Introduction
For this STEM engineering project we were tasked with designing, building, and testing our own synthetic heart valve. Considering we had little knowledge of how these complicated biological machines operated we took roughly a week of class time to fully research both old and new heart valve concepts. Following this my group assembled what we thought would be the best working valve and subsequently tested it.
Our Design
My group chose to follow the design of an already efficient heart valve. The design consisted of a small circular opening with a cage on the other end. A ball would then be placed in the cage so that it could freely move back and forth but not side to side. Unfortunately we had little supplies to replicate this design so our product had to be improvised. Instead of a solid ball we were stuck using a wooden ball. The cage was instead replaced with a wider tube of bamboo and to simulate blood pumping we attached a string to the end of the ball that we pulled back and forth.
For this STEM engineering project we were tasked with designing, building, and testing our own synthetic heart valve. Considering we had little knowledge of how these complicated biological machines operated we took roughly a week of class time to fully research both old and new heart valve concepts. Following this my group assembled what we thought would be the best working valve and subsequently tested it.
Our Design
My group chose to follow the design of an already efficient heart valve. The design consisted of a small circular opening with a cage on the other end. A ball would then be placed in the cage so that it could freely move back and forth but not side to side. Unfortunately we had little supplies to replicate this design so our product had to be improvised. Instead of a solid ball we were stuck using a wooden ball. The cage was instead replaced with a wider tube of bamboo and to simulate blood pumping we attached a string to the end of the ball that we pulled back and forth.
Young Modulus Calculations
While it is not present in the picture, a ribbon would fit around the bamboo shaft to act as a somewhat elastic covering. This would allow the mechanism to be malleable like the artery itself. Below is the Young modulus calculations. These determine the factor of elasticity that the ribbon has. The results told us that it would take quite a bit of pressure to stretch it, but that the material itself would have an easy time shifting around the inside of the artery.
While it is not present in the picture, a ribbon would fit around the bamboo shaft to act as a somewhat elastic covering. This would allow the mechanism to be malleable like the artery itself. Below is the Young modulus calculations. These determine the factor of elasticity that the ribbon has. The results told us that it would take quite a bit of pressure to stretch it, but that the material itself would have an easy time shifting around the inside of the artery.
Real Life Version
Reflection
This mini project was an interesting thing to complete. At the beginning I felt as if the project had been kind of sprung on our class as if out of nowhere. However, as I began to get into it I realized that it was a combination of the engineering we were focusing on this year and the biotech we took part in as sophomores. I also learned that not all things can be improved upon. The design is actually quite simply when you think about it, so why improve upon something simple when it works just as well as the real thing? While my groups final product looks nothing like the real thing, the basic concepts still apply and the valve actually functioned to a certain degree. All in all I am happy with the group and am especially happy with the product my group and I were able to create.
This mini project was an interesting thing to complete. At the beginning I felt as if the project had been kind of sprung on our class as if out of nowhere. However, as I began to get into it I realized that it was a combination of the engineering we were focusing on this year and the biotech we took part in as sophomores. I also learned that not all things can be improved upon. The design is actually quite simply when you think about it, so why improve upon something simple when it works just as well as the real thing? While my groups final product looks nothing like the real thing, the basic concepts still apply and the valve actually functioned to a certain degree. All in all I am happy with the group and am especially happy with the product my group and I were able to create.