.

On behalf of Louisville Metro Government, we wish to thank Foam Fabricators for being such

good neighbors and allowing our residents to recycle this material!

Many 'pack-and-ship' type stores will accept peanuts or polystyrene packing materials, so call to

check with the location nearest you.

PLEASE NOTE:

While we encourage proper sorting of the materials listed above and placement of said

items in the proper compartment at the drop-off locations, minimal contamination or

recyclable items placed in the wrong compartment will not cause the entire load to be

landfilled. The Material Recovery Facility (MRF) hand sorts the materials and removes

any contamination and/or places the items into the proper categories.

THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR PART TO MAKE LOUISVILLE CLEANER AND GREENER!!

Tips for Recycling Metal Clothes Hangers

Gary Barker with the Organic Consumers Association states that recycling wire hangers proves difficult for a few reasons:

The hooks catch on recycling equipment causing jams and damage.

There is also a petroleum polymer coating on the hangers that makes recycling the metal more of a challenge.

Most recycling centers won’t accept metal hangers, due to the low percentage of steel reclaimed per hanger.

If you live in an area that accepts wire hangers as part of curbside recycling, take advantage of it, or use Earth911 to locate recycling centers nearest you.

Otherwise, reuse is the best option. If you don’t want to keep wire hangers around in your closet, use them for do-it-yourself projects such as unclogging drains. Lastly, many dry cleaners welcome metal hangers back to their facilities for reuse.

Buoyancy

Why boats float and elephants sink

(buoyancy)

How does a boat or ship carrying hundreds of

pounds worth of stuff float while that same stuff

would sink to the bottom of the ocean if dumped

overboard? How come when you're in a pool

and you stretch your body out flat you float.

But, if you wrap your arms around your legs and curl up into a ball

you sink? Well, it all has to do with how much water is pushing

against you and a little scientific principle called buoyancy or

floatation. When you stretch out flat more water pushes against you

since your body is laid out flatter. When you curl up into a ball, less

water is pushing against you. Want to test this for yourself? Try this

experiment:

1. Take a piece of clay and split it into 2 identically sized pieces.

Take one of the pieces and roll it into a ball. Take the other

piece and fashion it into a flat boat shaped object (if needed,

get mom or dad to help - that's what they're there for).

2. Now place both pieces into a sink full of water. Which one

floats and which one sinks? Both? Neither?

So you see, if the total area of the object that makes contact with the

water is large enough, the object floats. The object must make room

for its own volume by pushing aside, or displacing, an equivalent (or

equal) volume of liquid. The object is exerting a downward force on

the water and the water is therefore exerting a upward force on the

object. Of course the floating object's weight comes into play also.

The solid body floats when it has displaced just enough water to

equal its own original weight.

This principle is called buoyancy. Buoyancy is the loss in weight an

object seems to undergo when placed in a liquid, as compared to its

weight in air. Archimedes' principle states that an object fully or

partly immersed in a liquid is buoyed upward by a force equal to

the weight of the liquid displaced by that object. From this

principle, he concluded that a floating object displaces an amount of

liquid equal to its own weight. (Note: if you don't understand these

last two paragraphs, don't worry. They're not on the test).

Sources:

World Book Encyclopedia (1997)

University of Wisconsin Web Site

Buoyancy

Buoyancy arises from the fact that fluid pressure increases with depth and

from the fact that the increased pressure is exerted in all directions (Pascal's

principle) so that there is an unbalanced upward force on the bottom of a

submerged object.

Since the "water

ball" at left is

exactly supported

by the difference

in pressure and

the solid object at

right experiences

exactly the same

pressure

environment, it

follows that the

buoyant force on

the solid object is

equal to the

weight of the

water displaced

(Archimedes'

principle).

Objects of equal volume experience equal buoyant forces.

Applications of buoyancy.

Index

Buoyancy

concepts

HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R Nave

Go Back

Equal Volumes Feel Equal Buoyant Forces Suppose you had equal sized balls of cork, aluminum and lead, with respective

specific gravities of 0.2, 2.7, and 11.3 . If the volume of each is 10 cubic centimeters

then their masses are 2, 27, and 113 gm.

Each would displace 10 grams of water, yielding apparent masses of -8 (the

cork would accelerate upward), 17 and 103 grams respectively.

The behavior of the three balls would certainly be different upon release from

rest in the water. The cork would bob up, the aluminum would sink, and the

lead would sink more rapidly. But the buoyant force on each is the same

because of identical pressure environments and equal water displacement. The

difference in behavior comes from the comparison of that buoyant force with

the weight of the object.

