TEACHER'S

VERSION

D ISAST ER
RESPONSE
How do engineers save lives in the
aftermath of a natural disaster?
This resource aims to give students the opportunity to
investigate the science, technology, engineering and
mathematics (STEM) aspects of disaster response.
 DISASTER
RESPONSE
How do engineers save lives in the
aftermath of a natural disaster?
Published: May 2013

Author: Miriam Chaplin, STEM Subject Specialist, Royal Academy of Engineering

ISBN: 1-903496-99-3

© The Royal Academy of Engineering, 2013

Available to download from:

www.raeng.org.uk/disaster-response
Frontpage / Shutterstock.com

Acknowledgements
Particular thanks goes to the following people for helping to develop
and test the resource:

Matthew Harrison, Lynda Mann, Dominic Nolan, Stylli Charalampous, Rhys Morgan,
Andrew Lamb (EWB-UK), Sushant Daga (SKM Enviros), Adrian Stannard and the
students at Kelmscott School STEM Club.

Thanks also to the engineers whose photographs and comments

feature throughout this booklet:

Steve Fitzmaurice, Kenneth Gibb, Nicola Greene, Tom Newby, Vanessa Pilley,
Bob Reed, Elizabeth Sharpe.
Contents
Foreword 1
Introduction 2
Information for STEM activity leaders 3
How to use this resource 3
Overview of the student activities 3
Working safely 4
Student activities: STEM activity leader’s version 5
1. Introductory activities 5
A. How much warning? 5
B. Aftermath 8
2. Problem solving activities: solving immediate problems 11
A. Emergency shelter 11
B. What makes a good shelter? 13
C. Tents, water and toilets! 17
3. Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems 23
A. Peace and quiet? 23
B. Clean water? 26
C. The right size of filter 30
D. Solar disinfection 33
E. Taps and waiting time 35
4. Presentation activity: How do engineers save
lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 38
STEM Challenge day plan 40
Using the activities for CREST Awards 50
Useful sources of information 51
Foreword
It isn’t until technology fails that we really begin
to notice it.
A well-engineered technology The good news is that we are
should never make us think; it should getting much better at coping with
give us the capabilities to go about and responding to disasters; trends
our daily lives, to enjoy life and to show that death tolls are falling.
develop ourselves. We have become A key reason for this is that we are
so accustomed to engineering in building infrastructure that is less
the UK that most of us can’t operate vulnerable to hazards – so we are
without it. How would we get clean better prepared. In engineering, no
water without the taps we have in news is good news – engineering only
every building? How would we protect really gets attention when things
ourselves from the elements without go wrong! Increasingly it is only the
the roofs over our heads? How are we major, sudden disasters that we hear
supposed to learn without a table and about. But we must bear in mind that
chair? How are we supposed to enjoy a disaster takes more livelihoods than
privacy without a door? We can almost lives and, since technology enables
take these mundane technologies most livelihoods, there remains a lot
for granted because we have never more work to do.
known our world without them.
Engineering is the creative application
So to really learn about the difference of science to solve problems for
that engineering makes to people’s people. Engineers have to be good at
lives, it is helpful to change the things, and they must also be good
context. With this excellent resource, at people too. An engineer has a
you can explore engineering in the fundamental responsibility to get their
context of a disaster. maths and science right: if they don’t,
a building could collapse, a train might
Natural disasters affected 2.9 billion derail or people might be left without
people and killed 1.2 million people heat or electricity. This resource pack
between 2000 and 2012. There is a fantastic opportunity for you to
were 5,618 officially recorded natural emphasise the importance of being
disasters over those 12 years – from good at people, maths and science –
major world events such as the Indian and of the role of engineering in our
Ocean Tsunami of 2004 to more world. We hope that you enjoy using it.
localised events such as the annual
cyclone in Bangladesh or a drought
in Texas. Disasters are getting more
frequent and more intense as human
population grows, resources such
as water become more strained,
urban migration increases and the Andrew Lamb
changing climate brings more shocks Chief Executive
and stresses. Engineers Without Borders UK

Engineers Without Borders UK

is an international development
organisation that removes
barriers to development through
engineering. Their programmes
provide opportunities for young
people to learn about technology's
role in tackling poverty. Supported
by the EWB-UK community, their
members can work on projects
around the globe.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 1
Introduction
The aim of this resource is to give students an insight into the roles
of engineers following a natural disaster.
Engineers find solutions to problems. Sometimes it is easy to see an engineer’s
role, particularly when they are involved in the reconstruction of roads and
buildings, or of power generation and supply. Sometimes, the engineer’s
contribution is in designing equipment that can be brought in to the disaster
area, ready for use. Although engineers respond to the situation ‘on the ground’,
they also contribute by trialling solutions in preparation for future needs.
Alongside the activities, students will find quotes from practising engineers
about the work they have been involved in.

This resource contains a collection of student activities and related resources to

support classroom teaching at KS3. The context of disaster response provides
human interest and provides opportunities for students to engage with
relevant challenges and consider real-life solutions that demonstrate key ideas
that they have met. Throughout the activities, students are asked to apply
knowledge, skills and understanding. They are also asked to consider how they
might be ‘thinking like an engineer’.
fotostory / Shutterstock.com

2 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Information for STEM activity leaders

Information for STEM activity leaders

How to use this STEM resource
This STEM resource has been written for the leaders of STEM activities to
use with key stage 3 students (age 11–14). However, there is no reason why
younger students should not be given the opportunity to investigate the
STEM aspects of disaster response. The activities could also be adapted and
extended to provide stretch and challenge for older students.

The desired learning outcome is for students to create a presentation

that provides a reasoned answer to the ‘big question’, How do engineers
save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? Students should arrive at
their answer having investigated solutions to challenges arising from the
aftermath of natural disasters.

The teacher’s version of the resource provides prompts, answers and

notes to help support teachers, STEM ambassadors and STEM club
leaders in their delivery of the resource. There is also a booklet of student
activity support sheets. The student version of the resource includes
all the activity sheets, but none of the prompts, notes and answers or
support sheets. The intention is that teachers select only those support
sheets which will enable each student to carry out a particular challenge
effectively without ‘spoon-feeding’ them or denying them the opportunity
to demonstrate higher order investigative and design skills.

Overview of the student activities

All of the activities are meant to be carried out in groups of four students.
Working effectively as a team is an important engineering skill.

Introductory student activities

The introductory activities are short ‘orientation’ activities. Before students
can progress to the problem-solving activities, they need to be aware of the
range of types of natural disaster, and the kinds of problems associated with
them. It is also helpful for them to have some sense of scale in terms of time
and speed of disasters.

Problem-solving activities
The student problem-solving activities are organised into two groups:
immediate problems and longer-term problems. Parts of each activity
are signposted by the headings Information, The situation and The
challenge. Information provides general information about the real world
problem caused by a natural disaster and how engineers are involved in
providing solutions; The situation and The challenge provide a more
closely defined context and a brief for the problem solving activity.

These challenges involve either a mathematical focus or a science, design

and technology focus, and are intended to show the importance of STEM
subject knowledge, understanding and skills in solving problems. In each
of the problem-solving challenges, students are also asked to ‘think like an
engineer’ and to identify how they have done this.

Reflection, discussion and presentation are important elements of each

of the challenge activities, and provide the basis for the final presentation
activity; where time is limited it would be better to reduce the number of
activities rather than the time for discussion, reflection and presentation.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 3
 Presentation activity
This is the plenary activity, in which students use the information and insights
they have gained through the introductory and problem-solving activities to
present an answer to the ‘big question’, ‘How do engineers save lives in the
aftermath of a natural disaster?’

Working safely
STEM leaders should carry out their own risk assessment before undertaking
any practical activity.
Shutterstock.com

4 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Introductory activities

1. Introductory activities

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

Start with a brief presentation about natural disasters. A quick way to
provide this is to create links from your presentation to relevant webpages,
such as the BBC news website and others listed in ‘Useful sources of
information’ at the back of this booklet.

Try to include examples of several different types of natural disaster and

also of a range of locations: ask students to identify some of the locations
on a world map.

Some recent examples:

Q Hurricanes/ superstorms: Sandy, northeast USA, 2012; Katrina ,

southeast USA, 2010;
Q Earthquakes: Christchurch, New Zealand, 2011; Haiti 2010
Q Earthquakes/Tsunamis: northeast Japan, 2011
Q Wildfires: southeast Australia, 2013.

Check that the type of disaster you will ask each group to consider in
Activity 1B is included in your initial presentation.

Student Activity 1A

How much warning?

Information
Natural disasters include hurricanes, tornadoes, floods , earthquakes, tsunamis,
volcanic eruptions, wildfires and drought.

Some natural disasters build up over months, others happen very fast.

Challenge
What warning is there of different disasters? How quickly do some
disasters move?

There are two tasks for you to carry out: a card sort and a set of warm-up
calculations.

Card sort
1. Use the cards from Student activity 1A support: Disaster card sort.
There are eight ‘disaster cards’ and three ‘speed comparison’ cards.

2. Place the disasters in order from top to bottom, with the ones where you
might have least warning at the top and the ones with the most warning at
the bottom.

3. Are there some disasters there would be no point in trying to run away
from? Why not? Put the cards for these disasters to one side.

4. For the remaining disaster cards, put them in order of how quickly they
move, with the fastest at the top and the slowest at the bottom.

5. Where should each of the ‘speed comparison’ cards go in this list?

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 5
 Warm-up calculations
Use the formula: distance = speed x time

distance

speed x time

1. A wildfire is moving at 10 kph (3 m/s). How far will it have travelled in

10 minutes?

2. High winds are driving a wildfire directly towards a small town 5 km away.
If the fire front is moving at 100 kph (28 m/s) how soon will it reach
the town?

3. A tsunami warning has just sounded: the tsunami is 6 km off the coast and
moving at 20 m/s. If it slows to 10 m/s as it moves onto the land, how long
after that will it take to reach the base of a building 1 km from the shore?
If you were on the edge of the beach when the alarm sounded, would
you be able to reach the building and climb to the fifth floor before the
tsunami arrived?

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

Suggested time: 10 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity:

Q Student activity 1A support: Disaster card sort

Warning times
The idea of moving to safety depends on there being somewhere safe
that you can reach before the disaster arrives. This depends on how much
warning you get, how close the nearest safe point is, how quickly you can
move toward safety and how quickly the disaster is approaching.

There is usually at least several hours' warning of when a hurricane is

likely to arrive, giving time to prepare and evacuate.

