Project
| # | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Automated Frozen Pipe Burst Prevention System |
Benedicta Udeogu Ethan Zhang Neha Vagvala |
Prannoy Kathiresan | design_document3.pdf final_paper1.pdf photo1.jpeg photo2.jpeg presentation1.pptx proposal2.pdf video |
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| # Title: Automated Frozen Pipe Burst Prevention System Team Members: - Neha Vagvala (vagvala2) - Benedicta Udeogu (budeog2) - Ethan Zhang (ethanz2) # Problem Frigid temperatures like those during the winter here in Illinois run the risk of inducing frozen & thus burst pipes. Just this past winter break, my roommates and I got an email regarding several units on our floor that had unfortunately had their pipes burst as a result of the winter storm. This is an issue that plagues not only college students like us, but many residents across the country. An estimated average of over 250,000 homes each year will suffer damage from frozen and burst pipes. The damage is estimated to be up to $400-500 million each year. To further highlight the fragility of frozen pipes, even a rupture as small as an 1/8th of an inch can release up to 250 gallons of water per day. # Solution Current methods to help alleviate this issue have proven insufficient and/or have left room for improvement. Common current methods to prevent frozen pipes include maintaining a set temperature of at least 55 degrees fahrenheit in the home, running a trickle of cold water from faucets with exposed pipelines, and adding insulation or heat cables along the pipelines. Other methods such as the use of antifreeze are considered harmful for the environment, wildlife, and humans. The former 3 are a good place to start but what happens when a resident forgets to set the temperature or leave the faucets running? Even if the resident were to take these measures, the utilities costs that one would incur and energy wastage that would occur appears to be excessive and inefficient. In addition, situations where the resident is away from the residence for an extended period of time and cannot return in a timely manner further exasperate this issue. Our proposed solution is creating an automated system that alerts the resident via a notification to their smartphone that a pipe is at risk of freezing and therefore further at risk bursting if left unattended. The notification subsystem will be triggered by the subsystem involving the temperature sensor. In addition, a third subsystem will be utilized to open a lever that would allow cold water to trickle through the pipe. The combination of these two features enables the resident the ability to take further action by buying them time as well as automating certain preventative measures such as allowing water to trickle through the pipe which helps prevent the pipe from freezing. # Solution Components 1) DHT22 Temperature & Humidity Sensor 2) ATmega328 chip + Custom PCB 3) Raspberry Pi 4) Android or iOS Mobile Device 5) I2C OLED Display 6) Gallon Size Water Dispenser 7) Electrically-controlled (solenoid) Valve 8) Plastic Bottle 9) Plastic Tubing 10) Swaging Tool ## Subsystem 1: Temperature Sensing For this subsystem we will be utilizing the DHT22 Temperature & Humidity Sensor. The ATmega328 chip will be soldered to our custom PCB, with appropriate pins/leads for the connections to the sensors and the Raspberry Pi. This microcontroller unit will process the data from the sensor and determine whether or not the threshold temperature has been crossed (55 degrees fahrenheit). The data will be sent to the notification subsystem to alert the resident of the risk of the pipe freeze and to the I2C OLED Display so that the temperature can be visually monitored in real time. ## Subsystem 2: Notification System The notification system will enable the device to send notifications via the Internet to the user’s mobile device, in order to alert them that freezing is imminent and the valve has enacted safety measures. The Raspberry Pi will connect to the wifi network and act as a server, and the ATmega328 microcontroller PCB will plug into it via USB. When the PCB-connected sensors are triggered, it will communicate with the Raspberry Pi, which will then send a text message (or push notification) to the user’s mobile device. ## Subsystem 3: Lever Control To prevent the water from freezing, we plan to implement a motorized spigot that will release water into a plastic bottle (representing the pipe) for a small duration of time. A non-conductive material like plastic is preferred as it allows for more accurate sensor readings. Online sources (How to Prevent Your Pipes From Freezing - Consumer Reports) suggest a safe temperature to avoid pipes bursting is 55° F. Using this as a threshold temperature, when the microcontroller PCB receives output below 55° F from the DHT22 Temperature & Humidity Sensor, the electronic valve that controls the lever of the spigot will move to release water into the bottle for a set period of time (~ 5 seconds). By doing so the water temperature in the pipe will be warmer and allow the user more time to implement a more assured method like turning up the thermostat. The user will be provided routine warnings; however, water will be released to the pipe only for the first 3 warnings as to not further increase chances of frozen pipes if the user doesn’t take action in time. # Testing A large container with water representing a reservoir will have a motor attached to the lever. For testing purposes, we will release the water in 5 second intervals once every minute for 3 minutes (Originally once an hour). At the time the water is being released, the user will get a notification with a message that the pipes are at risk of freezing. After 3 attempts to “warm” the water, only notifications will be sent. The functionality of our system will be tested by checking to see whether reaching the threshold temperature (55 degrees Fahrenheit or below) triggers our subsystem to alert the "resident" via sending a notification to their smartphone which would signify that the pipe is at risk of freezing. In addition, the subsystem that automates water flow should also be triggered as well which would result in the valve opening and allowing water to trickle through. We will artificially induce freezing conditions for the pipe by starting with room temperature water in the reservoir and adding ice so that the threshold temperature is crossed. If this takes too much time, we will simply substitute the room temperature water in the reservoir with ice cold water. # Criterion For Success 1) Water transfer to plastic bottle is automated by electronic valve connected to microcontroller unit PCB 2) Temperature alert sent to users mobile device 3) Show valve only releases for low enough temperatures 4) Valve only releases once every minute for 5 seconds (total of 3 times in 3 minutes) 5) After the initial water deposits, show only notifications are sent (no water transferred to pipes from this point) |
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