PRELIMINARY DESIGN REPORT

Screwing Up
Jakob Gudas
Mandy Wilkie
Khalil Ryan-Jetha
Karolina Rak
January 27, 2016

Executive Summary
Presently, we are examining the needs and basis of a client for a product used in a
disaster situation. With the examination of current rain barrels, this system is inadequate
in two respects: first, it does not supply the user with drinkable water. Second, it is
expensive. Size and material costs have led to higher prices to the consumer. The
proposed pilot project implements a water purifier and system to produce electricity in
these products.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 Introduction

Page 2

2.0 Client Description & Needs Statement

Page 4

3.0 Evaluation & Weighing of Client Needs

Page 7

4.0 Product Research & Patent Search

Page 9

5.0 Statement of Design Benchmarks & QFD

Page 11

6.0 Design Concept Development Process & Design Evaluation Process

Page 12

7.0 Final Design Concept (with Drawings)

Page 15

8.0 Conclusion

Page 19

Appendix A: Bill of Materials & Spare Parts

Page 21

Appendix B: Detailed Design Drawings

Page 22

Appendix C: Proposed Cost Analysis

Page 23

Appendix D: Works Cited, References

Page 24

1.0 Introduction
Despite the plethora of technological advances that are occurring as the twenty-first
century progresses, access to clean water and electricity in disastrous situations seems
to consistently be an issue which needs to be addressed. While being tasked with the
objective to design and build a functioning contraption that is beneficial to society while
fixing a larger-scale issue, our group decided upon building a rain barrel to harvest and
purify rainwater, while obtaining energy that can be used to power flashlights or things

of that nature which would be endlessly beneficial in life-altering, disastrous situations.

This allows for a portion of the population in need to have access to resources that may
not be fully available in times of need or disaster.
A rain barrel is a simple and quick way to store rainwater for a user's future use through
the use of extra water collected from roofs during rainfall. A rain barrel allows for the
conservation of water for various tasks such as gardening or agriculture. Rain barrels
also help reduce the flow of storm runoff. When it rains, runoff picks up soil, fertilizer,
pesticides and other contaminants from hard surfaces and landscapes. Runoff is not
properly treated this way and flows directly into streams, lakes and other bodies of
water nearby. Runoff fertilizers increase algae growth in lakes, and excess soil alters the
habitat for fish.
Allow us to paint a picture imagine you live in an underdeveloped country which lacks
easy access to water and electricity on a regular basis, let alone in less than ideal
conditions. If a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tornado hits, what are you going
to do? With the help of our portable rain barrel that helps to efficiently filter rain water
while producing energy which is harvest-able at a later time, we are able to address and
help solve two large issues which arise in disastrous situations.
With normal barrels however, there is a possibility of contamination without a filter. With
the collection of water being a runoff source from a roof, there is a possible chance of
contact with animal droppings, leaves, and harmful roofing materials. Some
contamination can be potentially avoided through screens and filtering through water
purifiers, or not installation with harmful roof materials.

We are then able to combat client needs through this process and allow for an easier
recovery for them due to possible natural disasters.

2.0 Client Description and Needs Statement

2.1 Client Description
The client chosen is an individual living in an area that is subject to frequent natural
disasters such as earthquakes and hurricanes. This client has access to a housing
system with a gutter or an open area where rainwater can be collected. They are
individuals who lead normal lives, possibly with a family or others to care for.
Those in the paths of constant hurricanes are directly affected by this issue. The clients
will generally be situated near the east coast of the United States, or any other area that
may experience extreme rainfall. Our clients reflect upon these needs and be within the
general population of the area that is impacted by these natural disasters.
The client is also able-bodied, or has access to those able-bodied to help transport the
product and provide maintenance so that it may perform at its best.

