OSU Students Design Human Powered Potable Water Stills

Story Posted: Mon, Nov 27, 2006

By Gregg Kleiner, 541-737-9684
SOURCE: Ping Ge, 541-737-7713

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Mechanical engineering students at Oregon State University who have designed and built stills capable of heating polluted water to boiling then condensing the steam into purified water using only human mechanical power will demonstrate their prototypes this Thursday evening, November 30, in the Kelley Engineering Center on the OSU campus.

This year’s design challenge was inspired in part by the lack of potable water available in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina. Thousands of residents were stranded on rooftops surrounded by vast amounts of water, but the water was unfit to drink because it was either brackish or contaminated by biological and chemical pollutants. Had these people had access to human powered stills, they could have produced their own clean drinking water.

Approximately 24 student teams will demonstrate their inventions, which must be portable, easily assembled, and operate using energy input provided only by mechanical means driven by human effort. Designs can include pedal systems, linkages, lever systems, cranks, treadmills, etc.

“This project is an excellent example of how we teach students to apply engineering theory to real-world problems to improve life through creative design and teamwork,” said Ping Ge, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at OSU who teaches the Introduction to Design class (ME 382). “This is an entirely new engineering concept, so students have to come up with original design solutions. In doing so, they learn about the engineering design process, including experiencing failures as well as successes.”

Students also gain first-hand experience in teamwork, communication and project management because they must work within tight timelines and budgetary constraints, Ge said.

Each year the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) extends a design challenge that is the basis for the organization’s  International Design Competition for College Students. The OSU College of Engineering incorporates the ASME design challenge as a part of the introductory design class in ME 382. The team that demonstrates the best design at the OSU event has the opportunity to move on to the regional design competition with the possibility of advancing to the international competition. Last year OSU students designed and built breath-controlled fishing rod devices that could be used by people with limited or no use of their arms.

 “Applications for the technology behind a human powered still are far ranging,” Ge said. “It could potentially bring safe drinking water to the millions of people worldwide who have limited access to potable water, and it could also be used in emergency situations.”

Because this is a new engineering concept, some of the prototypes demonstrated at the campus competition will function better than others, Ge said. Teams will be scored based on the how well the distillation process works and how well designs comply with the requirements/constraints posted by ASME.

Read more about the contest at: http://www.asme.org/Events/Contests/DesignContest/Rules_Procedures.cfm

The November 30th event, which starts at 7 p.m. in the atrium of the Kelley Engineering Center, is free and open to the public. All ages are welcome, especially students in grades K-12 and their families. For information and/or questions, please contact: Ping Ge at 541-737-7713 or by email at: christine.ping-ge@oregonstate.edu