Floods, wildfires and tornadoes are often seasonal, so there can be some
preparation, but the warning times for an event can vary, and the path of a
tornado or a wildfire can change.
Tom Newby

“I’ve worked for many years with Engineers

Without Borders UK, and having developed
my knowledge and skills with them I’ve
now had the opportunity to work in
disaster relief. I’m now a member of RedR
UK and on the emergency roster for
Save the Children.”
Tom Newby, structural engineer

6 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Introductory activities

Areas that are in earthquake zones may have some warning that a major
event is likely, but beyond that there is no real warning. The warning
available for a tsunami depends on the epicentre of the earthquake that
caused the tsunami. Around the Pacific Ocean, there might be several
hours’ warning if the epicentre is on the other side of the ocean.

However, if the epicentre is relatively close to land, there may be only a few
minutes between the earthquake and the arrival of the tsunami. Although a
tsunami moves more slowly on land than over the ocean, it is still too fast to
outrun on the flat: if there isn’t time to drive out of the area, then the safest
options are to get to higher ground or to the upper floors of a tall building.

Card sort
The card sort should provoke some discussion. For example:

Q Speed of travel comparisons don’t make any sense for droughts or

earthquakes.
Q The wind speed in a hurricane is not the same as the speed the storm
travels at.
Q The speed of a tsunami decreases as the water gets shallower.
(Tsunamis travelling in deep ocean waters are very fast-moving but
only a metre or so high.)
Q Wildfires driven by wind are much faster.
Q There are different types of volcanic eruption and the speed of
the lava flow depends on the chemical composition of the lava;
a pyroclastic flow moves much faster than an ordinary car can.

Comparison speeds
Typical speed Typical speed (approximate value
Natural hazard (kph) (m/s) ranges)

Volcano: pyroclastic flow >160 >44

Volcano: lahars (mix of rocks and water) 100 28

Wildfire driven by high winds 100 28 Car

Tsunami approaching the coast 80 22 50–100 kph,

Hurricane 70 19 15–30 m/s

Tornado 55 15

Tsunami moving inland 36 10

Wildfire 10 3 Running
Volcano: fast-moving lava 10 3 15–30 kph, 4–8 m/s

Volcano: slow-moving lava 5 1.5 Walking

Warm-up calculations
The calculations are meant to be a rapid warm-up activity using
calculators, but could lead on to further discussion where there is time.

1. 1,800 m.
2. 178 s, or just under 3 m.
3. Probably. Time to land = 300 s. Time from there to building = 100 s.
Total time = 400 s. Time to run to the building depends on your
running speed and how long you took to react! Even with 0 s reaction
time, at 5 m/s it would be 200 s, but then you still have to get inside
and run up the stairs in the remaining time.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 7
 Student Activity 1B

Aftermath
Information
Natural disasters include:
Q hurricanes Q earthquakes
Q floods Q volcanic eruptions
Q tsunamis Q drought
Q wildfires Q tornadoes

There are many different kinds of engineer, but what they all have in common is
that they use their STEM subject knowledge and skills to solve problems.

Challenge
What kinds of problems face survivors after a natural disaster? What
might engineers do to help?

1. Work in a group of four.

2. Each group will consider a different kind of natural disaster: your teacher
will tell you which disaster to work on.

3. You need a large sheet of paper. Write down the type of natural disaster at
the top of the sheet.

4. Divide the sheet into two columns. In the left hand column, make a list of
the problems facing survivors after this type of natural disaster. For each
problem, use the right hand column to suggest what engineers might do to
help solve the problem.

5. Compare your suggestions with those of at least one other group:

Q Which of the problems are specific to a particular context (not just

the type of disaster, but where it happens, or the time of year,
for example)?
Q Which of the problems are general ones, and are associated with any
disaster?
Q Are there some problems that are more urgent than others? Why?
Q Are there some problems that are not so urgent initially, but become
important within a few days of the disaster?
Bob Reed

“I worked in Sri Lanka after the tsunami, in

Bihar (India) after flooding, and in Haiti
after the earthquake. I used to work
on technical aspects. Now it’s strategic
planning, mentoring and technical support.”
Bob Reed, water supply and
sanitation engineer

8 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Introductory activities

Tom Newby
NOTES FOR STEM LEADER
Suggested time: 20 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity:

Q n/a

Students might identify some or all of the following points:

Q Disasters not only kill and injure people, and demolish homes and
possessions, they also disrupt water and power supplies and can
make normal travel on roads difficult or impossible.
Q These are problems common to several kinds of natural disaster.
Q While most natural disasters happen quite suddenly, the effects of Truck delivering materials after the
a drought take longer to establish, and do not in themselves make earthquake in Haiti in 2010.
transport difficult or impossible.
Q Paradoxically, there can be a lack of drinking water after flooding
because water supplies are contaminated.
Q The most urgent immediate problems are rescuing survivors and
providing somewhere safe to shelter, drinking water and food, and
sanitation. There will need to be medical supplies and personnel to
treat the sick and injured.
Q Rescue might involve the supply and use of special equipment
which has to be brought in or constructed from what is available.
Q Where no shelter is available, it has to be brought in by relief
agencies, along with emergency supplies of food and water. Some
of this can take days to set up.
Q Some of the support for survivors depends on work that is done
long before the actual disaster, so that appropriate resources can be
ready to send .
Q People may be homeless and in need of shelter for weeks or even
months after a disaster. Longer-term needs will include better
shelter with more privacy and space than is acceptable for one
night, reliable supplies of safe, drinkable water and food, and
adequate sanitation. If these aren’t provided, then people are likely Supplies ready to be sent to victims
to become ill. of the flood crisis in Thailand,
November 2011.
Yuttasak Jannarong / Shutterstock.com

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 9
 FEMA/Ed Edahl

Houston Astrodome, ready for the arrival of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

10 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving immediate problems

2. Problem solving activities:

solving immediate problems
Student Activity 2A

Emergency shelter
Information
When people are unable to stay in their own homes after a natural disaster,
the first place they seek shelter is often a local sports hall or community centre
if there is one. It has been suggested that severe weather and flooding could
become more frequent in future, so it will be important to plan for possible
events like this, and know where people could be evacuated to in an emergency.

The situation
There has been severe flooding locally, and any large local halls that are not at
risk of being flooded will be used for emergency shelter. The school sports hall
needs to be used to provide temporary shelter for people whose homes have
been flooded (mostly couples and families with young children). They have left
their homes in a hurry, bringing whatever they can carry with them.

The challenge
How many people could you accommodate overnight in the sports
hall, and how might you do this?

1. Survey the hall: create a rough initial plan (not to scale), showing the basic
shape and marking where the doors are. Write your measurements down
on this.

2. Decide how much space you will need for each family, couple or individual.

3. Make a first estimate of the maximum number of people you could

accommodate.

4. Now create a scale plan of the hall, showing the space you are allowing for
each family, couple or individual.

5. What assumptions have you made about what additional items you might
need to provide and the amount of space needed for each individual, couple
or family?

6. Compare your plan with the plans produced by other groups:

Q What different assumptions did other groups make?

Q Which plan fits in the most people?
Q Which would be the most practical?

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 11
 “I have worked in India and Tanzania, running workshops
for developing communities on the principles of disaster
management and the causes of natural disasters.”
Vanessa Pilley, environmental scientist

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

60–90
Suggested time: 60–90 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity

Q Student activity 2A support: Scale plans

Q Student activity 2A support: Tessellation

Leave time for discussion and encourage students in each group to share
their ideas with other groups at several points during this activity:

Sharing ideas after every group has made their preliminary sketch plan
and first estimate will allow students to review their own assumptions and
correct any miscalculations.

Sharing ideas once every group has produced a scale plan with their
chosen solution gives an opportunity for students to discuss the range of
solutions, and the things they thought were most important.

In this activity it is important to get students to draw out a plan right from
the start to make any assumptions explicit. Initially, a simple sketch may
be most effective for recording overall dimensions, but once students
consider how many people may be accommodated it is worth students
making multiple copies of some paper shapes representing basic units
(e.g. a ‘family space’) to scale. Moving these shapes around on the plan in
different arrangements can help students explore different solutions.

12 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: Solving immediate problems

Student Activity 2B

What makes a good shelter?

Hexaayurt.com

Tom Newby
(Left) A ‘hexayurt’ built from plywood sheet; (right) A family’s tent next to a
collapsed building after the earthquake in Haiti, 2010

Information
When most buildings in a region have been destroyed or are unsafe, people
who can will leave to find shelter with relatives in another region. People who
cannot leave will need temporary shelters to live in until they can rebuild their
homes. Tents are often used for emergency shelter after a disaster, but they
are not the only type of emergency shelter. The kinds of temporary shelters
used depends on what can be made available quickly and what is best for
local conditions.

In many parts of the world, it can be hot and sunny in the daytime but cold at
night. Ideally, shelters should not only keep the inside warm when it is cold
outside, but also remain at a comfortable temperature during the day. A good
shelter also needs to keep people dry and protect them from UV radiation.

Bringing large amounts of resources into a region takes time and

costs money.

Q Building shelters from lightweight materials can reduce transport costs. It

can also make it easier to construct the shelter onsite if individual pieces
are light enough for one or two people to lift.
Q Where ‘scavenged’ material can be recovered from the scene of the natural
disaster, this can also reduce the need to rely on supplies which have to be
brought in.

“I worked in Haiti, following the devastating

earthquake there in 2010. I ran a
transitional shelter programme, planning
and starting the construction of temporary
schools and houses in the area around the
epicentre.”
Tom Newby, structural engineer
Tom Newby

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 13
 “I worked in Haiti following the 2010
earthquake where I was helping a
team of Haitians to rebuild houses in
rural communities.”
Steve Fitzmaurice, civil engineer

The situation
The organisation you work for wants to produce a new design for a shelter
that could be built by two people using mostly scavenged materials, or using
lightweight materials which are shipped in. The shelter should be as light as
possible, but must keep people comfortably warm even in cold weather.

The challenge
Design, construct and evaluate two model shelter solutions.

1. Find out what materials will be available.

2. Your group must create and evaluate two model shelters. Decide which
basic model structure(s) you are going to construct, and what modifications,
if any, you are going to make to the materials used in the construction. You
will need to keep a record of your investigation as you work.

3. Each shelter must have the same base area of 12 cm x 10.5 cm.

4. Check that your plan will allow you to carry out the test methods that you
have been shown before you build the shelter.

