2. Eco Project Research
Country / Geographic Region Republic of South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country located at the southern tip of Africa, with a 2,798
kilometers (1,739 mi) coastline on the Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
South Africa is known for a diversity in cultures and languages
English has a large role in public and commercial life, it is nevertheless only the fifth most-
spoken home language.
About a quarter of the population is unemployed and lives on less than US $1.25 a day.
The extreme southwest has a climate remarkably similar to that of the Mediterranean with wet
winters and hot, dry summers
This region is also particularly known for its wind, which blows intermittently almost all year
[hide]Climate data for Cape Town, South Africa
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high 26.1 26.5 25.4 23.0 20.3 18.1 17.5 17.8 19.2 21.3 23.5 24.9 22.0
°C (°F) (79) (79.7) (77.7) (73.4) (68.5) (64.6) (63.5) (64) (66.6) (70.3) (74.3) (76.8) (71.6)
Average low °C 15.7 15.6 14.2 11.9 9.4 7.8 7.0 7.5 8.7 10.6 13.2 14.9 11.4
(°F) (60.3) (60.1) (57.6) (53.4) (48.9) (46) (44.6) (45.5) (47.7) (51.1) (55.8) (58.8) (52.5)
Precipitation 15 17 20 41 69 93 82 77 40 30 14 17 515
mm (inches) (0.59) (0.67) (0.79) (1.61) (2.72) (3.66) (3.23) (3.03) (1.57) (1.18) (0.55) (0.67) (20.28)
Avg. precipitation
5.5 4.6 4.8 8.3 11.4 13.3 11.8 13.7 10.4 8.7 4.9 6.2 103.6
days
Sunshine hours 337.9 299.9 291.4 234.0 204.6 174.0 192.2 210.8 225.0 279.0 309.0 334.8 3,092.2
Source: Hong Kong Observatory[51]
Climate: mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Natural resources: gold, chromium, antimony, coal, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates,
tin, uranium, gem diamonds, platinum, copper, vanadium, salt, natural gas
Land use: arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
3. meadows and pastures: 65%
forest and woodland: 3%
other: 21%
Irrigated land: 11,280 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues: lack of important arterial rivers or lakes requires extensive water conservation
and control measures; growth in water usage threatens to outpace supply; pollution of rivers
from agricultural runoff and urban discharge; air pollution resulting in acid rain; soil erosion;
desertification
natural hazards: prolonged droughts
international agreements: party to - Antarctic Treaty, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol,
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
From: http://www.postcolonialweb.org/sa/geography.html
Terrain: vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
Elevation extremes:
highest point: Njesuthi 3,408 m
volcanism: the volcano forming Marion Island in the Prince Edward Islands, which last erupted
in 2004, is South Africa's only active volcano
All of the data and information above is an important aspect of our research. It helps us
to know what kind of environment we will be sending our floating houses to. It will help us
make good enhancements and changes to prototypes we create so they can work to their best
potential. Knowing the amount of annual rainfall will especially help us with our designs.
This is the South American Flag; although it isn’t
essential to our research, it will be good to know.
4. This is a picture of the
country South Africa, The
exact location of where we
will be shipping our houses
is important for obvious
reasons.
A more detailed map of South Africa will help us
determine where in South Africa needs the houses the most. Areas near rivers or coastlines are
most likely to flood
Need
http://www.actsa.org/Pictures/UpImages/pdfs/ACTSA_South_Africa_country_profile.pdf
Pretoria – With the incessant rains introducing a whole new dynamic to the lives of millions of
South Africans, the nation has joined hands to deliver much needed relief to those who have
been most adversely affected by the floods.
5. The Department of Social Development, business sector, civil society and faith based
organizations have formed a task team, which will primarily coordinate humanitarian assistance
to people across the country.
“The function of this team is to … respond to the immediate emergency priority needs, while at
the same time, laying the foundations for early and eventual long-term recovery of the affected
communities,” said Social Development Minister, Bathabile Dlamini, during a media briefing on
Sunday.
South African authorities say at least 39 people have died in flooding and thunderstorms in the
eastern part of the country.
