CAD group assignment report

This report has been conducted by:

Nizamuddin Patel - P15219444
Zaakir Issat - P15201751
Mohammed Karim - P15204073
Sameer Juma – P15203567
Mohammed Malek – P15209616
Abubakar Gangat- P1519470X

Contents

Introduction
Market research
Appraisal for design solutions and evaluation
Design specification
Design Criteria
Safety Requirements
Intellectual Property rights
Final Design proposal
Product design specification
Manufacturing methods
FEA Analysis
Full design and detail of the product
References

Introduction

One big problem the world will always have to face is natural disasters, the extent of the impact
from these devastating disasters vary depending on a lot of factors like location, population, etc.
About 194 major natural disasters affected millions of people worldwide last year. Each of these
disasters have huge impacts on its environment and cost a lot of money to recover from. In this
report, we will research, design and model a product that can have a positive humanitarian impact in
the aftermath of a natural disaster.

The purpose of this project is to create a product that can be used in a humanitarian crisis. The
product has to have a positive impact in the aftermath of a natural disaster.
Project plan

The project was completed successfully through good communication and teamwork. Regular
meetings were conducted so the group had a clear view of the bigger picture. Figure 97, 98 and 99
shows the major meeting minutes. Not all meeting minutes have been posted in this report, as it will
overload this report.

Figure 97: Projection initiation meeting on 09/01/17

Figure 98: Project update meeting on 13/02/17

Figure 99: Project update meeting on 31/03/2017

Market Research

Natural disasters are unavoidable, and unfortunately, they seem to be occurring more often. In
2015, more than 1,000 natural catastrophes were recorded in a single year for the first time.

Though there is technology in place to provide warnings of some catastrophes, such as satellites that
track storms, sensors that monitor water levels, and seismic systems that measure earthquakes,
many lives are still lost. Disasters took the lives of 23,000 people in 2015, a significant increase from
7,700 deaths in 2014.

There are many innovations springing up to help victims survive these disasters. Emergency experts
say the first 72 hours after a natural catastrophe are critical for rescue and survival.

1. Floating Shelters

Tsunamis are one of the deadliest natural disasters, claiming an average of 79 deaths for every 1,000
people affected. The tsunami in Japan in 2011 killed nearly 16,000 people. Out of that, disaster and
similar flooding events have come floating shelter inventions that aim to help people survive rising
water.

Designers Zhou Ying and Niu Yuntao created the Duckweed Survival House, a floating emergency raft
shelter that’s designed to remain upright regardless of the intensity of waves.

The winner of the 2015 Red Dot Award, the shelter can be quickly inflated with its built-in, high-
pressure carbon dioxide gas chamber. It has an underwater stem, which contains the gas chamber
that can convert seawater into fresh water as well.

2. Drones

Drones are all the rage these days, with many people purchasing small ones for personal use.
However, the flying devices can play a key role in disaster relief efforts.

Drones such as the Precision Hawk Lancaster can survey disaster areas and provide visual data to
first-responders to determine where victims may be as well as map the best approach for relief and
rescue.

3. Flood Barriers

When floods are expected to hit a community, whether by overflowing rivers, lakes, or bays,
sandbags have been a common defence mechanism. However, filling bags with sand takes a
considerable amount of time and the barrier can only be used once.

The Wata-Wall Flood Defence barrier provides an alternative. It’s a set of large, hollow cubes that
connect, can be filled with floodwater, and stacked as a floodwall. Each cube, when filled, weighs
about 700 pounds. They can be emptied, stored, and used again.

When it comes to preparing for unavoidable disasters, innovation is often the greatest defence.
Engineers continue to create useful technology to aid victims of catastrophes and increase chances
of survival.

You don’t have to be a professional to find ways to avert tragedy. If you’re a student interested in
how engineering helps humanitarian efforts, check out more about EPICS in IEEE
 4. Slingshot

Slingshot is a water purification device created by inventor Dean Kamen. Powered by a Stirling
engine running on a combustible fuel source, it claims to be able to produce drinking water from
almost any source by means of vapour compression distillation, requires no filters, and can operate
using cow dung as fuel.

