SCOBEL WIGGINS/Gazette-Times Peter van Tamelen takes his turn pedaling to turn a polluted solution, held by teammate Umang Patel, into clean water in this year’s mechanical engineering challenge. Teammate Stephanie Wilton and van Tamelen’s son, Neal, 9, cheer him on while Lindsey Walker keeps an eye on the mechanics.

Mechanical engineering students at Oregon State University didn’t have to worry about hitting the gym Thursday night. They worked up a sweat pedaling bicycles and turning hand cranks to power water purification devices created for a design course.

Hundreds gathered in the Kelley Engineering Center atrium to watch 24 teams unveil their prototypes and compete to see whose design could produce the largest volume of potable water.

Food coloring signified pollutants in the water. Using only human mechanical power, students had to bring the water to a boil, then condense the steam into purified water. The clean water would be colorless, proving the device worked.

The challenge was inspired by the shortage of drinking water in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Stills such as the ones OSU students created would have allowed these residents to produce their own clean water, event organizers said.

After “a couple long, sleepless nights,” junior Roy Thomasson and his teammates turned to Occam’s razor, a principle of economy, deciding the simplest design probably was best.

They used a stationary bicycle to power a motor, which provided electricity to a heating coil taken from a coffee maker. This heat brings water to a boil — 212 degrees Fahrenheit.

As the water evaporates, the steam travels through a copper coil, where it condenses into a purified liquid that’s deposited into a collection basin.

The teams had access to metal and other materials in the mechanical engineering department’s shop, but had to pay for everything else themselves. Thomasson, along with teammates Taylor Streng, Dustin Amberg and Adam Aschenbach, kept costs to $80. The most expensive element was the used motor, which set them back about $50.

Teams had one hour to produce as much purified water as possible. Thomasson’s team planned to trade off pedaling the bike every three minutes.

The class assignment dovetails with this year’s design challenge posed by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. The organization hosts an annual competition that draws college students from around the globe.

OSU will select two designs to enter into the regional competition in the spring, with hopes of progressing to the international round in fall 2007.

Students who participated in Thursday’s competition will have an edge when vying for a place on OSU’s regional roster because they’ll have seen their prototypes at work, and can make necessary adjustments and improvements before the internal selection, said Ping Ge, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

OSU has taken first place at the regional level for the past 10 years, and won the international competition in 2001, Ge said.

Students in Ge’s 300-level design class have worked since the beginning of the term on conceptualizing and building their purification stills.

“It really gives students all the tools you need to be successful in design,” said Belinda Batten, professor and head of the department of mechanical engineering.

The main reward for doing well Thursday was a good grade in Ge’s class. Every participant received a certificate of recognition. Each member of teams earning first, second and third place received a $10 gift certificate to the OSU Bookstore, courtesy of the department of mechanical engineering.

Top honors went to juniors Stephanie Wilton, Umang Patel, Lindsey Walker and Lucas Marks, and graduate student Peter van Tamelen.

Their prototype used friction to heat the water, and pressure to condense it.

Unlike many teams, who used upright or recumbent bikes with attached seats, this group set up a collapsible chair separate from the pedals and handlebar. This kept their design lighter, one criterion judges looked at, Wilton said.

With this still, the pedal turned a sandpaper-type wheel, which rubbed against a copper plate, creating heat. This brought water to a boil. The vapor traveled through a condensing tube, and the purified water was stored in a separate container.

“I think it’s fabulous. It’s a good idea and could be useful someday to people,” said Monica Wilton. Both she and husband Mike came from Eugene to see their daughter’s team compete and ultimately win.

The group produced 113 grams of purified water.

Van Tamelen’s son, 9-year-old Neal, agreed with the judges, giving his dad’s design his stamp of approval.

“It’s pretty cool,” Neal said.

Second place went to Jennifer Mark, Richard Walloch, Mark Cooley and Scott Zenier. They created an electrical wire-based heat mechanism with a bicycling human power input, which yielded 75 grams of purified water.

In third place were Kevin Silveira, William Zimmerman, Husain Alshaiji, Devin Allphin and Florian Kapsenberg. They created an electricity-based copper plate heating mechanism with a bicycling human power input, combined with a hand pump to provide a pressure advantage and colorful boiling and cooling chambers. Like the silver medal, this device made 75 grams of potable water.

Even before he knew his team had won, van Tamelen was happy just to have created a working human-powered water purifier.

“It’s been great. I’ve really learned the intricacies of the design process,” he said.

Mary Ann Albright covers higher education. She can be reached at maryann.albright@lee.net or 758-9518.

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