"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Tag: Fluid mechanics
Ductless Fume Hoods
09/18/19
“How can we have a fume hood without ducts?”
Fume hoods are well known for their ducts. However, is it possible to have fume hoods without ducts? Well, with Ductless Fume Hoods, we can suck up chemical fumes from all over the workplace and filter it out into the atmosphere.
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VAV Fume Hoods
09/17/19
“How can we make fume hoods better performing?”
Fume hoods are a vital component for any scientific lab. Without them dangerous fumes would not be able to be ventilated away and people working in the lab could have their lives at stake. When common solution is to implement a CAV fume hood. However, the fact that the air volume exchange rate does not vary leaves it with performance and energy inefficiencies. This can be solved by implementing VAV Fume Hoods (Variable Air Volume) which can change its air intake when needed. Labs that implement this often see great strides in performance and energy effectiveness.
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CAV Fumehoods
09/16/19
“What are the simplest types of fume hoods?”
Fume hoods are used to take in fumes from chemical lab stations and ventilate them into the atmosphere. The simplest type is where the fume hood releases the same amount of air at a constant rate all the time, no matter what. These CAV Fume hoods (Constant Air Volume) are the simplest type of fume hoods available. The fact that they cannot change their air velocity in response to external stimuli means that they give sub-optimal performance.
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Ducted Fume Hoods
09/15/19
“What is the most common type of fume hood?”
Fume hoods are a vital part of scientific labs. The most common type is usually a Ducted Fume Hood design where conditioned air is drawn from the lab space and siphoned into the outside atmosphere. The simplicity of the design has made it a staple of labs across the world.
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Fume Hoods
09/14/19
“How do scientists ensure that they are safe from chemical fumes in the lab?”
Biology and Chemistry often involve a lot of messy lab work involving chemicals, which may give off dangerous vapors. To prevent these from damaging the air quality in the lab and the health of the denizens, the fumes must be cycled away. This is commonly done through fume hoods, which sucks in air from a workbench and ventilates it to the atmosphere. Fume hoods are a vital part of the safety of every lab and have become a staple of the wet-bench research environment.
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Cooling Tower Water Treatment
06/15/19
“Why do we need to treat cooling tower water over time?”
Cooling towers are one of the lifelines to our civilization. It enables hydro-thermal systems to control their operation temperature and return to normal processes. However, if left unchecked overtime the water will become contaminated with bacteria which could impede the flow of water. For this reason, cooling towers need to undergo periodic water treatment. With Cooling Tower Water Treatment we can ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure.
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Water and Electricity Interdependence
06/07/19
“How are water and electricity directly interrelated?”
Water and electricity, two of humanity’s most vital resources, are often thought as being from completely different worlds. However, the reality is that the generation of one resource uses some of the other! To illustrate, water needs to be pumped through mechanical pumps reliant on electricity while power plants use water for their operation. In this way there is Water and Electricity Interdependence. So every time you let the faucet run, you’re not only wasting water but also electricity!
Steam Accumulators
11/25/18
“How can we store energy using steam?”
With the advent of the new energy paradigm, energy storage will play a bigger and bigger factor. Although batteries are promising, they are not an all-encompassing technology and will need support from other systems.
One simple method for storing energy involves steam. What if we were to have a container half filled with cold water and connected to a boiler. Steam can be blown if from the boiler into the container, which condenses and warms the water. When the water is about ¾ of the height, it will be considered stable. A valve can then be opened to release energy by driving the steam through a turbine and boiling the water from the resulting pressure drop. This system is known as a Steam Accumulator and is being constructed in conjunction with many solar thermal plants.
Stormwater Infrastructure
10/07/18
“How can we deal with stormwater runoff using our infrastructure?”
Stormwater runoff poses a massive problem for communities all around the world. To solve this, these same groups can build Stormwater Infrastructure to equip them with the necessary resilience to deal with it. This can include rainwater collection, green roofs, and vegetation-rich areas.
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