Provincial disaster management confirmed Friday that 26 people, including 4 children, have
died as a result of adverse weather conditions in the rural Eastern Cape province since mid-
December
VISITOR FACT SHEET: THE DECLARED STATE OF DISASTER DUE TO FLOODS IN SOUTH AFRICA
1. The general public, investor community and tourists are encouraged to continue with their
planned projects in, and travel to, the areas where a state of disaster has been declared BUT to
also consider warnings given and other precautionary measures issued in respect of specific
areas falling within and outside the borders of the declared areas.
2. The numbers that foreign tourists / business people can call to get the latest information
on the state of floods in the country or the areas they intend travelling to are the following:
· Weatherline: (+27) 082162.
· EMS: (+27) 10177 (Emergency services)
6. Information from the visitor fact sheet will help us know what exactly we’re working against.
Knowing locations of disaster areas will also help us know where people need our houses the
most.
In South Africa, weather-related incidents, including floods, lightning strikes and tornadoes, are
thought to have killed 40 people between mid-December 2010 and 17 January 2011, and more
than 6,000 people had been displaced, according to the National Disaster Management Centre.
Recyclable Materials
Acceptable items are the same for the curbside program, drop-off locations and staffed
recycling centers except as noted below (see Exceptions):
FIBER MATERIALS
PAPER
• White or mixed office paper, computer paper, file folders and manila and regular
envelopes, mail items, junk mail, brown paper grocery bags, telephone books, and
magazines/catalogs
• Food-free pizza boxes, paperboard, cereal and gift boxes
• Newspapers with slick advertising inserts
• Flattened cardboard pieces no larger than approximately 2 ft x 2 ft
• NO bound catalogs over 1 inch thick or glued bindings - NO plastic or foil backed paper
• NO soiled or wax-coated cardboard like frozen food boxes and milk/juice cartons
• NO wrapping paper
CO-MINGLED MATERIALS
GLASS
• Food and drink bottles and jars (clear, brown, green, blue) - remove lids and rinse. Leave
labels on
• NO window glass, mirrors, light bulbs, drinking glasses/mugs, oven/cooking glassware,
pottery
METAL & ALUMINUM
• Steel “tin” cans such as soup, vegetable or pet food (rinse and put lids inside), empty
aerosol cans (remove plastic lids)
7. • Clean used aluminum foil, disposable roasting, pie and cake pans, beverage cans and
clean aluminum food containers (flatten to save space if possible)
• NO pots, pans, coat hangers, or paint cans
• NO medical waste such as needles
PLASTIC
• Household containers such as milk jugs, cups, squeeze bottles, clear food packaging, soft
drink, laundry and dishwashing detergent, margarine and whipped topping tubs, bottles
and jars marked #1 thru #7 with the recycling symbol are accepted in the
program. SOME ITEMS MARKED ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE AND ARE NOTED BELOW.
Clean thoroughly and leave labels and lids on. Flatten to save space if possible.
• NO medical waste such as syringes
• NO motor oil or antifreeze jugs, plastic bags or buckets, pumps or sprayers, paint
containers or plastic cutlery
• NO plastic or styrofoam packing material such as peanuts or rigid. Styrofoam cups,
plates and food containers are also NOT accepted. (See below for styrofoam recycling.)
BATTERIES
• Household batteries, such as sizes AAA, AA, C & D are accepted at all staffed recycling
locations and the Household Hazardous Waste site (HAZBIN) only.
• Household batteries are not accepted in the curbside or unstaffed drop-off programs.
EXCEPTIONS: The following items can be recycled ONLY at the STAFFED Recycling
Locations.
Antifreeze - No containers larger than 5 gallons
Motor Oil - No containers larger than 5 gallons
Oil Filters
Automobile, Boat, and Motorcycle Batteries; Household Batteries
Inkjet and Laser Toner Cartridges
DVDs and CDs
Floppy Disks
STYROFOAM (MOLDED POLYSTYRENE)
Molded Polystyrene (Styrofoam) is NOT accepted in any of Louisville Metro's Recycling
Programs. This product is generally found as packing material for computers, appliances, fragile
items, etc. (This does not include styrofoam packing peanuts) However, product that is clean,
white and contained (bagged) may be taken to:
Foam Fabricators, Inc.
