Week 3: Information and Lab Procedure

Lab Date: April 17, 2014
Lab Occupations

• Lauren Kujawa, Researcher/Tester
• Tyler Wicker, Researcher/Tester
• Chris Gibson, Researcher/Tester
• Sal Realmuto, Researcher/Tester
• Gabe Markowitz, Researcher/ Tester

Lab Information and Procedure

• April 17, 2014 was the third meeting of the lab section.  After a brief talk with the professors, groups moved to the Soil Laboratory in Main Building.  There, the group was given sand and was tasked to make the sand into the tallest cone shaped structure.  This would determine the natural response angle of the sand: the angle at which the sand will always fall to.
• Each of the five group members took a turn at piling the sand.  The data collected included the height, width, and angle that was determined using measurements.  
• The natural response angle should be around 30 degrees

Data (2 scoops of sand were used in each trial)

Equation: To find the angle theta, the following equation was used:

Theta = 45(degrees) - (measured angle)/2

where theta is the angle calculated and the measured angle is the angle measured with a protractor.

Trial 1

•  Height: 2.25 inches
• Width: 2.25 inches
• Theta: 29.50 degrees

Trial 2

• Height: 2.25 inches
• Width: 3.75 inches
• Theta: 29.50 inches

Trial 3

• Height: 2.50 inches
• Width: 3.70 inches
• Theta: 28.00 degrees

Trial 4

• Height: 2.50 inches
• Width: 3.65 inches
• Theta: 27.80 degrees

Trial 5

• Height: 2.30 inches
• Width: 4.00 inches
•  Theta: 30.05 degrees

Average Height: 2.36 inches
Average Width: 3.77 inches
Average Theta: 28.97 degrees

Post Lab

• The group continued to discuss possible designs for the retaining wall.

Week 2: Information and Lab Procedure

Lab Date: April 10, 2014

Lab Occupations

• Lauren Kujawa, Researcher
• Tyler Wicker, Researcher
• Chris Gibson, Researcher
• Sal Realmuto, Researcher
• Gabe Markowitz, Researcher   

 Lab Information and Procedure

• This was the second meeting of Engineering 103, Section 85.  Groups were unable to begin testing their design ideas, for the boxes that will be used were not made yet.  
•  The first hour of class was dedicated to a better explanation on what was expected in this lab module.  The whole process of testing the retaining walls was a major focus.  It was emphasized that multiple tests on multiple designs would need to be done.  The group was aware of this fact already.
• It was also highlighted in lab that this project is not very difficult.  All of the group members thought this, but we thought there had to be some sort of big challenge we were over looking.  In our initial proposal, we decided that we wanted to be decide on a final design in Week 6 of lab; our professors said we should be done in Week 7.  We were happy to hear that our estimation was not too far fetched.
• Our final design proposal was due in lab.  Unfortunately, other groups, along with ours, did some aspects of the proposal improperly.  Groups were tasked with submitting another proposal by the start of lab next week.
• After all of the speaking was done, groups did not have a real task.  Many groups left lab early.  Our group stayed for approximately a half hour, re-watching retaining wall videos and trying to talk about possible solutions to the problem.

Post Lab

• The design proposal is being revised for next week's lab.

Week 1: Information and Procedure

Lab Date: April 3, 2014
Lab Occupations

• Lauren Kujawa, Secretary
• Tyler Wicker, Researcher
• Chris Gibson, Researcher
• Sal Realmuto, Researcher
• Gabe Markowitz, Researcher 

 Lab Procedures and Information

• April 3, 2014 was the first lab meeting of Engineering 103 Section 85.  The lab is a 10 week module with final presentation being done in class on the tenth week.  Each lab runs once a week for 2 hours.  The first hour of class was dedicated to introductions.  Our Professor for the lab section is Professor Jonathan (Shi-Chieh) Cheng, and the teaching fellow for the section is James Worcester.  The faculty discussed the basic principles of retaining walls and also showed pictures of different retaining walls used in the real world.  Our group does not know anything about retaining walls, so we will need to do much research.
• In this lab section, groups will be working to create a Geosynthetic Retaining Wall using paper as the retaining material.  The paper will be holding back as much sand as possible while using the least amount of paper.  
• After the introductions were over, groups were tasked to make a pre-proposal.  Our group ran through ideas watched videos that helped us develop an idea of what type of design our wall should take.  
• Our initial idea is to make the sheets of paper increase in length as the sand levels begin to increase.  If this does not work, we will be flipping the idea, making the longest pieces on the bottom instead.  We are also thinking of putting the paper in strips to create friction.
• After the pre-proposal was finished, groups could leave the lab.
• Below is a picture and video link that the group used as references to help develop our ideas for potential design ideas.

Figure 1: Image showing increasing restraints in a retaining wall.  This picture helped form one of our ideas for a wall design.

•  The following link is to a YouTube video that shows a Geo-Wall competition in which strips of paper were used to create friction to hold the sand in place: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtRYMd1mwvw

 Post Lab

• Since a final design proposal is due next week, each group member will do research outside of lab to become better familiarized with retaining walls.  We are open to any ideas, and we understand that extensive research and testing will need to be done to become successful in this lab module.
• After lab, another idea was contemplated.  All of the videos that were watched showed groups attaching strips of paper to the main retaining piece of paper.  Some other videos on this wall design suggest that putting the paper in strips is the most effective way to hold back the sand.  This idea, along with our original ideas, will be tested multiple times.
• It is hoped that a final design will be agreed upon by Week 6 of this 10 week lab module.

Background Post and Initial Plan

This is the blog for Group 5 in Engineering 103, Section 85.  The group will be constructing a Geosynthetic Retaining Wall using paper as the main geosynthetic reinforcement.  The objective of the project is to hold back the greatest amount of sand while using the least amount of paper reinforcements.

Group members include:
Lauren Kujawa, Civil Engineering, lek44@drexel.edu
Tyler Wicker, Environmental Engineering, tcw53@drexel.edu
Salvatore Reamluto, Architectural Engineering, sjr86@drexel.edu
Christopher Gibson, Civil Engineering, cag332@drexel.edu
Gabriel Markowitz, Architectural Engineering, gdm39@drexel.edu

Short biographies of each group member will come in the future.

The materials for this lab module are minimal and all will be provided for us.  A box will be used as the main component of the retaining wall.  Paper will be used to create the reinforcements, and sand will be the material that will need to be retained.

Several ideas have been going through our minds on the ways the sand could be held back.  One idea is to layer paper.  It is believed that the shortest piece of paper will be on the bottom of the box.  As sand is being layered, the layers of paper will grow in length.  The paper will create friction to hold back the sand.  As the sand layers near the top of the box, the layers of paper will be the longest.  If this idea does not work, another idea is to have the longest piece of paper be on the bottom of the box.  It will be the same concept, only reversed.

Another idea is to have the paper restraints be in strips.  There will be one main piece of paper that holds back the sand, and that main piece will have the strips connected to it.

All of the previously stated ideas will be tested extensively in lab.  The design idea that results in the most successful retaining wall will be used as the final design.  In the final week of lab, a presentation on our findings will be given.  The final design of our wall will be showcased and tested in front of the class in the final week of lab.  The timeline for this project is 10 weeks.  A final report will summarize the full process of this lab and will state the results.