Engineering Design Process: Leveee

1. Engineering Design Process: Leveee Cristiana Green, Cayla Johnson, Jamal Belton Period 3B

2. Define The Problem • Water is flowing into the city from the near river. It may flood the city and cause major damage and/or deaths.

3. Brainstorm We thought of creating a levee with: • A sponge in the front, to soak up water • Some sand in the back as a back-up for the sponge • A piece of cardboard to act as a divider and a strong, stable holder between the sand and oncoming water

4. Research And Generate Ideas • Levees are used to stop oncoming unwanted water. • There are always used to set boundaries for unwanted people.

5. Identify Constraints and Criteria • The cost of materials • Type of materials • The amount of materials • The order in which the materials are used The purpose of the levee we are supposed to make is to stop unwanted water from flowing into a city.

6. Explore Possibilities • Two possibilities were having the sand in the front and the sponge in the back as the reinforcement. • We went with the sponge in the front to stop as much water as possible and sand in the back to catch the excess water flow

7. Select An Approach • We used the sponge to act as a boundary line and the sand in the back as a back up.

8. Design Proposal • For our design we wanted the sponge to soak up as much water as possible in the front. This way if it did seep out the sand would soak it up from the back. We also added cotton balls on the sides for more absorbency. We put the cardboard in the middle for stability.

9. Make A Model

10. Test • The first test we did was unsuccessful due to the amount of water added. Everything was holding up fine until the 3rd cup of water. This caused the cotton balls to get soggy and started to let water seep through the sand in the back.

11. Refine • After the failed prototype we came up with the idea of adding an open plastic bag underneath the cardboard. This way the water will go into the bag and just sit there. We will still use the sand and sponge as back-ups.

12. Create It • We placed the sponge in front of the cardboard, with the plastic bag underneath. We also had the cotton balls on the side and the sand in the back. This would hold for better absorbency.

13. Results • As a result of the refinements on the levee, the water didn’t seep pass the sand. It was able to flow into the plastic bag. The water was also soaked up by the sponge and cotton balls.