COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF HORIZONTAL VERSUS VERTICAL HYDROPONICS PLANT GROWTH SYSTEMS

 Poster  Charisma Jankee (816007766) The University of the West Indies BSc ME with Biosystems Faculty of Engineering Department: Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering MENG 3019 Poster Notes: Comparative efficiencies of horizontal versus vertical hydroponic plant growth systems. Background: The growing interest of hydroponic systems has immensely emerged in Trinidad and Tobago due to its popularity all over the world changing to a healthier consumption of crops. The hydroponic system is an efficient and effective resource management for the quality of food production. This project encompasses of the design, construction, and evaluation of a the NFT (nutrient film technique) of the vertical and horizontal system. Horizontal NFT hydroponic systems are better suited for large spaces which provide rapid yields for maximum plant growth. Whereas vertical NFT hydroponics is better suited for small spaces which provides rapid yields for maximum plant growth. Thus,...

Power point was done.  Sections: Problem Definition  Project Rationale Aim & Objectives Project Scope  Literature Review Methodology Data Collection & Analysis Discussion & Findings Limitations Conclusions Recommendations Gant Chart Log book was updated

Report was done and submitted. 

  Diameter of pipe, D = 4” = 0.1016 m R.T.F Volume flow rate   Flow rate = Area × Velocity   Velocity A pipe with an inner diameter of 4 inches contains water that flows at an average velocity of 2m/s   Volume flow rate = A × V                              = 0.0081 × 2                              = 0.0162 m 3 /s Converting seconds to hours Volume flow rate = 0.0162 × 3600 = 52.32 m 3 /hr  

 The system was sent to Ms. Bharat for review and a problem arrived that the horizontal system build is incorrect. when the first system was build and approved she thought it was the vertical system. thus, a new horizontal system must be redesigned. 

  On the lower end of the reservoir, a small tap was installed by firstly drilling a ½ inch hole into the reservoir, the tap was wrapped with thread seal then fastened with an adaptor that came with the tap. The edges of the reservoir were then layered with silicone to ensure that there were no leaks.   On the reservoir cover, a 3-inch square was cut using a sharp knife. Hinges were then used to create a hatch to monitor water level or add solution. A knob was attached to the hatch for easy access.   the system was then spray painted. 

This is to connect the 4-inch T joint at the top of the bucket to the drainage pipe and flange inside the reservoir.  the grow tower was cut and an additional 4inch pipe with pockets were added to make them even.       Once the 4inch T joint is secured, on either side of the T joint, a 9 ½” length of 4-inch PVC is glued to the T joint to accommodate a 4-inch elbow on either side. The two plant towers can now be connected using PVC glue. the flange was attached and the pump line was tread inside using a string.    The pump’s outlet was routed to the top of the towers using water tubes. The water will flow down from a shower head, trickling down the top of the tower and back into the reservoir. The shower head was constructed by using a 4-inch PVC cap. The cap was placed on a round object and heated with the heat gun, creating a “belly”. On the cap, three rows of holes were drilled with a 1/16” drill bit around the circumference. At the centre of the sho...

 Ms. Bharat was inform on the resigned of the system before building it. 

 Vertical tower was painted and the system was assembled cause i had doubts on if the system will be too high. -the system will be too tall to manage on the roof so the system must be redesigned.   

 

 Meeting with Prof. Ekwue  Notes prepared to tell sir:  where I reach in the project - redesign the system a bit based on the dimensions change the sizes of the pipes (availability). almost complete building the horizontal system - system change to 30 plants (6 pockets per grow tower) testing 3 plants - lettuce, kale and pak choi  Ask how many plants you want me to test?  working on updating my log book vertical system should be completed by Sunday.  need to do calculations for pump  Sir notes: test for 2 months  measurements every 3 days measure: plant height, plant dimeter, leave area  get an average SoildWorks drawings - assembly and parts, BOM, manufacturing process plan  check Maria past project to get leave area do bending diagrams FEA make sure the system is very clear  why i choose NFT system ensure to email yourself the project in case something happens to your laptop.  pictures of the plants. 

 Vertical system  -a 4" hole was drilled into the bucket.  - holes were drilled in the drain stand. -Attempt to make a flange to help support the system  -a grinder was used to make the slits and the pipe was heated to get the shape.  -

 Vertical system  A 6 feet tower length was measured and the net pockets were made using a heat gun and glass bottle. first the pipe was measured 6" on both ends then 12" apart for each pocket.  Total of 21 pockets  A "X" was marked to indicate each point then a line was drawn so a small cut could be made. using a grinder the line was sliced. where the line was sliced, heat was applied using the heat gun. once the PVC was soft then a glass bottle was inserted to create the pocket and water was used to cool the PVC.  

 All caps were glued the overflow lines were connected with elbows.

 Today the stand was completed and the end cap connections where made.  the pipes were place on the system,                                           these were drilled into the end caps and secured with silicon 

 Test for getting the correct cut size was done starting with 1.5 inch to 2-inches. the 2- inch cut was perfect fit for the net up I bought.  I measured 6" from the both end of the pipe then a 2-inch hole was drilled, each net cup was 8" apart with a total of 6 holes in one grow tower.  all five where marked and drilled.  Total number of net pocket= 30 so 30 plants could fit however the extra holes were put to let air enter the system without using an air pump.  The stand was then laid out to show the sketches I drew. The chop saw was used to cut the 3/4 pipe into small lengths  Quantity    Length  17                4.5" 2                  10.125" 2                  16.25" 2                   22.125" 9                  ...

Horizontal system:   The grow channel is 4"pipe and luckily I had 19 feet 4-inch pipe extra at home. however the pipe was on the roof and it got dirty. My uncle Ravi brought his chop saw for me to cut the pipes quicker and neater. Using the measuring tape 54 inches of length was marked off. Using a old 4-inch pipe I slit the end so it can grip onto the 19 feet length. This was used to  draw a circular line to make a precise cut. The number of grow channel is 5 so this was done 4 more times.  The pipes were then cleaned using tinners the washes and scrubbed with liquid detergent.    Pipes were then spray paint in baby pink. 

 Material for both system were bought to build both systems. 

Materials list were made and all the extra pipes and fittings I have around the house was located. Dimensions were drawn up and checked few hardware's for reasonable pipes during the break from school. 

 Video presentation: each slide voice over was recorded then on a zoom call I presented my screen to recorded the slide show the goal was to ensure the video was under 10 mins.  The video took long to record and issues arose with uploading the video the my google drive. This prevented me from submitting all documents on time even though it was complete.  Next submission I know how long the video took so precautions will be made to ensure the video upload on time.