C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Name _______________________________________________________

Project Challenge
Design packaging for their newest project:
*Package must keep the product cool
*Package must also prevent the product from damage during shipping
*Package must be made from recycled materials to promote the green company values

Driving Question
Which structure and materials can be used to create an insulated package to keep the
product from the transfer of thermal energy?

Brainstorm
What characteristics would make the perfect Package? Discuss with your team and
record ideas below.

Research
Read the information about insulators.

1. Based on the lab you did on thermal energy conduction and the reading, which
materials make the best insulators? (Reading on the next page)

___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________

2. Brainstorm a list of safe, household materials you could use to keep the temperature
of a liquid constant for a sustained amount of time.

Insulators:
 C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Materials that prevent heat from passing through them are called
thermal insulators. A good thermal insulator will keep cold objects cold for a
long time, and hot objects hot. Wood, plastic, and many fabrics, such as wool
and cotton, are good thermal insulators. Thermal insulators are good materials
for keeping people warm. Clothing, carpets, and curtains are examples of
everyday thermal insulators.

Thermal insulation consists of materials that conduct heat poorly. There is no

perfect insulator, but a thin layer of air resists the flow of heat about 15,000
times better than a good metallic conductor of the same thickness. Many good
insulators are made of nonmetallic materials filled with tiny air spaces. These air
pockets must be small, less than about 1/4 inch (0.6 centimeter).

Insulators that combine nonmetallic materials with air spaces include

magnesium carbonate, cork, felt, fiberglass, rock wool, and foamed plastics.
Small air pockets may also be used effectively in insulating building materials.
Hollow glass bricks and partially hollow concrete tile are good examples.
Insulating windows consist of two or three glass panels with a thin air space
between them to reduce the heat loss from a building. At high temperatures.
Asbestos, which was once widely employed for industrial applications, has been
banned in the United States since 1978 because of the possible health hazard
of inhaling asbestos fibers.

Moisture reduces the performance of air-filled insulators. Thus the insulating

properties of dry wool clothing or fur, which are largely a result of the air
entrapped between fibers, are reduced markedly when the material becomes
wet.

Super insulation is a term applied to special insulating blankets developed for

spaceflight in which external temperatures approach absolute zero (–459.67° F,
or –273.15° C) and people and equipment must be shielded from radiation heat
loss to space. The blankets consist of multiple sheets (about 50 to 100 layers
per inch) of aluminized Mylar. The sheets are about 0.002 inch (0.05 millimeter)
thick and separated by thin spacers.

Source: http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/article-202732/insulation
 C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Criteria

Criteria Self Teacher

check check
Must be able to keep a substance’s temperature the same for
an extended period (10 minutes)

Contain the Basic Attributes of an insulator

Aesthetically Pleasing and Appealing to your Audience

Environmentally Friendly

Constraints

● Must be made of household materials

● You cannot use materials that are deemed hazardous by the Science
Department
● Make it environmentally friendly
● Make it Appealing to your audience
● Safety constraints to consider
include:__________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3 Questions to Ask C-Care:

1. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
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 C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Day 2:

Which materials will you use:

____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
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Design Plan
Use the space below to sketch or write your design ideas. Be sure to include the
materials you will use. Label the parts of your design:

Assign Jobs:
 C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Leader:_________________

Materials Manager: _______________________

Safety Director: ___________________________

Explain how you will market your device to C-Care: What attributes will your
product have that will make C-Care pick your package:

______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

What Materials will you need to bring from home:

______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
_______________________________
______________________________

Build Day will be Thursday: Jan. 20th:

Experiment
 C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Select several materials and record their properties in the table below.
You may need to perform experiments to determine the conductivity and
insulating properties of the material.

Property Material: Material: Material: Material:

_________ ________ ________ _______

Thickness
(very thin, thin,
thick, very
thick)
Reflectivity –
does it reflect or
absorb light?
(non-reflective,
somewhat
reflective, very
reflective)
Heat
Conductivity –
does it allow heat
to move through
it easily?
(poor,
moderate,
good)
Insulating ability
– does it prevent
heat from
moving through
it? (poor,
moderate, good)
Environ-mental
impact of
material (high,
med, low)
Cost $-$$$

Should we
use this
material?

Revise Design Plan

If necessary based, upgrade your design plan based on the results of your experiment.
Draw or describe your new design here:
 C-Care Engineering Design Challenge

Construct
Now you may build your design. After you are done building, test your design to see
how well it works at keeping water cold.
Create a data table to record the temperature changes in your package.
C-Care Engineering Design Challenge