Background
- Spring Creek, South Dakota, suffers from trout die offs when the water gets too warm.
- Tasked with designing an apparatus to test different cooling system prototypes.
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- Design of a Testing Apparatus for a Remote, Solar Powered Cooling System
Project Description
Objective: Replicate the fluid dynamics of stream based on measurements taken by South Dakota Game Fish and Parks.
Constraints (partial list)
- Model size less than 6 ft by 6 ft
- Accurately replicate the flow of the stream
- Instrumentation for temperature and velocity
- Fit 1.5 ft by 1.5 ft prototype
Scaling
- 1/10 scale was determined most feasible
- 70% cut off of upstream and downstream sections
- Reynold’s number held constant
Design
Stream Bed
- Spray foam between plywood cross sections
- Cheap, lightweight, easy to form
Waterworks
- “Boil Box” to deliver water in a manner more similar to the stream
- Two 250 gallon reservoirs
- Gas powered water pump
Instrumentation
- Pitot-static tubes to measure velocity
- Thermistors to measure temperature
Finite Element Analysis
- Max Stress: 889 kPa
- Factor of Safety: 2
- Max Deformation: 0.086 in
- Factor of Safety: 6
Results
- Frame adjustable from 0 to 7.5 degrees
- Flowrate 75-380 gallons per minute
- Able to measure minimal temperature changes
- Depth changes geometrically with flowrate as expected
Acknowledgements
Mentors: Dr Adam Gladen Dr Yan Zhang
Builder: Michael Backer
SD Game Fish and Parks Contact: Jeremy Kientz
Senior Test Engineer: Rob Sailer