Pros

 One convenience of the Slingshot system is that the village would not need an expert to run
the purifier. The instructions are super simple- you stick the hose in dirty water and press a
button. This simplicity makes the system safe to operate with little room for human error or
mishaps.
 The water will have no chemical aftertaste thanks to the distillation process.

Cons

 The system requires the simple push of a button; you would still need to get water to the
purifier. Typically, that means either carrying dirty water to the purifier or putting the
purifier near the dirty water supply.
 The purifier is too heavy for one person to carry, so moving it would require a little bit of
labour.
 The machine's moving parts could eventually break and require servicing or replacing, which
would cost money.

5. Aquaduct

The Aquaduct is designed to enable a person to sanitize and transport water simultaneously,
potentially lessening the physical strain of the task and freeing up more time for work, education, or
family. As the rider pedals, a pump attached to the pedal crank draws water from a large holding
tank, through a carbon filter, to a smaller, clean tank. A clutch engages and disengages the drive belt
from the pedal crank, enabling the rider to filter the water while traveling or while stationary. The
clean tank is removable and closed for contamination-free home storage and use.

Pros

 The innovative combination of transportation and sanitation of water offers a unique

approach to providing clean, drinkable water that could improve the lives of billions of
people throughout the developing world.
 It enables a person to sanitize and transport water simultaneously, potentially lessening the
physical strain of the task and freeing up more time for work, education, or family.

Cons

 In its current state, the Aquaduct is a prototype aimed squarely at demonstrating a concept
and raising awareness around the issues of clean water in developing countries.
Design specification

The physical dimensions of the product need to be kept small and any measurement should be
lower than the following limits: 35cm height, 35cm width and 15cm depth.
As the product needs to be mobile it needs to have a low amount of weight; with a maximum limit of
1kg.

The cost of manufacturing the products should also be kept quite low; with a maximum limit of
£10.00 per product.
Manufacturing methods will need to be considered to find a combination of the cheapest and most
efficient method of mass producing the product.
Another point to consider in terms of manufacturing is the materials used in the product, these
materials need to be readily available in large quantities to ensure the devices can be mass
produced.

The solution must not be already subject to a patent from another company. The product needs to
be distinct enough to qualify for protection to stop other companies copying the ideas and selling
the product under a different name.

The product must meet all safety standards and regulations in order to be passed fit for production
and use. Research will need to be done to discover which regulations apply to the chosen solution
and how the standards can be met.

As the product is to be used in the aftermath of a natural disaster it is expected to survive the
disaster and the forces that it will face during that period. The product will need to be analysed to
see how much force it can withstand before reaching its breaking point.

Design Criteria

The final design solution should meet the following criteria, a good solution would take into account
all aspects of the specification and answer ‘yes’ to all the following factors:
1. Would the solution help people in the aftermath of a natural disaster?
2. Does this product provide a method of cleaning water to a level where it is safe to drink?
3. Is the product small and light enough to carry around or distribute easily?
4. Is the product cheap and easy to manufacture?
5. Is the product distinct enough to be eligible for protection such as a patent?
6. Could the device help with many other difficulties caused by the disaster?
7. Is the product durable enough to have a long product life?
8. Is the product robust enough to withhold forces expected from natural disasters?
9. Are most physically disadvantaged people able to use the device?
10. Is the solution easy enough for new users to use without a tutorial?
11. Is the device safe enough to be given to young children?
12. Can the device still benefit users even when not in state of emergency?
Safety Requirements

