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Proposal Posted: December 12, 2014

Revised Proposal Posted: January 15, 2015

Final Proposal Posted: March 20, 2015

 

Mechanical Depth

To improve upon the current mechanical design, numerous options will be considered to evaluate the first cost, energy usage, and life cycle cost. A water-cooled chiller will be implemented, with the use of a cooling tower to evaluate the effects of free cooling. In addition, a runaround coil exhaust air energy recovery will be utilized to recover any wasted energy from critical zone exhausted air. Also, an analysis of a a variable refrigerant flow system will be done to determine its practicality. In terms of ventilation, an investigation into a dedicated outdoor air system AHU versus a VRF outdoor air kit will be done to determine which system meets the outdoor air requirements most efficiently.

Structural Breadth

The addition of a cooling tower located on the roof of the addition requires a reevaluation of the roof structure. This is a large increase in the dead load that the roof must be able to support. Currently, the roof includes a light colored membrane roof over rigid insulation on a concrete and metal deck roof slab

Electrical Breadth

Since VRFs are all electric, an analysis in powering the VRF units with photovoltaic panels will be completed. This will be done by finding the total required wattage for all VRF units and the corresponding outdoor condensing unit, and analyzing the necessary roof area to do so. This is in an attempt to be carbon neutral, or emission free. Results will be measured based on first cost of the panels, annual electricity savings, and life cycle cost.

Masters Coursework

The proposed alternatives will include aspects from multiple MAE courses. Utilizing a water cooled chiller and cooling tower will use knowledge from AE 557 – Centralized Cooling Production and Distribution Systems when evaluating chilled water systems and cooling tower selection. Also, when implementing a VRF system, knowledge from AE 557 will be used to determine the impact of refrigerants. Knowledge from AE 552 – Indoor Air Quality will also be used to evaluate the hospital’s possible ventilation systems.

In addition, a computational fluid dynamics analysis will be completed to study the airflow in an isolation room located in the hospital. Knowledge from AE 559 – Computational Fluid Dynamics will be used to model the spaces in the program Star CCM+ to analyze the nature of airflow throughout the isolation room.

PROGRESS

4.30.15 CPEP Completed
4.30.15 Final Presentation Posted
4.23.15 ABET Assessment Posted
4.8.15 Final Report Posted
3.30.15 Presentation Outline
3.7.15 Final Proposal
12.12.14 Mechanical Proposal
11.11.14 Technical Report 3
10.21.14 Building Stats Part 2
10.20.14 Abstract posted to CPEP
10.6.14 Technical Report 2
9.29.14 Abstract Draft Due
9.21.14 Student Bio Sketch on CPEP
9.18.14 Building Stats Part 1
9.18.14 Technical Report 1
9.7.14 CPEP Full Menu
9.5.14 Building Statistics 1 Draft
8.15.14 Drawings & Specs Recieved
6.30.14 Owner Permission Recieved