| Group |
2019-34 |
Status |
completed |
| Title |
A Robotic Chimney Brush |
| Supervisor |
Ted Obuchowicz and Bahareh Goodarzi |
| Description |
Cleaning a chimney of creosote is an important part
of wood-stove maintenance as a large accumulatio of creosote
in a chimney fluepipe can lead to what is know as a chimney
fire - creosote burns at an extremely high temperature and can
cause house fires even death of the occupants. Regular chimney
cleaning is required in order to minimize the amount of creosote
accumulation.
he traditional method of manually cleaning a chimney with a
chimney brush entails the homeowner getting onto the roof of
their property, removing the chinet cap, assembling the chimney
brush/chimney rods together, standing precariously near the
chimney pipe and vigorously moving the rod up and down the entire
length of the chimney. cleaning from the inside is also recommended.
This project involves the design and implementation of a self-propelled
chimney brush. A standard, commercially available chimney brush would be
modified to include a motorized mechanism which would autonomously propel the brush
up and down the entire chimney pipe . Both up-down travel and rotary motion would ensure
thorough removal of creosote. Sensors would detect the extremities of the chimney
at either end to prevent excess travel. A video camera would provide for a live video
stream of the interior of the chimney pipe which would be displayed on a smartphone.
The unit would be powered by either a rechargeable power, or a AC line cord which would
act as a tether in case of failure of the unit. The AC line cord would allow the user to
simply pull the line cord to retrieve the unit.
|
| Requirement |
Microcontrollers
programming (C/C++, assembly)
stepper motors, DC motors , power MOSFETS for current amplification
Android SDK (for video over smartphone). |
| Tools |
multimeter
oscilloscope
breadboarding/soldering/pc board assembly skills
some skill with mechanical assembly of motors, gears, treads for propulsion |
| Number of Students |
4-5 |
| Students |
Khaled Hassanian
Evan Lamenta
Kecheng Yao
Minhao Yu
Noor Alali |
| Comments: |
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| Links: |
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