NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

Cabanatuan City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Project Report:

DESIGN OF AN IMPROVISED
SEISMOGRAPH

Prepared by:

BSCE 5 - D

GROUP NO. 2

Pascual, Leidel A.

Cabute, Jemuel C.

Soriano, Mark Kervin C.

Dorado, John Paul A.

Madrid, Jhesa

Valmonte, John Eric DJ.

Torres, Claudine A.

Magbitang, Maria Eloisa B.

 NUEVA ECIJA UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
Cabanatuan City

COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

DESIGN OF AN IMPROVISED
SEISMOGRAPH

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 INTRODUCTION

An earthquake is a sudden shaking movement of the surface of the earth. It is known

as a quake, temblor or tremor. Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that

they cannot be felt to those violent enough to toss people around and destroy whole cities.

The seismicity or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of

earthquakes experienced over a period of time. The effects of an earthquake are terrible and

devastating. Many buildings, hospitals, schools, etc. are destroyed due to it. A lot of people

get killed and injured. Many people lose their money and property. It affects the mental

health and emotional health of people.

Have you ever wondered how scientists study these earth-shaking events? They use

what's called a seismograph, also called a seismometer, seismograph detects, amplifies, and

records earthquakes as well as other ground motion. The word seismograph is often used

synonymously with seismometer, but there is a distinction. The seismometer is the ground-

motion detector part of the seismograph system. The seismometer includes the inertial mass

and the spring, and the seismograph is the entire assembly that also amplifies the slightest

movements in the earth and records the signal.

A modern seismograph can help scientists detect earthquakes and measure several

aspects of the event:

 The time at which the earthquake occurred

 The epicenter, which is the location on the surface of the earth below which the

earthquake occurred

 The depth below the earth's surface at which the earthquake occurred

 The amount of energy released by the earthquake

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 Scientists measure and record this data to learn more about earthquakes, tectonic

plates, and Earth's layers. Earthquakes are difficult to predict, but scientists studying them

hope to use seismographic measurements to be able to make more accurate predictions.

The idea behind a seismograph is fairly simple. A basic seismograph includes a solid

base and a heavy weight suspended from a spring over the base. A pen hangs from the weight

and a rotating drum with paper sits below it on the base. The tip of the pen touches the drum.

When the earth shakes from an earthquake, the drum rotates, and the weighted pen moves

back and forth due to the motion of seismic waves. The pen records the movement on the

drum. The paper recording of an earthquake is called a seismogram.

OBJECTIVES

 To gain information on how a seismograph works, and a better learning on its

importance to our community.

 To understand its importance through the manifestation of the actual movement

produced by ground motions through recording analysis

 To provide an economical tool that gives the same accurate findings when an

earthquake occurs.

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 PROJECT DESIGN

Proposed Design

Our group come up to a design similar to a real seismograph which detects, amplifies,

and records earthquakes as well as other ground motion. Although this model detects and

records movement, it won’t amplify the signal as a sophisticated instrument does. See

page___ for the detailed plan.

Out of available scrap materials that can be found at home, the group manage to

construct a working improvised seismograph.

Following is the list of materials used with their corresponding specifications in

making the improvised seismograph:

MATERIALS SPECIFICATIONS

Deep Grove Type, 8mm inside diameter

Bearing
and 22 mm outside diameter
Plumb bob 200 grams
Cap hook ½’’
Black screw 2’’
5 x 16 x 3'' bolt and nut
Cap Screw
5 x 16 x 2'' bolt and nut
Spring Spring # 141
Nuts Hex nuts, 8 mm diameter
Washers Flat Washers, Stainless Steel, 8mm
Sandpaper G100, G120
Spray Paint Bosny Metallic Spray No. 351 Gold
Paint Latex Black, White, Red (1/4 Liter)
Thermal Paper Gold Cash Register roll

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Wood Ply board 1'' thick
Kiln Dry 1/2'' x 1'' x 8'
Kiln Dry 1'' x 1 1/2'' x 8'
Kiln Dry 1'' x 2''
Kiln Dry 1/2'' x 2''
Illustration Board 1/8 size
Pencil Monggol Pencil 2B
Battery Eveready 9 Volts
Switch Three way switch
DC Motor 3 Volts
Transistor C2625
Potentiometer 10K Ohm
Wires Single Strand wire

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 SCOPE OF WORKS

Project Statement

Making a seismograph using new and recycled parts that will help students to see how

a seismograph works by earthquake simulation (shaking of the whole base of the

seismograph). The project aims to create an actual improvised seismograph and make the

students learn more about leadership, for this seismograph is a project that needs to be

completed by a whole group and their leader.

A. Architectural Works:

o Aesthetically designing the seismograph and its components to make it

presentable.

o Painting the whole seismograph and its base for a better visual appearance.

