Sustainable Social Models – One Community Weekly Progress Update #422

This week the core team continued edits on the Earthbag Village Footer, Foundation and Flooring development Doc. This week’s focus was edits and further clarifying existing information throughout the doc. New paragraphs were included, going into further detail and polishing the narrative and tying it in with the existing work. See pictures below for some screenshots related to this.

Continued Edits on the Earthbag Village Footer, Foundation and Flooring Development Doc. – Click for Earthbag Village

The core team also continued what we hope will be the 2nd-to-final check of the Murphy bed instructions, assembling the bed in 3D to test them. This week we created a list of updates and suggestions for the Table and Benches assembly section. Updates included measurements for some parts and shifting of location of affected parts/items. The screenshots below show some of this work.

Created List of Updates and Suggestions for the Table and Benches Assembly Section – Click for Earthbag Village Furniture Page

And the core team additionally began double checking the Earthbag Village energy specifics for the solar microgrid design, sizing, and cost analysis. This week’s focus was working on compiling the list of energy consuming components within the Earthbag Village. We had 2 meetings regarding energy consumption, began cleaning up the brainstorm list and added a ‘Data Source’ column, so the source of the information could be traced to its origin. We also began the list for the Dome Homes (residence) and added Greywater, Earthbag Village General, and Overall Property to the area category. We also corrected some equations within the Water Use Calculations spreadsheet and updated the Hydropower Spreadsheet based on that information. Pictures below are related to this work.

Worked on Compiling the List of Energy Consuming Components Within the Earthbag Village – Click for Solar Energy Page

Dean Scholz (Architectural Designer) continued helping with the Earthbag Village (Pod 1) 4-dome cluster designs. This week was week #219 of Dean’s work and the focus was finishing precise placement of the furniture in all of the domes. Pictures of some of this work are below.

Worked on Finishing Precise Placement of the Furniture in All of the Domes – Click for Earthbag Village

Jose Luis Flores (Mechanical Engineer) completed his 39th week helping finish the Net-zero Bathroom component of the Earthbag Village. This week Jose Luis finished updating the AutoCAD roof plan for the Net-Zero Bathroom to coincide with the Solidworks rendering, and reorganized the format to simplify the order of construction and installation. The updates included adding flash to the interior roof diagrams to illustrate that the installation comes after the exterior flash installation. The elevation view of the roof was also updated to include the drip edge flash. Jose Luis then began working on a section explaining the construction and installation of the roof support frame. The support frame consists of a series of beams that support the load of the panels that rest on top of them. The introduction and material list for the roof support frames was added. The Solidworks rendering was then updated to help illustrate the location and orientation of the supports used to hold them to the structure and to each other. The updated renderings will be added to the roof support frame section of the Net-Zero Bathroom tutorial/instructions. The pictures below show some of this work.

Continued Helping Finish the Net-zero Bathroom Component of the Earthbag Village – Click for Page

Stacey Maillet (Graphic Designer) completed her 36th week working on the final edits and revisions to the Murphy bed instructions. This week she tried to clear up a few issues mentioned in earlier comments. The measurements listed for wood sizes needed to be updated to show depth of wood first. The page arrangement was also updated and all corresponding page numbers needed to be updated if they are referenced in several other places. She started to work on cutting instructions for a couple boards and found this can be simplified and probably quite easy to follow by the user. She also continued to work on the renders and front booklet pages for tools and components, still brainstorming for a table of contents page and what that might look like. Screenshots below are related to this latest progress.

Continued Working on the Final Edits and Revisions to the Murphy Bed Instructions – Click for Earthbag Village Furniture Page

Hannah Copeman (Structural Engineer) completed her 33rd week helping complete all the Earthbag Village tutorials. This week Hannah continued the development of the Earthbag Village dome construction by continuing work on the Footer, Foundation and Flooring tutorial. She revised the tutorial to include further explanation on specific topics, such as placement of the welded wire fabric in the concrete slab floor, the placement of the vapor barrier around the foundation, and the need for additional rebar through the footer and into the ground. You can see some pictures of this work below.

