Summary

Purpose:

I worked in a team to design a filtration component for a wastewater treatment plant by considering its mechanical properties and performance. The assigned scenario for my team was “Microplastic Filtration for Large-Scale Plant”.

Problem Statement:

The goal is to design a wastewater management system for the city of Hamilton that is capable of filtering water contaminated with microplastics while reducing environmental impact in a way that is feasible for a large-scale plant.

Objectives:

Filter has high-volume processing capacity
Filter materials are cost-effective to source in case of needed replacements
Should have a low environmental impact and minimize carbon footprint from production

Constraints:

Durability to acids must be acceptable or excellent
Durability in fresh water must be excellent since the filter will be submerged in it
Filter material must be recyclable

Functions:

Filter is able to remove the microplastics and additional contaminants
Regulates flow of the water ensuring pressure is adequate
Filter fiber is able to collect and dispose of contaminants
Prevents bypass of contaminants

Team’s Work and Personal Contributions

Ashby Chart

One of the main stages of the material selection process was the analysis of the Ashby chart which compared the ratio between 2 properties. To determine our final material, we placed our constraints as limits to ensure the top materials fit the constraints. The top materials generated from this were Polyethylene, Polypropylene, and Styrene-Acrylonitrile (SAN).

Figure 1. Ashby Chart with High Moldability. The chart used to select the final three materials for analysis. Other charts analyzing yield strength and cost showed similar results, with the three labelled materials always ranking in the top five.

Figure 1. Ashby Chart with High Moldability. The chart used to select the final three materials for analysis. Other charts analyzing yield strength and cost showed similar results, with the three labelled materials always ranking in the top five.

Porosity Calculations

I was responsible for calculating the porosity of our chosen material which initially was Silicon Carbide with a porosity value of 0.01. This was not an ideal porosity for a filter fiber since it would be unable to capture the contaminants which was one of the main reasons we changed our chosen material to Polyethylene.

The porosity calculations were crucial in identifying key mechanical properties of the filter.

Key properties of the filter:

Young’s modulus = 0.458 GPa ➡️ flexible material
Yield strength = 15MPa ➡️ maximum stress before deformation
Porosity = 0.2 ➡️ can capture contaminants with size 10-20µm

All relevant porosity calculations

Skills

Soft Skills

✅ Time Management

Managed time efficiently and proactively
Tracked and met all project milestones and deadlines

✅ Leadership

Demonstrated leadership by actively communicating ideas and seeking feedback to enhance my team contributions.

✅ Project Management

Organized and led regular team status meetings
Monitored progress toward project milestones
Led team responses to technical challenges to meet deliverables on time

Technical Skills

✅ Granta Edupack

Used material performance indices
Performed MPI selection to minimize CO2 production
Performed Eco Audit for various materials

✅ Porosity/MPI Calculations

Calculated the porosities of different materials
Identified and calculated MPIs ( Material Performance Indices)