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NBD Nano Challenges you to create external design for water generator.
NBD Nano has developed a novel surface coating that is comprised of patterned superhydrophilic (water loving) and superhydrophobic (water hating) regions, on the nano-scale. Essentially, this surface coating drastically increases the efficiency of condensation and fog collection. We’ve identified a number of potential uses for this scalable surface coating, including extremely efficient dehumidification, a self-filling water bottle, large scale water source for greenhouse drip irrigation, military water production for remote missions, and several more.
We’d like the GrabCAD community to help brainstorm other potential uses for this technology. Submissions should include a few paragraphs describing the use, as well as diagrams/sketches, etc. to support the description.
Prizes to be awarded based on the creativity, feasibility, and overall potential market size of the submission.
The device must operate using less than 100W of power
Using the metric of 3L/m^2/hr of water at 70% RH, the proposed device must be able to produce a minimum of 1/2 L per hour
All materials used must be 100% recyclable
Simplicity in design is appreciated
The competition is open to everyone.
You can submit several designs.
Team entries are welcome. In case of team win, prize money will be transferred to team leader who is solely responsible for splitting it among team members.
Tag your model with “watergenerator”. Only entries with valid tag will participate!
Models can be done in any CAD software as long as a STEP or IGES files are also uploaded. Any entry that does not include STEP or IGES file, will be considered ineligible for the contest.
By entering this competition, you
1. Warrant that the work is your original work.
2. To the best of your knowledge, it is not, and has not been in production or otherwise previously published or exhibited.
3. Neither the work nor its use infringes the intellectual property rights (whether a patent, utility model, functional design right, aesthetic design right, trade mark, copyright or any other intellectual property right) of any other person.
This Challenge ends on November 26th, 2012.
The winners will be announced here on this Challenge page before December 26th, 2012.
Cash prizes of $2,500
$1,250 cash
$750 cash
$500 cash
The judges will be comprised of NBD Nano and GrabCAD staff.
NBD makes use of a nano-scale surface to enhance water condensation. Mimicking the Namib Desert Beetle, our nanotechnology can be used to collect water in the most arid regions of the world.
Robinson Greig
Miguel Galvez
Kaspar KiisHave an awesome idea for this competition? Want to win cool prizes? Sign-up now to upload your entries.
If you don't receive the email within an hour (and you've checked your Spam folder), email us as confirmation@grabcad.com.
78 comments
Stephen Nyberg over 11 years ago
Are we supposed to make a countertop water generator or come up with something new that would use this new nano technology?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Hey Stephen - Sorry for the confusion. We'd like to see designs that utilize this coating for a specific water need (ie. water bottle for hikers, water generator for hikers, drip irrigation supply). Currently working with GrabCad to have the description updated.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Excuse the typo - should have been water bottle for hikers, water generator for military...etc.
Erik Granstrom over 11 years ago
Ok, the title says "countertop atmospheric water generator" but the description says "...brainstorm other potential uses for this technology." Which do you want?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Erik - Ignore the 'countertop' constraint. We're looking for you to brainstorm a potential case in which an atmospheric water generator could be used, and to develop the appropriate solution.
Erik Granstrom over 11 years ago
Ok, gotcha. Thanks for clarifying that
jura stok over 11 years ago
How does it work? Is it active, passive? Does it require forced ventilation? What's the amount of "absorbtion" per m2?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
The surface coating enhances fog collection and condensation, so it will work in both an active or a passive system. Active systems will collect more water, obviously, but have the disadvantage of using power. Submissions should take the 'access to power' into consideration when designing an active vs. passive system.
3L/m^2/hr of water at 70% RH @ 120 CFM of forced ventilation. Forced cooling, forced ventilation, humidity, etc. will all affect this collection metric.
Branko Stokuca over 11 years ago
Is there a better explanation for what you need because the text above is not very clear. Could you be more specific about what exactly are you trying to accomplish. Videos, more pictures etc.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Branko - Sorry again for the confusion. There was a bit of miscommunication between GrabCad and NBD - still working to clear this up. I'll do my best to clear things up in the mean time.