2.2 Client Needs

The client will need a reliable source of proper necessities in a dire situation such as an
earthquake or hurricane situation. They will need reliable, fast, and easy access to
water. They will need access to water for their bodies to function properly, as well as
avoiding dehydration.
The collection of rainwater allows for a clean water supply when groundwater sources
might be contaminated. Water supplies from aid sources that may come in are also at
risk of running out due to possible demand. The client needs a product that will reliably
provide clean drinking water for use in these possible situations. This allows trust to be
developed with the product itself and the client. Water potentially running out also poses
a risk to the amount of water collected. This will vary with rainfall amounts specific to the
area being looked at, but the client will need a product able to hold a large amount of
water to create a safe supply ready for possible use.
The product must be portable when empty, as for easy storage and transportation. This
allows for accessibility for all, and will increase the likelihood of purchase and use. Size
continues to be a concern with looking at the diameter of the container itself. The
diameter cannot be too wide so it is not able to be carried by an average adult,
otherwise it would hinder its ability to be transported. It would inconvenience the client
and may persuade them to go to another company and buy a new product.
Durability of the barrel is also a large need and consideration for the client. The barrel
will be made to be a primarily outdoor usage item. The continuation of the changing of
the seasons combined with varying, rough weather, makes clients need a product they

can rely on, so they know and trust that it will not crack or begin to break down over a
small period of time.
The product must also be able to blend in with the scenery of the home or area it is
being placed in, as not to stand out and overtake the setting. The product's visual
appearance needs to match outdoor scenery and other tools one may find.
The product will also need to have a way to build and store energy and convert it into
electricity when needed. This will then make it available for use at a later time. With this,
comes the necessity for providing a simple way to obtain that energy, and use it in some
form so that the client may take advantage of it.
In disaster situations, one's entire focus may not be completely towards issues that may
last over a period of a few days, but rather focus on primary issues such as injury or
property damage due to severity. The barrel will relieve some of the stress caused by
this and allow the user to focus on other issues at hand.

3.0 Evaluation & Weighing of Client Needs

The largest and most important factors to the client are the abilities to have
electricity and clean drinking water. There are many other smaller needs and factors
that must be addressed so that the product meets the client needs and is successful.
Some of the needs are actually a necessity for proper function and purpose but some
are for convenience so that the client can efficiently use the product.
The most prevalent need of the client is the ability for the client to have access to
electricity and clean water in impoverished areas or disaster zones. Having clean water
is a necessity for sustaining ones life and maintaining proper bodily functions and in an
impoverished area or a disaster zone clean water is very difficult or not possible to get.
Electricity is another very important resource for disaster zones and areas in poverty.
Disaster areas require electricity to power lights and other devices to be able to save
lives. Areas in poverty require electricity so that the children can study into the night and
people can work later to provide for their family.
Another very important thing the client needs is for the rain barrel to be able to
store the electricity it produces. The product producing electricity is useless if it cannot
store the power for later use. To do this the hydro-generator must be connected to a
battery that is put into a water proof chamber so it will not get damaged by the water
rushing through the hydro generator.

A pertinent need of the clients is that the rain barrel unit has to be self contained.
If it is not then wires could unattach more easily than if the whole unit was inside

rain

barrel. Also if the unit is not self contained it may become too complicated to use which
in turn makes the whole device useless, because if the client cannot use the device
quickly and efficiently, especially in an emergency situation, the client may just give up
on it and potentially not have electricity of clean water.
A less important client need is for the rain barrel to be transportable while filled
with water. The rain barrel may be just water sealed so it can be rolled. It may also have
polls attached to it so it can be carried by two people or it can be put on wheels to be
rolled around.
One of the less prevalent needs of the client is that the device must be easy to
understand how to use. This is a very nice thing to have on the product but the product
can function without ease of understanding. As long as the client can use the device the
devices purpose will be achieved.
The client only needs clean water and electricity but all the other needs are there
so the client can use the rain barrel generator, water purification combination
successfully and efficiently.