Good design and manufacturing processes are essential when setting tasks and carrying out
different processes to ensure both technical and legal requirements are met.
The product must be ‘fit for purpose’ as well as fitting the description of the design and
being of a certain quality for the product to be produced, this is protected under the sales of
goods act 1979.
Products intended to be sold in the EU or member states of the EEA (European Economic
Area) such as Iceland, Lichtenstein and Norway, must have a CE mark. The CE mark is
necessary on the product due to the fact that it falls under the category of medical devices.
The product must also bear a CE mark because it meets certain safety regulations, which
have been set out in relevant European directives.1
Producers are responsible for the safety of the consumers whilst they use their product. This
includes adding warnings and instructions where necessary to ensure that there are no
issues with the product. A conformity assessment procedure is required in order to show
that the product is safe according to manufacturing to standards or third party assessment.
A record of this must be maintained for at least ten years. Moreover, urgent action is
imperative if there is a problem with the product once it is in supply. These include
identifying a problem and making a recall of the product in extreme cases.2
The product meets the UK water quality standards, these are set in accordance to the water
framework Directive as well as other EU standards. The UK Technical Advisory Group
(UKTAG) sets these standards. The drinking water quality also has to be at a standard so that
it can be classed as safe to drink by the consumers. This must meet the Water Industry Act
1991, which ensures that companies such as Life Straw are working in accordance with the
water providers such as Severn Trent Water, to ensure the quality of water is at the
standard required.3

Intellectual property rights

Patent:
A patent already exists for the mechanisms and the idea of the Life straw, this patent was filed on
25/08/2007. As the patent is still valid for 10 more years before being open to the public domain, we
were granted the rights by the rightful owners to be able to design this product (see figure 101 and
102). This is on the condition that LifeStraw itself is to carry out all the marketing for the product and
is to take a percentage of the profit as a form of royalty, which is yet to be decided.4

1
"Product Safety For Manufacturers - GOV.UK". Gov.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 May 2017.
2
"Product Safety | Business Companion". Businesscompanion.info. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 May 2017.
3
"Water Quality Standards". Environmentlaw.org.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 May 2017.
4
"Patent WO2008025358A1 - Water Purification Including Disinfection, Oxidation And Arsenic Removal".
Google Books. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Apr. 2017.
Registered/Unregistered design:
However, the attachment we created is a design of our own and therefore this cannot be patented.
However, we can still register this as a design, if this is made a registered design, the part will be
protected for its appearance, the registered design will be protected for a duration of 25 years, this
is much longer than an unregistered design. If the design was left as an unregistered design, only the
general aspects of the shape of the design would be protected. Also, the design would only be
protected for a duration of 10 years, and this is from the point at which the design is documented, or
an article is made on the design.

Copyright:
The idea for the design of the attachment and the products packaging can be protected under a
copyright, resulting in us having exclusive rights to the reproduction of this written material. The
copyright lasts for the duration of the life of the author plus 70 years.

Trademark:
5056941-Registration Number for the official trademark of the Life Straw.5 This trademark along
with the patent we have been given full rights to use for our project, this is from the letters
attached.

The Intellectual Property Rights are used to protect the authors or designers from their idea, designs
or documentation from being used in future projects or designs. The IPR usually consists of a
combination of the above methods, as different parts of IPR will be used to protect different aspects
of the design such as copyright protection for the packaging of the design and the trademark is able
to protect the name of the design itself.

The copyright for the design we have innovated is automatically provided, and provides us with
exclusive right to the filed documentations or designs, ensuring the packaging of the design can’t be
used by anyone else without our permission being granted at first.