Continued Helping Complete All the Earthbag Village Tutorials – Click for Page

Vicente J Subiela (Project Management Adviser) completed his 14th week working on the solar microgrid design, sizing, and cost analysis specifics. This week, Vicente focused on reviewing and updating the schedule plan and attending to the questions and needs of his team. He looked into comparing two possible options of electric service (Garkane Energy that supplies energy to our county, and Rocky Mountain Power, another utility that operates in our state but doesn’t supply energy to our county). Both options have several pros & cons with different aspects (technical, economic, mobility) and the decision is still unclear and requires more research. He also collaborated on the writing of two ads for new team members. Pictures below are related to this work.

Continued Working on the Solar Microgrid Design, Sizing, and Cost Analysis Specifics – Click for Page

Aidan Geissler (Sustainability Researcher) completed his 11th week helping with 2nd-to-final review, feedback, and content editing. This week Aidan continued to conduct and compile research for the Insulation Comparison spreadsheet. Much of the research for this week was focused on sustainability, which he has broken down into the following scoring categories: sustainability of the materials, sustainability of production and transportation, the direct environmental impacts, and other sustainability considerations. He also spent time locating, providing links, and reviewing the Health and Safety Data Sheets for each product. Additionally, the aesthetics of this document have been improved, so Aidan also spent time transferring content and adding product images to the newly constructed Comparison Table. Lastly, Aidan reviewed the Final Draft of Climate Battery Website Info to provide edits, comments, questions, and suggestions. Check out the pictures below as examples of this work.

Continued to Conduct and Compile Research for the Insulation Comparison Spreadsheet – Click for Page

Jeson Hu (Mechanical Engineer Assistant) completed his 8th week helping with research related to the solar microgrid design, sizing, and cost analysis specifics. This week, Jeson gathered inverter spec data, contacted the RMP electricity power provider for solar incentive program and rate, and left a voicemail to the solar department, but no answer back. He also organized and input important email communication and files to the dropbox folders using Vicente’s suggested order. In addition, Jeson constructed an inverter quote request email and sent ~10 quote emails and company website requests. Then he linked the company web address and product spec web address to the google sheet for future easy access, finalized the best solar harvesting product research, and added web addresses into the solar tech and company comparison google sheet for future easy access. The pictures below share some of this developing work.

Continued to Research Solar Microgrid Design, Sizing, and Cost Analysis Specifics – Click for Page

Yufan Jiang (Volunteer Architectural Designer) completed her 2nd week as a member of the team. This week Yufan started on WBS #: 2.1.1.2: Earthbag Village Photoshop Additions. For this task, she worked on the PSD file, researched sources of royalty free images including people and plants, changed the size and color of sources in photoshop, placed them into appropriate places, and added shades and rendered the landscape of the original picture. Based on the comments, she modified the PSD file twice. Yufan also reviewed the information of the transition kitchen for next week. Pictures below show some of this work.  Pictures below show some of this work.

Started on WBS #: 2.1.1.2: Earthbag Village Photoshop Additions – Click for Page

This week the core team created the initial review and outline for what will become the Duplicable City Center connector tutorial covering the engineering that went into identifying the best designs for the hub connectors for the dome frames.

Created Initial Outline for Future Duplicable City Center Connector Tutorial – Click for Page

Qiuheng Xu (Landscape Designer) completed her 29th week helping with the Duplicable City Center landscaping design. This week Qiuheng combined the herb garden model with the landscape model she has been working on. In the combined file, Qiuheng was able to fix the road system to the herb garden and entryways, and placed several seating areas. Pictures below show some of these changes.

Combined the Herb Garden Model With the Landscape Model – Click for Duplicable City Center

Ian Oliver Malinay (Energy Modeler/Analyst) completed his 17th week helping run the energy analysis calculations to help us achieve LEED Platinum status for the Duplicable City Center. This week, Ian processed/revised the operation schedule. This operation schedule is the frequency/occurrence of occupancy, process load, artificial lighting, air ventilation, heating and cooling demand on an hourly basis. Ian also processed the simulation requirements of domestic hot water particularly in the Living Dome that is currently using a heat pump. He also researched how the hydronic system works and how this technology will be modeled in the simulation software. Below are some images related to this work.

