Hi Everyone,
This week was more planning with a bit of building on the side. Most of my free time out of work was spent planning for the new material, designs, and extra features we will incorporate into the Mini Plant 2. We are currently in the process of constructing a Simulink model to find out a perfect flow rate for our pump. A pump with the correct flow rate appropriately fills the bed at whatever rate we desire. But, not only that we also decided on replacing our bell siphon with an electronic valve. That way, a lot of the calculations using a siphon would be unnecessary, and we can simply control the flood and drain rate with our controller. The major feature we are planning around in our design will be that each section of the system will be modular.
The Mini Plant 2 being modular will help with storage, customization, and isolation of the system. Because we designing the Mini Plant 2 as modular, we can place the system at any location. With the Mini Plant, we were only able to keep the system in one place; the area it was built. With the system being modular, we will be able to break the system apart, and carry it to a new location (like a location with more sun). Making it modular will also allow for us to customize the system. For example, we can place the base of the system (sump tank and fish tank), then on top maybe place two or three grow beds on top of each other so that the water may drip down. This of course, would require a stronger pump, but if acquiring a new pump is the only alteration needed, then it will be worth it. Along with customization of the system, we can also isolate the individual systems when something goes wrong. There are times when the fish can get sick, and this can be harmful to the plants or vice versa. Remember, that if something in the system fails, the whole system fails; therefore, being able to isolate sections of the system is required for the Mini Plant 2 to succeed. By making the system modular, we can easily disconnect one section from the problematic section until the problematic section is fixed. Meanwhile, we can place the healthy section with another healthy section.
There was a bit of construction this week, so I will post pictures of the project soon. We also managed to get our sensor package hardware problems solved, so now we will be moving forward with that. Still haven't received the Element 14 kit yet though, but will update you all when we do.
Like always, let me know if you guys have any questions or comments.
Erik