The attachment that we are producing for the life straw is an innovative step for the original life
straw, and therefore, the attachment isn’t eligible for a patent as it isn’t a new invention. Therefore,
the design has to be set as a registered design, to do this the design has to have a registration under
the Registered Designs Act 1949 (RDA).
An application for a registered design has to be completed and sent to the UK Intellectual Property
Office. The application must be made by the author of the design. The application is then examined
and can only be refused by the registrar if the wrong applicant makes the application or the design
doesn’t meet the criteria for registration.
Registering the design means the appearance of the design is protected, the design can also be the
product itself, and must have aesthetic quality.6

5
("LIFESTRAW Trademark Of Lifestraw SA - Registration Number 5056941 - Serial Number 79183373 :: Justia
Trademarks")
6
("Designs (Registration & Infringement) UK & EU | Humphreys")
Figure 101: patent application to use LifeStraw
Figure 102: Reply from Vestergaard (owners of LifeStraw patent)
Possible solution and evaluation

When world events take a turn for the worse, water supplies often bear the brunt of the impact.
Disasters can contaminate once-reliable water sources or cut people off from them altogether.
Earthquakes, floods, hurricanes and tsunamis often disrupt and pollute water supplies which cause
the spread of diseases that magnify the original event’s impact many times over. They can also
wreck established infrastructures, leaving countless people without the water on which they
depend.

Clean water is mainly needed to drink and to clean wounds caused from the disaster. If polluted
water is used, there is an elevated risk of infecting those wounds, which could lead to severe injury
or possibly death. Therefore, without significant aid, such as the establishment of temporary
distribution of water by vehicle, the victims of natural disasters may find living with little water a
bitter legacy of an already-catastrophic event.

Life Straw

The Life straw is a tube just under 10 inches long made of a durable plastic. The straw enables users
to drink water from any water source and only the clean water will pass through the straw and into
their mouths. This is because the straw consists of a filter containing fibres and extremely small
pores that are able to trap any bacteria or dirt that pass through when the water is travelling
through the straw. As all the impurities are unable to pass through, only the clean water will
successfully pass through the straw.

Pros
 Simple idea, requires no energy source
 Small and portable, can be provided to everyone in the village
 Cheap to produce
 Require no maintenance costs

Cons
 Limited uses of water (can only be used for drinking)
 Very small amounts of clean water produced
 Have to be replaced on a yearly basis

One of the main products used to help solve this water problem is LifeStraw. The LifeStraw is a water
filter designed to be used by one person to filter water for drinking. It filters a maximum of 1000
litres of water, enough for one person for one year. It removes almost all of waterborne bacteria and
parasites. It was distributed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2010 Pakistan floods, 2011 Thailand
floods, and 2016 Ecuador earthquake, among other crises and initiatives. In the Mutomo District in
Kenya, which has suffered from long-term drought, the Kenya Red Cross supplied filters to 3,750
schoolchildren and 6,750 households. In 2015, LifeStraw filters were deployed in Rwanda. However,
there was a problem that all users shared and that was the LifeStraw could only be used for drinking,
and could only be drunk if there was an immediate water source.
Final Design Proposal

Product Design specification

As explained previously, the product has a pump that will suck the dirty water in through the LifeStraw
and will output clean water from the other side. This simple process can be done using dirty water
from various sources, making it ideal for environments where water is scarce such as places recovering
from natural disasters where water pipes may have been destroyed.

The filter of the LifeStraw will purify up to 18,000 liters or 4,755 gallons of water, removing bacteria,
protozoa and viruses from contaminated water. This is more than enough to be considered
satisfactory as a short-term recovery tool.

As the physical dimensions of the product needed to be kept small, all measurements were kept below
the initial specification limits. The dimensions of the product are shown in the diagrams below.
As the product needed to be kept mobile, the product was designed to have a low amount of weight;
measuring in at only 100 grams.

In terms of ergonomics, the measurements below were decided upon after contemplation of human
input. For example, the dimensions of the hand pump were chosen based on research on the hand
sizes of people of different ages. This helped make the pump the right size for people of all ages to
use.

