Hey everybody! New user with design questions

[arinco3]

Hey guys!

My name is Alberto and I'm from a town in the mid-west known as Chicago.
I'm currently in school for Mechanical Engineering and will be graduating in May 2012.
I like playing the guitar, reading as well as writing, sports, music (the usuals), and learning/trying new things.
Well, I guess that's enough about me.

Since I'm in my final year as an undergrad, we have a design project to complete this fall semester.
A friend and I came to class with a project offered to us by The Plant Chicago (http://www.plantchicago.com).
It's a really cool place whose purpose is to create a self sustainable (zero net-waste) non-profit business looking to focus on sustainable food production. They have a brewery, bakery, tea place, and various different grow systems.
They have already made an aquaponic system and were looking into a new design to dramatically increase plant growth area.

The design they have us working on consists of a vertical wall which shelves plants on either side as water flows down the inside of the wall (over the roots) and out of the bottom. So imagine a super-market with isles, except the shelves will be flat and have holes into which the plants will be placed. There will also be a track overhead moving back and forth with lights hanging down from it. The prototype will be made with 4x8 ft foam boards stacked on top of each other. 8 feet high, 16 feet long. I'll attach a picture of their design to give a better idea, we need to make ours different but still use the wall.

Anyways, we are not too worried about the aquaponic side of this system before the water reaches the "nutrient wall". We are assuming the filtered culture water will be coming into the wall ready.

Since many of you have actual build experience and enjoy these sorts of design projects, I thought I'd come here for some ideas on how to build the thing. Our main concerns are the structure itself, the lighting track (which has to be movable for harvesting), and the water distribution and plumbing system.

Our current ideas include: a lighting track and motor (support attached to ceiling) which allows a harvesting ladder to be hooked on to it; using a long pvc pipe with a slit down the middle to distribute water down the wall, height-adjustable walls; removable foam boards for root area maintenance.

Hope all is well and hope you guys can help!

Thanks for reading this long post!

Alberto

[JCO]

Welcome to the show....pull up an easy chair, relax and stay awhile. New voices are always a welcome addition to our family..! Whatever questions you have on you mind, this is the place to get the answers so pick a topic of your interest and start your own thread and Enjoy. Please go to your profile and put in your city and state. There might be other members close by. :mrgreen:

[Bioritize]

Hmm, Very interesting concept. Floating raft on its side.

I think the key is going to be for your system to have adequate biological filtration so that the water is fairly clean before it hits your growing walls.

They also make motorized tracks for grow lights that would move along the wall, this allows a person to have less lights per plant and may work well for this system, especially due to the fact that when you plants get larger the bottom plants will struggle for light.

If your holes in the foam are cut just right it will not allow water to pour out, hopefully. Do you have foam on both sides of the wall?? Is there a channel or something for the water to travel along? I am not sure how seeds would do, but you could likely transplant into the wall. It all depends on how the water flows through the system. Add some valves to each wall so you can control the flow. If there are only holes in the pipe along the top, the front end will have more flow than the far end.


Great concept. I would say build it. Good luck

[arinco3]

Thanks for the tips!

The project is moving along, so I will keep you guys updated with the build.

As far as some of your questions go:
Yes, there is foam on both sides. There is a 6 inch space in between the walls which needs to be sealed for the water to fall through, so no actual channels, just space. We plan to implement a gutter type distribution system at the top (like those in-home wall waterfalls) to get more even water distribution onto the roots. We are actually designing the light movers and tracks ourselves.

Thanks again!

Alberto

[urbanfarmer]

Hello and welcome Alberto!

Great concept!

What do you mean about the 6 inch space being sealed? Is this to prevent evaporation? Otherwise, I would imagine the water would flow naturally down the back of the wall (root side). If not, a very slight angle of the wall could add the needed resistance to slow the water's fall.

Are you planning to be able to remove the rafts for hravesting?

[arinco3]

By sealed I mean so that water does not leak out where it shouldn't, sorry about that.
There does need to be enough airflow in between the falls to oxygenate the roots if I remember correctly.
The rafts will be removed. We have thought of using hinges for a door-like mechanism, but the isle space is too limited (40 inches).
So I proposed to use a pin locking mechanism to simply hold the boards in their place to slide in and out, similar to some windows.
See attached sketch.

Thanks!

Alberto