4.0 Product Research & Patent Search

Rain barrels are an old and previously used concept but have gone unrecognized
for much of the last century. Rain barrels provide a convenient water source to people in
need. The biggest issue that it faces is that the water that they collect is not safe to
drink. Many of the countries that they are used in have an abundance of water but it is
all contaminated. Water is a precious resource that can be used in many ways and can
be used to produce many helpful things. Many innovators have tried to use the power of
water but none of them have ever been able to do it in its simplest and most basic form.
The rain barrel. From dams to turbines, the strength and power of water should be used
every day even if it is not in a developed nation. The possibilities that water can be
harnessed are endless.
A few products have already been patented with the idea of purifying water after
being collected in a rain barrel. While these are simple and amazing devices, their
product is more limited in its uses. Adding the ability to produce small amount of
electricity opens the door for many more possibilities and the ability to reach and help
more people. Patent DE 102005030519 A1 was the first one to patent the idea to purify
water from a rain barrel. While it is a great invention and has the potential to help
thousands of people, it is not meant to be used in disaster situations. Along with its
limited usage abilities the existing patent usually takes up to two full weeks to install and
get running.
Many of the existing patents are made exclusively for permanent use. While this
is still a great idea, our invention is going to be used in other types of situations while

still incorporating ideas from similar existing inventions. Patent CN 204919663 U is a

similar patent but is focused around the mass storage of the water. Most urban
rainwater collected the traditional way is to use roof rainwater harvesting systems,
rainwater collected yet landed, and after purification stored in the container as a nonpotable water to be used for home or public places. However, this approach can only
collect rainwater collected a small amount of rain, but once the heavy rain or rainstorm,
you can not timely rain had cleared, and make the most of the water is drained directly,
so its poor water storage effect. In particular, when heavy rain is due to the city a lot of
rain will be too late to purge the collection, and so that rainwater can not get effective
counseling and exclusion, so it is therefore likely to occur floods.
Our targeted client needs the following: Easy and simple to setup, quick access
to drinkable and usable water, and an electrical output with enough voltage to power
small electronics such as cell phones and batteries. None of these existing patents have
come up with the idea for an electrical output which sets our product away from the
field. Most of the existing patents are a permanent solution which is very cumbersome
for our specific client. We will have a large market for our product to many developing
countries as well as support organizations like the Red Cross. Our simple design should
allow for a quick and easy setup with minimal parts. The parts will be able to snap
together easily and with a small manual should be able to be assembled quickly and
effectively.

5.0 Statement of Design Benchmarks & QFD

5.1 Statement of Design Benchmarks

Within the span of the requirements needed, size limits and ranges need to be
considered and measured. With a product that does not meet necessities to the client,
is not visually appealing, or is not possible with materials and population available, it will
not be successful.
The weight of the product needs to be evaluated, both with and without water. As well
as the diameter of the cylinder, all to evaluate the ability to transport the product. This
also comes with the issue of size to the client, as it cannot be too large to not fit
comfortably in a designated area, but also not light enough to be knocked over and
potentially cause damage to the system.
The materials being used and the cost of said materials also need to be evaluated
based on the scope of the product being made. As a product gears to be more
expensive, some may get discouraged and not pursue the product. Rain barrels tend to
be made from many different types of materials ranging from resin to granite and faux
wood.
The capacity of the product needs to be evaluated. Most rain barrels can hold around
55 to 70 gallons of water in its system. If there is a benefit to breaking the average,
there needs to be reason and motivation behind it, as well as cost bearing information.

