mae 188 fall design poster v4-dzack
TRANSCRIPT
Industry Sponsor: Thomas Grimm , Makers DeportFaculty Advisors: Dr. Vince McDonell, Dr. Farzad AhmadkhanlouTeam Members*: Darren Zack ME, Lee Tea ME, Teresa Nguyen ME, Mark Annevelink ME, Henry Gomez ME
Project Goal
UCI Consultants
Bell Siphon
Main Fish Holding Tank Introduction to Aquaponics
Acknowledgements
Develop an Aquaponic system based on existing systems with an optimized water circulation rate in regards to these parameters:
Tank size and shape Plant bed placement and configuration Selection of optimal grow bed media
Other Optimizations
2013-2014
MAE 188: Optimization of an Aquaponics System
Design Sloped bottom wall with incline of 2.4 degrees to
facilitate fecal sediment collection for bio-filtration Mimics Vorticity of cylindrical tanks while
simplifying design complexity Uses air blower and water pump to minimize
power requirements to under 200W
Objectives Maintain optimal flow from plant bed to fish
tank Prevent root rot of plants by creating ebb-and-
flow tides Prevent solids from plant bed from re-entering
main tank Improvements Inlet pipe funnel to increase back pressure and
prevent equilibrium flow Air diffuser attached to outlet to increase
oxygenation of influent into main tank Auxiliary air tube with cap to maintain water level to prescribed tube length
Figure 3: Bell Siphon Assembly
Plant Bed Configurations Raft-Based
Less maintenance required
Greater yield of heirloom vegetables and fruits
Vertical Growing Towers Less required growing
space than raft designs More pumping power
required for irrigation Plant Bed Grow Media Shift from gravel-based to bio-
matrix plastic to increase Biological Surface Area (BSA) to increase Nitrification rate
Ideal: 10 ft2/gal
Figure 4: Raft-Based Grow Bed
Principles Combination of Aquaculture and Hydroponic
techniques Ammonia converted by Nitorsoma and
Nitrospira bacteria into plant-friendly Nitrates Water and land efficient , Parameters Oxygenation Rate
Ideal: Total volumetric turnover in less than an hour
5 mg/L O2 concentration Food Conversion Ratio (FCR)
Feed mass over body mass gain efficiency
Ideal : 0.84-1.02
Automated Control System
Figure 2: Tank with 2.4 degree incline bottom
Figure 1 : Solidworks flow simulation of tank redesign
Objectives Monitor different aspects of the system and
respond accordingly Aspects: dissolved O2, CO2, N2, humidity,
temperature, pH, water level Example Monitor dissolved O2 and turn on aeration pump
when level is lower than desired