5. Build and test your two models.

6. Compare your results with those from other groups.

7. Present a short report or presentation that gives brief details of:

Q the materials and designs you used, with reasons why you chose them
Q how you carried out the tests you used in your evaluations and what
the results were
Q what you discovered and what conclusions you reached.

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

14 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving immediate problems

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

120
Suggested time: 120 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity

Q Student activity 2B support: Model shelters

Setting the scene

If possible, show students some examples of real shelter designs (not just
tents), and get them to consider why each design might have been used.
Availability of materials is a major factor, whether these are scavenged or
shipped in. For example:
Q A common basic solution involves draping plastic sheeting over
a simple framework; adding other materials such as blankets can Making model shelters from
improve the insulation and offer more privacy. constructostraws and from corriflute

Q ‘Hexayurts’ typically use plywood sheet; they have been used in Haiti
following the major earthquake in 2010.
Q Paper-tube ‘logs’ can be used to construct simple cabins. These have
been used following earthquakes in India and Iran.
Q There are proposed solutions involving folded plastic ‘concertina’
shapes that can be shipped folded and then unfolded onsite.
(See Useful sources of information)

Shelter designs
The templates provided are for two basic shelter shapes. Students will
need to consider how they might adapt these basic designs to improve the
performance.
Students might consider:
Q doubling the thickness of the material used for walls and roof
Q lining the inside of the shelter with reflective material (eg aluminium
foil)
Q lining the inside of the shelter with one or more layers to trap air (eg
a layer of felt, or cotton wool held inside a cotton covering layer)
Q using a framework with a covering that has air trapped inside it (eg
packaging ‘bubble wrap’).

Testing the model shelters

The challenge focuses on mass of material used and thermal properties.
If students build models with the suggested base size the model should fit
on a top pan balance to find the mass of material used.
A simple way to compare thermal performance is to put a beaker of hand-
hot water inside the shelter and take the temperature of the water every
minute as it cools down. (SAFETY: take care with hot water; mop up
any spillages.) It would be helpful to compare this with an additional,
identical beaker of water that is not in a shelter.
Note: It may be helpful to have a ‘preliminary run’ followed by
discussion to debug and standardise the test methods: for example,
students may need to be reminded that for a fair test all the beakers of
water should contain the same amount of water, and that they should
all be at the same starting temperature; they may also need to be made
aware that removing the beaker to take the temperature is a different
method from taking the temperature without removing the beaker.
Model shelter frames made using
constructostraws

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 15
 If time allows, students could also evaluate other aspects of their chosen
designs:

Q Students could evaluate the suitability of the shelters for hot sunny
conditions by recording the change in temperature inside the shelter
as a bench lamp is placed a few centimetres above the roof and
switched on. (SAFETY: hot lamp surfaces. Check also that there is
no risk of the model material overheating or catching fire. Do not
leave unattended.)
Q Students could compare the effectiveness of the shelters in terms of
blocking UV by placing UV-sensitive beads inside the shelters. They
could then observe how quickly the beads changed colour when the
shelters were put in bright sunlight, and how long it took the beads to
lose their colour when removed from the sunny conditions.
Q Comparisons of how waterproof the materials are would be much
more straightforward than comparisons of how waterproof the
models are, because of issues about water leaking through joints or
seams. If students do test pieces of fabric by simply spraying water
over a stretched sample of fabric, they may be surprised at how little
water penetrates through even an untreated cotton sample (as long
as nothing else is touching the fabric).

Background Science
Q Warm objects transfer energy to cooler surroundings. The
temperature of the object drops as energy is transferred. Warm
surroundings transfer energy to cooler objects. The temperature of
the object rises as energy is transferred.
Q The bigger the temperature difference (the steeper the temperature
gradient), the faster the rate of energy transfer, and the faster the
drop in temperature. Once an object is at the same temperature as its
surroundings, it will stay at that temperature.
Q Any feature that slows down the transfer of energy will reduce the
rate of cooling, and any feature that increases the rate of energy
transfer will increase the rate of cooling:
Q Reflective layers reduce energy transfer by radiation.
Q Materials that are described as good insulators or poor thermal
conductors reduce the rate of energy transfer by conduction.
Q Air is a relatively poor thermal conductor, so using materials that
have air trapped in them reduces the rate of energy transfer by
conduction.
Q Thicker layers of wall or roof material reduce the rate of transfer
by conduction, because the temperature gradient between warm
inside and cold outside is not so steep, and because more energy
is being used to raise the temperature of the material.
Q Where air can get in or out through gaps in the fabric, this can
allow energy transfer by convection: warm air escapes upward
through holes near the top, and cool air is drawn in through holes
near the base. Note: in this challenge, designs which include a
base will need a closable ‘door’ to insert and remove the beaker
of warm water; they may also need to include a hole for the
thermometer or temperature sensor to poke through.

16 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving immediate problems

Asianet-Pakistan / Shutterstock.com
Student Activity 2C

Tents, water and toilets!

Information
When most buildings in a region have been destroyed or are unsafe, people who
cannot leave to find shelter with relatives in another region will need temporary
outdoor shelters to live in until they can rebuild their homes. Often, relief
agencies will organise the construction of temporary camps to provide shelter,
water and toilets, and cooking facilities; they might also organise the delivery of
food supplies.

Planning a temporary camp can involve surveying an open space and planning
the best arrangement of tents or other shelters, along with things like water
supply points and toilets. It can also involve arranging the initial delivery of
tents (or other shelters) and arranging for the regular delivery of water and
other supplies.

You would need to decide what size of tents would be most useful and how
many you would need. Tents come in various sizes: some are meant for a family
of four people, but there are also larger tents which can fit twelve or even
twenty people in them. In most communities, you would expect a mixture of A relief camp in Pakistan, following
families, couples and individuals. flooding in September 2011.

The situation
A major earthquake has demolished many buildings and there are few buildings
where people can shelter indoors. Whole, extended families are affected, so
there is little option to stay with relatives in another region. Temporary camps
need to be built in any open spaces. As well as shelters, people will need
drinking water, toilets and somewhere to wash.

The challenge
How many people could you provide temporary shelter for on the
school sports field or other local open space?

About this activity

In this activity you are modelling a real life situation, and to do this you may
need to make some simplifying assumptions.

You may find it helpful to use a spreadsheet to allow you to try out different
starting values and build a model.

There are several tasks involved in this activity. You will need to use the findings
from the different tasks to reach your final estimate, so it is important to make a
record of your investigations as you work. Your record should include:

Q a description of what you were trying to find out

Q any equations or starting information you used
Q any assumptions you made
Q examples of worked equations using different data if relevant
Q what you found out: include your opinion on how realistic or otherwise your
findings are. (What would you do to improve the usefulness of your model?)

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 17
 The tasks you need to carry out

A first estimate of capacity

1. You will need a printed plan of the open space. Mark out the area of usable
open space on your printed plan.

2. Measure the dimensions of the open space, and work out its area.

3. Estimate how much room you need to allow in order to pitch a tent for four
people to sleep in.

4. Estimate how many of these tents you could fit on the sports field if you
only put tents on it, and so how many people there might be. (How much
space should you allow between tents? Why?)

5. How does the size of tent you use affect the maximum number of people
you can provide shelter for? Investigate the effect of using tents for 8, 12
or 16 people instead.

6. What would be the most efficient solution, based solely on this model?

7. What might be the limitations of this model? What other factors would be
important in deciding what size of tents to use?

8. Choose a ‘best size’ of tent and draw a block of 20 tents by 2 tents to scale
on a piece of paper. Place this on your printed plan.

9. Make three more blocks of the same size. How many of these blocks could
you fit on the site?

10. Make a revised estimate of how many people you can shelter.

How much water will they need?

1. Use your revised estimate for the number of people.

2. Use the additional information from Activity 2C support: Facts and figures
to estimate how much water you will need for drinking and cooking.

3. How many bowsers (towable water containers) or water tankers would

you need to deliver this amount of water every day?

4. How many 11,000-litre storage tanks would you need to store one day’s
worth of water?

5. Estimate the amount of field you need to leave without tents to allow
for the water to be delivered and stored. How many tent spaces will this
take up?

6. How does this affect your plan for the number of people you could provide
shelter for? Write down your revised estimate.

How many toilets will they need?

1. Use your revised estimate for the number of people.

2. Use the additional information from Activity 2C support: Facts and figures
to estimate how many toilets you will need for everyone on the site.

3. Estimate how much space the toilets will need. How many tent spaces is
this equivalent to?

4. How does this affect your plan for the number of people you could provide
shelter for?

18 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving immediate problems

‘I worked in Brazil in an area that flooded

every year. We built strong water tanks and
toilets which were lifted off the ground to
ensure that clean water and health were
not affected during flooded times.’
Nicola Greene, civil engineer

Conclusion and evaluation

1. What is your final estimate of the number of people you could fit on
the site?

2. What value does this give you for the area per person?

3. If you had to make rough estimates of capacity for other sites, how might
you do this?

4. Compare your values with those of other groups: what reasons were there
for any differences?

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

90
Suggested time: 90 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity/challenge

Q Student activity 2C support: Estimating capacity
Q Student activity 2C support: Facts and figures
Additional resource, downloadable from the Royal Academy of
Engineering website at www.raeng.org.uk/disaster-response

Q Excel spreadsheet: Site capacity estimations

Setting the scene

It is important to relate the challenge to real examples drawn from a
range of natural disasters in the UK and abroad. Although many or most
students may have seen images of refugee camps, it is less likely that they
will be familiar with the use of bowsers, water tankers and temporary
water storage tanks. It is important to provide examples showing what
these things look like and to establish a sense of how big they are.

(see Useful sources of information)

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 19
 Models, pattern-spotting and predictions
This activity offers an opportunity for students to explore the
consequences of setting different values.
There is a structured support sheet to take students through the different
stages of the estimation process.
Students could create their own spreadsheet or use ‘Site capacity
estimations’, which is downloadable from the Royal Academy of
Engineering website. This is set up with sample values entered, and
students can use it to investigate the effect of changing the values for
useable site dimensions, tent capacity and dimensions, proportion of
site used for roads, daily water allowance, number of toilets and water
storage arrangements.
The spreadsheet created for this activity follows the same
pattern as the support sheet, but by removing the need to carry
out calculations manually allows a greater emphasis on trialling
different solutions. The first estimate of tent area and site capacity
(see below) is also a good opportunity for more able students to
explore patterns to make predictions: can they work out a formula to
calculate the overall area of a tent, or how many tents will fit on the
site for a given tent capacity?

A screenshot of the 'Site capacity estimations' spreadsheet

1. Estimating the size of the site

Choose a site that students will be familiar with.