5.2 QFD

6.0 Design Concept Development Process & Design

Evaluation Process

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Fair access to clean water is critical for a proper sustainable development by

being a large part of life, livelihood, food and industry. By 2025 an estimated 1.8 billion
people will live in areas plagued by water scarcity, with two-thirds of the worlds
population living in water-stressed regions
(http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml). Some have to travel long
distances, or go through great lengths to find a water source and deliver the resource
back to where they wish to use it. Currently, more than two billion people worldwide rely
on wells for their water. The distribution of water resources is uneven, and much of it is
wasted, polluted, and not managed properly. Statistics such as these acted as
motivation and incentive for our group to find an affordable method of water purification
for those facing hardship such as lack of access to clean water due to heinous
situations such as natural disasters.
In the event of natural disasters, water is an essential resource that many may
not have access to at all times. Sometimes, the sources may become contaminated as
well, and residents are left in a crisis, according to UNICEF (2016), waterborne
diseases such as cholera can spread rapidly in the effect of a natural disaster. In areas
where water is not easily accessable, this fatal bacterial disease may have deadly
effects on unsuspecting residents (https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/hurricane-matthewworst-storm-haiti-has-seen-decades/30957).
These facts provided us with a very general idea of what we wanted to
accomplish - clean water. We decided we should implement an approach to water
purification which reuses or recycles water. We will design a rain barrel which connects

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to the gutter system of a home or commercial building which will filter impurities and
bacteria from rain water.
While this is taking place, the group also recognized another issue that takes
place often in the event of natural disasters. The lack of a reliable source of energy can
be one's access to potential information and access to necessary resources. Adding a
rechargeable battery and generator at the bottom of our system can generate power for
small purposes, possibly to charge a phone or create light for a set amount of time.
A quick run down of our design would be: a purifier within a rain barrel, and the
pressure of the water flow will generate energy into a removable battery. At the top of
the rain barrel, a water purifier is required to filter the water in order to make it safe for
human consumption. A concern of ours is chlorine concentration within the water. A
certain chlorine level (.5 mg/L) is deemed safe, and is encouraged as according to the
cdc, a sufficient amount of chlorine was added initially to the water to inactivate the
bacteria and some viruses that cause diarrhea disease; and, the water is protected from
recontamination during storage. The presence of free chlorine in drinking water is
correlated with the absence of most disease-causing organisms, and this is a meaure of
the potability of water (https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/chlorine-residual-testing.html).
However, chlorine levels that are too high are detrimental to human health, so it is
imperative that these levels are closely monitored before consumption.
Once the water has been purified and is currently being stored in the rain barrel,
there is a water purifier connected to a spout, which, when twisted, will release the
purified water. When the flow of the water begins, it will create pressure and spin the
internal turbine, thus producing energy which will then be harvested into the removable

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battery pack for later usage. In times of disaster, which is the intended use for our
product, people need access to clean water as well as energy. By having a removable
battery pack, it opens the door to several opportunities such as powering flashlights,
powering small heaters (if applicable), or powering small household lamps.
This access to energy also allows for our clients to have access to information,
as some power may be used for cell phones, to contact others or learn about news in
the area.

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7.0 Final Design Concept

The final design encompassess a large
black plastic rain barrel, approximately 24
inches in diameter and 34 inches tall. This
material was chosen for its light weight when
the barrel is empty, as well as the cheaper cost
in relation to similar materials that exist for rain
barrels. These size constraints will allow for the
barrel to hold around 55 gallons of water, the
standard amount for typical rain barrels.

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On the
top face of the
barrel, a
screen 8
inches in
diameter rests embedded in the center. This
screen will filter sediment, leaves, and other large
particles from entering the rain barrel. This will
then allow for easy cleanup as the
sediment can be wiped off, or the lid

can

be screwed off and the screen can

be

sprayed down with water to remove

anything that may get in the way.
Around 4 inches from the top of the
barrel, sticks out an overflow port about in diameter, with a mosquito net on the
inside. If the water levels in the barrel exceed the 55 gallons, the overflow port can
connect to a garden hose piece so that it has a way of getting out so it does not
contaminate itself by interacting with the sediment on the top.
Around 6 inches from the bottom of the barrel rests a spigot, The generator is screwed
into that, when the spigot is turned, the water will flow through, running through the
generator resting inside the generator, creating electrical energy. The water will then run
through an attachable hose carbon filter, finally coming out and reaching the user. The
filter has a capacity of almost 4,000 gallons of water, allowing for long-term use for the