B. Structural Works:

o Designing the seismograph in an economical way to lower the cost of the

whole project.

o Cutting and modifying the pieces of wood to its desired shape to form the

arms.

o Connecting the parts of the arms to form the horizontal and vertical arms in

order for the arms the whole system to work.

C. Mechanical Works:

o Installing the bearings on the arm system to provide a wider and freer range of

motion of the arm for better results.

o Usage of nuts and bolts to provide a more steady and rigid system rather than

using wood or other materials.

o Installation of the horizontal and vertical arms using screws for a stronger

resistance to motion.

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 o Using the elastic property of springs and weight of a plumb bob to control the

arm’s position and return it to a neutral position for better results.

D. Electrical Works:

o Installation of switches for both horizontal and vertical paper-roll mechanism.

o Placing dynamos on both sides of the paper-roll mechanism to automatically

distribute paper in a constant speed for better results.

o Using a transistor to manipulate the speed of the dynamos for better paper

distribution.

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 PROJECT BUDGET

This section provides the total expenses defrayed, the quantity of each material

needed and its price per unit.

UNIT PRICE TOTAL

DESCRIPTION QUANTITY UNIT
(₱) (₱)
Bearing 2 pcs 150 300
Plumb bob 2 pcs 50 100
Cap hook 10 pcs 1 10
Black screw 10 pcs 1.5 15
Cap screw - 5/16 x 2'' 2 pcs 14 28
Cap screw - 5/16 x 3'' 2 pcs 5.95 11.9
Spring #141 2 pcs 20 40
Nuts 4 pcs 1 4
Washer 8 pcs 2 16
Sand paper 2 pcs 20 40
Spray paint - gold 1 can 120 120
Latex paint black ¼ Liter 50 50
Latex paint white ¼ Liter 50 50
Latex paint red ¼ Liter 50 50
Thermal paper 1 piece 27 27
Kiln dry 1/2'' x 1'' x 8' 1 piece 64 64
Illustration board 1/8 size 12.75 12.75
Pencil 2 pcs 7 14
Eveready battery 9v 1 piece 80 80
Switch 2 pcs 20 40
Dc motor 3v 2 pcs 40 80
Transistor 1 piece 40 40
Potentiometer 1 piece 15 15
Wires 3 meter 3 9
TOTAL EXPENSES 1216.65
CONTRIBUTION PER MEMBER (8 members) 160

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 CONSTRUCTION METHODOLOGY

The process of preparing and making the seismograph are as follows:

1. Cut 595 mm x 505 mm w/ 1 inch thickness Ply Board for the base of the seismograph.

2. Cut the horizontal arm and its support. 8 x 24 x 300mm for the horizontal arm

providing a notch where the bearing will sit, 2 – 22 x 43 x 132 mm and 9 x 48 x 87

mm for the support.

3. Cut the vertical arm and its support. 8 x 28 x 230 mm for the vertical arm, 36 x 36 x

285 mm for the vertical support providing a lap-notch for the lap connection, 18 x 35

x 290mm for the upper horizontal support, 8 x 28 x 230mm for the lower horizontal

support.

4. Drill the base, arms, support pieces, hooks and pencils to make room for the screws

and bolts.

5. Assemble the supports and fasten the arms.

6. Prepare/Smoothen the pieces by sanding them.

7. Clean/Wipe the pieces and paint them. Let dry.

8. While drying, make the pieces for the paper roll stands, guides and flatform and paint

them as well.

9. Screw down the assembled pieces to the base board.

10. Insert the hooks to the pre-drilled holes in the arms and supports. And attach the

springs.

11. Glue the paper roll assembly to the base board. And install the pencils to the arms of

the vertical and horizontal seismograph.

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SCHEDULE

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 RESULTS

As we operate the Improvised Seismograph, we encounter several problems;

o The dynamotor has low capacity or the voltage is not enough to be used with

the Paper roll to serve as the recorder of the seismograph, so, instead of using

high-voltage dynamotor which is more expensive, we use a manual procedure,

by pulling the recording paper to record the Earthquake.

o It can’t give more accurate findings because the arms are unbalanced when

shaking.

CONCLUSIONS

This project enables us to work in teams to design our own seismograph out of

available materials and crafts. Thus, we arrive in the following conclusions:

o Improvised seismograph detects, amplifies and records earthquakes and other ground

motion.

o Impending dangers, especially like earthquakes cannot be prevented but we can

prepare from it.

o Through seismograph, we can explore how heavy or light an earthquake can have an

impact to the world.

Therefore, seismographs have helped save lives around the world.

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 RECOMMENDATIONS

To help increase the usage of the Improvised Seismograph, the following

recommendations are proposed:

 Use higher voltage of dynamotor to operate it automatically instead of manual

procedures.

 Use mechanical materials for the rigidity and stability of the arm to give more

accurate findings when an earthquake occurs.

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PROGRESS PHOTO

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