Basically, we've developed a surface coating, mimicked after the Namib Desert Beetle that works on the nano-scale to improve fog collection and water condensation efficiency. This coating works by repelling water that forms on the surface, which prevents the 'thin film' of water that traditionally forms. By preventing this film of water from forming, the thermal resistance of the condensing thermal circuit is kept low, and the condensing surface is kept 'open for business'.
While we have identified several applications where an efficiency in condensation could be substantial (ie. industrial dehumidification, desalination, nuclear cooling, etc.), we are particularly interested in applying this technology to a water producing device in order to alleviate the water crisis.
We're looking for designers and engineers to choose an application where a water-from-air device could be useful (ie. self-filling water bottle, military water generator for extended missions, drip-irrigation water supply for hydroponic agriculture, etc.) and come up with an appropriate design to serve that application. Potential applications should not be limited to the few that I just listed, and creativity in the application you come up with is encouraged. Design considerations should include, but not limited to, application power constraints, water volume collection needs, durability, and simplicity in design.
For legal reasons, I can’t currently include a video of the tech in action. I will try to get something posted asap. Also, as Hurricane Sandy rolls through this week, I may be cut off from this challenge for a couple days. I’ll do my best to answer any and all questions ASAP.
Mohsen Jafarimalek over 11 years ago
very nice, I think it's little bit general subject for a contest. but I love challenge! I'm in! ;)
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Mohsen - We want you guys to be creative with this challenge, so we've left things a bit more general than other challenges. Looking forward to your submission!
Simonr over 11 years ago
@Robinson, can you give any info on the cost of the material? In order to estimate the potential market capitalisation for a product, you need some idea of what it's going to cost to produce! Even if you cannot give the cost per sq m, can you say whether it is for example cheap enough to use for disposable packaging or so expensive that only NASA are going to use it?!
Also, are there any constraints on operating temperature or pressure?
You mentioned that it could be used on boat hulls to reduce friction. Are there any other useful properties?
Si
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Simonr - The cost of the coatings are nearly negligible, but I can not currently give a per area cost.
The coatings are good for upwards of 300 deg C. One of our coatings works well on stretchable materials.
Stephen Nyberg over 11 years ago
Am I understanding the requirements above; If we have one square meter of surface with the coating applied, if the relative humidity is 70% it will produce three liters of pure drinkable water an hour?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Stephen - Yes, your interpretation of that metric is correct. That number is also dependent on the airflow over the cooled surface. I don't have in depth test data on air flow as independent variable, so assume this metric holds true at 150 CFM.
Stephen Nyberg over 11 years ago
Could this type of technology also be used in a similar fashion as a desiccant? to 'dry' the air? and does the air have to pass through a mesh or screen or can it be a solid surface treated with the coating?
Just brainstorming.
Also, not to offend anyone, but does the idea have to be so hippie and green? I mean I was thinking of having my idea save the world as a side effect rather then the goal.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Stephen - We haven't thought of using it as a desiccant, mostly have been working to compete with desiccants. We've done most of our testing by coating sheet metal, mesh/screens, and heat sinks.
I would prefer a product that is 'good' oriented, but if there are novel submissions that don't necessarily solve the world water crisis, they will be certainly reviewed carefully.
Stephen Nyberg over 11 years ago
I'm just thinking I want coffee more then water and I can be a little selfish :) or a cool way to get clean 'dry' air for a sandblaster or painting... I better not give away all my ideas...
Mojtaba Sootodeh-Fard over 11 years ago
May I know that after coating with this NANO material on glass or any transparent sheet materials , Is it transparent yet ?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Stephen - We're definitely open to creative suggestions!
Mojtaba - The coating can be applied as either a transparent or opaque (black or white) layer.
