DESIGN OF A REMOTELY CONTROLLED VOLCANIC LAKE PROBE
I was part of a team which designed this probe for our undergraduate mechanical engineering design project. Biology Department at Portland State University conducts research into thermophiles - microorganisms which thrive in volcanic lakes. Volcanic lakes are essentially bodies of boiling acid. So, when it comes to taking samples, one can not just scoop the water out with a jar. That is why we were asked to manufacture a probe that could be operated from the safety of the shore. The probe has been designed and built to take samples and measure temperature of the volcanic water at a desired depth up to 15 meters and transmit the depth and temperature data in real time from a distance up to 500 meters. It is controlled via radio and can withstand temperature as high as 120 degrees Celsius.
This YouTube video shows a pool test of the probe. In the test the canister's opening mechanism is activated manually. In the final product, the activation is, of course, done via a radio signal.
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