Author: Isaac Gendler

Fusegates

Fusegates

Fusegates

07/19/18

“How can we have an extra secure flood control system?”

 

With the ever-increasing proliferation of climate-change-induced natural disasters, humanity needs to focus on making it’s built infrastructure more resilient. And since floods are becoming more powerful on average with each passing day, our floodgate designs must become stronger in proportion. Fusegates are an illustration of this commitment. Fusegates are formed by placing an inlet well behind ballast in an angled bucket on top of a concrete sill. When water floods into the well, the exceptionally strong stability of the system will be able to counteract the pressure. If an overflow occurs, then the inlet well will be able to stabilize the flow of water. If an exceptionally strong flood occurs, then some of the water will be able to be leaked into the basement and through the inlet for further control.

Swanson’s Law

Swanson’s Law

Swanson’s Law

07/17/18

“Does solar power price drops have some form of pattern?”

 

Every day it seems that we hear about the price drop of solar power. However, does this price change somehow have a pattern? Well, a solar industrialist known as Richard Swanson was analyzing the data and found that PV module prices drop 20 percent for every doubling of cumulative shipped volume. This phenomenon is known as Swanson’s law and is similar to Moore’s law in Computer Science.

Drum Gates

Drum Gates

Drum Gates

07/16/18

“How can we control water in a reservoir using valves?”

 

Water in reservoirs can be difficult to control. If there is too much rain, it can easily overflow. But how can we control this using our engineering mindsets? Well, what if we were to modify the height of the reservoir using a floating drum? And what if we were to place this floating drum in between two mounds, and use a valve to let water in to raise in and another one to lower it? This is the main idea behind Drum Gates and are applied to Floodgates all over the world.

Quasistatic Processes

Quasistatic Processes

Quasistatic Processes

07/14/18

“Can a thermodynamic process be so slow that it’s almost static?”

 

Thermodynamic processes can happen over any period of time. Sometimes they happen so slowly that they almost seem to be static. These Quasistatic Processes are often used in analysis of Iso-Processes due to their stable nature.

Hinged Crest Gates

Hinged Crest Gates

Hinged Crest Gates

07/13/18

“How can we make a  floodgate that works by rotation?”

 

Floods happen in all types of environments with different conditions. Therefore, humanity will need to build different types of Floodgates that can adapt to these conditions. One of these types may need to work in colder, urban environments, where trash and ice may easily accumulate. By using a rotating gate, which can quickly dispose of any possible residue. These Hinged Crest Gates have been employed all over the world in frigid environments.

Floodgates

Floodgates

Floodgates

07/11/18

“How can we use infrastructure to control floods?”

 

With the advent of climate change, floods are becoming quite more common. But thanks to human ingenuity, this can be prevented through the use of floodgates. Fllodgates are a common form of flood control which can protect towns from nearby flooding by creating adjustable gates that limit water elevation.