950 Progress Boulevard
New Albany, IN 47150
8. 948-1696
There is a receiving bin where citizens may place this material for recycling. For
large quantities, please phone the number listed above and make an appointment for delivery.
On behalf of Louisville Metro Government, we wish to thank Foam Fabricators for being such
good neighbors and allowing our residents to recycle this material!
Many 'pack-and-ship' type stores will accept peanuts or polystyrene packing materials, so call to
check with the location nearest you.
PLEASE NOTE:
While we encourage proper sorting of the materials listed above and placement of said
items in the proper compartment at the drop-off locations, minimal contamination or
recyclable items placed in the wrong compartment will not cause the entire load to be
landfilled. The Material Recovery Facility (MRF) hand sorts the materials and removes
any contamination and/or places the items into the proper categories.
THANK YOU FOR DOING YOUR PART TO MAKE LOUISVILLE CLEANER AND GREENER!!
9. Tips for Recycling Metal Clothes Hangers
Gary Barker with the Organic Consumers Association states that recycling wire
hangers proves difficult for a few reasons:
The hooks catch on recycling equipment causing jams and damage.
There is also a petroleum polymer coating on the hangers that makes recycling
the metal more of a challenge.
Most recycling centers won’t accept metal hangers, due to the low percentage of
steel reclaimed per hanger.
If you live in an area that accepts wire hangers as part of curbside recycling, take
advantage of it, or use Earth911 to locate recycling centers nearest you.
10. Otherwise, reuse is the best option. If you don’t want to keep wire hangers
around in your closet, use them for do-it-yourself projects such as unclogging
drains. Lastly, many dry cleaners welcome metal hangers back to their facilities
for reuse.
Buoyancy
Why boats float and elephants sink
(buoyancy)
How does a boat or ship carrying hundreds of
pounds worth of stuff float while that same stuff
would sink to the bottom of the ocean if dumped
overboard? How come when you're in a pool
and you stretch your body out flat you float.
But, if you wrap your arms around your legs and curl up into a ball
you sink? Well, it all has to do with how much water is pushing
against you and a little scientific principle called buoyancy or
floatation. When you stretch out flat more water pushes against you
since your body is laid out flatter. When you curl up into a ball, less
water is pushing against you. Want to test this for yourself? Try this
experiment:
1. Take a piece of clay and split it into 2 identically sized pieces.
Take one of the pieces and roll it into a ball. Take the other
piece and fashion it into a flat boat shaped object (if needed,
get mom or dad to help - that's what they're there for).
2. Now place both pieces into a sink full of water. Which one
floats and which one sinks? Both? Neither?
So you see, if the total area of the object that makes contact with the
water is large enough, the object floats. The object must make room
for its own volume by pushing aside, or displacing, an equivalent (or
equal) volume of liquid. The object is exerting a downward force on
the water and the water is therefore exerting a upward force on the
object. Of course the floating object's weight comes into play also.
The solid body floats when it has displaced just enough water to
equal its own original weight.
This principle is called buoyancy. Buoyancy is the loss in weight an
11. object seems to undergo when placed in a liquid, as compared to its
weight in air. Archimedes' principle states that an object fully or
partly immersed in a liquid is buoyed upward by a force equal to
the weight of the liquid displaced by that object. From this
principle, he concluded that a floating object displaces an amount of
liquid equal to its own weight. (Note: if you don't understand these
last two paragraphs, don't worry. They're not on the test).
Sources:
World Book Encyclopedia (1997)
University of Wisconsin Web Site
12. Buoyancy
Buoyancy arises from the fact that fluid pressure increases with depth and
from the fact that the increased pressure is exerted in all directions (Pascal's
principle) so that there is an unbalanced upward force on the bottom of a
submerged object.
