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EDSGN100H
Design Project #2
PROGRESS REPORT

GAINING GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
WITH ALCOA ALUMINUM

Introduction to
Engineering Design
EDGSN 100H

Maverick Designs
Lisa Miele (lmm5861@psu.edu)
Maureen Gallagher (mzg5281@psu.edu)
Phil Mack (bjn5455@psu.edu)
Nehal Humpil (nxh5104@psu.edu)

Ouafa Moujahid (ouafa.moujahid@gmail.com)
Meriem Latifi (latifimeriem@gmail.com)




Submitted to:
Prof. Scarlett Miller
11/21/2013

Executive Summary

This report describes and analyzes the design of a product system that uses aluminum to improve
efficiency and sustainability at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, Morocco and also at Penn
State University. Maverick Designs posted a survey and conducted an interview with a
Moroccan student to determine customer needs. External search was conducted to develop an
understanding of already existing systems and product limitations. During the internal search,
concepts were generated using intense brainstorming and the best concept was selected to move
onto production. These steps led to the progression of the final product.


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GAINING GLOBAL SUSTAINABILITY
WITH ALCOA ALUMINUM

Table of Contents


1.0 Introduction 3
1.1 Initial Problem Statement 3
2.0 Customer Needs Assessment 3
2.1 Weighing Customer Needs 6
2.2 Revised Problem Statement 9
3.0 External Search 9
3.1 Literature Review 10
3.2 Patent Search 13
3.3 Benchmarking 16
3.4 Design Target 17
4.0 Internal Search 17
4.1 Concept Generation 17
5.0 Detailed Design
6.0 Conclusion
7.0 Appendix 19
8.0 References 20



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1.0 Introduction

Maverick Designs was tasked with designing a product and product system that used aluminum
to increase global efficiency and sustainability. Our solution was developed to be implemented
primarily at Cadi Ayyad University in Marrakesh, Morocco and secondarily at Penn State
University. Aluminums low weight, strength, and versatility were considered when looking for
opportunities to substitute this material with existing materials. Our final product needed to
reduce energy consumption of existing systems while meeting all applicable performance
requirements and satisfying regulatory codes of Cadi Ayyad and Penn State.

Global teaming was a major component in the success of gaining global sustainability. We
worked effectively with two teammates from Cadi Ayyad University. Weekly virtual meetings
and email communications allowed us to communicate effectively as a team.

Our team accomplished this task by following a five-step design process. Our design process
included Customer Needs Assessment (2.0), External Search (3.0), Internal Search (4.0), and
Detailed Design (5.0). We used a variety of tools to manage this project, which included: Google
Hangout for team collaboration, internet sources for research, and materials for construction.
These steps, which are described in the following report, led us to the development of our final
product.

Alcoa Incorporated sponsored our project. Alcoa is the worlds leading producer of primary and
fabricated aluminum, as well as the worlds largest miner in bauxite and refiner of alumina.
Their innovations have improved aspects of the aerospace, automotive, packaging, construction,
commercial transportation, and consumer electronic markets.

1.1 Initial Problem Statement

Maverick Design was tasked with taking advantage of aluminums properties to increase
efficiency and sustainability of products and product systems that can be implemented at both
Cadi Ayyad University and Penn State University. Our novel design needed to utilize energy
savings and environmental sustainability at a low cost while remaining high in quality.

2.0 Customer Needs Assessment

After developing an initial problem statement, we started the design process by assessing the
needs of our customers. Our customers are primarily the students of Cadi Ayyad and secondarily
the students of Penn State. We performed two assessments to gain knowledge about current

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sustainability measures taking place at Cadi Ayyad and at Penn State. We also performed these
tasks to find out what sustainable measures students of these schools would be willing to
participate in. We distributed an online survey that gathered information from people of both
campuses. Out of our 40 survey responses, 17 were from students at Cadi Ayyad and 22 were
from students at Penn State. Our survey gathered information from mainly students, ages 18 to
27, with varying majors. Our survey and a complete report of our results can be found in the
attached documents. From the survey results we were surprised to find out that over half of our
participants commute to school. This gave us a platform to consider sustainable modes of
transportation. Another shocking statistics was that 42 percent of participants answered no when
asked if their university had designated recycling areas. These responses came almost entirely
from the Moroccan students. This shows a clear need for greater recycling efforts in Cadi Ayyad.
The survey responses also stated that use of water and use of power are the two least sustainable
aspects of these campuses. These two aspects were considered when progressing into the next
step of the design process. We also learned from the survey results that people from these
campuses are willing to support the following sustainability measures; recycling, sustainability
education, modified transportation, investment in alternate energy. However, only 1% of
applicants were willing to change what they ate to be more sustainable. These survey results
made us hopeful that the members on campus would easily accept our product.

