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===Costs===
===Costs===
The table below describes the desired budget for this project, including experimental materials and tools.  
The table below describes the desired budget for this project, including experimental materials and tools. Costs are listed in Dominican Pesos.  


{| class="wikitable sortable"
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Quantity !! Material !! Source !! Cost ($)DR !! Total ($)
! Quantity !! Material !! Source !! Cost ($)DOP !! Total ($)DOP
|-
|-
| 3 || "Calentador"/Sterno cans || La Sirena
| 3 || "Calentador"/Sterno cans || La Sirena

Revision as of 21:44, 14 July 2014

Abstract

This page narrates a project implemented by Team Terrific between May and July of 2014 for the Practivistas Dominicana program in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The project includes working with a new community in Arroyo Norte to develop prototypes that will eventually be chosen by community members to be used in a new sustainable market, consisting of 25 rooms, made mostly of waste materials from the local dump site.

Background

The newest project site for the Practivistas Dominicana program is in Arroyo Norte. Arroyo Norte is a community, which was built in close proximity to Duquesa, the dumpsite for Santo Domingo. The dumpsite is the largest in the country, and the community exemplifies Appropriate Technology by building homes, community centers, and markets out of the materials they have in abundance at the nearby dumpsite. They have asked for us to come in and use the waste materials to build prototypes with them for furniture and walls to construct a new supermercado in Arroyo Norte. This would be the first large market in the community. The market will be built in the near future, but for this project we will only be experimenting with materials to develop alternative designs for things necessary in a marketplace. The 25-room supermercado will need a funding source, which we hope our prototypes will help generate upon completion. Our role in this project is to develop aesthetically pleasing, structurally sound, and economically feasible prototypes for use in the supermercado.

Problem Statement

The objective of this project is to research and develop wall and table prototypes that can be reproduced and used in a sustainably constructed market in Arroyo Norte, Dominican Republic.

Criteria

The following table of criteria was developed in a community meeting and is used to evaluate alternative solutions.

Criteria Constraints Weights
Resistance Prototypes must successfully pass the spray test, scratch test, and tensile strength test. 10
Marketability The prototypes must have potential for reproduction at minimum, and potential for revenue production at best. 9
Aesthetics The prototypes must at least be visually acceptable to the community members involved, and at best look "clean". 9
Security The wall prototypes must look secure and be resistant to break-ins. 9
Educational Value The prototypes must display reused materials in some way. 9
Accessibility of Materials At least 90% of materials used in the prototypes must come from the Arroyo Norte waste station. 9
Mobility The furniture must be movable by 2 or less people. 8
Adaptability The prototypes shall be created with room adaptability in mind. 7
Cost The prototypes should minimize cost where possible. The walls shall not exceed $100 USD each, and the tables shall not exceed $50 USD each. 6

Literature Review

See our Literature Review for relevant research completed for this project.

Construction

Timeline

Date Activity
Monday, June 16 Complete Budget/Finish negotiations with practivistas
Tuesday, June 17 Brainstorm Explosion/Plastic Bottle cap Mold Extravaganza
Wednesday, June 18 Complete plastic research/Brainstorm Explosion #2
Thursday, June 19 Work day - Melt massive amounts of HDPE Plastic #2/Finalize caps & bottles
Friday, June 20 Purchase plastic tools to mass produce plastic tiles
Saturday, June 21 Finish all plastic prototypes/Finish wood chips and resin
Sunday, June 22 BEACH DAY
Sunday, June 29 Build on and perfect prototypes/Beauty with Mama
Monday, June 30 Work on presentations
Thursday, July 3 Present Projects

Costs

The table below describes the desired budget for this project, including experimental materials and tools. Costs are listed in Dominican Pesos.

Quantity Material Source Cost ($)DOP Total ($)DOP
3 "Calentador"/Sterno cans La Sirena 48.41 145.23
1 Wood resin 10 oz. Ferreteria U&P 150.00 150.00
2 Wood palettes Duquesa 150.00 300.00
1 bag Wood chips Duquesa 150.00 150.00
1 bin Plastic #2 HDPE Duquesa 200.00 200.00
1 Transportation of duquesa materials Duquesa 500.00 500.00
1 Wood resin catalyst 1 oz. Ferreteria U&P 40.00 40.00
1 Floral snippers Ferreteria U&P 350.00 350.00
2 4" clamps Ferreteria U&P 275.00 550.00
1 Box cutter La Sirena 63.33 63.33
1 Plastic melting machine 2,500 2,500
1 Plastic cutting machine 2,500 2,500
1 Scissors La Sirena 100.21 100.21
Total Cost $7,548.77

Design Renderings

The three designs depicted below were designed and electronically drawn by the three team members of Team Terrific.

