Date of Award

2021

Degree Type

Capstone Project

Abstract

Over the recent number of years, craft beer has become a huge part of the brewing and malt industry. As craft brewing has become larger, the need for specialized malt has also grown. Microbreweries and small farms want to produce small batches of local malt with a wider variety than what is currently available on the market, in order to create more flavorful liquors which are impacted from local climates, soils, and other environmental conditions. Providing a new type of equipment, which is well suited for small batches of malt, can help move the market share away from large corporations and back into the hands of small town local farmers with the novelty that you can be supporting local farms and breweries. Dr. Michael Sullivan tasked Team 20H to create a system that can take in raw materials, such as barley, water, and enriched oxygen, and pass through sub systems which steep, germinate, and kiln the malt with an emphasis on control over system conditions to allow greater experimentation and allow operators to try to optimize malt output.

These design requirements are met with the team's modular design powered from an ordinary 120V outlet. The modular design incorporates two subsystems: the germination station and the convection section. The germination station implements a 30-gallon silo, in which grain is bathed in water, misted to keep moist during germination and mixed to reduce clumping of the grain during the steeping and germination processes. Various parameters that are controlled in this subsystem include moisture and oxygen levels. The convection section executes the drying out portion of the malting process. This subsystem includes heaters and fans to raise the temperature and reduce moisture levels within the kiln to obtain the desired moisture content of the finished malt. Connecting these two subsystems is a transportation system, consisting of a 3D printed auger powered by an electric motor and PVC piping. The controllable elements, including temperature, moisture levels, water levels etc., will be managed by a computerized system with a user interface where one can specify these factors.

The contents of this report present the design specifications and prototype that meet the project's goal. Team 20H initially started with 120 concepts, ultimately taking the best components of these designs to satisfy the criteria prompted by the team's sponsor, Dr. Michael Sullivan, to produce the current prototype. An engineering analysis was executed to determine the required power for the various motors, actuators and computer elements of the design. When the prototype was finished it went through numerous tests with large quantities of grain to test the functionality of each feature. Lastly, a financial analysis was also performed to determine the team's budget and includes estimated retail pricing, warranty policy and return of investment for prospective customers.

Comments

Team Name: Team 20H, Thirst Guys

Sponsor: Dr. Michael Sullivan

Document Reference: MCE-402-20H-2021

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