COMPARATIVE EFFICIENCIES OF HORIZONTAL VERSUS VERTICAL HYDROPONICS PLANT GROWTH SYSTEMS

 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. 

Report was completed and the power point was made. In the night, notes were made for recording the video. 

 I had issues getting access to remote desktop so I ask a friend to use his remote access to do my drawings but it was giving a lot of trouble and time was hard to mange with his schedule  and mine.   Incomplete Horizontal system  As a result, hand drawn sketches were done for the preliminary report.  Concept 1 Concept 2 Concept 3 Final horizontal system (pipe layout) the stand was really hard to sketch for the report. 

  Methodology The project was implemented compare a horizontal and vertical system hydroponic plant growth system. the projects’ objective is merely directed to alleviate the issue in the easiest matter. The information gather from the literature review, was based on pre-existing research from websites, articles, and patents. The investigation design was done in a way that both systems was efficiently done. The black box was created, and the requirements were analyzed. The generated key attributes were used to make a metric table was further explained in a pairwise comparison chart. This was used to narrow down the metrics based on the questionnaire conducted. The metric table compared the three concepts. One final horizontal hydroponic system will be tested and constructed against a vertical concept design three.

Design of Horizontal system This design consists of five 4-inch PVC grow tubes with connecting pipes in a stream like pattern resting on a step-down stand. Each grow tube contains five pockets for net pots, medium and plants. Nutrient water from the reservoir is pumped up the irrigation line to the top grow tower. The grow towers are slightly angled to allow nutrient water to flow through out the system back into the reservoir.  Sketches: Stand:

 Concept Selection was done by using the pairwise comparison to create a  Pugh Chart Pairwise: Pugh Chart: Concept design 3 was chosen for the vertical system.

Concept design 3 sketches and description  This system consists of one 4-inch PVC grow tower holding twenty grow pockets along with a reservoir, irrigation system, water and air pump, outlet valve, drainage cover and end cap. The grow tower is 36 inches in length consisting with evenly distributed pockets, 6inches apart with a diametral hole of two inches. This distance gives the plant enough space to obtain maximum leaf coverage. The reservoir chosen is seal tight rectangular container with a length of 15 inches and width 10 inches that is dark in colorations to avoid algae growth. The reservoir stores the nutrient water along with a water and air pump installation. To accommodate the electrical cords, a rubber sealed hole was designed for cord lines to exit the system safely. In addition, an outlet valve was implemented at the base of the reservoir as a drainage mechanism of nutrient water, for sanitation purposes. An irrigation line of 2-inch PVC pipe is connected to the water p...

 Concept design 2 sketches - indoor system  The structure includes a rectangular 2 by 4 by 8 lumber frame, reservoir, irrigation system, water and air pump, timer, tube couplings, wye-tee joints, artificial lighting, and a water filter. The system is built for a controlled room indoors using artificial lighting and external fan. For irrigation, a half inch pole line runs horizontally along the top of the frame with 1/4-inch irrigation tubing connected from the water pump PVC line to the irrigation pipe using connectors. There are five irrigation tubing that runs into each section of grow towers. The towers are made up of 1.5-inch PVC pipes at 3.5 inches length connecting to five wye-tee joint per tower. The system slightly tilted forward so the nutrient flows down the front of the pipe therefore aerating the roots and water conservation. There are 20 slots with 8 1/2 inches off center between plants. Net pots are not used in this system, the plants are placed in rockwool and i...