UTAR team was awarded First Prize at the IMechE Global Engineering Design Solutions Challenge

From left: Dr Rubina Bahar and her team with the designed prototype

UTAR team was awarded First Prize at the IMechE Global Engineering Design Solutions Challenge, organised by Young Members of the Institutions of Mechanical Engineering (IMechE) on 2 January 2020.

Representing UTAR at the competition were Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) lecturer Dr Rubina Bahar and LKC FES students, namely Ho Zhi Yong, Choong Wing Sum and Tan Jun-Yan. They took home a certificate and a cash prize worth £500.

The competition aimed to address real-world problems through engineering design projects and give solutions to their related challenges.

The team constructed their prototype using the solar desalination concept. They developed a passive solar still that can function solely with outside power supply and with improved efficiency at a low cost. The designed prototype includes a double-sloped solar still associated with a concentrated solar power (CSP) system to focus the solar irradiation on the saline water and thus raise the temperature of saline water to increase the rate of evaporation. Besides, a phase change material (PCM) called paraffin wax (enclosed in metal chambers) was also added to the saline water basin to trap the solar energy by melting during the daytime. Later at nightfall, the stored heat will be supplied back by the PCM to the saline water to continue the evaporation process. The association between CSP and PCM would make the solar desalination system more productive with longer hours of operation.

Leader of the winning team, Dr Rubina Bahar said, “The completion of this project would not have been possible without the dedicated effort from the student members of the team. Getting uninterrupted solar irradiation was a challenge during the final stage of the experiment in June 2019 due to intermittent clouds. The team members had to work hard to obtain the data. The participation was through making a 10-minute video, therefore, a proper compilation of date, on the spot video of the production and background voice and animation were all prepared and sent to the organisers.”

The competition is open to all Young Members of the Institution, any member who has professionally registered for less than ten years.

The prototype producing freshwater

The results from the prototype

Dr Rubina’s certificate