You will need to provide a plan or an aerial image of the site you want
to use: make sure that you include the correct scale on the image. Show
this as a line marked with the equivalent distance rather than stating, for
example ‘1 cm represents 50 m’ , as any change in scale when you produce
the photocopy of your original will distort all the calculations.

The support sheet provides a structured framework for estimating the

capacity of the site, with each group of students marking up their own
printed copy of the plan. An alternative approach would be for students
to overlay the image with a prepared transparent grid with squares that
match the scale of the image, shade in the area and count the shaded
squares.

To estimate the area, students should first mark the image to show what
they consider to be usable ground.

20 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving immediate problems

The quickest way to estimate the area is to find the largest rectangle
or triangle that fits the space, and calculate the area of that. (As a
refinement, students could do the same for the biggest piece of ground
left over, then add these figures together to get a value for the total area.)

Ask each group to give their estimate and show the area they have
been estimating. This is to give students the chance to check that they
are using sensible values for the total area before they carry on with the
rest of the challenge.

2. A first estimate of how many tents and how many people will fit
on the site

The support sheet encourages students to sketch out floor plans for each
tent to help them identify what assumptions they have made and what
they are actually calculating.

Maximum Maximum
Number Diagram of Floor area Overall area of number of number of
in tent floor area of tent (m2) tent (m2) tents* people*

4 4 x 3.5 (4 + 2) x (3.5 + 2) Site area /33 Tents x 4

= 14 = 33 (1,515) (6,060)

8 8 x 3.5 = 28 (8 + 2) x (3.5 + 2) Site area /55 Tents x 8

= 55 (909) (7,272)

(4 + 2) x (7 + 2) Site area /54 Tents x 8

= 54 (926) (7,408)

12 12 x 3.5 = 42 (12 + 2) x (3.5 + 2) Site area /77 Tents x 12

=77 (649) (7,788)

(4 + 2) x (10.5 + 2) Site area / 75 Tents x 12

= 75 (667) (8,004)

16 16 x 3.5 = 56 (16 + 2) x (3.5 + 2) Site area / 99 Tents x 16

= 99 (505) (8,080)

(8 + 2) x (7 + 2) Site area / 99 Tents x 16

= 90 (555) (8,880)

(4 + 2) x (14 + 2) Site area / 96 Tents x 16

= 96 (520) (8,320)

*Figures in brackets are for an example field size of 50,000 m 2.

It is worth getting all the groups to compare their results again at

this point and discuss any differences and the possible reasons
for them. As can be seen in the table, the value each group provides for
the overall tent area depends on which layout they use, but the overall
‘packing efficiency’ improves as the tents get larger. By now, students
should be pointing out that these figures will be much too high, because
no allowance has been made for roads or between rows of tents, or for
toilets, water supplies and so on. Some students may also comment that
they would not like to share a tent with other families, so they would
not regard anything bigger than ‘family size’ as sensible, no matter how
‘efficient’ it might be.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 21
 At this stage each group should decide what size of tents would be most
suitable and cut out a piece of paper that represents a block of
20 tents x 2 tents, at the same scale as the printed plan. Each group
should discuss what would be a sensible width of road to put in between
blocks. They should try this out for four blocks, then make a new rough
estimate of how many people they would fit on the site.

Note: Most of the tents you will find on an internet search are for
recreational camping, rather than the ‘army’ type canvas tents. If you look
for tent dimensions on the internet or in catalogues, the dimensions given
are for the area covered by the tent groundsheet (flooring), so you can
use these figures to estimate how many people the tent would shelter.
Although you might expect a two person tent to sleep two people, a four
person tent to sleep four people, a six person tent to sleep six people and
so on, this doesn’t necessarily make allowance for whatever belongings
they have brought with them.

3. Estimating how much water will be needed each day

Students will need to refer to the additional information on the ‘Facts
and figures’ support sheet for this. The ‘Oxfam’ water tanks referred to
on the ‘Estimating capacity’ worksheet and the ‘Facts and figures’ sheet
are the smallest of a range of storage tanks. They have a volume of 11m3,
equivalent to a capacity of 11,000 litres of water . Based on an allowance
of 15 litres per person per day, one such tank could store enough water for
one day for around 700 people.

4. Estimating how many toilets are needed

When considering the number of toilets needed, students may also want
to consider the additional water needed for toilets, and some students
may also want to include an allowance for showers and other washing
facilities as well as toilet blocks. This could provoke quite a lot of discussion
(for example, “How much water does a flushing toilet need?” “How much
water should you allow for a shower?” “Does it need drinking quality
water?”). It may be better left as a discussion point rather than adding to
the estimations students need to carry out.

5. Conclusion and evaluation

By this point, their revised figure should be considerably lower than the
one they started with. Each group should present their final estimate to
the other groups, so that students can discuss the different values and
how they were arrived at.

In addition to the water supplies, roads and toilets considered in the

challenge, real site plans need to include firebreaks, communal washing
facilities and communal cooking facilities or cooking facilities for each
household. (For comparison, the Sphere Project handbook gives ‘rule
of thumb’ figures for longer term camp-type settlements of 30 m2 per
person to as much as 45 m2 per person. The lower figure is based on
some communal facilities being available nearby, whereas the upper
figure makes some allowance for recreation areas and household
kitchen gardens.)

22 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems

3. Problem solving activities:

solving longer term problems
Student Activity 3A

Peace and quiet?

FEMA/Andrea Booher

There may be very little privacy in an emergency shelter

Information
Repairing or rebuilding homes after a natural disaster can take weeks or
months, and people still need somewhere safe to live during that time.
Conditions that are acceptable for the first few nights as emergency shelter are
not acceptable for temporary accommodation over a longer period. As well as
things like proper washing and cooking facilities, there is a need for personal
space and privacy.

The situation
There has been severe flooding locally, and the school sports hall has been
used to provide temporary shelter for people whose homes have been flooded
(mostly couples and families with young children). It will take several weeks
before some of the homes will be safe to live in. Families who still need to stay
in the hall have also complained that the hall is very noisy, and they need some
privacy. Some form of screening needs to be put up around each family space.

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 23
 The challenge
Short version, concentrating on acoustic properties

1. Consider some possible screening solutions.

2. Compare the sound absorption/reflection properties of the screening

materials available.

3. Identify the most suitable materials for screens based on this property.

Longer version, evaluating the stability of the structure as well

1. Consider some possible screening solutions.

2. Suggest two possible screening solutions that you could compare.

3. Construct prototype screens and compare the stability of the screens and
how well they reduce the amount of sound reflected.

4. Produce a brief report, recommending the best solution.

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

90
Suggested time: 90 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity

Q Student activity 3A support: Sound test

Setting the scene

Spend a few minutes discussing ideas with the whole class.

If possible, have some examples of real emergency shelter conditions

(such as those from ‘Hurricane Sandy’ that affected New York in autumn
2012). This is a real life problem and you can find examples of how
different organisations have approached it on the internet. (See Useful
sources of information.)

Some possible approaches

Q ‘Curtain on rigid frame’ solutions: rigid support frame for curtains
(same idea as in hospital wards); portable ‘concertina’ screens; clothes
rails draped with sheets.
Q ‘Indoor tents’ or ‘oversized travel cot’ solutions.

Q Interlocking rigid pieces of cardboard or plywood.

Q Single ‘rigid sheet on support frame’ solutions: display boards/room

dividers.
Q ‘Combined storage and screening’ solutions: lockers or shelving.

Q Other ‘self-supporting’ structures made from a single material: similar

to ‘folded paper’ furniture.

24 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems

“I had considered becoming a lawyer

so I could work in human rights or
environmental protection – but actually as
an engineer I could do things and see the
results in action to a much greater extent.”
Tom Newby, structural engineer

Background science
The sound levels in a space will depend on several factors. Curtains and
soft furnishings reduce reflection; hard, smooth surfaces produce a strong
reflection; ‘bumpy’ surfaces reflect the sound in different directions;
there is also some diffraction at edges and through gaps, which can
be significant, as well as direct transmission through walls, floors and
barriers. For simplicity, this activity concentrates on the reflection and
absorption only.

Structures will topple once the centre of gravity is not over the base, so
stability is improved by lowering the centre of gravity (most of the mass
near the base, use a weighted base) and using a wider base (roughly
‘triangular’ shapes with the point at the top). For a long, thin divider panel,
using a ‘wiggly’ or ‘concertina’ structure makes it more stable because it
effectively increases the base width.

Comparing acoustic properties and stability

Where time is limited, a focus on the acoustic properties is most
appropriate, but a more ‘complete’ approach would be to consider the
stability of proposed dividers as well.

The support sheet shows a standard arrangement for comparing

reflection/absorption of sound. For fair comparisons, the materials used
should all be tested as they will be used in the prototype screen structures
(e.g. material that would be hung from a frame should not be tested lying
flat on the bench).

Students need to identify materials and surfaces that absorb sound

rather than reflect it, and should select materials that provide the greatest
reduction in intensity of reflected sound. If you have sound meters or
sound sensors, this could simply be a matter of choosing the lowest dB
value of reflected sound. If you are using oscilloscopes, or sound editing
software such as ‘Audacity ’ (see below), students need to identify the
surface that gives the smallest amplitude waveform.

Constructing and testing complete model structures for stability is likely

to need at least one more session. The simplest way to compare stability
of screening solutions is to put the structure on a tray and tilt the tray
until the structure starts to fall over: if the structure does fall over it may
self-destruct!

‘Audacity ’ software
‘Audacity ’ software allows you to record and edit sounds using a
microphone connected to your computer . It is free, open source software,
and can be downloaded from www.audacity.sourceforge.net/

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 25
 Student Activity 3B

Clean water? (Evaluating sand filters)

Elizabeth Sharpe
Assessing a site for a new water supply after a tsunami

Information
Following a natural disaster, water supplies may be disrupted and new supplies
of water need to be set up. The problem is to turn a supply of muddy water into
a supply of clean water, and the most common way of doing this is to allow the
water to drain through a filter bed. There are two basic types of sand filter:

Q The type that are usually used as part of a large scale, automated water
treatment process are known as rapid sand filters. They remove suspended
particles that make the water cloudy, but don’t remove harmful microbes.
Q The type of filters typically used where there is not a treated water supply
are called slow sand filters, and take much longer to filter the water. They
include a type known as biosand filters, where the process also removes
most potentially harmful microorganisms. They run for a few hours each
day to provide enough water for a single household . The low flow rate
allows microorganisms to adhere to particles of sand throughout the filter.
The water in the first few centimetres at the top of the filter contains
enough oxygen for the microbes that feed on other, harmful microbes to
survive there.

