AUTOMATED OPEN DRAIN

CLEANER FOR RURAL AREAS

Dipesh Kochar (22107109)
Nirmal Kumar Badetiya (22107110)
Amandeep Singh (22107113)
Deshraj Meena (22107120)
Under the supervision of Prof. Tejbir Kaur
Synopsis (Minor Project) submitted by Students of Mechanical Engineering
Department
 Problem Statement

In many rural areas, open drains often become clogged with debris, leading to
issues such as stagnant water, unpleasant odors, and the spread of waterborne
diseases. Traditional manual cleaning methods are labor-intensive, time-
consuming, and often insufficient, leaving these drains frequently blocked and
neglected.

The problem at hand is to design an automated system capable of efficiently and

regularly cleaning open drains in rural settings. This system should be capable of
navigating the irregular and often challenging terrain of rural areas, effectively
removing debris, and ensuring that the drains remain functional with minimal
human intervention. The objective is to reduce health risks, improve sanitation, and
lower the reliance on manual labor for drain maintenance.

The solution should address key challenges such as varying drain sizes,
accessibility issues, and the need for durability in harsh environmental conditions.

Introduction

In many rural areas, open drains are a common feature due to their cost-
effectiveness and simplicity in managing wastewater. However, these systems are
prone to clogging and accumulation of debris, leading to health hazards, unpleasant
odors, and potential damage to the environment. Addressing these issues often
requires manual intervention, which can be labor-intensive and infrequent,
particularly in under-resourced regions.

To tackle these challenges, the "Automated Open Drain Cleaner for Rural Areas"
project aims to develop an innovative solution that enhances the maintenance of
open drainage systems. Our approach integrates automation technology to provide
a practical, efficient, and sustainable means of keeping these drains clear and
functional.
 Objectives

The primary objectives of this project are as follows:

Develop a Versatile Cleaning Mechanism: Design an adaptable cleaning system

that can efficiently handle varying drain sizes and debris types. The mechanism
should be capable of adjusting its dimensions and operational parameters to fit
different widths and depths of open drains commonly found in rural areas.

Implement an Efficient Debris Collection System: Design a reliable conveyor

mechanism and fork system to effectively gather and transport floating and sub-
floating debris to a collection tank. The forks should be designed to handle both
large and small debris, ensuring a comprehensive cleaning process.

Affordability and Accessibility: Create a cost-effective solution that can be easily

adopted by rural communities with limited financial resources.

Promote Environmental and Health Benefits: Aim to significantly reduce health

risks and environmental impact by maintaining clean and functional drains. The
system should contribute to improved sanitation and reduce the spread of
waterborne diseases by preventing stagnant water and debris accumulation.

Methodology

The project methodology is designed to systematically address each objective,

ensuring a thorough and rigorous approach to the design and testing of the Drain
Cleaner System. The methodology includes the following steps:

A. Design Of The Prototype

With the help of solid works software we were able to do a sketch of our prototype
and finally developed a 3D model of the primary design considering all the aspects
of the mechanism. The isometric view and the rear view of the developed design of
the prototype. Further changes were made in the dimensions and designs during the
time of fabrication, to make the equipment more stable and effective. The forks,
which are connected to the conveyor mechanism were also designed according to
the size and the property's of the floating waste materials in the drains.

B. Components Description

The major components involved in the design and the fabrication are:

1)DC Motor

A 12 V DC wiper motor is adopted to meet the required torque and the varying
loads. The motor is attached to a driving shaft, which gives motion to a conveyor
system.

2)Conveyor Mechanism

The motor is coupled to a shaft, which will be the driving shaft. The driving shaft
is connected to a driven shaft via 2 sets of chains and 4 sets of sprockets, which
acts as a conveyor mechanism. The forks are then linked to each set of chain drives
on the either side, thus we obtain a conveyor motion for the forks.

3)Fork

The forks acts as rake in collecting the floating and sub- floating particles in the
drain and carry them to the collecting basket. If in case of any continuous flow of
waste occurs, 3 sets of forks are attached to the conveyor chain drive to clean up
the drainage water effectively. For picking up larger floating particles like plastic
bags, algae's, sanitary pads, bottles, etc. we make use of a fork with large finger
like teethes which is capable of lifting larger particles. For the collection and
disposal of small particles such as paper or plastic bits, small leaves, silts, etc we
use a fork with small holes which are capable of colleting tiny floating bodies.
 Scope

Our proposed model can be further extended to solar-powered due to its flexible
design, making its operation independent in collaboration with street lights because
the machine doesn't need to be operated continuously. We need to operate it only a
few cycles per day which is enough to keep the drains clean and the rest of the
power can be managed to operate the street light at night. Also, sensors can be
implemented to detect the waste material and which would trigger the switch only
on detection making it more efficient further these can be connected to a central
grid from where their operation can be done, and also it will keep a check on the
drains regularly.

Detailed operation of the mechanism

The drainage cleaning mechanism is used to take out any floating or sub-floating
particles by simply immersing the equipment into the drainage system. Here the
mechanism is placed into the drain in such a way that the conveyor portion is
placed against the flow of the stream. The bottom of the conveyor is placed into the
drain whereas the collecting tank legs sits on a slab just above the drain. This set-
up is possible with the help of a hinge which is placed between the collecting tank
and the conveyor. From our literature surveys, it was found that the drainage
system's actually does not have any standard dimensions; that is the width and the
depth of the drains are varied according to the parallel road networks, eg: the size
of a drain in the urban areas will be much more larger than the drains in the rural
areas. To meet these requirements we decided to make our prototype expandable
and contractible. This is achieved by changing the width and the height of the
mechanism with the help of a screw nut apparatus. Initially the mechanism is kept
in the drainage system such that is faces against the flow of stream. As the waste
particles floats toward the mechanism, it initially gets obstructed by the mesh
provided on the conveyor setup. During this instant the revolving forks picks up
the waste particle and dumps it into the collecting tank provided behind the
mechanism. The fork is attached to the two sets of chain drives which is driven by
a 12V DC motor. We can regulate the unnecessary working of the motor and hence
increase the life of the motor. If any waste particles flow by during the idle time of
the motor, the particles will get accumulated in front of the mesh and during the
next working cycle the forks will pick up these waste particles and transfer them
into the collecting tank. By placing any type of plastic bags inside the collecting
tank, we can collect the accumulated waste particles by simply pulling the lower
frame of the collecting tank. The width and the depth of the drains will vary from
one drain to the other, so to make the equipment more effective and usable in any
drain we can adjust the width and depth of the equipment. The width is adjusted by
simply loosening and tightening of screw nut, which are provided along the central
axis of the conveyor mechanism.

Thus by combining a mechanical and a electrically integrated system we obtain a

mechanism that is very much efficient and effective in cleaning the waste particles
from the drainage system.

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