The second part of our customer needs assessment was The 5 Whys interview. In this
interview we asked our Moroccan counterparts the initial question What do you think is the
least sustainable part of your campus that needs improvement? We followed up with their
answer by asking them Why? five times after each of their answers. This dialogue can be
referenced in Appendix A. From this interview we discovered a lot about their school that we
didnt know before. Their library was the part of campus that they thought needed the most
improvement. They informed us that their library is one of the very few buildings on campus that
does not power outlets. This is a problem for students who need to charge their laptops to do
work. The lights at their library also go off at 6:00pm. This is not convenient for students who
need to get worked done late at night. Upon hearing this we knew that improving the condition
of the library was going to be considered in the next step of the design process. We also were
informed that Cadi Ayyad University does not have much financial support for renovation
projects because the students do not pay tuition. This lack of money makes the school outdated
and lacking in the sustainable field. We knew that keeping the project at low cost would be an
important need that would be discussed later in our design plan.

These assessments were crucial to the development of our design process. They allowed us to
become more familiar with Cadi Ayyad University. This information was crucial because the
details of their school, culture, and climate were generally unknown to us. After compiling the
results of the survey and The 5 Whys interview we held a focus group to organize the needs of
our customers. We compiled these needs into a list, which can be referenced in Table 1.

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Table 1. Initial Customer Needs List Obtained from Survey and Individual Interview

Easy to Implement
Easy to Participate in
Contained Use of Water
Aesthetically Pleasing
Sustainability on Campus
Health Conscience
Low Cost
Easy to Operate
Applicable to Campus Life
Does not Impede Life on Campus
Works with Culture
Works with Climate
Legitimate use of Aluminium
Sustainable Use of Aluminium
Safe
Minimal debris
Low Noise
Debris contained
Easy to operate
Small footprint
Easy maintenance
Relatively maintenance free

After we gathered our list of customer needs we categorized them to identify their relation to the
purpose of our final product. The three categories are objectives or goals, constraints, and
function and features. Objectives describe the general purpose of the product. Constraints
describe the limitations in which our final product must follow. Finally, the functions and
features category explains the specific capabilities and tasks of the final product. The categorized
list of needs is shown in Table 2.


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Table 2. Categorized Customer Needs List Obtained from Survey and Individual Interview

Objectives or Goals
Easy to Implement
Easy to Participate in
Aesthetically Pleasing
Legitimate use of Aluminum
Sustainable use of Aluminum
Easy Maintenance
Relatively Maintenance Free
Easy to Operate
Durable
Constraints
Health Conscious
Applicable to Campus Life
Low Cost
Works with Culture
Works with Climate
Safe
Functions or Features
Improve use of Water
Improve use of Power
Sustainability on Campus
Small Footprint
Minimal Debris

2.1 Weighting of Customer Needs

After categorizing our customer needs into the categories objectives or goals, constraints, and
functions or features our team held a focus group to analyze these lists further. Understanding the
importance of each customer need to the developed product we separated them into the
categories of easy to use, durable, sustainable, and applicable to campus life. Within
each of the main categories we entered the customer needs identifying their original purpose.
This process, shown in Table 3, allowed us to better understand the most essential sub-categories
of our customer needs.