“I worked in Aceh, Indonesia from

August 2007 to July 2008 to assist with
redevelopment of rural water supplies
after the December 2004 earthquake
and tsunami.”
Elizabeth Sharpe, hydrogeologist
(water resources specialist)

26 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems

“I worked in Bam (Iran) after the earthquake in

2004; in Kashmir (Pakistan) in 2005; in Bhutan,
2010; and again in Pakistan following their
flood disaster in 2010. In each of these, I was
helping to re-establish water supplies and
sanitation systems. I also I worked with MSF
(Medecins sans Frontières) in Mozambique on
cholera and flood relief in 1999 and 2000.”
Kenneth Gibbs, water supply and
sanitation engineer

The situation
You have been asked to trial four different small-scale filter arrangements that
could be set up with readily-available plastic drink bottles, and produce a short
report about what you have found out. The water being treated will be fairly
muddy, but the water produced by the filter in normal operation should be clear.

The challenge
Evaluate the performance of different sand filters.

The four filter arrangements will all use the same size of fizzy drinks bottle, but
use different materials for the filter media.

1. Make sure the bottle cap is screwed on: it should have four small holes in it.

2. Roll a piece of scrap paper or card to create a cone. Place it into the upturned
bottle to make it easier to pour in the sand or gravel without spilling.

3. The first filter is just sharp sand. Pour the sand into the filter until it is about
10 cm from the open end.

4. Attach the bottle to the support stand using two clamps, one around the
neck of the bottle, the other near the top of the sand layer. You can hold it in
place more securely if you also wrap a piece of gaffer tape around the bottle
and the stand.

5. Set up the other filters in the same way, filling to 10 cm from the top of the
filter, but with the following materials:

Q 10 cm depth of gravel first, then sharp sand on top

Q a mix of gravel and sharp sand
Q 10 cm depth of gravel first, then play sand on top.

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 27
 6. Place each filter in a tray or bowl on the floor, with a clean collecting
container underneath the filter outlet.

7. Place the container of muddy water on a stool or bench above the filter.

8. Open the tap, so that water runs slowly into the filter. Adjust the flow from
the tap to keep the water level in the filter steady at about one centimetre
or so below the top of the filter bottle.

9. How long does it take for the filtered water to drip through and fill the
container, and what does it look like? When the container is full, replace it
with a clean, empty container.

10. Keep doing this until the water is running clear for two successive
containers. Make a note of how long it takes to fill each container.

11. How much water did you need to run through the filter before the water
ran clear? How much filtered water would the filter produce in an hour if
you left it running?

12. Present a short report or presentation that gives brief details of:

Q how you carried out the tests you used in your evaluations and what
the results were
Q what you discovered and what conclusions you reached

Q changes you might make to improve the performance of the filter.

13. A typical biosand filter can filter 12 to 18 litres of water per hour. Look
at the diagram of the biosand filter on the support sheet. What are the
differences between your best filter and the biosand filters that are
Setting up a filter system actually used to provide clean water?

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

60–90
Suggested time: 60–90 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity

Q Student Activity 3B support: Setting up the filters

Q Student Activity 3B support: A biosand filter

Preparation of resources for this activity

You will need to collect 2-litre plastic bottles with caps to use as filters.

Before the session you need to

1. Remove the base of each bottle, cutting as close to the base as

possible: you should be able to cut round the bottle with ordinary
scissors once you have made a small slit using a craft knife.
2. Drill four evenly spaced holes in each bottle cap with a 2 mm drill bit.
(CARE! Ensure the cap is firmly clamped before you do this.)
3. Make up sufficient muddy water for the entire session. You could
either make up a large quantity in a bucket then pour it into the 10-litre
containers, or add the soil directly to the containers (a large paper funnel
helps to reduce spillage!) and mix thoroughly with water in the container.
Use one to two plastic cupfuls of soil to every 10 litres of water.

28 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems

Setting the scene

If possible, show students some examples of ‘real life filters’, showing
the construction and the appearance in use. (See ‘Useful sources of
information’.) You might also mention domestic solutions that involve
allowing muddy water to settle, then decanting off the cleaner water.
Although students may be familiar with filtration as a technique for
cleaning water, it is unlikely that they will have seen biosand filters before.
These are small scale filter systems that can be used and maintained by
families, that also remove most potentially harmful micro-organisms .

Evaluating the different filters

The first thing students should notice with each filter is that initially the
filtered water is still dirty, and that it may take several ‘sacrificial’ cupfuls
before the filter settles down to steady performance. During this time,
the output rate may also slow noticeably as the filter material settles and
compacts. The challenge focuses on the effects of changing the size of
particles inside the filter and changing how the different sized particles are
distributed. Typical flow rates could be a small cupful every five minutes or
so, equivalent to around two litres per hour.

Students might suggest:

1. using filters with a greater depth (to see if it improves the

effectiveness of the process so that the output water quality is
improved)

2. using filters with a greater cross-sectional area (to give a faster flow
rate for the same output quality).
Close-up of a filter in use
Filter papers remove suspended solids from a suspension when the
suspended particles are bigger than the pores in the filter paper. This is
the basic principle underlying rapid sand filters, but instead of pores in the
filter paper, there are gaps between sand particles. Suspended solids are
trapped as they pass through the filter but some will penetrate deep into
the filter bed before they are trapped. This suggests that there would be
a minimum depth of filter to be effective. Eventually, the filter becomes
clogged and has to be cleaned (by washing out the whole filter).

As water runs through the sand filter, the sand compacts; the finer the
particles are, the smaller the gaps you might expect between them. With
a slow sand filter, most of the suspended solids are trapped near the top
of the filter, so when the filter starts to become clogged up, removing the
top layer restores its performance. This is a much simpler maintenance
process than washing out the whole filter.

The filters made by students are smaller and simpler than real household
biosand filter units, as can be seen from the diagram on the support sheet
' A biosand filter' showing the construction of a biosand filter. The biolayer
builds up at the top if the sand is left undisturbed. The low flow rate allows
microorganisms to adhere to particles of sand throughout the filter, and
the water in the first few centimetres at the top of the filter contains
enough oxygen for the microbes to survive there.

Extending the activity

Where time allows, students could try out the effect of using filters with
different depths of filter medium and with different cross sections. They
could also design a more permanent support stand that is robust, simple
to construct, and could be built with readily available materials.

The activity could also be extended by carrying out the maths-based

activity, 3C: The right size of filter.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 29
 Student Activity 3C

The right size of filter

Information
A natural disaster may disrupt water supplies, so new supplies of water need to
be set up. The problem is to turn a supply of muddy water into a supply of clean
water, and the most common way of doing this is to allow the water to drain
through a filter bed.

Slow sand filters have traditionally been used to filter water slowly and
continuously. Biosand filters are a kind of slow sand filter that can work
intermittently and are being used as a way for households to treat the water
they need for themselves. The slow filtration process not only removes the
suspended particles that make unfiltered water look cloudy, it also removes
most potentially harmful micro-organisms.

The situation
You have been asked to suggest a suitable size of slow sand filter that could
be sent to disaster areas. The bigger the cross-sectional area of the filter, the
faster the output flow rate, but bigger filters use more materials and take up
more room, so production and shipping costs are higher.

The challenge
Identify the best size of container to use for a household sand filter.

The household sand filter must meet the specification below:

Q The filter must provide 40 litres of clean water each day.

Q The output rate of a filter is described in m3/ m2/ hour, and the chosen sand
filter arrangement will provide filtered water at a rate of 0.1 m3/ m2/ hour.
(1 litre = 0.001 m3; 1 m3 = 1000 litres)
Q Containers that could be used for holding the filter media are available in
five diameters: 15 cm, 25 cm, 30 cm, 45 cm and 60 cm. All the containers are
the same shape, with a square cross-section.

Which would be the best size to use?

Show how you arrived at your decision.

“I like the technical aspects of the work;

thinking logically and systematically.
But there is also a social element of the
work we do – the projects we work on
can have a huge impact on people’s lives,
hopefully improving them.”
Steve Fitzmaurice, civil engineer

30 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems

Source: CAWST – The Centre for Affordable Water and Sanitation Technology (www.cawst.org)

A child standing next to a biosand water filter

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 31
 NOTES FOR STEM LEADER
Suggested time: 20–30 minutes
Support sheets available for this activity
Q n/a

Students will need to decide the best way to approach this problem, and
should be given the opportunity to share their decisions and show how
they arrived at them. The calculations themselves should not take long.
Some students may calculate values for flow rate and time for the smallest
container before considering other sizes; other students may decide to look
at the idea of a ‘sensible time’ limit first then work backwards to find flow
rates and container sizes. The second approach reduces the number of
repetitive calculations, and instead concentrates on manipulating equations.

Sample strategy 1:
Step 1 Calculating the flow rate provided by each size of filter

Flow rate is 0.1 m3 / m2/ hour

Cross sectional area is given by d 2, and; d must be in m for area to be in m2.
Flow rate for 15 cm diameter = 0.1 x 0.152 m3/hr = 0.00225 m3/hr or
2.25 litres/hour
Flow rate for 25 cm diameter = 0.1 x 0.252 m3/hr = 0.00625 m3/hr or
6.25 litres/hour
Flow rate for 30 cm diameter = 0.1 x0.32 m3/hr = 0.009 m3/hr or 9 litres hour
Flow rate for 45 cm diameter = 0.1 x 0.42 m3/hr = 0.02025 m3/hr or
20.25 litres/hour
Flow rate for 60 cm diameter = 0.1 x 0.62 m3/hr = 0.036 m3/hr or
36 litres/hour

Step 2 Calculating how long it will take each filter to produce the
amount of water needed

amount needed
Time needed =
flow rate
For 15 cm diameter container, time needed = (40 ÷ 2.25) hours = 17.8 hours
For 25 cm diameter container, time needed = (40 ÷ 6.25) hours = 6.4 hours
For 30 cm diameter container, time needed = (40 ÷ 9) hours = 4.4 hours
For 45 cm diameter container, time needed = (40 ÷ 20.25) hours = 1.98 hours
For 60 cm diameter container, time needed = (40 ÷ 36) hours = 1.11 hours
Students then need to decide what would be a sensible amount of time to
allow for getting one day’s worth of water.

