User:Aabdelaz6573/Igloo

Write problem/project Goal
Problem: What material is best for making an igloo in terms of durability, strength, and price.

Project Goal: To create the most functional and stable igloo and document instructions how to do so using the different tools and materials.

My First Task
I am going to review the work of the previous team in order to find out where they left off, what problems they encountered, and what tools/materials worked best for them. I will also figure out ways to improve upon their work.

Summary of actual work over first weekend
Over the weekend I spent time reviewing the previous teams work and this is what I planned however I believe I am off to a good start considering the helpfulness of the teams documentation and I've come up with many questions to test further along this project. What I did was slightly different than what I planned in terms of collecting more information that I thought I'd have which is great. I also ended up watching videos and doing some research myself on the location of igloos and which places would be best to build one out of snow.

Week1 Narrative
I first began by reviewing the previous teams igloo work and found it to be very useful. According to what I've read:
 * Different materials were used in creating igloos, but the most stable and easy to build igloo is made out of play dough.
 * A tutorial of how to make an igloo with play dough is found here

A few problems the previous team encountered was:
 * The difficulty of building an igloo out of cork because of the precision required to cut cork blocks.
 * Styrofoam did not manage to stick to each other and so building the top piece of the igloo was difficult even when using toothpicks to help attach the blocks together

In addition to building well structured igloos, math must also be associated in order to calculate angles and slopes of igloos that help build a strong igloo.
 * A tutorial on igloo math is found here

I watched a few videos on how to build a lifesize igloo out of snow and this one was most fascinating and helpful how to build an igloo

A few important facts to know when constructing an igloo are:
 * The structure must have a parabolic shape
 * The basic formula for dome shape is y=(-1/4)x^2+8
 * the base should be created in a circular pattern with an open area for the door

A few things that I've came up with when building an igloo:
 * the location should be in a damp area preferably on a slope at the bottom of a hill. This allows the builder to save time and energy as well as a more stable place for the snow to be placed. Here is a picture to further explain: Igloo construction.jpg

My Second Task

 * I can work on the math portion of the project to figure out the dimensions of each snow block.
 * I can contribute to fixing the pressure washer that we have
 * I can look for inexpensive parts to use to build the snow machine

Summary of actual work over second weekend
I focused my attention on the pressure washer and how to repair it. I listed sites on high pressure hydraulic system safety and gave a few alternative solutions to repairing the pressure washer house. I also listed websites that have good piece tools to help with the pressure washer house such as house ends and coupling pipes.

Week2 Narrative
Over the weekend I focused my attention on the pressure washer we have and efforts being made to repair it.

I searched for a high pressure hydraulic system safety tutorial and found a very detailed one from an educational website here

It is important to consider the dangers of high pressure hydraulic systems while trying to fix it. This tutorial includes the most common injury associated with high pressure hydraulic systems as well as improper coupling. In case john's effort of fixing the pressure washer hose fails and we decide to purchase another one, this website lists dangers of connecting a high-pressure pump to a low-pressure system. The more psi the thicker the hose must be.

I also found a website that gives detail on how and what a pressure washer is made of here. This will help in giving more possible solutions of how to fix the pressure washer hose and may help us identify the problem more clearly.

Since I do not have the actual pressure hose with me (it is with my teammate) I'm not sure what exactly is the problem with the hose that we have now, but I took the initiative of searching for possible damages of pressure washer hose so that i may be prepared when it is my turn to take the hose and try and fix it.

for Reusable hose ends - they screw on in 2 pieces. Hose is best cut with a carbide hacksaw blade, or abrasive cutting wheel. The wire braid in a hose will rip the teeth slap off a regular hacksaw blade.

If the problem is with the end of the hose another good tool to use is a chopsaw. Once you make a clean cut you can put a hose end on it and you're done. Russ has a good selection of hose ends here

If the problem is a hole somewhere along the hose, put a pipe coupling between them and make 2 hoses out of it.