Project Name Design Description
Plastic Bottle Ripper
Plastic Bottle Ripper, Adobe Illustrator Design by Jenna Bader
This design is a Plastic Bottle Ripper, which turns large plastic bottles into long spools of plastic string of uniform width. The design utilizes a 90 degree aluminum angle iron, a razor blade, and a few nuts bolts and washers. To create this Plastic Bottle Ripper, take your angle iron, and cut 3 holes into it at various lengths to create various widths of plastic string. Next, drill 2 holes into the angle iron where the bolts will be attached. Then, place the razor blade near the holes and add the nuts, washers, and bolts to secure the blade (sharp side facing the corner of the angle iron). Lastly, secure the angle iron vertically, put a 2 liter bottle on the long bolt, feed a small piece of soda bottle through the hole, and pull the string.
Earthship Bar
Earthship Pony Wall with Bar Top, Adobe Illustrator Design by Jesse Brown
The pony wall and bar design are constructed of repurposed tires and earth found commonly in Arroyo Norte. The tires are bonded with moist earth (mostly clay), which is packed in and around the tires. Rebar and tall PVC pipe was used to provide further structural integrity. Once the filled tires are leveled and the earth dried they will be covered in a plaster mixture of lime, sawdust, and a concrete mixture containing extra fine sand. The bar top design was made with a mold of palette wood, and a gesso/cement mixture. The gesso mix was poured into the mold with layers of plant fiber and scrap metal wire, adding strength to the table top.

Completed Prototypes

This section illustrates a step-by-step tutorial on how to replicate the prototypes we created for the Arroyo Norte sustainable market.

Glass Bottle Wall

Image:Collectglassbottles.jpg
How to build a glass bottle wall with earthen mortar

Plastic #2: Melted and Molded Tile

These tiles were melted using a sandwich grill to melt HDPE Plastic #2, which was taken from the waste stream in Arroyo Norte.

Image:Hdpe an.jpg
Melted HDPE Plastic Tile

Documents of Melting HDPE Plastic

Electric Sandwich Grill The following experiments document our experiences melting small pieces of HDPE #2 plastic into tiles using an electric sandwich grill and wax paper.

Image Experiment Description
Melted HDPE experiment #1 Experiment #1 We placed plastic in wax paper, put it in the sandwich grill, then turned the grill onto high heat. It took 15 minutes for the temperature to melt the plastic. This experiment was conducted in a home in Arroyo Norte using electricity that might not have the same voltage as the electricity outlets in the city. The wax paper stuck to the plastic material after it was completely cooled, which led us to believe that we used a poor quality paper, or the wrong type of baking paper.
Melted HDPE experiment #2 Experiment #2 This experiment was conducted in the city with consistent electricity, on the same sandwich grill, and the same wax paper. The difference with this was that we got the sandwich grill up to temperature before placing the plastic inside. We also started at a medium temperature and increased it when we noticed that nothing had melted after 10 minutes. This sample of melted plastic was placed under 6 thin terra cotta tiles to cool with not much pressure, which caused many wrinkles in the final product due to plastic shrinkage upon cooling.
Melted HDPE experiment #3 Experiment #3 This experiment was conducted in Arroyo Norte in the same sandwich grill and wax paper. This plastic was placed in the sandwich grill after it was already brought up to heat from a previous experiment. We started it on medium, and after 5 minutes, raised the grill to high temperature. It melted in 5 additional minutes, then we took the paper and plastic out of the grill with gloves. To cool, we placed the melted plastic between two sturdy pieces of wood, which were clamped together using 2 clamps holding over 5 psi of pressure. This is the most successful experiment by far. After it was fully cooled, we cut it into a tile shape using a hand saw.
Reuse scraps Re-use HDPE Scraps Use pruning shears to cut the unused melted plastic material. This plastic can be re-melted over and over again using the same process.

Propane Grill
The following experiments were performed using a large grill powered by propane.

Image Experiment Description
Large grill experiment #1 Experiment #1 We turned the grill onto the lowest heat possible, it took 10 minutes for the grill to reach 325 degrees F. Once the temperature was achieved, we placed plastic confetti in wax paper, put it in the sandwich grill, and covered it with the same piece of wax paper like a quesadilla. This experiment was conducted in Arroyo Norte, outdoors.
Experiment #1 results Experiment #1 Results Successful! The wax paper stuck to the plastic material after it was completely cooled, but can be scraped off the cooled piece. This paper is not ideal, but it works for now. The tile looks smooth, and is about 1/4" thick.
Large grill experiment #2 Experiment #2 We started with the grill preheated to 325 degrees F, and used banana leaf instead of wax paper. The banana leaf was cut into large squares, and used just as the wax paper in previous experiments. Once melted into a tacky substance, it was removed from the grill and placed in a wooden press to cool.
Banana leaf experiment results Experiment #2 Results The banana leaf successfully held the plastic together without leaking onto the grill, which was successful. However, due to the moisture content of the banana leaf, the final product of plastic tile has visible bubbles below the surface, which aesthetically is not what we want.