Sample alternative strategy

Suppose time allowed to filter 40 litres water is no more than 5 hours,
then the flow rate for that will be 40 litres/ 5 hours = 8 litres/hour, or
0.008 m3/ hour.
Flow rate RM of filter medium = 0.1 m3/ m2/hour
Required flow rate RA = RM x A, where A is cross-sectional area measured in m2
Area A of filter needed to achieve this rate = RA ÷ RM = 0.008 ÷0.1 = 0.08 m2
Area A = d 2,
Substituting for A, d 2= 0.08 m2 so d= 0.28 m, or 28 cm. The nearest size to
this would be 30 cm diameter.

32 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems
SODIS/Eawag

Student Activity 3D

Solar disinfection
Information
Water supplied from taps in a temporary camp may look clean but still needs to
be treated to kill harmful microbes before it is safe to drink. One way of doing
this is to add chemicals, but this affects the taste of the water; another way
is to boil the water, but this uses valuable fuel; another way is to use solar
disinfection (SODIS).
Solar disinfection uses solar energy to kill microbes. The water is treated by
putting it into clear plastic drinks bottles, then leaving the bottles out in the
Setting up bottles of water for solar
sunshine. This takes at least 6 hours, even in hot, sunny climates. UV radiation
disinfection
kills microbes. Some of the energy is also transferred to the water as sunlight
passes through it, and the water gets warmer because it is absorbing energy.
SODIS/Eawag

The situation
Solar disinfection is going to be used to provide safe drinking water for the
inhabitants of a temporary camp. Different sized bottles might be available.
Sealable plastic bags suitable for storing food or liquids safely would also
be available.
Some people say that putting the bottles on a shiny surface helps to make the
process more effective.
To be effective, UV radiation in sunlight must reach all parts of the water in
SODIS bags
the container. The more UV that reaches the water, the more effective the
treatment should be.

The challenge
Find out how differences in the way SODIS treatment is carried out might affect
how effective it is. Hint: UV-sensitive beads change from white to coloured
when exposed to UV radiation. UV beads float in water.
Some questions you might consider are:
Q What containers work best?
Q Should the containers be ‘standing up’ or ‘lying down’?
Q Does the surface that the containers are on make a difference?

Decide how you are going to investigate your chosen questions.

Write a brief report about what you have found out, suggesting what you think
is likely to be the most effective way to carry out SODIS treatment.

About this activity

In this activity you are modelling a real life situation.
In real life, the treatment would take several hours in strong sunshine. As this is
not the situation you are working in the water will not be fully treated.
DO NOT DRINK THE WATER.

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 33
 NOTES FOR STEM LEADER
60
Suggested time: 60 minutes

Support sheets available for this activity

Q n/a

Preparation
If you have a mixture of different colours of UV beads, expose them to UV
and sort them into separate colours before the lesson and label the packs
with the colour of the exposed beads.

Bottles and bags set up for testing; Setting the scene

a bead that has turned orange is visible
This activity follows on from the filtering activity. It would be useful to
in the large, upright bottle
show students some images of SODIS treatment. You may also need to
demonstrate what happens to UV beads when you place them in sunlight
and when you take them out of the sunlight again.

Evaluating different arrangements for SODIS

Solar disinfection uses the UV radiation in sunlight. UV-sensitive beads
change from white to coloured when exposed to UV radiation: the more
intense the exposure, the faster the beads will become coloured, and the
longer they will take to lose the colour when no longer exposed. UV will
be absorbed as it passes through the water, so the greater the depth of
water, the less intense the radiation reaching it. This suggests that there
should be a practical limit to the size of container used. Lying bottles on
their side will also reduce the effective depth of water and at the same
time increase the area of bottle exposed to direct overhead sunshine,
with no bottle ‘blocking’ another bottle. Standing bottles upright in groups
would have the opposite effect.

The warming effect of being left in the sunshine helps the process
because convection currents circulate the water so it passes close to the
surface of the container.

The easiest way to ensure that the UV beads sink to the bottom of the
container rather than floating is to press the bead into the surface of a
small blob of adhesive putty. The UV beads change colour very quickly in
direct sunlight, so the containers need to be covered until students are
ready to compare them.

The containers need to be left in a fairly sheltered sunny spot, and the
longer that the bottles can be left out in strong sunshine, the more
noticeable the warming effect will be. The beads will still work outside on
a cool, dull or windy day, but the water will not warm up, so there will be
less mixing by convection currents.

“It is important in every situation that people

have clean water to drink, cook and bathe in.
When people cannot access clean water they
may become severely dehydrated, get water-
based illnesses and in severe cases may die.”
Nicola Greene, civil engineer

34 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems
Asianet-Pakistan / Shutterstock.com

Student Activity 3E

Taps and waiting time

Information
When most buildings in a region have been destroyed or are unsafe, people who
cannot leave to find shelter with relatives in another region will need temporary
outdoor shelters to live in until they can rebuild their homes. Whenever a camp
is set up, providing water is a priority.

Planning a temporary camp can involve surveying an open space and planning
the best arrangement of tents or other shelters, along with things like water
supply points and toilets. There are guidelines for deciding how many taps are
needed and where they need to be so that nobody has to walk long distances or
queue for hours.
Queuing for drinking water after
flooding in Pakistan in 2010
The situation
There has been a major earthquake, and a temporary camp for 2,500 people
has been set up. Adequate supplies of water for the number of people are
delivered to the camp storage tanks, but pipes and taps need to be connected
so that everyone has access to a water supply point, and the supply must meet
the guidelines for queueing times. Your team has to organise temporary water
supply points for everyone in the camp.

The challenge
Produce an initial report identifying how many supply points (taps)
are likely to needed, and how the supply rate at each tap could affect
queueing times.

About this activity

Use the information in Student activity 3E support: Facts and figures.

In this activity you are modelling a real life situation, and to do this you may
need to make some simplifying assumptions. Your report must make it clear
how you obtained any values, so identify any equations or starting information
you used and any assumptions you made.

THINKING LIKE AN ENGINEER

If you are solving problems creatively, you are

thinking like an engineer! What skills did you use to
help you carry out this challenge?

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 35
 NOTES FOR STEM LEADER
Suggested time: 20–30 minutes
Support sheets available for this activity

Q Student activity 3E support: Taps and waiting time

Q Student activity 3E support: Facts and figures

Setting the scene

Start by bringing out one or two containers filled with water (preferably 10
litres, but smaller ones will do). Get one or two of the students to try lifting
one of the containers and carrying it across the classroom. (CARE NEEDED
WHEN LIFTING AND CARRYING HEAVY OBJECTS!) How easy/hard was it?
How would you feel about carrying it to the other end of the school site?
Several times a day?

How long do you think it would take to fill this?

Show some images of people getting water from stand pipes in different
situations. At least one of them should show people queueing. Have you
had to do this (e.g. at a camp site, or after a burst pipe or other temporary
disruption to the normal supply)? How long did you have to wait?

(See Useful sources of information.)

Carrying out the challenge

This activity offers an opportunity for students to produce a short report
based on a series of relatively simple calculations and/or estimations. In
producing the report, there are opportunities for students to produce
generalised equations and to explore the consequences of setting
different values. Students will need to decide what they need to find out,
and divide up the tasks between different members of the group.

Student activity 3E support: Taps and waiting time takes students through
some of the estimations they may need to carry out.

Suggested answers for ‘Taps and waiting time’ support sheet

1. The amount of water of water needed per person per day just for
drinking and food preparation = 5 litres. Allowing extra for personal
hygiene, the total amount could be around 15 litres per person.

“I was trained as a civil engineer but have always

had an interest in water (hydro-power, dams, river
engineering, etc.). Later, I developed an interest in
water supplies for industry and for people which led to
my joining UNICEF. With UNICEF, I became interested in
the health benefits of water supply and sanitation, and
how people behave with the facilities which we were
trying to give them.”
Kenneth Gibbs, water supply and
sanitation engineer

36 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Problem solving activities: solving longer-term problems

Shutterstock.com
2. The amount of water needed by a family of four = (4 x answer to
question 1) litres.

3. Based on a guideline of 250 people per tap, a temporary camp of

2500 people would need at least 10 taps.

4. At a supply rate of 7.5 L/min, if each person uses 7.5 L per day then
each tap would need to provide 250 x 7.5 = 1,875 litres and it would
take a minimum of 250 minutes to provide this.

5. If each person uses 15 litres a day the total supply needed from
each tap would be 3,750 litres and it would take a minimum of 500
minutes to provide this.

6. If each household has a 20-litre storage container and a 10-litre

carrying container, it will need (answer to q2)/ 10 journeys to
collect enough water for the family for 1 day just for drinking
and cooking.

7. If the tap delivers water at a rate of 5 L/min, it will take 2 minutes to

fill the container;

8. If the tap delivers water at a rate of 10 L/min, it will take 1 minute to

fill the container;

9. If the tap delivers water at a rate of n L/min, it will take 10/n minutes
to fill the container.

10. At 5 L/min, if there are 5 people in the queue it will take 10 minutes
for all of them to fill their container;

11. At 5 L/min, if there are 10 people in the queue it will take 20 minutes
for all of them to fill their container;

12. At V L/min, if there are n people in the queue it will take at least
10n/V minutes for all of them to fill their container.

13. If there are typically 10 people ahead of you in the queue when you
join it, it will take at least (10 x 10)/V minutes to get to the tap each
time you join the queue.

14. If you have to walk 200 m to the tap, walking there and back each
time at a rate of 1 m/s will take 400 s, or approximately 7 minutes .

15. The amount of time spent in getting water for a family each day
would be (number of journeys) x (walking time there and back +
queueing time for each journey).

16. If nobody should queue for more than 30 minutes, the maximum
number of people ahead of them in the queue should be 30/(time
for each person to fill their container).

Going further
The activity could be extended to allow students to make further
adaptations to the site plans they constructed for Activity 2C.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 37
4. Presentation activity:
How do engineers save lives?
Student activity
Use the information and ideas that you have gathered from the
introductory activities and the problem solving activities to present your
answer to the big question: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath
of a natural disaster?

Presentation specification
The presentation must:

Q include a supported answer to the ‘big question’, ‘How do engineers save

lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? ’

Q Include examples of problems experienced by the survivors of a natural

disaster and how engineers help to solve them.

The presentation could:

Q refer to identified events, such as the superstorm that affected New York in
2012, the earthquake and tsunami that affected the Tohoku region of Japan
in March 2011, or the earthquake that hit Haiti in 2010

Q include relevant information about particular natural disasters and relief

efforts

Q include relevant information from internet-based research, identifying the

source of the information

Q identify specific examples of the contributions made by one or more types

of engineer

Q describe one or more of the challenges you worked on, and what you
learned from them about the role of engineers

Q explain the relevant science, technology or mathematics knowledge you

used for a problem-solving activity.

