Hello everyone, and welcome back to one of the last installments of EvapoGATOR’s blog! Unfortunately, I’m a bit late with this post but don’t worry, I won’t leave out any details from last week, this week, and next week in the final blog posts.

Last week (April 10-14), the team was putting some final touches on the system and fixing any issues that arose. We were also busy preparing for the peer-reviewed final design review (PR FDR) that occurred on Tuesday, 4/18. During this demonstration, EvapoGATOR will showcase a draft of our final presentation and receive feedback from our peers. This is a good way to practice our presentation skills, become more comfortable with receiving constructive criticism, and gain specialized input on our project.

Another big project the team was stressing over was an outline and draft for our final design report, composed of 5 volumes; this is the final, cumulative report that documents everything we’ve done with our project in IPPD. Volume 1 is a final design summary report, Volume 2 is product and process documentation, Volume 3 is acceptance test results, Volume 4 is a folder with product manuals, and Volume 5 is a folder with project deliverables from the last two semesters.

Other than working on these things for class, here are a few other tasks EvapoGATOR accomplished:

• more alignment issues were fixed, specifically regarding the phase separator tank
• the new evaporator HEX (Evap 1) was configured into the system
• parts were sourced and purchased for new connections for Evap 1, since the outputs are tri-clover fittings, and we need NPT parts for the steam line
• the thermocouple tray was designed, manufactured, and attached to the system

These were a few small tasks since our project is almost completely finished. At this point, the team is focusing on wrapping up and perfecting our design to optimize the system while documenting everything for FDR. However, we’ve had some issues, the biggest being a massive leak under the phase separator tank (picture at the bottom).

To continue, here are some tasks we wanted to accomplish this week (April 17-21):

• finish FDR report draft
• create PPT for PR FDR + prepare for presentation on Tuesday
• work on and finalize the poster + video for FDR
• receive + attach the new components ordered
• complete a final draft of the student survey
• make plans for testing with undergraduate students next week
• design, manufacture, and attach the steel nameplate
• seal NPT connections on Evap 1 to prevent leaking
• test system with all components to assess challenges

We’re getting to the very busy part of the semester with FDR right around the corner. EvapoGATOR is working to finish our system and documentation, which is proving to be quite challenging since we’re a group of 3 compared to other IPPD groups that have 4 or 5 members. It’s been a lot of work for us, but we’re getting through. See you next time, but for now, enjoy some pictures from this week!