Organised by Innovation Academy, the Engineering InnoShow were scheduled to be held at the end of each semester, and where students can showcase their innovative projects and achievements to their peers and public as a way of knowledge exchange and giving back to the society.
The forth Engineering InnoShow "All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today” showcased a number of innovative Engineering student projects at Tam Wing Fan Innovation Wing on May 4, 2021, where engineering students demonstrate their project to the judges.
A total of 36 student projects from 5 departments and InnoHub members were showcased in the event, and five student teams were selected as the winner of the InnoShow Award. The InnoShow Award is to encourage students to develop innovative mindset in tackling engineering and social problems, and to support outstanding ideas to join international design competitions, the Dean’s Innovation and Entrepreneurship Fund will appropriate an amount of HK$100K to support a maximum of five student teams participated in the InnoShow to take part in international design competitions.
Two of the winning teams are from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, which are (1) A solar power system for producing useful fuels and chemicals from biomass waste and (2) Design and Modification of a Rototiller for the Grass/Sedge Control
A solar power system for producing useful fuels and chemicals from biomass waste
The project is developed by three final year Mechanical Engineering students and supervised by Professor Dennis Leung, Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering. The main purpose of this project is to fabricate an innovative solar power system (SPS) that comprises the concepts of applying solar energy and waste-to-energy, to address on the depletion of conventional fossil fuels and accumulation of biomass waste in emerging countries. The application of SPS utilizes solar energy and biomass waste to produce useful fuels and chemicals such as charcoal, biochar and activated carbon through pyrolysis. Furthermore, three project goals are identified: first, to study the optimal conditions for char production from different biomass waste through pyrolysis; second, to evaluate the performance of the SPS in char and AC production; and third, to evaluate the economic viability of the system. The SPS consists of three special features, namely a solar parabolic trough that works as a concentrating solar power collector, a solar tracking system for sun tracking and, a solar power supply system for power supply to the SPS. Overall, the SPS is an economically viable system with a short payback period of less than seven years, and generally four days are required to produce char products, depends on the outdoor environment. It is hoped that the project will contribute to the environment and lead to the optimisation of green power storage using cost-effective designs.
Team information:
Supervisor: Professor Dennis Leung
Project leader: Leung Hoi Yan, Macy
Team member: Wong Lut Sam, Serena and Chan Yat Fung, Ivan
Design and Modification of a Rototiller for the Grass/Sedge Control
The project is developed by three final year Mechanical Engineering students and supervised by Dr. Match WL Ko, Lecturer of Department of Mechanical Engineering. The project is a collaborating project with the WWF-HK, the management organization of the Mai Po Nature Reserve. The team devised a solution to solve the problem of vegetation removal on the intertidal mudflat, where the mud is extremely soft. This project applied Computer Aid Design (CAD) knowledge and hand-on skills learnt from various courses. Through field visits and case studies, the team developed a hovercraft mounted with grass cutter to reduce the necessity of deploying workers for vegetation removal. The product was tested in different settings, including lawn, pond and Mai Po. Results proved the feasibility of using hovercraft as a carrier in the intertidal mudflat. This product would serve as a conceptual design reference for WWF-HK in future projects in vegetation removal.
Team information:
Supervisor: Dr. Match WL Ko
Project leader: Yau Chi Tak, Andy
Team member: Fung Cheuk Yin, Jason and Ngan Chiu Pong, Jack
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