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Table 3. Weighted Hierarchical Customer Needs List Obtained from Survey and
Individual Interview

1. Easy to Use
1.1 Easy to Implement
1.2 Easy to operate
C.1 Safe
2. Durable
2.1 Easy Maintenance
2.2 Relatively Maintenance Free
C.2 Works with climate
3. Sustainable
3.1 Legitimate use of Aluminum
3.2 Sustainable use of Aluminum
F.1 Improve use of Water
F.2 Improves use of power
F.3 Small Footprint
4. Applicable to Campus Life
4.1 Easy to Participate in
4.2 Aesthetically Pleasing
C.3 Health Conscious
C.4 Does not impede life on campus
C.5 Works with culture
F. 1 Minimal Debris
C.6 Low Cost

We then calculated the quantities importance of each sub-category (Figure 1) and each objective
(Figure 2, 3, 4, and 5) using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). By ranking the needs in the
AHP matrix we determined the importance of each sub-category in relation to each other and
each objective in relation to the other objectives in their sub-categories. Our weighting was done
on a scale of 1 to 9 (1 being of equal importance and 9 being a stark difference in important).
Reciprocal fractions were used to fill out the rest of the chart. Each need was compared to
another individual need to give a total score and rank. Needs with higher weights were of greater
importance, while needs with lower weights were of lesser importance.



)

Figure 1. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting for Main Objective Categories


Figure 2. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting of Ease of Use Sub-Objective


Figure 3. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting of Durable Sub-Objective


Figure 4. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting of Sustainable Sub-Objective


Figure 5. AHP Pairwise Comparison Chart to Determine Weighting of Applicable to Campus Sub-
Objective

After completing the AHP process, we were able to create a more detailed customer needs list.
This was done by adding the specific weights, determined in the AHP matrices, beside each of
the sub-categories and objectives as shown in Table 4. From these results we were able to come
to the following conclusions about customer needs. Sustainability was the most important sub-
category. This was expected since the purpose of our project was to use aluminum to be more
sustainable, as stated in 1.1 Initial Problem Statement. The next important sub-category was the
application to campus life. It was very important to focus on this category because we did not
know much about the campus in which we were implemented our product. Within the ease of
use category, easy to implement is the most important objective. Other important objectives from
the other sub-categories include relatively maintenance free, sustainable use of aluminum, and
easy to participate in. These findings were quintessential to better understanding our design goals
and problem. We moved on in the design process keeping the implementation of these in mind.

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Table 4. Weighted Hierarchical Customer Needs List Obtained from Survey and
Individual Interview
1. Easy to Use (.05)
1.1 Easy to Implement (.83)
1.2 Easy to operate (.17)
C.1 Safe
2. Durable (.24)
2.1 Easy Maintenance (.33)
2.2 Relatively Maintenance Free (.67)
C.2 Works with climate
3. Sustainable (.43)
3.1 Legitimate use of Aluminum (.33)
3.2 Sustainable use of Aluminum (.67)
F.1 Improve use of Water
F.2 Improves use of power
F.3 Small Footprint
4. Applicable to Campus Life (.15)
4.1 Easy to Participate in (.80)
4.2 Aesthetically Pleasing (.20)
C.3 Health Conscious
C.4 Does not impede life on campus
C.5 Works with culture
F. 1 Minimal Debris
C.6 Low Cost (.13)

2.2 Revised Problem Statement
At the conclusion of the weighting of customer needs, Mavericks Design revised our problem
statement to incorporate the aspects that our customers need in our final project. This is an
important step in order to insure our customers satisfaction. Our final established goal was to
use the properties of aluminum to improve the sustainability of the use of water or use of power
at Cadi Ayyad by implementing a product of system of products that is easy to use, has low
maintenance, and works well the campus. This final product must also be able to be implemented
at Penn State.
3.0 External Search

The next step of the design process was the external search, which included a literature review, a
patent search, and benchmarking. The external search was essential for the team to familiarize
themselves with product limitations and existing product systems. This step in the design process
allowed the team to insure product competition and product novelty.

