Cuckoo IndustriesJulia Norris, Kevin Cotellesso, Madeleinne Tan

The Challenge 2020June 22nd,2020

Setting the StageImagine any highschool student, whether that is your past self or someone you know.

In the High Schooler’s point of view:

You’re back to school, but there isn’t a vaccine yet available for the coronavirus. You’re

wearing a mask and keeping your distance from people in the hallways.

Then you realize you need to use the bathroom.

You turn the corner of where the bathroom is, and there is a line of people waiting

for their turn. You look inside the bathroom, and you realize that due to the small

space people are not keeping a safe distance of six feet at all times.

Not only that, but the bathroom is enclosed and everyone is sharing the same air.

Your nerves get the best of you when you hear a nearby cough.

The Problem: It’s difficult to implement social distancing solutions in

small spaces

Specifically: BathroomsIt’s difficult to implement social distancing solutions in small spaces

~400 ft2, 7 stallsUsed by everyone

Problems with the Bathrooms Crowded / Limited Area

Poor Air Circulation

Surface Transmission

Students often interact (i.e waiting in line, using the same door for an exit/entrance

© St. James R-1 School District

“[Public bathrooms are] not

vented too well and they’re

enclosed”

- Tim Pyle, executive

director or the American

Restroom Association

“Improving

ventilation...is one of the

best ways to safeguard

against a contaminated

restroom”

-National Geographic

Denise NorrisChemistry and Earth Science Teacher at Chandler Preparatory Academy

“Before reopening, our

school will need a plan to

minimize risk of

exposure in highly

trafficked areas. How

will students maintain

social distancing while

they move through our

campus, eat lunch, or use

the restroom?”

“I’m concerned about social

distancing. [We’re] all

supposed to be six feet apart,

but that’s pretty

unreasonable considering

the size of our school”

Aashwin Sodhi, rising Senior at

Chandler Preparatory Academy

Academy

OUR SOLUTION: Prioritize Air Circulation

“After attending a choir practice in Washington State in early March, dozens

of people were diagnosed with or developed symptoms of COVID-19 even

though they had not shaken hands or stood close to one another. At least two

died.”

- Scientific American

WHY?

Our InspirationBehold the spray paint downdraft booth!

© 2020 Spray Systems

Why we chose it:

It pulls air downwards and replaces it in a matter

of seconds

It works like a restaurant’s exhaust system

because

1. contaminated air is sucked into the vents

near or in the floor

2. The air is filtered and circled back to the

top of the booth

3. But instead, it gets circulated faster

ImplementationMultiple vents in roof, providing uniform airflow into the space

Powerful (2000+ CFM) duct fanAir intake manifold

(artist’s representation)

8” - 12” duct

Outside: this way

= Air flow

Benefits of This Solution● It would circulate the air really quickly

● The system would be so efficient that the rules of staying six feet

apart may be relaxed

○ This aids the solution to both ventilation and student traffic flow

● With the air exchanger, it would stay quiet in the bathroom

How we came up with this design:We were inspired by the spray paint booth because it is designed to

quickly replace the air in a room by creating a strong downdraft.

1

2

We took into account the small size of the bathroom. To make it more

cost-effective, we decided to make the vents at the sides of the wall, rather

than excavating the ground to imitate the downdraft booth.

3 We decided to have the “new batch of air” from the outside instead of

worrying about an extra filter that recycles the air from the inside.

Engineers Required● Civil Engineers

● Architectural Engineers

● Biomedical Engineers

Why is it innovative?● A lot of research still needs to be done about the relationship between the

coronavirus and bathrooms

● We are trying a new way to make air circulation so efficient that social distancing

rules can be relaxed.

● Our solution is something that hasn’t been officially implemented yet because of

this pandemic. We’ve seen downdraft booths, but not a whole ventilation system

made to fight COVID-19.

System Component Specifics● Fan: McMaster-Carr 1927K51

○ For 12” duct; adapter needed (and readily

available)

○ 1900 CFM @ 0.014 PSI

○ $660

● Baseboard register: Hart and

Cooley 464

○ 4 foot baseboard register

○ ~400CFM per unit (based on discontinued 474

return)

○ Would need 6 to cover room and provide max

CFM

○ Would need creative manifold to connect 7 of

them to a single duct

○ $26.49 per unit

Or custom solution

© 2019 Hart and Cooley

© McMaster-Carr

Estimated CostsRoof Vents: $500(Assuming 5 vents, McMaster-Carr 1767K38)

Fan: $660(McMaster-Carr 1927K51) Baseboard Register: ~$160

(Assuming 6, SupplyHouse.com)

Duct: $5500(Assuming 100ft, labor included. fixr.com)

Total: ~$7700

Labor for baseboard register, roof vents, and fan: $920(Same value as said components)

So… Who’s affected?Good news, no one who uses the bathroom is

greatly affected by this change and the bathroom

also still gets to serve its purpose.

The Team

Madeleinne Tan Julia Norris Kevin Cotellesso

What we learned as a team● It’s easy to have a lot of ideas

● It’s not easy to have great ideas

● It’s even harder to prioritize among the great ideas (We had to prioritize one of

the following: surface transmission, ventilation, and student traffic flow)

● Engineering and design-making takes a lot of collaborative effort

Successes● We did it!

● We finished our Works Cited quickly

● We got to interview students and

teachers

● We couldn’t do a CFD in time :(

Failures

Any Questions?