The following materials were chosen for their suitability and favourable features:
Neoprene Rubber- Neoprene is a family of synthetic rubbers that are produced by polymerization of
chloroprene. Neoprene exhibits good chemical stability and maintains flexibility over a wide
temperature range. Neoprene is sold either as solid rubber or in latex form, and is used in a wide
variety of applications, such as laptop sleeves, orthopaedic braces (wrist, knee, etc.), electrical
insulation, liquid and sheet applied elastomeric membranes or flashings, and automotive fan belts.
ABS Plastic – ABS is a low cost plastic material with outstanding impact resistance, machinability, and
thermoforming characteristics. It is an excellent choice for machine housings, retail store fixtures, and
point-of-purchase displays when impact resistance or durability is required. ABS plastic is available in
general purpose, machine grade, fire-rated, UV resistant, orthotic grade, FDA compliant grade, and
scratch resistant grades in a variety of textures and colors.

As the user needs to be able to see the product in dark conditions because of the possibility of
damaged lighting as a result of the disaster, the product was made in a light blue/white colour to
increase its visibility.
Drawing 1 shows the dimensions of the LifeStraw

Drawing 2 shows an attachment to the LifeStraw which allows the user to harvest more quantity of
water quicker than the LifeStraw alone.
Drawing 3 shows the pump that is attached to the LifeStraw attachment. The pump draws air in
from the LifeStraw and blows air out from the other end.
Manufacturing methods

The product is created using two main materials, plastic and rubber. There are different
manufacturing techniques used to create the product. Below you will find details on the different
manufacturing process that will be required to create the product.

Plastics

Blow Moulding

Injection blow moulding is a manufacturing process for hollow plastics. This is where plastic is
melted and extruded into a hollow tube (a parison). This manufacturing process will be used to
create the life straw because it suits small capacity bottles and it produces an injection-moulded
neck for accuracy.

Other types of blow moulding include extrusion blow moulding and injection stretch blow moulding.
These two types will not be suitable for our design because extrusion blow moulding is low in
strength, and as for injection stretch blow moulding there are restrictions on what can be designed.

Injection Moulding

Injection moulding is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting material into a mould.
This process will also be used in the manufacturing stage. The injection moulds are subjected to
extremely high pressure. As a result, the plastic within the moulds is pressed harder against the
mould compared to any other moulding process. This method also allows you to design any complex
and intricate shapes, the process does not consume much time allowing more life straws to be
created faster, as well as being greater in strength and durability.

Compression Moulding

Compression moulding is a forming process in which a plastic material is placed directly into a
heated metal mould, then is softened by the heat, and forced to conform to the shape of the mould
as the mould closes. Compression moulding is a high-volume, high-pressure method suitable for
moulding complex, high strength fibreglass reinforcements. Compression moulding allows you to
mould big, intricate parts. This process is also very cheap and wastes less material in comparison to
other methods. However, product quality and consistency is an issue with compression moulding.

Rubber

Rubber Injection Moulding

Rubber injection moulding successfully alters the plastics process by heating the rubber and placing
it under significantly more pressure. This is different from the plastic injection moulding process
where the materials are cooled under less pressure. The material is mixed in bulk and then stripped
and fed into a screw which, in turn, fills a barrel with the appropriate predetermined amount of
rubber material. This process is best used for higher volume applications.
Full design and details of the product

This is the design of the LifeStraw created in Creo parametric. The LifeStraw contains essential filters
embedded throughout the LifeStraw that allows for different dirt particles to be filtered out ensuring
they’re not consumed by the person using the LifeStraw. The design has been carefully thought
through, and the ergonomics and safety standards have all been considered.

This attachment was created to allow easier use of the LifeStraw. It allows water to flow through the
LifeStraw to a bottle or bucket (compartment), this allows the user to contain the filtered water for
them to use portably or at later time if no water source is available.

In summary, the attachment allows the user to pump filtered water from a water source to a
compartment easily without much energy and expands the LifeStraw’s capability.