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3.1 Literature Review

The first task of the external search was to conduct a literature review. This review was
conducted in order to have a better understanding of the different elements of the project. We
focused on researching aluminum and its uses and properties, the climate and culture of
Marrakech and how these things affect the areas sustainability, and sustainability at both Cadi
Ayyad and the Pennsylvania State University.
The first area we looked into was the uses
and properties of aluminum. We wanted to see
what characteristics of aluminum made it unique
among other metals. In Figure 6, it is evident that
compared to all the metals known to mankind
aluminum has a Youngs Modulus (E) of 70 Giga
Pascal which is the second smallest in number. This
means that only for a limited amount of
longitudinal stress (pressure) a large amount of
strain can be obtained. These are some of the very
important properties that make aluminum malleable
and ductile and preserve its qualities as a strong
metal.
In an experiment conducted at the Kyoto Institute
of Technology, Japan a destruction-welding test
was performed with several metals. As the name
suggests, destructive welding tests involve the
physical destruction of the friction-welded
components, as in Figure 7. A variety of testing
methods can be employed to evaluate a welds
characteristics. Sampling instructions of
production welds are performed to evaluate quality weld performance, troubleshoot using failure
analysis, and research inspection process to improve or validate current testing methods. A
variety of pure metals were used in the
experiment to analyze the torque vs. hardness
strength. Out of all the metals tested with the
given specifications and parameters
mentioned in the diagram above, aluminum
ranked number one, which required the
highest torque to balance the tensile force
resulting in breaking the metal. These observations
conclude that aluminum can be rated as one of the
strongest metals known. By smart techniques like using
alloys, we can reduce the stress required by the
Figure 6. Stress vs. Strain of Aluminum
,--./0011123.456789:,-263429;-09<.=6330-6>-06?
@54-9A;0B65,4;9548C#+D=A.6=-9630
Figure 7. Test Specimen
,--./001112E9<2A=2E.0EA@=;48060.?7$0%)0!!0#*+*2.?7
Figure 8. Aluminum Molecules
,--./001112956325<@26?@05<#6<0.=AE65-3243.



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metal (KVPY 1998). As you can see in Figure 8, the free spaces between aluminum molecules
can be filled with molecules of other metals, which provide desired properties like
superconductivity, high elasticity and enormous strength. Through research conducted on
aluminum, its properties and its alloys the following properties and applications of aluminum,
summarized in Table 5, can be utilized to help us in concept selection.

Table 5. Characteristics and Common Uses of Aluminum Alloys

Alloy Characteristics Common Uses
(Al, Cu, Mg,
Si)

Good formability, weld ability
and corrosion resistance

Food and chemical industry.
(Al, Ti, Zn, Cr,
Fe, MN)
Heat treatable.
High strength.
Non-weld able.
Poor corrosion resistance.
Airframes.
(Al, Zr, Zn) Non-heat treatable.
Medium strength work
hardening alloy.
Good weld ability, formability
and corrosion resistance.
Vehicle paneling, structures
exposed to marine
atmospheres, mine cages.

(Al, Fe, Si,
Cu ,Mg)
Non-heat treatable.
Medium strength work
hardening alloy.
Good weld ability, formability
and corrosion resistance.
Vehicle paneling, structures
exposed to marine
atmospheres, mine cages.

(Al, Cr) Non-heat treatable.

Pressure vessels and road
tankers. Transport of
ammonium nitrate,
.


After researching the properties and characteristics of aluminum, we next decided to look into
the climate and culture of Marrakech, Morocco. Marrakech, Morocco faces a Mediterranean
climate with hot, dry summers and mild wet winters (Morocco: Climate and Agriculture par.
2). Located on the plains and plateaus to the north of a very hot and dry desert, Marrakech

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experiences some plant growth and rainfall. Most summer days, however, consist of long hours
of sun with very minimal rainfall. Table 6 shows yearlong climate data for the region.

Table 6. Climatological Information for Marrakech, Morocco
http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/africa/mor_al/marrakech_e.htm