Since the "water
ball" at left is
exactly supported
by the difference
in pressure and
Index
the solid object at
right experiences
Buoyancy
exactly the same
concepts
pressure
environment, it
follows that the
buoyant force on
the solid object is
equal to the
weight of the
water displaced
(Archimedes'
principle).
Objects of equal volume experience equal buoyant forces.
Applications of buoyancy.
Go Back
HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R Nave
13. Equal Volumes Feel Equal Buoyant Forces
Suppose you had equal sized balls of cork, aluminum and lead, with respective
specific gravities of 0.2, 2.7, and 11.3 . If the volume of each is 10 cubic centimeters
then their masses are 2, 27, and 113 gm.
Index
Buoyancy
Buoyancy
concepts
Each would displace 10 grams of water, yielding apparent masses of -8 (the
cork would accelerate upward), 17 and 103 grams respectively.
The behavior of the three balls would certainly be different upon release from
rest in the water. The cork would bob up, the aluminum would sink, and the
lead would sink more rapidly. But the buoyant force on each is the same
because of identical pressure environments and equal water displacement. The
difference in behavior comes from the comparison of that buoyant force with
the weight of the object.
Behavior of sinking objects
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HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R Nave
14. Archimedes' Principle
Hmm! The crown seems lighter under water!
The buoyant force
on a submerged
object is equal to
the weight of the Index
liquid displaced by
the object. For Archimedes
water, with a discussion
density of one gram
per cubic Buoyancy
centimeter, this concepts
provides a
convenient way to
determine the
volume of an
irregularly shaped
object and then to
determine its
density.
What is it's density?
R
Go Back
HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids
Nave
15. Archimedes' Principle
Hmm! The crown seems lighter under water!
The buoyant force
on a submerged
object is equal to
Index
the weight of the
liquid displaced by
Archimedes
the object. For
discussion
water, with a
density of one gram
Buoyancy
per cubic
concepts
centimeter, this
provides a
convenient way to
determine the
volume of an
irregularly shaped
object and then to
determine its
density.
R
Go Back
HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids
Nave
16. Archimedes' Principle
The buoyant force on a submerged object is equal to the weight of the fluid
displaced. This principle is useful for determining the volume and therefore
the density of an irregularly shaped object by measuring its mass in air and its
effective mass when submerged in water (density = 1 gram per cubic
centimeter). This effective mass under water will be its actual mass minus the
mass of the fluid displaced. The difference between the real and effective
mass therefore gives the mass of water displaced and allows the calculation of
the volume of the irregularly shaped object (like the king's crown in the
Archimedes story). The mass divided by the volume thus determined gives a
measure of the average density of the object. Archimedes found that the
density of the king's supposedly gold crown was actually much less than the
density of gold -- implying that it was either hollow or filled with a less dense
substance. Index
Buoyancy
concepts
Examination of the nature of buoyancy shows that the buoyant force on a
volume of water and a submerged object of the same volume is the same.
Since it exactly supports the volume of water, it follows that the buoyant
force on any submerged object is equal to the weight of the water displaced.
This is the essence of Archimedes principle.
Application to determining density
Go Back
HyperPhysics***** Mechanics ***** Fluids R Nave
17. Current Viable Solutions
http://morfis.wordpress.com/2010/11/19/futuristic-floating-dwellings/
This is an article about the MORPHotel, a concept by Italian architect Gianluca Santosuosso it is
a floating living space, however these are very complex structures so it’s a little different than
our project. The article isn’t very specific about the design of the dwellings, so maybe there are
things that can be applied to our design.
http://www.holcimfoundation.org/T1228/A08AMngNG-prog10.htm
This article is about floating dwellings in a small village near Lagos, Nigeria. These dwellings, like
ours are made mainly out of recycled materials. This project also launched a nonprofit business
called Hope Floats Initiative that we could use for our project. The team used recycled wood,
plastic foils, used sheet metals, reeds and thatch.
Using ideas other people have come up with is great to work off of in our own project. They can
help us understand what we know works and what we know doesn’t. From this we can come
up with bigger and better ideas.
