Wind Actuated Cross Filtration

Project Update Abstract Assignment 7.1B Jake Hvistendahl

Project Background
The following presentation is a description of the abstracting step of the biomimetic design spiral. This is being completed to help the Clean Oceans Project SCRAP robots clean plastics pieces from water in the ocean. The following filtering strategy is used in a number of different species throughout the natural world. It is my hope that this strategy and filtering method can make filtering plastics from large portions of the ocean more economical and safer for marine life and the small invertebrates that make up a large part of the ecosystems food chain.

Technical Description
Cross Filtration Mechanisms: These resemble wands of various lengths, with a long central shaft. They are made from a semi rigid material that allows them to bend. Many branches appear at 1200 angles from the central shaft and are in line, parallel to water flow. Even smaller filaments branch off from these in the exact same way, providing a scaled fractal effect. The branches and filaments combine to create a web that limits the size of materials that can pass through it. Water flow runs parallel to this filter, so materials that are too big to exit out the holes are concentrated and channeled towards the center. Wind Power: The wands are bunched together and attached to a floating sail. The wands are of various different lengths are spaced a little apart from each other. Wind pushes the system forward, and the resistance at the top is much less than that of the wands below, forcing them to bend backwards from the direction of movement.

The longer wands have more surface area and therefore more resistance in the water. These bend farther back than the shorter wands, with the effect of creating a longer line of filtering wands then when the system is at rest.

Graphic Description
Wands of Increasing Length Branching Holes that allow smaller particles to escape Water Flow Larger Particle Concentration

Graphic Description
This is a view from the bottom up towards the surface of the water. Arrangement of Wands Smaller Particles Passing through filter Larger particles are concentrated towards the center and rear System movement