The Moroccan government has recently made an effort to go green. With 5 kWh per square
meter per day of solar radiation and 3,000 hours of sunshine per year (Ali par. 13), Morocco has
huge solar energy potential. As a result, the country has launched a huge project to reduce
dependence on foreign energy imports and cut carbon dioxide emissions (Ali par. 4). In addition
to generating energy, the program also involves implementing solar energy programs at
universities and colleges of engineering and training future experts. This nine billion dollar
endeavor will help ensure that forty percent of Moroccos power will come from renewable
sources by 2020 (McGinniss par. 2, 6). The countrys other sustainability efforts will also help
them achieve this goal. Morocco is now home to Africas biggest wind farm, and the government
has implemented a green tax to regulate pollution. Moroccan leaders even want to create a
green city that focuses on sustainable development and clean technology (McGinniss par.
17). Morocco is a leader of sustainability in the Mediterranean region. Even Moroccan
companies consider reduction of energy costs and sustainability to be priorities (Zgheib par. 2).
Knowing about Moroccan climate and culture will help us to better generate applicable
sustainable ideas.
After investigating Moroccan climate and
culture, we researched the individual Cadi Ayyad and
Penn State campuses. More than forty thousand
students attend the Pennsylvania State University at
University Park, and more than thirteen thousand of
these students live on campus (Penn State University
Park par. 1). All classes take place in buildings on
campus, which also is home to sports complexes,
dining halls, and other facilities. The university also
has countless sustainability programs in place or in
progress. Recycling is divided into seven different
Figure 9. Cadi Ayyad Recylcing

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categories, and there are many programs to teach, promote, and practice sustainability (Penn
State Sustainability). Cadi Ayyad, on the other hand, is set up differently. While they do have
one central campus, the students take classes at their individual colleges, which are not in the
same location. Colleges are divided by area of study. While Cadi Ayyad has a recycling program
in place, it is not nearly as comprehensive as that at Penn State. Figure 8 shows an example of
one of these recycling bins, but nothing is properly sorted or separated. While Penn State has an
extremely well-developed website detailing a comprehensive green effort, Cadi Ayyad has not
made it nearly as much of a priority. Understanding the differences between the two schools will
be key in identifying the best plan of action for our project.
This literature review allowed us to better understand how we would accomplish our goals.
Knowing the background behind aluminum, Marrakech, and Cadi Ayyad will help us to find an
appropriate problem and the best solution to that problem.

3.2 Patent Search

We performed the pattern search to gain an understanding of the existing uses of aluminum. We
also did it to discover ideas we could incorporate into our design, to make a new and novel
design to improve sustainability using aluminum. We then organized our findings in a Function
Art Matrix (Table 7) to create a visual representation of the functions the patents fulfill, and the
Parts of the patent that fulfill the function. Descriptions of the patents we researched are listed
below.

1. Primary batteries are used to power lots of different devices. They are known for putting
out a long term, low rate charge. Metal air batteries such as the one in this patent have
nigh energy density, a flat discharge voltage, and a long shelf life. A primary aluminum
hydride (AlH
3
) battery uses oxidation to produce a charge. The battery is comprised of
an anode comprising aluminum hydride and a conductive material, a cathode, and an
aqueous electrolyte. (Soloveichik)

2. A provided aluminum sheet is coated in a primer layer consisting of aluminum oxide
(Al
2
O
3
) or Aluminum hydroxide (Al(OH)
3
) and a vinylphosphonic acid-acrylic acid
copolymer. Then a coating containing polyvinyl chloride or an epoxy is applied to
further protect the food item that is contained inside. After the sheet has been coated it is
cut and shaped into the container that will be used. If aluminum or Aluminum alloys are
not treated with a coating they have tendency to corrode in the presence of moisture and
electrolytes. Even though aluminum protects itself by forming a natural oxide coating the
protection is not complete. Before the final coating is applied the sheet is cleaned
thoroughly. The coating was tested by putting it in a sealed container of warm beer and
heating it up. (D., Joseph)


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3. This is a method of forging aluminum and aluminum alloys. Using two separate Dies, a
lower and an upper die, which are heated to two different temperatures, the aluminum can
be shaped into the desired profile. The two dies need to have a temperature differential
of 100 350 degrees Celsius. The temperature differential provides greater strength to
the small pieces of forged aluminum than previous processes. However, thin pieces of
aluminum are still fairly weak. (Long, Li)

4. Aluminum is treated with an agent to prevent passivation of the aluminum during
oxidation. The agent is a metal alloy made up by gallium, and usually a eutectic alloy of
gallium, indium and tin. The aluminum is wetted with the eutectic alloy, by scouring the
aluminum, or immersing it in the agent. The treated aluminum may be mixed with water,
hydrogen peroxide or other suitable oxidizer in a controlled manner to produce hydrogen,
heat, steam or oxygen for the use in power generation or chemical reactions. After the
reaction has taken place the materials involved are easily recoverable. (Hatoum)