The presentation could take a number of forms and could include:

Q text
Q photographs
Q diagrams
Q charts
Q data.

38 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Presentation activity: How do engineers save lives?

NOTES FOR STEM LEADER

60
Suggested time: 60 minutes
Support sheets available for this activity
Q Student activity 4 support: Prompt sheet

The presentation is an opportunity for students to draw on all the

information and insights they have gathered and for members of each
group to work cooperatively to produce the presentation.
It is important for each group of students to have the opportunity to
present their work to other groups. There should also be an opportunity
for all students to contribute to this process.
The presentation produced by a single group might be a poster, or a talk
supported by images and data. Where time and resources allow, it might
be a short video presentation, a PowerPoint presentation or a Prezi
presentation (see www.prezi.com).
The content of individual presentations will very much depend on which
challenges the students have taken part in but the overall message that
students should take away is that:
Q Engineers save lives after a natural disaster.

Q Engineers draw on scientific, technological and mathematical

knowledge and skills to solve problems for people.
Q They need to understand people as well as technology.

Q They also need to be observant, creative, resourceful and able to work

in teams.
Q Some of the activities that will save lives after a disaster will have
been carried out long before a disaster strikes.
Q Engineers review what they have learned from a disaster to try and
produce a better solution in future.
SODIS/Eawag

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 39
Disaster recovery
STEM challenge day resource
Preparation
The lead teacher will need to complete the following tasks prior to
the STEM day:

Q Organise students into groups of four.

Q Select which activities will be offered.
Q Ensure all the materials and equipment needed are available.
Q Book rooms for each of the chosen activities.
Q Make copies for the students of all relevant printed materials.

MATERIALS AND EQUIPMENT SUPPLIER

Audacity sound editing software Downloadable from

www.audacity.sourceforge.net/

constructostraws Cochrane’s of Oxford [email protected]

corriflute Mindsets
www.mindsetsonline.co.uk
fabrics, e.g. unbleached cotton,
nylon
UV beads

10-litre water container with tap DIY suppliers, camping equipment suppliers

Some selection of activities will be necessary as there are more activities in this
scheme of work than could be used in a single 8.30 am to 3.00 pm STEM day
that includes a 20 minute morning break and a 40 minute lunch break.

The following page shows are some models that you might adapt.

40 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Disaster recovery STEM challenge day resource

Model 1: Model 2: Model 3:

Whole day, focus on immediate Whole day, focus on ‘Shelter’ theme Whole day, focus on ‘Water supply’
problems theme

Introductory activities: Introductory activities : Introductory activities :

Activity 1A: How much warning? Activity 1A: How much warning? Activity 1B: Aftermath
Activity 1B: Aftermath Activity 1B: Aftermath

Activity 2: 1 or 2 from Activity 2: 1 or 2 from Activity 2:

Activity 2A: Emergency shelter Activity 2A: Emergency shelter Activity 2C: Tents, water and toilets!
Activity 2B: What makes a good shelter? Activity 2B: What makes a good shelter?
Activity 2C: Tents, water and toilets! Activity 2C: Tents, water and toilets!

Activity 3: Activity 3: 1 or 2 from

Activity 3A: Peace and quiet? Activity 3B: Clean water?
Activity 3C: The right size of filter
Activity 3D: Solar disinfection
Activity 3E: Taps and waiting time

Activity 4: presentation Activity 4: presentation Activity 4: presentation

Model 4: Model 5:
Whole day, with a focus on maths- Whole day, with a focus on science
based activities and technology-based activities

Introductory activities : Introductory activities :

Activity 1A: How much warning? Activity 1A: How much warning?
Activity 1B: Aftermath

Activity 2: Activity 2:
Activity 2A: Emergency shelter Activity 2B: What makes a good shelter?
Activity 2C: Tents, water and toilets!

Activity 3: Activity 3: 1 or 2 from

Activity 3C: The right size of filter Activity 3A: Peace and quiet?
Activity 3E: Taps and waiting time Activity 3B: Clean water?
Activity 3D: Solar disinfection

Activity 4: presentation Activity 4: presentation

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 41
42
RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

10 minutes Introduction STEM day Presentation about the challenge, including Classroom or hall Awareness of the range of
Teacher lead teacher slides, video clips. with projector or natural disasters and their
IWB facilities. impact.
Introduces the day’s challenge.
Introduces the context using short Note: One or more of the slides could be world
presentations of slides and video clips to maps for students to identify locations.
remind students of what is meant by the
Overview of activities

term ‘natural disaster’.

Royal Academy of Engineering

Students
Locate some of the most recent examples
on a world map.

10 minutes Introductory activity STEM day Student activity sheets: Classroom or hall Awareness of the range of
Activity 1A: How much warning? lead teacher with projector or natural disasters and their
Student activity 1A: How much warning?
IWB facilities. impact.
Teacher
Calculators
Sets each of the tasks sets a time limit Students support sheets:
for groups to work on them and draws A sense of the speed of some
together ideas in rapid plenary . Student activity 1A support: Disaster card sort natural phenomena.
Students
Carry out the card sort. Calculate answers Simple calculations using a
to the questions in ‘ How much warning?’. formula.

20 minutes Activity 1B: Aftermath STEM day Presentation still available for reference or Classroom, or hall Identifying relevant problems:
Teacher lead teacher further discussion. with tables. relating the physical effects
of a natural disaster to human
Introduces activity: Aftermath: What kinds Optional: additional extracts from articles, from
needs.
of problems face survivors after a natural news or rescue agencies.
disaster? What might engineers do to help? Paper for writing ideas on.
Refers to the introductory presentation.
Distributes any additional resources and Student activity sheets:
manages for timing. Student activity 1B: Aftermath
Directs students’ attention where they
Student support sheets:
need help, but without ‘giving them the
answers’. n/a
Students
Identify some of the problems facing
survivors. Students may suggest where/
how engineers might be involved.
 RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

60–90 2. Problem solving activities: Maths Large tape measure (several metres long) Sports hall, then Working as part of a team
minutes Solving immediate problems specialist or ultrasound distance meter for measuring a classroom with
Converting lengths in metres to
sports hall tables/benches
Activity 2A: Emergency shelter (Using equivalent in cm and vice versa.
large enough for
the sports hall as an emergency shelter Tape measure for other objects
group work with Producing scale diagrams
after flooding)
Old clean sheet to lay on floor to place sleeping A3 paper plans.
Calculating areas and numbers
Teacher bags and other belongings on
(Optional: room of people
Manages the survey of the sports hall and Sleeping bag – adult and child versions with access to
Recording each part of the
then manages resources and timing of computers for
Pillow process
investigation phase. each group)
Rucksack or suitcase Estimating values
Manages timing of presentations and leads
any subsequent discussions. Sheet of A3 paper for each group Trialling and evaluating
different solutions to a problem;
Students Squared paper for creating templates
improving solutions to a problem
Use scale drawings and tessellations to Rulers
explore how they could provide overnight
Scissors
accommodation in the sports hall.
Additional paper or card
Give brief oral presentation to other groups.
'Blu-tack' or similar for holding paper pieces in
place on plan
Calculators
Student activity sheets:
Student activity 2A: Emergency shelter
Student support sheets:
Student activity 2A support: Emergency
shelter
Student activity 2A support: Scale plans
Student activity 2A support: Tessellation

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster?
43
Disaster recovery STEM challenge day resource
44
RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

120 minutes 2. Problem solving activities: Solving Design and PowerPoint presentation of shelter solutions. Laboratory Working as part of a team
immediate problems technology or workshop
For model performance tests: Constructing models from
specialist, with computer,
Activity 2B: What makes a good templates
science projector and
shelter? Q materials to create scale models of
specialist whiteboard Designing and constructing
shelters, such as corriflute, cardboard,
constructostraws, plastic sheet, bubble models with a common base size
Teacher
wrap, cotton fabric or nylon fabric Carrying out standardised tests
Presents images of different shelter to compare the performance of
Q rulers
solutions, plus basic information about the different shelter solutions

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materials they are made from. Q scissors (NB These will need to be sharp,
‘heavy duty’ scissors designed for cutting Recording what has been
Demonstrates relevant testing sheet material) done and what the relevant
arrangements outcomes were.
Q cutting boards (to protect benches during
Manages resources and timing. construction!) Comparing and evaluating
different solutions
Q top pan balance
Manages timing of presentations and leads
any subsequent discussions. Q beakers of hot water

Students Q thermometers or temperature sensors and

datalogging equipment
Build and evaluate two scale models
in terms of mass of materials used and Student activity sheets:
thermal properties. Student activity 2B: What makes a good
Give brief oral presentation to other groups. shelter?

Student support sheets:

Student activity 2B support: Model shelters

 RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

90 minutes 2. Problem solving activities: Maths Aerial photos or plans of known scale, printed Classroom (with Relating dimensions on an aerial
Solving immediate problems. specialist on A4 paper computers if photograph to dimensions of
students are to real objects
Activity 2C: Tents, water and toilets! Highlighter pens or felt pens for marking out
create PowerPoint
(Using a local open space as a temporary the useable area of the open space. Estimating and calculating
presentations or
camp) various quantities
Pencils and rulers for carrying out the area use spreadsheets)
estimation. Using labelled sketches or
Teacher
diagrams to make assumptions
Additional information sheets and
Introduces scenario, provides image; explicit
support sheets
manages resources and timing of Carrying out repeated
investigative phase. A4 plain for sketching out ideas. If students are
calculations, spotting patterns
trying out ideas using scale plans on paper or
in data
Manages timing of discussions and cut-out shapes:
presentations. Using a spreadsheet if
Q Squared paper
available to carry out repeated
Students Q Scissors calculations as above , and to
test out a model
Carry out tasks to determine how many Student activity sheets:
people might be accommodated in tents Evaluating and revising solutions
and what their likely needs would be for Student activity 2C: Tents, water and toilets! in response to additional
drinking water and for toilets. Produce information
increasingly improved solutions. Student support sheets:
Compare solutions with real life
Give brief oral presentation to other groups. Student activity 2C support: Facts and figures situations and practicalities.

