Magma Militia wins eCYBERMISSION Grade 9 Northwest Region

Magma Militia


Elmira High School; Veneta, Ore.
Team Members: Tucker Barnes, Tristan Cornelius, Steven Parker, Connor Schauer and Scottie Barnes (Team Advisor)

“Magma Militia” designed a system to harness geothermal energy, which could provide a reliable source of green power and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, as well as CO2 emissions. The team built and tested reiterative models of the Heat Reaper— a closed, dynamic fluid system in which a liquid medium flows through underground piping to actively extract heat from hot dry rock and transfers it to an exchanger above grade level. The team’s final design involved two coils engineered to maximize dwell time, a fuel pump to circulate the liquid and a series of valves to compartmentalize the design. The students tested four mediums (water, ethylene glycol, polyalphaolefin, and a water/ethylene glycol blend) to determine which transferred the most heat. They found water to be most effective. The team envisions the Heat Reaper being able to power a home, village, or city and even being used on a global scale.

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