Roland Wahlgren over 11 years ago
The metric is incomplete. The water vapour density in the atmosphere is a function of air temperature, relative humidity, and pressure. Standard pressure of 1 atm (1.013241 bar; 29.921 in Hg) can be assumed for operation near sea level. Dehumidification performance is rated at the standard test condition of 26.7 °C, 60% relative humidity (AHAM DH-1-2008; also used by ASHRAE). It would have been best to state the metric as: "Using the metric of 3L/m^2/hr of water at 26.7 °C, 60% RH, the proposed device must be able to produce a minimum of 1/2 L per hour". But, the challenge organizers have the final say, of course. A global water-from-air resource map is described at http://www.atmoswater.com/wfa-resource-map.html. Detailed information about the water-from-air resource at selected locations is available at http://www.atmoswater.com/water-from-air-resource-charts-product-guide.html
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Roland - Great catch, and thank you for the useful links! Please assume STP at sea level for any and all calculations.
Robin Diekmann over 11 years ago
Do you want us to design the inner working, or only the exterior design?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Robin - The minimum expectation is for you to design the exterior in detail, and then include a description of how you expect it would work (ie. air flow, cooling mechanisms, etc.). Representative inner-working features may help better explain this, and the more complex your assembly is, the more time you may have to sped on the guts of the device in order to allow us to understand what you've come up with.
More details and nice renderings definitely don't hurt your chances.
Vucinic Tatjana over 11 years ago
Is the collected water drinkable?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Vucinic - The collected water is distilled, so in order to make it drinkable, the appropriate nutrients need to be added back to the water. This can be solved with a simple nutrient cartridge.
Adir Schoier over 11 years ago
Hello Robinson.
Can I apply this coating over a sheet of HDPE with thickness of 0.05 mm?
If yes. What will be the weight that this coating will have? (by m2)
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Adir - 50 microns might be too thin for our coating methods, but I'm curious about what you're considering. For now, let's assume the HDPE will withstand the coating process. In every application we've considered so far, the coating weight has been insignificant. In yours however, the coating weight may be relevant. I'll look into getting this number for you, and get it posted asap.
Girish.K.S over 11 years ago
Where is my Entry Jesus !!!
Ben Foster over 11 years ago
Hi Greig,
I have a few questions which I think once answered would greatly improve the feasibility of some ideas and also its accessibility to the people who really need it.
- Is it dishwasher and household chemical resistant?
- How well can it withstand years of direct sunlight and weathering including sand and sea-salt abrasion picked up by winds?
- Besides the fact it's distilled water, what are the dangers to people, animals and plants using only water obtained this way for their entire life?
ie. can the accumulated nano-particles over time pose health threats especially to those higher up in the food chain
- Can an unskilled workforce apply these coatings to a reasonable quality? eg, can it come purchased on a sticky sided acetate film, textile, plastic file or simply sprayed on?
- If a re-coating is required after a period of time, can this easily be done in situ?
- Are we talking cents, dollars or tens of dollars per m2 of superhydrophilic and superhydrophobic lamination? If more than a few dollars, is there scope for heavily subsidised costs for Aid & Survival projects?
Thanks
Ben
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Adir - The coating is a complex topography, and depends on the surface roughness of the material that's being coated, so it is difficult to give an accurate area density. Typically, the per volume density is about 10-30 g/m^3
Ben - I'll have to look further into some of your questions, and I'll get back to you asap.
Adir Schoier over 11 years ago
Thanks Robinson. I will work on my idea. If is possible, good. If is not.... there is no problem.
Challenges makes me unquiet. The sky is my limit.
Matt Stinson over 11 years ago
you said about an "nutrient cartridge" to be used to make the water gathered drinkable. is there any examples of such a cartridge or any size limitations of them?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
MStino - We haven't spent much time looking into a nutrient cartridge, as it isn't one of the primary design hurdles we're currently facing. I'd assume the cartridge could scale accordingly to the volume of water it will treat. Let's assume this cartridge will be roughly the size of a cell phone.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Ben - Answers to your questions, directly from one of our researchers. Hope this helps!
"1) It is not dishwasher safe. In fact, there is a large number of researchers focused on the laundering aspects of superhydrophobic coatings, and major results are only beginning to come out.
2) Direct sunlight exposure mostly depends on the polymers involved. UV is usually the culprit in breaking the coating down. I am not aware of any studies that look into the UV stability of MSQ, however I could try to dig up some literature on it.
