Potentials - January/February 2015 - 10

should be redesigned to reach the
corners of the box, allowing all
plastic to be remixed.
Finally, more tests on the plastic
bricks are required. While the fabricated plastic bricks were tested,
we did not produce enough bricks to
conduct a complete design of experiments to see what factors were most
significant in affecting the strength.
In addition, other tests besides
compression test would need to be

and work together efficiently. Not only
was the team successful in building a
prototype for a potential final design,
but they gained experience using
a systems engineering approach
to solve a re a l problem. F i gure 5 shows a logical architecture for the entire process of manufacturing the plastic lumber.
The system's boundaries are
denoted with the gray box and the
arrows represent energy or mass

To reach the maximum temperature necessary,
the solar cooker must be adjusted by the operator
based on the time of day to orient the device in
relation to the sun's position.
conducted to fully characterize the
plastic bricks.

Conclusion
The Summer 2014 Grand Challenge
Program team has developed a way
to provide Haiti with a new form of
building material. As demonstrated
by research, testing, modeling, and
analysis, the repurposed plastic
trash is an inexpensive, safe, and
efficient way of converting undesirable waste into a useable resource,
thus addressing both the issues of
trash damming waterways and
deforestation.
The solar cooker device takes advantage of one of Haiti's abundant
natural resources: sunlight. The
team has designed a system that efficiently obtains heat energy from
sunlight to melt plastic bags. These
plastic replacements are reasonably
durable and versatile since they can
be easily nailed to nearly any material. It is expected that sufficient quantities of up to 15 plastic 48-in 2 # 4s
can be manufactured in a single day,
with a single solar cooker. To manufacture an 8-ft 2 # 4, two solar cookers working in parallel are required.
Throughout this entire project, the
team learned how to communicate

J a n u a r y/Febr uar y 2015

transfer. Additional terms located
outside the gray box are external interactions with the environment.
The team achieved its desired
goal of designing and building a
product that would improve life for
citizens in Haiti. It is hopeful that
this project can someday be used
in Haiti, but the group is still developing and improving the design
through more testing, refining, and
research.

acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge Sidnei G. Andrade, Amanda E. Carlin
(coproject manager), and Emmanuel R.T. Smith for their work during the execution of the project as
contributing members of the 2014
Summer Grand Challenge Program. We would also like to thank
Dr. Ashley Ber nal, Dr. Terence
Hartnett, and Dr. Scott Kirkpatrick for their guidance throughout
the project.

Read more about it
* A. Foulkes. (2014, Aug.). RoseHulman students showcase 'plastic
lumber.' Washington Times. [Online].
Available: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/aug/6/rose-

IEEE PotEntIals

hulman-students-showcase-plasticlumber/?page=all
* (2014, Aug.). News-Indiana
public media. Engineering students
use trash to build houses in Haiti.
News RSS. [Online]. Available: http://
wthitv.com/2014/08/05/rose-hulman-students-produce-plastic-trashalternative/

about the authors
Katie M. Piens (pienskm@rose-hulman.edu) will graduate from RoseHulman Institute of Technology in
Terre Haute, Indiana, with a B.S.
degree in mechanical engineering in
2017. She was a copress conference
coordinator on the project.
Andrea L. Schultz (schulta1@
rose-hulman.edu) will graduate from
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a
B.S. degree in mechanical engineering in 2017. She was a coproject
manager as well as a scheduling
manager for the preliminary design
phase of the project.
Ryan G. Tanaka (tanakarg@
rose-hulman.edu) will graduate
from Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a B.S. degree in civil engineering in 2016. He was a project
manager for the preliminary design
phase and co-press conference
coordinator.
Joy L. Atzinger (atzingjl@rosehulman.edu) will graduate from
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a
B.S. degree in civil engineering in
2017. She was a project manager
for the preliminary design phase
and the project proposal editor.
Caleb N.H. Miannan (miannacn@rose-hulman.edu) will graduate from Rose-Hulman Institute of
Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana,
with a B.S. degree in mechanical
engineering in 2016. He is pursuing
a concentration in aerospace engineering. He was the video coordinator on the project.

http://http:// http://www.wthitv.com/2014/08/05/rose-hul http://www.man.edu http://www.hulman.edu http://www.washington http://www.times.com/news/2014/aug/6/rose

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