Since from our very first approach of designing a prototype to just store the water. We did thorough interviews with farmers and understood that farmers not only have no place to store the rainwater but are in urgent requirement of a product to save their crops from excessive water and hefty rainfall. The idea of this prototype was derived from the concept of greenhouses and poly houses model structure where they usually cover the whole land area. Therefore, our research and product simulation team came up with an idea to design a prototype, while taking inspiration from the top half of the latter designs without covering the complete area from head to toe.
Fig 1: – This is a pictorial representation of our model.
The prototype is usually called a butterfly structure with a Y- shape section of the structure majorly designed to capture as much as the amount of rainwater it can and simultaneously prevent the crops from getting damaged from the excessive amount of rainfall which again was a big issue for the farmers. The water once after falling on the flaps will move towards a gutter which will be located between the flaps. And then those gutter channels will be simultaneously connected to the other side railing channel gutter at the end of the system that will be inclined at an angle to carry the water towards the storage tanks, which is located at the end of the farms with the help of gravity. Water is then distributed among other several storage tanks located ends of the farm area. The purpose of having many small tanks is to keep up a backup option ready just in case of any mishap and also to store as much water as we can.
Fig 2:- 3D model of our Prototype
After collecting the water in the storage tank not only it can be stored for a longer duration of time but also can be re-used if needed by the farmers in case of droughts or depletion of the groundwater. The excessive amount of water can also be used to recharge the groundwater. And with this not only our major two problems of conserving and recharging will be solved but also the direct dependency of the farmers will be reduced too.
Fig 3: – Channel and Gutter in between the Y section which will carry the rainwater from the flaps to the storage tank
To begin with, the components of the design include Y-section, which is the support structure. It helps in covering more surface area and to provides a bigger catchment area for rainfall. The materials used for the supporting pipes can be Mild steel, PVC pipes, Galvanized pipes, bamboo, etc. for durability and resistance to various other problems. In addition, roof panels to catch the rainfall can be of material like PVC polyester, PTFE glass, polycarbonate sheet, fiberglass sheet, etc. Our design demands strength, durability, serviceability, lifelong sun protection, fungal and algae protection, rust resistance. Furthermore, gutters are added to receive runoff from the roof panels and transfer it to the storage tank. The materials used should be easy to clean and resistant to corrosion. The storage tank is one of the most important parts of the design where the water will be collected and used for agriculture. Tanks will be located above the ground at the corners of the farmland. The amount of water caught will determine the capacity of water. The materials for the tank can be RCC tanks, ferrocement tanks, FRP/GRP tanks, stainless steel tanks, etc. Our design demands long-term storage and therefore protection against algae, silt, UV rays, etc. Currently, we are working on our MVP strategies, and also Our R&D team is currently working on the product simulation using various materials to check and get the best results so that our product/technology can be as robust, durable, sustainable, and economical as it can be. And will be coming up with a very promising and prominent technology concerning rainwater harvesting.