5. A method is used to improve the tensile strength, decrease the density, and good
radiation. Adding zirconium and vanadium increases the strength of the alloy. The base
material includes 92.55 wt % to 97.38 wt % of aluminum, 0.9 wt % to 1.8 wt % of
silicon, less than 0.5 wt % of iron, 0.6 wt % to 1.2 wt % of copper, 0.4 wt % to 1.1 wt %
of manganese, 0.6 wt % to 1.4 wt % of magnesium, less than 0.40 wt % of chromium,
less than 0.25 wt % of zinc and less than 0.20 wt % of titanium. (Hsu, Chang-Chuan)

6. The invention relates to a high-purity aluminum hydroxide gel particle, which is useful as
a raw material for high-performance optical lenses or as an electric or electronic
material. The invention also deals with the production of such particles. Aluminum
hydroxide particles are used as pharmaceutical antacids, flame-retardants, or electric and
electronic material. Previously such particles had 200+ ppm of iron, but this new method
only requires 1-10 ppm of iron. This saves iron and makes the Hydroxide particles more
efficient. (Suzuki, Takafumi)

7. This patent describes a method to get 3-D nanostructures on an aluminum substrate. This
method achieve a 3-D nanostructure by forming and oxide layer on the aluminum
substrate, texturizing the substrate, etching the oxide layer from the substrate to expose
the texturized layer of substrate, and the above forms an three dimensional nanostructure
array. When the array is coated in a light absorber it can be used as a thin film solar cell.
(Yu, Rui)

8. An aluminum alloy-brazing sheet for heat exchangers has a core, a sacrificial material
formed on one side of the core, and a brazing filler metal formed on the other side of

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core. The core is made of an aluminum alloy containing predetermined amounts of Si,
Cu, and Mn, The aluminum alloy brazing sheet for heat exchangers has excellent strength
and corrosion resistance even when it is formed into a thin material and also has excellent
high frequency weld ability and weld cracking resistance during electric
resistance. Aluminum provides high quality material for an alloy-brazing sheet. (Kimura,
Shimpei)

9. A patent for a dye doped solar cell that completely eliminates an electrolyte component
common, which is present in most solar cells, which can help prevent common issues that
arise in solar cells. The dye-doped solar cell contained in this patent uses a new novel
component that improves safety and function, as well as eliminating a part that has
caused problems in the past. This patent uses strip of aluminum disposed along one edge
of the dye doped solar cell, wherein the strip of aluminum serves as a top contact for the
solar cell; and a clear protective cover applied atop both the clear conductive layer and
the strip of aluminum for providing protection to the solar cell. (Curtin, Lawerence)

10. This patent contains the directions to make a ceramic-coated aluminum alloy. This article
of aluminum is coated in a few step processes. The first step is to immerse the article in
an aqueous electrolyte solution containing alkali metal hydroxide and alkali metal
silicate. Applying an alternating current through the electrolyte using the article as one
electrode where a second electrode includes at least one of an electrically conductive
container or an immersed separate electrode. The electrical current forces the ceramic to
bind to the aluminum substrate. The ensuing ceramic-coated substrate has a higher
tolerance to wear. (Chaney, Mark)


Table 7. Art-Function Matrix for Properties and Uses of Aluminum

Function Art










Oxidation
of Al
(battery)
Coating Heated
compression
of Al
Mixing Al
with other
Particles
Al used as
power
conductor
Primary power
source
US 8304121

Coating safe for
food packaging

US 1239976


!'
Shaping of
aluminum

US 20120324976

Power
production

US 8418435

US 8481850
Strong Al Alloy

US
20130269480

Creating
AL(OH)
3


US 8524192

Creating 3-D
nanostructures

US
20130244055

Increasing
durability of Al

US 8470452



3.3 Benchmarking

After carefully examining all the patents we then continued our external search with the
benchmarking of products, which are presently competitive in the market. This is a very
important step in the design process as the team as a whole get ideas about their functionality,
unique designs, and different solutions the team can come up for the real world problems.
The team analyzed four different products that would best fit the functioning and sustainability
of the campus. Table 8 shows the analyzed table of items. We evaluated each product and ranked
them on a scale of one to five in each category, one being the worst and five being the best.
(Aluminum and Aluminum Alloys)