The attachment contains four main parts which allows this to work:

1. There is a water output for the filtered water to go to a container, bottle etc.
2. An air output with a connected pump which releases the air from the slingshot initially
3. A pressure relief valve
4. Gore-Tex filter separating the air output from the water output

The user will first place the LifeStraw (with the attachment and pump installed) into the unfiltered
water like a pond or a river. The pump will then be used to take air out of the system until no air is
left and is replaced with water within the LifeStraw. The user will keep pumping until pressure builds
inside the attachment. Once there is enough pressure, the water will be processed and released
through the water output to a compartment of the user’s choice. The user can then stop pumping
once the water is flowing. The water will keep running through the slingshot until no water is left
from the source or the pressure relief valve is opened. To open the valve, simply twist it
anticlockwise. The Gore-Tex filter

Issues faced:

 The water output could release before the pressure builds. Solution: A pressure relief
mechanism has been placed at the water output made of plastic with the correct properties
to allow the water to flow once a certain pressure has been achieved. This mechanism is like
the Lucozade sport bottle cap. This mechanism however will allow flow in one direction but
not the other.
 The pressure within the air output could not be held because of leakage. Solution: A
pressure relief mechanism has been placed at the air output made of plastic with the correct
properties to allow the air to flow once the pump has been activated. This mechanism is like
the Lucozade sport bottle cap. This mechanism however will allow flow in one direction but
not the other. Therefore, once all the air has been released from within the LifeStraw, the
pump will then attempt to create a vacuum within the upper section. This will result in high
pressure to which therefore draws water from the bottom of the LifeStraw to the top. Once
the pressure is high enough, the pressure relief mechanism will open and allow water
through.
 The water could leak into the vacuum section within the attachment. Solution: Gore-Tex
filter will be used to allow the air to be released but the water to stay trapped. Therefore,
the water will be unable to enter the vacuum chamber within the attachment.

Vacuum pressure
relief valve

Vacuum Chamber Air output

valve with
pressure relief

Gore-Tex filter

Water output valve

with pressure relief

This displays the internal aspects of our design, and shows the Gortex filter within the attachment,
as well as both pressure release valves on the water output and air output.
The above image shows the placement of the air output, this has been designed to ensure that no
air enters the LifeStraw, however all the air stored within the straw when in use can exit the straw
smoothly. The design was created including a pressure release valve which allows water to flow out
only and not back in so that when the consumer uses the pump, the vacuum ensures there is
pressure present so that the water can rise and reach the consumer.

Water output, this allows for the consumer to drink this water after it has undergone filtration so
that the pure water can exit the LifeStraw, the water output is designed to ensure that only water is
released from this valve, and the separate air valve is used to extract air from the straw. The valve is
prone to pressure, so once the pressure build up within the life straw reaches a specific level, the
valve then opens and water is released.

Pressure relief valve, this valve comes into use when the water within the life straw has reached the
Gore-Tex filter within the straw, the water will be extracted from the straw, and this valve can then
be opened to allow air from the atmosphere to re-enter the straw to reduce the pressure.
Gortex, this is a special material that is used within the filtration of the water, to allow air to pass
through the vacuum chamber and into the pump and prevents the water from exiting the straw via
the air output valve. The water is then trapped underneath the Gortex filter and once the pressure
within the vacuum chamber reaches a certain level, the water output valve is then forced open,
allowing water to exit the straw.

This screenshot displays the final design with the addition of acrylic tubes with the LifeStraw itself
installed to the attachment and pump.
Visual representation of LifeStraw and attachment in action

Air will be
pumped out
of the
lifestraw.

Gore-Tex

Air

Water

The Gore-Tex will

stop the water
rising further

As the water rises The water has

and the pressure replaced the air in
builds (as there is the lifestraw.
no/little air) the
water will escape
through the water
output
FEA Analysis

Figure 2

Using AutoDesk Mechanical Simulation, the LifeStraw was analysed. Initially, Surface forces were
placed on one side of the device. This is to simulate the action of a person pumping the device. This
ensures that the device is strong enough to withstand regular everyday use. This will show if the
device is sustainable or not.