Behavior of sinking objects

Index

Buoyancy

Buoyancy

concepts

HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R Nave

Go Back

Archimedes' Principle

Hmm! The crown seems lighter under water!

The buoyant force

on a submerged

object is equal to

the weight of the

liquid displaced by

the object. For

water, with a

density of one gram

per cubic

centimeter, this

provides a

convenient way to

determine the

volume of an

irregularly shaped

object and then to

determine its

density.

What is it's density?

Index

Archimedes

discussion

Buoyancy

concepts

HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R

Nave

Go Back

Archimedes' Principle

Hmm! The crown seems lighter under water!

The buoyant force

on a submerged

object is equal to

the weight of the

liquid displaced by

the object. For

water, with a

density of one gram

per cubic

centimeter, this

provides a

convenient way to

determine the

volume of an

irregularly shaped

object and then to

determine its

density.

Index

Archimedes

discussion

Buoyancy

concepts

HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R

Nave

Go Back

Archimedes' Principle

The buoyant force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the fluid

displaced. This principle is useful for determining the volume and therefore

the density of an irregularly shaped object by measuring its mass in air and its

effective mass when submerged in water (density = 1 gram per cubic

centimeter). This effective mass under water will be its actual mass minus the

mass of the fluid displaced. The difference between the real and effective

mass therefore gives the mass of water displaced and allows the calculation of

the volume of the irregularly shaped object (like the king's crown in the

Archimedes story). The mass divided by the volume thus determined gives a

measure of the average density of the object. Archimedes found that the

density of the king's supposedly gold crown was actually much less than the

density of gold -- implying that it was either hollow or filled with a less dense

substance.

Examination of the nature of buoyancy shows that the buoyant force on a

volume of water and a submerged object of the same volume is the same.

Since it exactly supports the volume of water, it follows that the buoyant

force on any submerged object is equal to the weight of the water displaced.

This is the essence of Archimedes principle.

Application to determining density

Index

Buoyancy

concepts

HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R Nave

Go Back

Current Viable Solutions

http://morfis.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/futuristic-floating-dwellings/

This is an article about the MORPHotel, a concept by Italian architect Gianluca Santosuosso it is

a floating living space, however these are very complex structures so it’s a little different than

our project. The article isn’t very specific about the design of the dwellings, so maybe there are

things that can be applied to our design.

http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T1228/A08AMngNG-prog10.htm

This article is about floating dwellings in a small village near Lagos, Nigeria. These dwellings, like

ours are made mainly out of recycled materials. This project also launched a nonprofit business

called Hope Floats Initiative that we could use for our project. The team used recycled wood,

plastic foils, used sheet metals, reeds and thatch.

Using ideas other people have come up with is great to work off of in our own project. They can

help us understand what we know works and what we know doesn’t. From this we can come

up with bigger and better ideas.

Calculations Proof Friday, February 04, 2011 1:12 PM

ρ= density. Fresh water is 1000kg/m^3

Salt water is 1022 kg/m^3

Let us assume that because there will be more molecules in any given cubic yard of flooded

water, then the mass will be greater, as is seen in freshwater to saltwater. So in a floodzone, the

water will have topsoil and other such minerals which will increase the density of the water.

With this assumption there is now an ability to estimate the density of this dirt saturated water.

The density of a tightly compacted cubic meter of average soil is 2002 kilograms/m^3. A

rough estimate of the density of the water places the dirt to water ratio around 1:5. now, the

approximate density can be calculated.

V= volume. Volume displaced by the submerged is equal to the volume of the submerged object

which is the bottles.

g= gravitational constant: 9.8 m/s^2. This term cancels out.

The sum of forces is zero because the house is not moving so there is no net force on the house.

2002*1/6=333.6667 1000*5/6=833.3333 333.7+833.3=1,167 density of muddy water: 1167 kg/m^3

4 feet = 1.2192 meters 1.2192/.0986760648=12.3555798711 bottles 4 feet = 1.2192 meters 1.2192/.3=4.064 bottles If the palate is 4 feet by 4 feet then that means there can be 12*4 bottles on the palate

∑Forces = 0 = mg-ρfluidVdisplacedg

mg= ρfluidVdisplacedg

mmax= ρfluidVdisplacedg

g

mmax=ρfluidVdisplaced

mmax= (1167kg/m^3)(48)(.002m^3)=112 kilogram = 246.917 lbs

Other Missing Research Elements that are Essential to the Project

http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html

http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/recywrks/recywrks2.htm

http://www.suite101.com/content/materials-best-suited-to-recycling-a64182

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