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Table 8. Benchmarking of Four Products
Feature Aluminum Water
Bottles

Aluminum Pipes


Aluminum Spoons and
Cutlery

Aluminum
Solar Panels


Key features Thermostat
properties.
(Keeps water cold
for a long time)
Corrosion resistant,
stronger than other metals
Inert mechanism,
Light weight, rust free
Cost efficient,
Solar energy consumer
Easy to clean 1 2 3 Not applicable
Average cost to
manufacture
4$ 0-45$ 0.7-2$ 00-120$
Aesthetic 5 4 3 2
Alloys used Brass, copper Poly Vinyl Steel Silver, Chromium, copper
More suitable
to cadi Ayyad
3 5 2 4

3.4 Design Target

Our group performed an external search, which included a patent search, a literature review, and
benchmarking, as a way to guide our understanding of the qualities of aluminum. With a better
understanding of the attributes of aluminum, and what it can be used for, we were able to begin
to decide what we wanted to design. The literature review informed the group of the chemical
properties of Aluminum. Aluminum generally oxidizes in air, unless it is coated in another
substance, or mixed into an alloy. Aluminum alloys are incredibly light and strong, and
aluminum has a greater strength to weight ratio that steel. The patent search yielded some other
interesting results. Aluminum substrates can be sculpted into three-dimensional Nanostructures.
Those structures, when coated with a light absorbent polymer can be used as a thin film solar
cell, similar to the ones at the top of a calculator, or on the roof of the new Prius. We also
discovered that when aluminum studs are placed in solar cells at close intervals, it could increase
efficiency by up to 25%. Researching the environment in which we are implementing our
product also yielded valuable information about possibility and practicality of certain ideas.
Using the information we found in the external search, we designed the best possible final
product.


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4.0 Internal Search

Based on the information gathered by the external search our team had a more elegant design
target and to create real solutions to our problem we then conducted an internal search. Our team
then decided to come up with as many ideas as possible individually regarding what could best
possibly suit the environment of both Penn State and Cadi Ayyad campuses and how these ideas
might make both campuses more sustainable. We decided which were the most innovative ideas
and which best suited the definition of the problem. Later we again came together to decide
which functions from the collected ideas were unique.

4.1 Concept Generation

To come up with ideas for our project we engaged in 3 different types of idea generation. We
began by engaging in reverse brainstorming, which could also be called bad idea generation. The
entire point of reverse brainstorming is to learn what not to include in our final designs. By
coming up with many bizarre and stupid designs we could recognize which features would not
be useful later on. Some of the bad ideas we generated included; an aluminum iron man suit, and
aluminum sidewalk, and reflective aluminum mirrors that would be used to light a building. Our
bad ideas that we came up with during reverse brainstorming can be referenced in Figure 10. The
next method we used to generate concepts was collaborative sketches. Collaborative sketches
are generated when group member take turns adding on to a fellow members drawing, without
knowing what the original design entailed (Figure 11). This gave each group member a unique
understanding of each sketch, which resulted in the communication of many different ideas. One
idea included recycling aluminum from campus, to use in a water collection system for the
campus. The results of our collaborative sketches can be seen in Figure 12. The third method we
used to concept generation was random word association. Our group had to use the words
provided by our professor to generate and idea. We did not have to use the specific words, but
we had to be able to relate aspects of our design to the words.



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!*
7.0 Appendices

Appendix A

The 5 Whys Interview Dialogue

Q: What do you think is the least sustainable part of your campus that needs improvement?
A: Library.

Q: Why?
A: The electricity. The lights in the library go off at 6:00pm, and there are no power outlets for
charging computers and phones. Other buildings on campus have power outlets just not the
library.

Q: Why?
A: The structures on campus are old and outdated.

Q: Why?
A: There is not enough money to support upgrades.

Q: Why?
A: Students at Cadi Ayyad do not pay tuition. Education is government sponsored. If students
had to pay for college they would not be able to go, due to low economy.


#+
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#!
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