Microcontrolled water fountain: A multidisciplinary project

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

International Journal of Engineering Education

ISSN

0949-149X

Volume

20

Issue

4

First Page

654

Last Page

659

Publication Date

8-23-2004

Abstract

Water fountains have been used for thousands of years for utilitarian and aesthetic purposes. Fountain design provides an excellent opportunity for multidisciplinary projects for engineering and art students. In this paper, detailed design of an indoor fountain with a special effect feature is presented to exemplify what can be done with fountains in educational settings. Comprising of nine individual jets, the fountain produces letters of the alphabet, simple shapes, and symbols with water jets. A microcontroller is used and programmed to create and sequence through interesting arrangements of water displays. With a total material cost of $550, this design, or variations of it, can be adapted for various implementations in fluid mechanics and engineering design courses. Suggestions for student design projects are made.

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