Novel Collaboration between Engineering and Geosciences to Design a Green Power Station for Field Camp - A Case Study

One of the Department of Systems Engineering's capstone projects was to design a portable sustainable power generation unit to support the Department of Earth Sciences' Geology Field Camp.The team of electrical and mechanical engineering students worked with the faculty of Earth Sciences to develop specifications.The design had to fit within the existing trailer without major modifications to the trailer.The final design housed the battery pack in a tongue-mounted box on the trailer with water proof outlets to charge devices.Four solar panels were connected through keyed connectors to the box to work with the recharging system to recharge the batteries.A stand was designed to hold the solar panels and allow rudimentary sun tracking.In a subsequent mechanical design course, the stand and mounting configuration were redesigned to make them easier to use and improve functionality.