Processed/revised the Operation Profile – Click for Duplicable City Center Heating and Cooling Page

Sunitha Paraselli (Mechanical Design Engineer) completed her 8th week working on the Duplicable City Center connectors we’ll use to build the domes. This week Sunitha focused on editing the final report in Google Docs, adding more details and appropriate references , explaining what exactly the Hub Connector Analysis is and why we perform them. She also explained what is included in the analysis, what the safety factor is, and how much safety factor we should look for. In addition to this, Sunitha updated the load calculations of the LVL beam. The pictures below relate to this work.

Continued Working on the Duplicable City Center Connectors We’ll Use to Build the Domes – Click for Page

Luis Manuel Dominguez (Research Engineer) also completed his 6th week helping with research related to the solar microgrid design, sizing, and cost analysis specifics. This week Luis began to verify and summarize his calculations for the hot tub heat transfer analysis. He began the week by double checking his work on his early calculations regarding the convective and evaporative heat transfer of the tub during operation. Luis found all of his links and numbers to be in order and proceeded on to the idle state analysis. Simultaneously, he began drafting the engineering justification for his documents. Verifying while documenting is an effective strategy for organizing and validating findings. Moving forward, Luis will continue his report and prepare his findings to be published to the City Center Natural Pool and Spa web page. The pictures below are related to this work.

Began to Verify and Summarize His Calculations for the Hot Tub Heat Transfer Analysis – Click for Solar Energy Page

Daniela Andrea Parada (Volunteer/Consultant Civil Engineering Student) completed her 3rd week helping with the Sustainable Roadways, Walkways, and Landscaping tutorial development. This week Daniela worked on editing and rewriting. She analyzed paragraphs and ensured that the material was easy to comprehend for both engineers, clients, and the general public. Daniela also researched more information about grading ordinances in our specific planned location for the Duplicable City Center. As this information was not easy to come by, she also obtained material focusing on the general grading ordinances for Los Angeles. Pictures of some of this work are below.

Worked on Editing and Rewriting the Sustainable Roadways, Walkways, and Landscaping Tutorial – Click for Page

Rushabh Bhavsar (Mechanical Design Engineer) joined the team and completed his 1st week helping with the City Center Eco-spa designs. Rushabh started with the design and development of the hot tub model. This week’s process included recording the parameters and modeling the initial structure of the tub, and making adjustments based on feedback. Pictures below show some of this work-in-progress.

Joined the Team and Began Helping With the City Center Eco-spa Designs – Click for Page

Carol Nguyen (Civil Engineer) also joined the team and completed her 1st week helping with the Sustainable Roadways, Walkways, and Landscaping tutorial development. This week, Carol added the all-caps titles, subtitles, and organized the “Roadways, Walkways, Gutters, and Parking Lot” report sections so they appear in the order of the table of contents. She created the bookmarks in the table of contents to link the headers to their respective sections below. In addition, Carol also worked on summarizing, paraphrasing, and revising the report. The sections focused on this week included Flexible Pavements, Rigid Pavements, Composite Pavements, Process Overview, Preparing a Pavement Recommendation, and Project Specific Conditions to Consider. The pictures below share some of this developing work.

Joined the Team and Began Helping With the Sustainable Roadways, Walkways, and Landscaping Tutorial

Henry Vennard (Mechanical Engineer) completed his 28th and final week helping continue the development of the climate batteries for the Aquapini/Walipini structures. This week’s focus was reviewing and integrating feedback on the “Final Draft of Climate Battery Website Info” Google Document. Once published, this tutorial will serve as a guide to anyone interested in building their own climate battery. He also helped organize all the relevant information so it will be easier for anyone who works on the project next to jump in and start helping. Pictures below show some of this work-in-progress.

Reviewed and Integrated Feedback on the “Final Draft of Climate Battery Website Info” Google Doc – Click for Aquapini:Walipini Page

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