Microcontrolled Water Fountain: a Multidisciplinary Project*

Abstract

Water fountains have been used for thousands of years for utilitarian and aesthetic purposes. Fountain design provides an excellent opportunity for multidisciplinary projects for engineering and art students. In this paper, detailed design of an indoor fountain with a special effect feature is presented to exemplify what can be done with fountains in educational settings. Comprising of nine individual jets, the fountain produces letters of the alphabet, simple shapes, and symbols with water jets. A microcontroller is used and programmed to create and sequence through interesting arrangements of water displays. With a total material cost of $550, this design, or variations of it, can be adapted for various implementations in fluid mechanics and engineering design courses. Suggestions for student design projects are made.