3) The verdict on the health implications on nanoparticle absorption is still out, and there are very few regulations regarding them. I am not sure what type of bio-persistence rates silica nanoparticles would have; however, you put it on your body every time you wear sunscreen. You also have them in your toothpaste :)
4) If you can use a spray paint can then you can deposit these coatings. It is that easy. If you consider undergraduate engineers unskilled labor (i.e., people who have never performed spray deposition), it typically takes them 1-3 weeks to become proficient at producing high quality coatings.
5) Re-coating can be done in situ! In fact, this is one of the strongest points of this approach.
6) At research level costs, the coating is ~$25/m^2. This is -- for lack of a better word -- absurdly high cost. In fact, much of the cost in spray coating at the research level is attributed to solvents (e.g., alcohol). If you like, this is something that we can look into to see what the cost would be at a scaled up operation. It will take a bit of time to come up with a hard number though."
Ben Foster over 11 years ago
Greig,
Your answers were really helpful. Now I've just got 3 weeks to think of something good.
Cheers
Ben
Brent Carter over 11 years ago
What is the effect of the coating on flexible textile fabrics? Such as cotton or polyester for example. Does the coating decrease flexibility /increase rigidity significantly? What is the abrasion resistances in general terms? What are cycle life times for such coatings on fabrics? I guess a simple way of asking what I'm asking is if you have a fabric coated with the coating, will folding/wadding/ creasing/ creasing and uncreasing cycles etc. effect the coating in any way. Will that kind of cycling create peeling of the coating? I'm assuming it isn't chemically bonded due to it's adherence to many materials? If fold cycling does affect the coating what kind of life span for the coatings are we talking about?
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Brent - We do have one coating in our portfolio which works very well with flexible material. This coating is slightly limited by the coating process however. A hydrophobic spray coating is applied, and then the hydrophilic regions are then laser-etched on.
Tibor over 11 years ago
Hi, I have question: is it my idea possible: http://grabcad.com/library/concept-for-water-generator THANKS
Adir Schoier over 11 years ago
Robinson,
If I invent something that can be patented and generate a lot of money, who is intellectual property?
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
@Adir, when you add your entry to a Challenge it becomes the intellectual property (IP) of the Challenge Sponsor. So, in this instance NBD Nano would retain the IP rights. Send me a private message if this is still unclear. Thanks!
Oleksa over 11 years ago
Hi. I have few questions about this technology:
1) What difference between your coat and common coat? Physical process of condensing is independent from material, but material affects to heat transfer and condensate transfer. How can I understand, your technology very fast remove condensed water from condensing area before it begin to evaporate, that leads to effective condensate harvest. Is it? Or it use catalyze or something else
2) How it works with other liquids (alcohol, gasoline, ester etc)?
3) Is it heating, when condensing? How much?
Of course, 1-st question is main and its right answer explains other questions
Thanks
Oleksa over 11 years ago
I found this phrase in press-release from http://boston.cbslocal.com/2012/06/14/bc-grads-solving-world-water-crisis-with-a-beetle/ :
"Using nanotechnology, McTeague built a material that’s being incorporated into the prototype, which is designed to optimize collection of condensation."
Carlo Maselkowski over 11 years ago
Hi
Sorry for the mass of questions but.....
Can you give an indication of how wear / scratch / corrosion / UV resistant the coatings are?
Can they be applied to both smooth and rough surfaces? Metallic / polymeric / ceramic / glass?
What are the constraints on applying the coatings to inside surfaces, eg minimum cylinder diameter for coatings on the inside of cylinders?
I think heard that a typical coating cost is around $20 per square metre. Is that about right?
Thanks
Romano Gaspari over 11 years ago
check all passed challenge ;) grabcad is nothing without active members... remember dear grabcad team! it's a scandle
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
Oleksa - In traditional condensation, you get a thin film of water on the condensing surface (see a cold glass on a hot day). Due to the high specific heat of water, this film acts as a thermal barrier, and prevents further condensation. Our coatings cause water to preferentially condense on the hydrophilic regions as spherical beads of water. Once the bead diameter outgrows the philic portion of the surface, it breaks off and is channeled downwards by the hydrophobic channels. In short, our surface improves condensation efficiency by keeping the condensing surface "open for business".