Student activity 2C support: Estimating

capacity

Additional resources (downloadable

from www.raeng.org.uk/disaster-
response)

Excel spreadsheet: Site capacity estimations

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster?
45
Disaster recovery STEM challenge day resource
46
RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

90 minutes Activity 3: Solving longer-term Science PowerPoint presentation of some ‘real life’ Laboratory Absorption and reflection of
problems specialist/ screening solutions for plenary discussion or workshop sound by surfaces
Design and with computer,
3A: Peace and quiet? ‘Standard’ sound source, eg a recorded sound Carrying out standardised tests
technology projector and
to compare the performance of
specialist whiteboard,
Improving shelter conditions. Evaluating Two long cardboard tubes (eg for wrapping different solutions
plus computers
screening arrangements to improve privacy paper) plus clamps, bosses and stands to hold
running digital Recording what has been done
and reduce noise them in position
oscilloscope or and what the relevant outcomes
Teacher Sound meters, or sound sensors (or sound editing were.

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microphones) connected to computers with software
Comparing and evaluating
Introduces the challenge, provides sound editing software, or microphones and (optional)
different solutions
materials for students to trial digital oscilloscopes
Compare solutions with real life
Students Rulers situations and practicalities.
Test chosen screen materials for Materials to create prototype screens for
acoustic properties. testing, eg sheets of cardboard, metal, paper,
plywood, cloth, plus materials for support
such as clamps, bosses and stands, dowel or
other rods. (see STEM leader notes on this
activity)

Student activity sheets:

Student activity 3A: Peace and quiet?

Student support sheets:

Student activity 3A support: Sound test

 RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

60–90 Activity 3: Solving longer-term Science PowerPoint presentation of some ‘real life’ Laboratory or Carrying out standardised tests
minutes problems specialist/ solutions for plenary discussion workshop with to compare the performance of
Design and sinks different solutions
3B: Clean water? For each set of four filters to be tested:
technology
specialist Q 4 x fizzy drinks bottles (2-litre or 1.5-litre),
Recording what has been
Teacher done and what the relevant
each with base cut off and 4 x 2 mm holes
drilled in the cap outcomes were
Introduces the challenge, supervises the
construction and testing of filters Q 4 x stands, each with 2 x bosses and Comparing and evaluating
clamps to support each filter different solutions
Students
Q supply of clean collecting containers (eg Comparing solutions with real
Construct filters and evaluate four different small plastic beakers or drinks cups) for life situations and practicalities.
filter media each filter in use at the same time
Q 4 x plastic equipment trays (or washing-
up bowls) to stand the filter and collecting
container in
Q supply of standard mix muddy water in a
container with a variable flow tap
Q gaffer tape and scissors (additional
support to hold the filter in place)
Q scrap A4 card or paper (to use as funnels
for pouring sand/gravel into the filter
bottles)
Q paper towels/mopping-up cloths .
(see STEM leader notes for this activity)
Student activity sheets:
Student activity 3B: Clean water?
Student support sheets:
Student activity 3B support: Setting up
the filters
Student activity 3B support: A biosand filter

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster?
47
Disaster recovery STEM challenge day resource
48
RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

20–30 Activity 3: Solving longer-term Maths Calculators and paper Classroom Identifying steps to a solution
minutes problems specialist
Student activity sheets: Calculating values using a
3C: The right size of filter formula
Student activity 3C: The right size of filter
Making decisions about best
Teacher
Student support sheets: values to use
Introduces challenge, manages plenary
n/a
discussion

Royal Academy of Engineering

Students

Carry out calculations then use these

values obtained to identify the best
solution.

60 minutes Activity 3: Solving longer-term Science Student activity sheets: Laboratory, with Behaviour of a smart material
problems specialist access to direct (UV beads)
Student activity 3D: Solar disinfection sunshine via open
3D: Solar disinfection Carrying out standardised tests
window or going
Student support sheets: to compare the performance of
outside
Teacher different solutions
n/a
Introduces challenge; manages practical Recording what has been
Clean, empty water bottles / fizzy drinks done and what the relevant
investigation; manages plenary discussion
bottles with caps: a selection from 0.5-litre outcomes were.
Students 1-litre, 1.5-litre, 2-litre, with at least two of
each size used Comparing and evaluating
Investigate the effectiveness of different different solutions
containers and arrangements; provide UV-sensitive beads (all the same colour)
Compare solutions with real life
brief report. situations and practicalities.
Adhesive putty, eg 'Blu-tack'

Resealable clear plastic food bags (optional)

Aluminium foil or other reflective material

Thermometers
 RELEVANT STEM SUBJECT
KNOWLEDGE and
TIME STUDENT/TEACHER ACTIVITY STAFFING EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS AND RESOURCES ROOMING ENGINEERING SKILLS

20–30 Activity 3: Solving longer term Maths Calculators Classroom Number work: calculations and
minutes problems specialist estimations
Paper for report
3E: Taps and waiting time Identifying and using a simple
Water container(s) of known volume, filled
formula
with water: ideally 10-litre containers, but
Teacher
smaller containers would still be OK Producing a written report
Sets the scene; Sets the challenge Student activity sheets:
manages timing
Student activity 3E: Taps and waiting time
Students
Student support sheets:
Investigate the effect of changing supply Student activity 3E support: Taps and waiting
rate on queue length and waiting times. time
Student activity 3E support: Facts and figures

60 minutes Activity 4: Presentation activity Each group will need: Classroom or Working as part of a team
hall with tables
Presentations: How do engineers save lives Q A3 sheet(s) of paper Evaluation
for students to
in the aftermath of a natural disaster? Q marker pens or thick-nibbed felt pens work on and then Communicating ideas
display posters on.
Teacher Q scissors
Q glue, sellotape or adhesive putty. Classroom with
Provides additional materials. Manages
computers,
timing for production of presentations and
projector and
for sharing of presentations.
Access to computers with software to support whiteboard
Students presentations, such as PowerPoint or Prezi (optional)
(optional)
Collate materials from previous sessions
Access to video camera (optional)
then produce a final poster presentation.

Student activity sheets:

Presentation activity: How do engineers
save lives?
Student support sheets:
Student activity 4: Prompt sheet

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster?
49
Disaster recovery STEM challenge day resource
 Using the activities for CREST Awards

Using the activities for CREST Awards

Using the activities for CREST Awards
CREST is a widely recognised national award scheme for project work in science,
technology, engineering and maths. It is coordinated by the British Science
Association, a charity which exists to advance the understanding, accessibility
and accountability of the sciences and engineering. Accredited
Scheme
A CREST Bronze Award requires roughly 10 hours’ work on a project. By carrying
out several of the challenges, along with the plenary activity, it is likely students
could fulfil the award requirements. Some students doing longer, more detailed
projects may even consider working towards a CREST Silver Award.

Why link to CREST?

Q It’s a way for students' work to receive a national accreditation - a Bronze
CREST Award is a significant achievement.
Q It provides evidence of problem-solving skills and motivates students to go
on to CREST at Silver and Gold level.
Q CREST is recognised by UCAS as an indicator of relevant skills and
achievements supporting university applications and it can also form part of
your students' progress files.
Q It motivates students of all ages and abilities.
Q It develops students’ understanding of 'how science works', preparing them
for GCSE studies.
Q It helps students to evaluate and conclude their own merits and
achievements based on their own experiences.

The activities in this resource provide students with

opportunities to meet the CREST Award criteria by:
Q applying their scientific, technological and mathematical knowledge and
skills in a real world context
Q demonstrating creativity and innovation
Q considering how the work of engineers contributes to the quality of
people’s lives
Q communicating their work to others.

The challenges described in the student activities booklet provide initial

contextual information and set the challenge. Teachers can choose whether or
not to provide the relevant support materials that offer more detailed advice on
how to carry out a particular challenge. Where time allows, several challenges
also offer opportunities for more extended work.

To find out how to register your students for an award, or to find

out details of your CREST Local Coordinator, visit the CREST website
at www.britishscienceassociation.org/crest
or email [email protected]

50 Royal Academy of Engineering

 Useful sources of information

Useful sources of information

You can download a pdf version of the teacher and student booklets for this
resource from the Royal Academy of Engineering website, at www.raeng.org.
uk/education/eenp/engineering_resources/default.htm. There is also a
downloadable spreadsheet to support Student activity 2C.

The following websites provide useful background

information to support the activities.
Appropedia: www.appropedia.org/ Portal for ‘appropriate technology’
solutions.

Design 4Disaster: www.design4disaster.org/ Provides information on

creative solutions to the problems caused by disasters.

Shigeru Ban www.shigerubanarchitects.com/ Architect’s website with

information on disaster relief projects and paper tube structures.

Hexayurt Project: www.hexayurt.com/ Information on construction

techniques, examples of where hexayurts have been used.

Engineers Without Borders: www.ewb-uk.org/ International development

organisation.

Practical Action: www.practicalaction.org/ International development

organisation.

RedR: www.redr.org.uk/ Organisation providing ‘People and skills for

disaster relief’.

Sphere Handbook: www.spherehandbook.org/ Sphere project reference

publication, detailing universal minimum standards for humanitarian response
after disasters.

CAWST (Centre for Affordable Waste and Sanitation Technology):

www.cawst.org/index.php For information on biosand filters.

SODIS: www.sodis.ch/index_EN Information on the SODIS process and how it

is used.

National STEM centre e-library: www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/elibrary/

Holds a large range of resources, e.g. Catalyst article ‘Solar disinfection of
drinking water ’, by Kevin McGuigan, at www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/
elibrary/resource/7676/solar-disinfection-of-drinking-water

Also useful:
Aid organisation websites: WHO, Oxfam, UNICEF, ShelterBox, International
Red Cross.

Online media report websites e.g. BBC news, the Guardian.

Disaster response: How do engineers save lives in the aftermath of a natural disaster? 51
As the UK’s national academy for engineering, we bring
together the most successful and talented engineers from across
the engineering sectors for a shared purpose: to advance and
promote excellence in engineering. We provide analysis and policy
support to promote the UK’s role as a great place from which to do
business. We take a lead on engineering education and we invest in
the UK’s world class research base to underpin innovation. We work
to improve public awareness and understanding of engineering.
We are a national academy with a global outlook and use our
international partnerships to ensure that the UK benefits from
international networks, expertise and investment.
The Academy’s work programmes are driven by four strategic
challenges, each of which provides a key contribution to a strong
and vibrant engineering sector and to the health and wealth
of society:

Drive faster and more balanced economic growth

Foster better education and skills
Lead the profession
Promote engineering at the heart of society

Royal Academy of Engineering

Prince Philip House, 3 Carlton House Terrace, London SW1Y 5DG
Tel: +44 (0)20 7766 0600
www.raeng.org.uk
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