15

client, and can easily be replaced by the client, as it is also relatively inexpensive. This
filter allows for final purification of the water and allowing it to be drinkable. This then
can be unattached, if the
client were to choose that
they do not need the water
for in an emergency
situation, the attachment can then be used with a regular hose ending for watering
plants or other purposes.
In the inside of the
barrel, we plan on having an
acrylic disc resting on a slant,
with a 3 inch gap from the
bottom of the barrel. This will
be supported if needed,
however it will be glued onto
the inside of the barrel with a
strong, waterproof adhesive,
creating a hollow bottom,
which will then include space for the wires coming from the generator, to the battery.
This will then have a 3 inch square opening near the bottom of the rainbarrel, the
opening will be covered by the piece it was cut out of, allowing for a smooth barrel look
and easy access in and out, so that the pieces inside do not fall out, and based on
whether or not use of the Powerboost 500 charger is needed by the client. This allows

16

for waterproofing of the system, as well as keeping space internal so not a lot of exterior
space is taken up, that will increase the amount of space near a home/business it is
taking up.
The generator will be connected to the
rechargeable battery pack we have supplied for
the client. This battery pack is small and
lightweight, allowing for more space to be used for
water storage purposes. This then will help
power the connector for the power supply to
a mobile device or something else that
needs to be powered. The board is great for
converting the energy over, and with this the
client will have access to a power source
after the generator use from needing the
water inside.

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8.0 Conclusion
When beginning our project we had many ideas but settled on a purifying,
electric producing rain barrel. We wanted to help people who do not have access to
clean water or electricity due to extreme circumstances. Our main focus for the project
was on people suffering from frequent natural disasters, for example hurricanes or
earthquakes. In these situations, water may become scarse or contaminated, and with
water collected during the hurricane or over a larger period of time, the client would
have a set water source for a short period of time to use if a situation becomes dire.
We chose to combine a safe, filtered water storage solution with energy
generation so that people in disaster situations have a guaranteed way to stay hydrated
and have an emergency power source for light or other small electrical devices. Our
initial design was to have the filter at the top of the rain barrel that runs to the
hydroelectric generator. As the design evolved we decided to have as much room for
18

the water as possible and to have the purifier, generator, and battery at the very bottom
of the barrel. We also wanted the barrel to be easy to set up, if needed, and use so that
anyone who needs it can use it no matter the country they are in.
We searched for patents for a purifying, electric generating rain barrel but could
not find anything that did what we wanted to create. There were patents on purifying
rain barrels and mass storage of rainwater but nothing that could be installed either
permanently or for a short period of time that purified water and created electricity.

We set out to create an affordable way for people that need clean water and
energy to be able to get clean water and energy. With our invention we can potentially
save hundreds of thousands of lives or millions of lives by getting clean water to
disaster areas and impoverished countries throughout the world. Our dream is to
personally see our invention in use improving lives around the world so that we can truly
know we could contribute to a community.

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Appendix A: Bill of Materials & Spare Parts

20

Appendix B: Detailed Design Drawings

Top View:

21

Side View:

22

Appendix C: Proposed Cost Analysis

23

Appendix D: Works cited, References

Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2014, July 17). Free Chlorine Testing.
Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/safewater/chlorine-residual-testing.html
Human Development Report. (2014). Scarcity, Decade, Water for Life, 2015, UN-Water,
United Nations, MDG, water, sanitation, financing, gender, IWRM, Human right,
transboundary, cities, quality, food security. Retrieved from,
http://www.un.org/waterforlifedecade/scarcity.shtml
Sandler, M., & Farley, M. (2016, October 7). Hurricane Matthew: "The worst storm Haiti
has seen in decades". Retrieved from,
https://www.unicefusa.org/stories/hurricane-matthew-worst-storm-haiti-has-seendecades/30957

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