Carlo - The coatings are fairly durable to the wear you mentioned. Nearly any type of surface (rough metallic to smooth plastic to ceramics) can be coated. We do have a dip coating in our portfolio that could be used to cost nearly any geometry surface - please read the previous comments for a more detailed answer on coating techniques. The coatings currently cost $25 / m^2, but this is at a LAB SCALE, so this number will drastically decrease.
Romano - Feel free to private message me. I'd be happy to clear up any concerns you have about the validity of our challenge.
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
@Eddwin We pay all winners and do not have fake or fraudulent challenges. @Romano you can feel free to contact me, as well.
Phuoc Nguyen over 11 years ago
@Robinson - Could you tell me the thermal conductivity or some thermalphysical properties of superhydrophilic & superhydrophobic coating.
I'll use it for my calculation.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
@Tien - The thermal resistance of the coating layer can be estimated to be negligible since the coating thickness is so small.
Oleksa over 11 years ago
Is it possible to use this technology for increasing of evaporation effectivity? I think another configuration of hydrophobic and hydrophilic areas can to do this. Maybe the same geometry with mirroring : philic areas become phobic and likewisv
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
@Oleksa - We hadn't considered that. It might be possible to localize the heat transfer through the evaporative plate into small beads of water, which may increase evaporation rate.
Oleksa over 11 years ago
Greig, I think it will be useful and perspective. I will submit my entries some later, if you do not mindv
Max Whisson over 11 years ago
Would it be possible to combine this with inventions like the "Max Water"? It chills the fan blades of a windmill and collects the consensation - http://www.rexresearch.com/whisson/whisson.htm and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf0krn99Y2v
ninan over 11 years ago
Hi, i just have some ideas ,but not some model , about how tu use those wonderful novel surfacv, and how can i get contact with your guys?
Roy over 11 years ago
hey ninan send me an quick message maby I can help you.
BTW: there are so many designs that no heat difference or something solid to use.
The coating improves just to condense?
and some models use more than 100w, this is permitted if supported by a built builds solar generated
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
@Max - Yes, our coating is very applicable to something along that line. Are you the 'Max Whisson'? If so, I'd be very interested in chatting.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
@Roy - Yes, the coating improves the efficiency of the condensation process, so a cooling mechanism is still required.
Roy over 11 years ago
btw about solar is a question:P
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
@Roy - We've opened up the collection and power constraints a bit, since they're very much dependent upon the use. If you can easily incorporate solar to reduce the net power requirements, or potentially make it self sustaining, that would be great!
Steve Mackin over 11 years ago
I uploaded an entry. If I view all entries it does not show? Did I do something wrong?
Julius Siador over 11 years ago
Mine too. Why is this?
Yu Lin over 11 years ago
I have the same problem.
Eby (kebymathai@gmail.com) over 11 years ago
Same with me too.
Dwi Prabowo over 11 years ago
I submit 7 hours before passed, but I have same problem
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
All - I'll check in with the GrabCad guys to see if we can get this sorted out.
Robinson Greig over 11 years ago
All - The challenge has been extended by a day to allow those who experienced technical issues to enter their designs.
ninan over 11 years ago
i have just sent my idea to Roy ,who say can help me make a model ,and i said thanks here ,but now it's became a "."
e.g.oussama over 11 years ago
who is the winner of this challenge and how can we know the OF RESULTS
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
@Ninan I'm sorry about the error. I'll delete the empty comment. I'm glad someone is helping you and how nice of you to say "thanks!"
Sara Sigel over 11 years ago
@EGOussama It usually takes about one month for the results to be announced. We will post the results right here, and if you "follow" the Challenge you will get an email when they are posted.
Alexei Kositsin over 11 years ago
too bad i didnt have time to partisipate in this project.
Ajay Agrawal over 11 years ago
congratulation to all winner..!
Andrew Kazantsev over 8 years ago
look a general worldwide solution - Cloud Power - AirHES - http://airhes.com
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