Purchasing a new pressure washer is also a good solution. Northern tool link to website has a good selection of hoses including brand names like Goodyear. or if there is a parker store nearby, I can go have them put a new crimp end on it which cost around 8 bucks.

My Third task

 * I can follow the igloo tutorial posted on the previous teams homepage to help me measure dimensions of a snow block.
 * I can further investigate the problem with the pressure hose and how to fix it.
 * I can help purchase parts/pieces for the pressure hose as well as the snowmaker

Summary of actual work over third weekend
I've spent the entire weekend trying to become an expert on hydraulic pressure systems safety and reading the official instruction manuel and preparing to finally test our pressure washer with the hose at HCC. In addition, I've also started working on the Igloo homepage.

Week3 Narrative
Over the weekend I've spent time becoming an expert on hydraulic pressure systems and preparing for when we test the pressure washer. The first thing that I made sure I covered was safety - How can we test this pressure washer and be 100% safe.

I started by searching the internet on how to route a pressure washer and found many informative websites. here is one from "MSHA's Accident Prevention Program Safety Idea" This website gives possible failures that may occur while starting up the pressure washer as well as detailed information on the hose itself.

Although these websites were informative, I soon realized that different pressure washers may have different safety instructions. For example, there are electric pressure washers, gasoline pressure washers, and many more. I had no idea what kind of pressure washer we had so I drove back to HCC on friday to take a closer look at the pressure washer we have and recorded everything I saw about the pressure washer: 1.) It is called Cleanforce 1800 2.) It is red 3.) Seems to have a fluid tank

When I arrived back home I searched up all the information I know about our pressure washer and found it fairly easy. here is a website of our exact pressure washer, if not, very very similar. This website gives information on our pressure washers features, specifications, reviews, most importantly the instructions manuel here. It is a fairly short manuel, but very helpful. I've read the whole thing and here are a few summarizing facts that solves a few issues we discussed in class:
 * Must use cold water only! The water temperature must not exceed 40℃(104℉) and the supply pressure must be between 40 to 80 PSI.
 * In order for the pressure washer to work at its potential there must be a water supply of at least 2 GPM (gallons per minute)

Safety instructions
 * Injection Hazard
 * Hose Whipping
 * Risk of Explosion
 * Risk of Electric Shock
 * Gun Kicks Back

The specifications on the other hand, tells us what kind of hose we have as well as much more detailied information in case we come across another problem with the hose and trouble finding pieces that fit with our hose.

What I also like about the manuel is that is has a troubleshooting page that lists additional possible difficulties or problems that may occur as well has solutions to it.

My Fourth task
I can:
 * Test the pressure washer
 * Help Harris with building the snow machine
 * Go back to trying to figure out the dimensions of a snow block
 * Gain the respect of HCC's plant operation staff
 * write a safety tutorial of some sort
 * Work on creating a very detailed homepage for the next group

Summary of actual work over fourth weekend
I've spent most of week four trying to perfect the homepage in terms of a detailed story, problem statement, and summary so that the next team could pick up where we left off with everything they need to know. I also created a "safety checklist" for when we test the pressure washer.

Week4 Narrative
This week I:


 * Started updating the team homepage with details to ensure the next team can take off exactly where we started
 * Summarized the key points of the instruction Manuel for our pressure washer (see "pressure washer safety checklist" below)
 * Made sure the next team has all they need to start off effeciently by adding everything including my last efforts on the math portion of the project as well as where I got stuck.
 * Searched for pictures to represent my work for the team poster.
 * created the team poster using paint.
 * posted pictures in the homepage as well as individual page.

I also started making a pressure washer safety checklist and edited it to take out some of the irrelevant information. It is not exactly finished because I did not have time, but it is more than halfway done and is very useful. The next team may add a few more lines to check off.



Complete Team Page
Fill out the Team Form (should have already copied the form, created the team page, linked to it and started filling it out) Return to Team Page