Two best startup ideas at the recent 3^rd Technology Startup Contest for Da Nang Students, hosted by the Students’ Association of the University of Da Nang, have been highly appreciated by the jury for their creativity and potential application in the field of environmental protection.

Dr. Pham Thanh Phong (right) and students research the design model "Equipment for detecting and monitoring the location of leak points in liquid pipeline systems". Photo: V.D

“Water Tank Guard”

With a desire to support people in cleaning water tanks easily and conveniently in order to keep daily water sources clean, a group of five pupils and students have created a produce called "Water tank bodyguard”.

The group comprise Huynh Quynh An from the Phan Chau Trinh Senior High School, along with Nguyen Thanh Phuc, Hoang Anh Son, Nguyen Duc Tri and Ho Thi Thu Hang, all from the city’s University of Science and Technology.

Nguyen Thanh Phuc, a group leader, studying at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the University of Science and Technology, said that when conducting surveys at many households in Lien Chieu, Thanh Khe and Hai Chau districts, they found that 100% of people's daily water tanks had dirt at the bottom and many stains inside.

In June 2023, with support from teachers and lecturers, the group created a water tank cleaning device with 2 parts: blowing and collecting dirt, and sucking dirt out. The group tested the abovementioned product at a number of households in Lien Chieu District with the result of filtering about 75% of dirt in water tanks.

Sharing about the operating principle, Thanh Phuc said, when starting the system, water flows through the pipe into the tank, then the blowing part will push the water to create a turbulent flow with vortex to clean off the dirt and collect it in a fixed position. Then, the dirt suction unit with 2 nozzles will suck the dirt out through the pipe.

The device is made completely automatically and has a timer to clean the water tank.

In the coming time, the team will continue to perfect the product such as monitoring and updating water quality, controlling operating time and integrating on smartphones to facilitate users.

Associate Professor, Dr. Le Thi Xuan Thuy, a lecturer of Environmental Engineering Major, the Faculty of Environment, the Da Nang University of Science and Technology, remarked the "Water tank cleaning" device has potential applications for serving people's needs.

“In the immediate future, we will help them continue to improve their product to achieve the best quality and register intellectual property to ensure their rights” noted.

Liquid leak control device

Under the guidance of Dr. Pham Thanh Phong, Head of Automation Department, Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, the Da Nang University of Technical Education, a group of students, namely Ngo Dang Hung, Tran Le Duc An, Tran The Phong, Duong Thi Thanh Ha and Pham Thanh Vy have successfully created the equipment for detecting and monitoring the location of leak points in liquid pipeline systems.

Dr. Pham Thanh Phong said that monitoring, controlling and accurately detecting liquid leak locations in the pipeline system is very important to promptly fix and avoid causing waste, loss, environmental pollution, and danger to people.

Through research, the group found that at water plants in Viet Nam, when a leak is detected, a detector must be inserted directly into the pipe to determine the location of the leak, which takes a lot of time and costs to detect and fix.

According to Ngo Dang Hung, the fourth year student of the Faculty of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, the University of Technical Education, the whole group has been developing the project since 2021.

As for the operating mechanism, the equipment includes hardware and software with the function of monitoring leak location, controlling water switching, and measuring water flow through LoRa low-power wireless communication network.

In particular, the hardware includes a system of iron water pipes and a control block. There are also two types of flow and pressure sensors installed at the beginning and end of the pipeline.

In addition, the whole group uses a smart control circuit, and a microcontroller with the function of connecting data transmission via the LoRa wireless communication network to read information and send it to the control center.

Meanwhile, the system's software includes a monitoring interface designed on WinCC software and advanced algorithms to detect leak locations. From there, operators in the control room can monitor and retrieve data about water flow, control water switching, and especially monitor the location of leak points.

According to Dr. Pham Thanh Phong, the abovementioned device monitors leaks in all liquid and gas pipeline systems. However, he stressed the need for the whole team to continue to perfect the product, as well as seek financial support from units and businesses to carry out the project well.

Reporting by NGOC QUOC - Translating by M.DUNG