Power Puff Girls

This week the Power Puff Girls worked to accomplish testing and redesign of the recirculation apparatus. The testing was done for three rounds using 5 concentrations of approximately .17g/L. the results showed an average yield of 65.11%. This value accounts for the mass of nanoparticles that collected on the magnet and were removed from the system. Along with this, we had to consider the control. The control test was run my flowing the same volume through the system without any magnetic field. After the total 5L was run through the system, the number of nanoparticles left in the tubing and bags was then flushed out of the system and weighed. The percent of nanoparticles left in the system was 31.39%. This percentage is large and is mostly due to the nanoparticles attaching to the walls of the bag and tubing. The percent needs to be accounted for when considering the results from testing if the amount left in the system is approximately 30%, then we would assume that the number of nanop...

This past week, we continued our testing. We tested collection and re-circulation separately. the video of re-circulation can be seen on the following link:   recirculation , the video is called recirculation 2. With the recirculation, we realized that for the particles to not stick on the surface of the bag, the motors have to move faster than they are moving in this video. We are waiting for the system that supports the motors better to be able to move them faster. For the collection, We collected 3 different samples of nanoparticles using magnets, and one control without the magnet.  both 4 samples were evaporated to remove all the water out. One of the three was measured to have collected 69.13%, we are yet to measure the yield of the rest. Figure 1: The collection process.  Figure 2: Nanoparticles after evaporating water. In the spring break, we want to use the whole system together to measure how much we can collect

This week we continued to do testing. We tested to find the right amount of nanoparticles to use. The number we first used was way too many, see the picture below of running the system after only 1L. We redid our calculations, and found a different number. We successfully ran 5L through at a consistent concentration. See the pictures below at the 1L mark and 5L mark. We extracted the nanoparticles solution from the bag at the end and plan on either getting access to a chem lab through Jen to use a vacuum so that we can meausre teh weight of dry nanoparticles collected, or using an oven to evaporate the (per Dr. Xe's suggestion). We will then compare the final weight to the initial weight. After 1L After 5L We replaced our motors with the new ones ordered, and took some time to add screws into them to stregthen the connection. However one motor is still giving us trouble with the weight of the water-filled bag, so we will be figuring that out this week...

This week, the PowerPuff Girls reached the mid-semester point. The girls presented the design and some testing results to the class and adviser. Throughout the week, the girls continued to work on testing and obtaining a better magnet placement for nanoparticle collection. Also, Esther worked to slow down the movement of the motors in the recirculation device. Previously, the movement of the device was abrupt. Using 'for' loops and minor pauses in the program, Esther was able generate a slower, more fluid motion for the pulley system. One motor stopped working during testing, so a new motor was ordered and should be arriving shortly. Jennifer worked on updating the design. Instead f the metal pieces used for the recirculation device, the girls are wanting to 3D print a part for a more stable and aesthetically pleasing design. A few screenshots of the 3D parts can be seen below in Figures 1 and 2. The girls are discussing which part they believe would work the best before sendin...