Fog Collector - Swivel Frame

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

This is my design for Fog collector with swivel frame & Foldable mesh.

The main aim of this challenge is building a simple structure for fog net and having efficient collection system.For that we need weightless simple frames for structure and Mesh orientation for easy collection. But at the same time we need to take care of the mesh also.

I believe having spherical or cylindrical orientation will cause miss handling of the mesh during installation. However having long frame also have discomfort during transportation.So i have came to an conclusion to use foldable mesh.

I have added this design in my last design also. I have made a concept with composite of mesh,leather/Cloth & elastic.Top & bottom edges of the mesh is fixed with folded sheet metal for handling.

the side edges are stitched with thick cloth or leather which helps for automatic folding guide, and to avoid crease during folding. The elastic material is stretched and stitched at 4 places which during releasing contracts and folds the mesh. After that we can place the mesh in a box or in a cover.

Second coming to the frame the whole setup weight will be belove 45 Kg. Which is easy for transportation. the over weighted components are the stem pipe & The foundation which are the back bone of the structure.

The structure contains folded sheets, 2 inch pipes, piece tubes, Springs and Two thrust bearings.

The main idea of using thrust bearing is to mainly axial load and the side load created during wind.I have made the frame to be away from the axis of rotation to make the rotation easier.The flappers where added on both sides of the frame.

If we add flapper to the back side it will not help during direct winds and slight cross winds.If we add a single flapper to the top there will not be enough torque to turn the frame.if we add the frame to the axis of rotation huge torque will be needed and we have to place the tail more away from the frame to generate torque.

But if we have the frame itself offset from axis the weight will induce the rotation due to inertia and the double flappers will act like tail in fighter jets to keep the frame towards wind always. i.e if the frame is in or before the axis of rotation and the flapper is placed in the back side the frame will tumble in wind without balance.if we offset both of them back side of the axis it acts like catching the wind instead of facing the wind like a parachute with flapper.

since the frame itself is with flapper and both of them are in offset they will be always in-line to the wing.

The mesh is installed in the same way by stretching and hooking the spring in the bottom.this will help to keep the mesh taut in high winds.

The water collecting system will be a problem in swivel heads. so i added a folded channel which collect and send the water to a central collector in any degree of rotation.we can make it closed if we feel water spillage.

Regarding the foundation it is large but we need that much foundation because swivel effect which makes unbalanced load.

If required we can also use winches by adding simple plus frame to the top.

Note:

See section views in 3D view for bearing assembly & drain concept.