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Crimesolver wrote:

CPScienceDude wrote:

Crimesolver wrote:any tips on getting my k constant lower. I didn't really focus on the build until now, and I realized how terrible my box is at retaining heat lol. I don't really want to build a whole new box, so is there any materials I can add to the box to help it retain heat better?
edit - i use that purple foam stuff and balsa wood

A - Wood isnt the best, try replacing it with styrofoam
B - More layers are better than less.
More info on how your box was built could help me get a better understanding on how it could be improved, though.

The whole interior is just foam. I used really thick foam and used 3 layers of it and stuck it together. 1/4 in of balsa wood is used on the outside so that when the proctors measure our device, there won't be some foam just sticking out to get us disqualified.

What kind of foam? Different foams have different R-values.

UTF-8 U+6211 U+662F wrote:

Crimesolver wrote:

CPScienceDude wrote: A - Wood isnt the best, try replacing it with styrofoam
B - More layers are better than less.
More info on how your box was built could help me get a better understanding on how it could be improved, though.

The whole interior is just foam. I used really thick foam and used 3 layers of it and stuck it together. 1/4 in of balsa wood is used on the outside so that when the proctors measure our device, there won't be some foam just sticking out to get us disqualified.

What kind of foam? Different foams have different R-values.

I think it's 5?

Fairly certain hes describing XPS

I just had an idea. What if I stuck a piece of XPS foam into a space saver vacuum bag. Would that be a homemade VIP? How well would it work? Ahhhhh so many questions!

CPScienceDude wrote:I just had an idea. What if I stuck a piece of XPS foam into a space saver vacuum bag. Would that be a homemade VIP? How well would it work? Ahhhhh so many questions!

oh my gosh that's a genius idea. I should just stick my cube into a vacuum bag.

Im new to thermo this year, its my first year and we did pretty badly in invitationals...

so we are going to rebuild our build. i have a few questions:

1. is XPS foam allowed? which one is better, EPS or XPS?

2. should we use foil? is it going to actually help reflect the heat?

3. what types of graphs should we make? we did a time vs. temp one, but is there any other graphs we could make?

4. is aerogel allowed this year? should i use the aerogel blanket, is that the best?

thanks in advance...

SC4LIFE wrote:Im new to thermo this year, its my first year and we did pretty badly in invitationals...

so we are going to rebuild our build. i have a few questions:

1. is XPS foam allowed? which one is better, EPS or XPS?

2. should we use foil? is it going to actually help reflect the heat?

3. what types of graphs should we make? we did a time vs. temp one, but is there any other graphs we could make?

4. is aerogel allowed this year? should i use the aerogel blanket, is that the best?

thanks in advance...

XPS is allowed, and personally, I like XPS better
From testing my device, foil does help with an added 2 degrees (about)
Temp vs time is the best
Yup, just make sure there is no fiberglass in it. And, I honestly have no idea what aerogel products are good, as I have not done any research.

CPScienceDude wrote:

SC4LIFE wrote:Im new to thermo this year, its my first year and we did pretty badly in invitationals...

so we are going to rebuild our build. i have a few questions:

1. is XPS foam allowed? which one is better, EPS or XPS?

2. should we use foil? is it going to actually help reflect the heat?

3. what types of graphs should we make? we did a time vs. temp one, but is there any other graphs we could make?

4. is aerogel allowed this year? should i use the aerogel blanket, is that the best?

thanks in advance...

XPS is allowed, and personally, I like XPS better
From testing my device, foil does help with an added 2 degrees (about)
Temp vs time is the best
Yup, just make sure there is no fiberglass in it. And, I honestly have no idea what aerogel products are good, as I have not done any research.

Thanks! also i used balsa wood, for the outside, should i keep using that? is that good, or should i do another type of wood?

also we tried to make a vacuum with plexiglass between the wood and plexiglass and closed it off with tape, should we keep doing that or is that a bad idea? it wasnt very efficient...

thanks in advance!

I noticed during testing that humidity might be a factor for some of the inconsistent numbers I was getting. Is this true and how big of can humidity be?

someone1580 wrote:I noticed during testing that humidity might be a factor for some of the inconsistent numbers I was getting. Is this true and how big of can humidity be?

The humidity could be affecting the materials that you use.