Figure 3
Figure 4

From Figures 2 and 3, it is clear this would not work as it causes a large displacement of 37.48mm.
This is because there were no constraints on the opposite side of the pump handle.

Figure 5

Due to the lack of constraints, there is very little stress on the pump handle, whilst all the stress has
been concentrated at the joint. There is a maximum stress of 113N/mm2, which is far above safe
limits.
The pump was then re-analysed whilst fulfilling the new conditions; constraints were placed on one
side of the pump handle and forces on the other. This is a closer representation of the actual use of
the device as it will be held whilst pumping.

Figure 6

Figure 7
Figure 8

Figure 9

The analysis shows the pump with forces acting on one side. Figures 5, 6 and 7 show a maximum
displacement magnitude of 0.04516mm. This is an ideal value however, the locations of the general
constraints are too unrealistic and it is not likely that the pump will hold still on one side. Therefore,
forces are needed to be placed around the pump handle, on both sides as this simulates the act of a
hand pumping the pump handle. The stress has been greatly reduced as it has changed locations.
This is due to the placement of the constraints. In the previous analysis, there was a maximum stress
of 113N/mm2 however; Figure 8 shows a maximum stress of 1.97N/mm2.
Full surface

Figure 10

The forces were placed around the entire handle. This is a closer representation of the use of the
device. Figure 9 shows the placement of the forces.

The above analysis shows the stress that the pump is under when it has forces all around the pump
handle. The maximum stress is 0.28N/mm2 which is manageable and likely to withstand everyday
use. From the adjustments, the maximum stress was reduced from 113N/mm2 to 0.28N/mm2.
There is a distributed displacement and a slight elongation in the Z-axis. The maximum displacement
is 0.016mm. This is because the forces all act towards the centre of the handle, therefore it allows
optimum efficiency of pumping and more air passes through the LifeStraw and along the Z-axis.

When pumping the handle, the hand making a fist causes forces to act on the handle from all
directions. Therefore, this final analysis is a correct representation of the processes that occur during
use of the LifeStraw.
This project will have a positive humanitarian impact in the aftermath of a natural disaster. It will
allow a quick short-term solution to clean and pure water. This water can be used, for not only
drinking but also cleaning wounds and other sanitary products. Almost all natural disasters that have
occurred whether that be a Tsunami in the Indian Ocean or the Kashmiri earthquake, water is an
essential service. This is why this product will be have a positive impact in almost all natural disaster
situations.

As this product has a product life of one year, the LifeStraw will improve their everyday life for a
significant amount of time after the disaster.

From the research it is clear that the main element in our design (the LifeStraw), is a working and
already widely used. However, there are no products currently that provide a cheap and quick way
to purify water to be stored. This is where the LifeStraw attachment comes in to save the day. The
proven water purifier meets simple physics and voila, we have a life changer. Natural disasters are
becoming more common which means this niche market is only going to grow.

Demand for this product is high, a growing market, no competition, and a proven product. This
product is a game changer in the fight against water borne diseases that can occur from a natural
disaster.

References

1. "Patent WO2008025358A1 - Water Purification Including Disinfection, Oxidation and Arsenic

Removal". Google Books. N.p., 2017. Web. 12 Apr. 2017

2. "LIFESTRAW Trademark Of Lifestraw SA - Registration Number 5056941 - Serial Number

79183373: Justia Trademarks"
3. "Designs (Registration & Infringement) UK & EU | Humphreys"
4. "Technology To The Rescue: 4 Innovations For Surviving Natural Disasters - EPICS In IEEE"
5. Petronzio, Matt. "14 Gadgets To Prepare You For A Natural Disaster". Mashable. N.p., 2017.
Web. 4 Feb. 2017.
6. "Product Safety For Manufacturers - GOV.UK". Gov.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 May 2017.
7. "Product Safety | Business Companion". Businesscompanion.info. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 May
2017.
8. "Water Quality Standards". Environmentlaw.org.uk. N.p., 2017. Web. 5 May 2017.