Earthship Bar

Earthship Pony Wall with Bar Top, Adobe Illustrator Design by Jesse Brown

Description of Arroyo Norte's Earthship Bar Prototype
This bar was created using old tires found in Arroyo Norte, filled with clay and dirt on site, and supported with rebar.
The tires are bonded with moist earth (mostly clay), which is packed in and around the tires. Rebar was used to provide further structural integrity. Once the filled tires are leveled and the earth dried they will be covered in a plaster mixture of lime, sawdust, and a concrete mixture containing extra fine sand.
The bar top design was made into a poured slab of gesso and cement. The bar top was co-built with members of the community who are skilled in using these materials and methods. We built a mold for the bar top using scrap pallet wood and scrap billboard material. The gesso mixture was poured over scrap pieces of metal wire and layers of plant fibers, which add strength to the bar top. About 1 hour later when the bar top dried, the mold was pulled apart, leaving a clean and sturdy bar top behind.



Image:Earthship base.jpg
How to Build an Earthship Bar

Maintenance

Schedule

Instructions

Conclusion

Testing Results

Glass Bottle Wall

  • When the earthen mortar mixture is cracking, add more sand. When the earthen mortar is crumbling, add more clay.
  • The earthen mortar mixture should be on the dryer side when applying.

Melting HDPE Plastic #2 in Electric sandwich grill

  • Successfully melted thin plastic pancakes
  • Plastic pancakes need to be folded while hot and repressed to create clean edges, or have edges cut off after cooled.
  • Cook time: ~10 minutes

Melting HDPE #2 Plastic in Large Propane-powered sandwich grill

  • Successfully melted thicker, larger plastic pancakes
  • Plastic pancakes need additional work to create clean edges
  • Cook time: ~15 minutes

Melting HDPE #2 Plastic in Parchment Paper VS Banana Leaf

  • Parchment paper: Best material for melting plastic in sandwich grills because it does not stick, burn, or leave any impurities behind in the end result.
  • Banana Leaf: Successfully melted large plastic pancakes with banana leaf. However, the banana leaf stuck to some parts of the plastic surface (~10%), which takes additional work to remove once cooled.
  • Wax paper: Successfully melted one 1 out of 10 attempted thin plastic tiles with wax paper, but it melts, burns, and sticks to the plastic tiles most of the time. We were able to make it work at a very consistent temperature in the electric sandwich grill, but it's not ideal.

Melting HDPE #2 Plastic in Soy Oil on the Stovetop

  • Melting in oil kept a consistent temperature, but left the pressed block very oily after it was cooled.
  • Plastic pieces that were cut small heated to temperature quicker than re-used previously melted blocks of plastic.
  • Cooking time: 15 minutes once oil is up to temperature
  • This method seems to have the most potential for reproduction of melted plastic materials because it is efficient, quick, and easy.
  • In Arroyo Norte: It would be possible to cook plastic with a propane-powered stove, but I would not suggest this method over an open-fire because it's important to keep a consistent temperature.

Molding HDPE #2 Plastic Bricks

  • Successfully molded 2 solid bricks of plastic using a small wooden mold with a removable top, and clamps to keep pressure on the plastic while it cooled.
  • Pressure was not enough with 2 clamps, so it had some bumpy edges. More pressure on the cooling brick would make cleaner-looking bricks that don't need to be cut smooth once cooled.

Molding HDPE #2 Plastic Blocks

  • Successfully molded 3 large blocks of plastic using a large wooden mold with a removable top.
  • The removable top fell into the mold, allowing any amount of plastic to be pressured evenly inside it
  • This method can be very efficient for making plastic tiles, all you have to do is get the cooled block on a band saw and cut 20 tiles out of one block of plastic.
  • This method has a lot of potential for the next steps of developing furniture for the Arroyo Norte marketplace.

Discussion

Lessons Learned

Next Steps

Glass Bottle Wall

  • Plaster over the earthen mortar once the wall is completely dry.
  • Mosquito-proof the completed wall. For example: Fill bottles with water and wine corks to seal the moisture and to illuminate the space more.

Troubleshooting

Team

References

Template:Reflist See Literature Review

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