Calculations
Proof
Friday, February 04, 2011
1:12 PM
ρ= density. Fresh water is 1000kg/m^3
Salt water is 1022 kg/m^3
Let us assume that because there will be more molecules in any given cubic yard of flooded
water, then the mass will be greater, as is seen in freshwater to saltwater. So in a floodzone, the
water will have topsoil and other such minerals which will increase the density of the water.
With this assumption there is now an ability to estimate the density of this dirt saturated water.
The density of a tightly compacted cubic meter of average soil is 2002 kilograms/m^3. A
rough estimate of the density of the water places the dirt to water ratio around 1:5. now, the
approximate density can be calculated.
18. V= volume. Volume displaced by the submerged is equal to the volume of the submerged object
which is the bottles.
g= gravitational constant: 9.8 m/s^2. This term cancels out.
The sum of forces is zero because the house is not moving so there is no net force on the house.
2002*1/6=333.6667
1000*5/6=833.3333
333.7+833.3=1,167
density of muddy water: 1167 kg/m^3
4 feet = 1.2192 meters
1.2192/.0986760648=12.3555798711 bottles
4 feet = 1.2192 meters
1.2192/.3=4.064 bottles
If the palate is 4 feet by 4 feet then that means there can be 12*4 bottles on the palate
∑Forces = 0 = mg-ρfluidVdisplacedg
mg= ρfluidVdisplacedg
mmax= ρfluidVdisplacedg
g
mmax=ρfluidVdisplaced
mmax= (1167kg/m^3)(48)(.002m^3)=112 kilogram = 246.917 lbs
Other Missing Research Elements that are Essential to the Project
http://www.obviously.com/recycle/guides/common.html
http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/airwaste/wm/recycle/recywrks/recywrks2.htm
http://www.suite101.com/content/materials-best-suited-to-recycling-a64182
19. Bibliography
F u t u r i s t i c f l o a t i n g d we l l i n g s . ( 2 0 1 0 , N o ve m b e r ) . R e t r i e ve d fr o m
h t t p : / / mo r f i s . w o r d p r e s s . c o m/ 2 0 1 0 / 1 1 / 1 9 / f u t u r i s t ic - f l o a t i n g -
dwellings/
L a C it y o f L o u i s v i l l e , Ke nt u c k ys t , I n i t i a l s . ( 2 0 1 0 ) . R e c y c l a b l e
m a t e r i a l s . R e t r i e v e d fr o m
h t t p : / / w w w . lo u i s v i l l e k y. g o v/ S o l i d W a s t e / r e c yc l i n g / R e c yc l a b l e + M a t e r i
a l s . ht m
N a v e , R . ( n. d . ) . B u o y a n c y . R e t r i e ve d f r o m ht t p : / / h yp e r p h ys i c s . p h y -
a s t r . g s u . e d u / h b a s e / p b u o y. ht m l
Reeko , . (1997-2005). Wh y boat s f loat and elephan ts sin k (b uoyancy).
R e t r i e v e d fr o m
h t t p : / / w w w . s p a r t e c h s o ft w a r e . c o m/ r e e k o / e xp e r i m e nt s / f lo a t i n g . ht m
S m it h , J o h n. ( 2 0 1 1 , J a nu a r y 2 4 ) . S o u t h a f r i c a f l o o d d e a t h t o l l r i s e s a s
g o v e r n m e n t d e c l a r e s 3 3 d i s a s t e r z o n e s . R e t r ie v e d f r o m
h t t p : / / w w w . g u a r d i a n . c o . u k / w o r l d / 2 0 1 1 / j a n/ 2 4 / s o u t h- a fr i c a - f l o o d -
deat h-t o ll
Wo r l d N e w . ( 2 0 1 1 ) . 3 7 7 d e a d i n we s t a n d c e n t r a l a f r i c a n f l o o d s : u n .
R e t r i e v e d fr o m
h t t p : / / a r t ic l e . w n. c o m / v i e w / 2 0 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 3 7 7 _ d e a d _ i n _ w e s t _ a nd _ c e nt r a
l _ A f r i c a n _ f lo o d s