Project
# | Title | Team Members | TA | Documents | Sponsor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7 | Solar Cooler |
Hanfei Deng Karim El-Najjar Kunjie Zhao |
Mengze Sha | design_document2.pdf final_paper1.pdf other1.pdf presentation1.pptx proposal1.pdf |
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Problem: During the summer, when we have a long drive or go for a picnic, we usually bring a box full of ice and put our drinks in it. The problem is that the ice in the box will not last long in the hot summer especially under the sun, and when we go for a picnic, we can't really find a gas station to get more ice. Solution Overview: We want to build a solar-powered cooler so our drinks stay cool much longer. The big hot sun in the summer will not be a disadvantage to us---our drinks will not get warm, but will actually get cooler for a longer duration of time. Solution Component Power Subsystem: Battery to store excess power and prolong device life The solar panel will be the main power source to the system and it will charge the battery. Both battery and solar panel can be used to power the system. Voltage Regulator to supply constant voltage and current to the thermoelectric cooler Charge/micro Controller to protect the battery from overcharging and prolong battery life. Also used to collect data from the temperature sensor and display temperature on our 9 segment display. Temperature Subsystem: To control the temperature, we decided to use the thermoelectric cooling system over the compressor cooling system, since the cooler will get moved very often, and thermoelectric cooling system has advantages such as small in size, lack of moving parts or circulating a liquid, very long life, invulnerability to leaks. The temperature sensor will be used to detect the internal temperature of the cooler. Temperature Display to show the current temperature within the cooler. Criterion for Success The cooler will have to be able to safely supply temperature of 20 C below ambient temperature and keep food and drinks fresh (target under 10 Celsius). The Solar panel is able to charge the battery safely. The system should be able to simultaneously charge and cool the space. When solar power is not available, the system can be powered by a (non-toxic) battery. The overall rig should be light enough to carry to a picnic. |