HYDROPHOBIC CASING FOR THE USE OF DRONES OVER BODIES OF WATER

Hydrophobic Casing for the use of Drones over Bodies of Water

Drew Zoblisein
Harrison High School
December 2019
 HYDROPHOBIC CASING FOR THE USE OF DRONES OVER BODIES OF WATER

Abstract
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research paper. Then I will CTRL+ENTER to begin a new page for the body of the paper.
 HYDROPHOBIC CASING FOR THE USE OF DRONES OVER BODIES OF WATER

Hydrophobic Casing for the use of Drones over Bodies of Water

I want to see if I can make a thin hydrophobic casing that can fit inside of typical high-end
drones such as the DJI Mavic 2 Pro and the Ryze Tello. The thin casing can be cast to the inside
of the drone with a mixture of hydrophobic silica and clay/epoxy. This casing needs to be
lightweight and also be weighted even so as not to interfere with the flight of the drone. The end
goal for this product is to reduce the chances of the expensive computers inside being shorted out
by short term water exposure. The reason why I want this to be hydrophobic is so that the casing
will “dry” off immediately.

Literature Review
There are multiple practicalities for hydrophobic silica. It can prevent corrosion, electric
conductivity, and water from touching unwanted surfaces. All of the studies consulted for this
product use some sort of organoalkoxysilanes, a type of hydrophobic group bonded to the silicon
dioxide to make hydrophobic silica. All of the studies used also use particles that are no more
than 60nm in diameter.
Some discrepancies in the studies that I looked at regard the type of hydrophobic group used, or
whether or not hydrophobic silica can conduct electricity. One study, “Study of Water
Repellency of the Modified Silica Films using Different Organoalkoxylsilanes.” Says that the
removal of hydrogen from their hexamethylthyldisilzanes and trimethylchlorosaline groups
increased the hydrophobicity. No other study mentioned the removal of hydrogen from those
groups or even mentioned those groups. Out of all the studies I looked at, one mentioned the
possible conductivity of hydrophobic silica. The study, “Mechanical and Dielectric Properties of
Polymiede/Silica Nanocomposite Films” says that after the nano silica content of an object
reaches 4%, peak conductivity is reached, after that, it starts to break down and insulate
electricity.
The purpose of this lit review was to research the properties of hydrophobic silica and to make
sure that it is the best possible hydrophobic substance that could be used for this project. The
effectiveness of this silica is important but not very important for a project like this since it is on
a macroscopic and not industrial/agricultural purpose. The most effective particle size that is
commercially available is 16 nano meters.

Method
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Data Analysis
 HYDROPHOBIC CASING FOR THE USE OF DRONES OVER BODIES OF WATER

The centered title Data Analysis is bolded. I will type my data analysis here after I conduct
research.

Discussion
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CTRL+ENTER to begin a new page for the References section.
 HYDROPHOBIC CASING FOR THE USE OF DRONES OVER BODIES OF WATER

References
1. Study of the water repellency of the modified silica films using different ...: EBSCOhost. (n.d.).
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2. Effect of silica particles on stability of highly concentrated water-in-oil...: EBSCOhost. (n.d.). Retrieved
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3. Mechanical and dielectric properties of polyimide/silica nanocomposite film...: EBSCOhost. (n.d.).

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4. Shielding of metals from the corrosion induced by water and humidity by usi...: EBSCOhost. (n.d.).
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5. On the surface roughness and hydrophobicity of dual-size double-layer silic...: EBSCOhost. (n.d.).
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