Brock Beemer
Pronouns: He/Him
Research Mentor(s): Lei Zuo
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering / Engineering
Program:
Authors: Mrunal Bhalerao, Brock Beemer, Eric Gavizon, Harrison Otton, Alena Fritch, Mary Hess, Stacey Jiang, Anqi Liu, Leah Malech
Session: Session 6: 3:40 pm – 4:30 pm
Poster: 17
Abstract
According to the US Department of Energy there are more than 90,000 dams in the United States, of which only 2,300 provide power. The purpose of our project was to find and identify just one of the around 87,700 dams, unpowered dams which could possibly be retrofitted to provide power. Of all these dams we choose one only about three and a half miles from the heart of the University, Geddes Dam. The project entailed assessing the dam in many different areas: the current condition and purpose of the dam, how the surrounding area would be impacted by the dam, how the community of Ann Arbor would feel about this retrofit, the reasons why previous attempts to retrofit this dam have failed and how we will remediate those, and the risks that would come along with our design for the retrofit. To assess all these areas required a mix method approach. For example, assessment of feasibility required quantitative data such as power generation and cost, while assessment of the community’s feelings required qualitative questioning and interviews. Ultimately after our research we concluded that this specific site is not conducive for a retrofit. However, there are still plenty of dams across the US which can be considered for a retrofit and we hope that our research is able to push forward the practice of retrofitting non-powered dams.
