The Effect of Different Insulations on the Melting Rate of Ice

Researched by Colin A.
2002-03

PURPOSE

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of different insulative materials on the melting rate of ice. 

I became interested in this idea when I froze my water bottle and put it in an insulative sleeve.  I wondered what would happen if I used different insulations. 

The information gained from this experiment would benefit builders when insulating a new home, companies transporting crude oil through pipelines in the Alaskan tundra, and engineers designing refrigerators. 

HYPOTHESIS

1.  My first hypothesis was that the fiberglass insulation would insulate the best. 

2.  My second hypothesis was that the woodchips would insulate the worst.

I based my first hypothesis on the fact that fiberglass insulation is one of the most widely used insulations.  I based my second hypothesis on the fact that woodchips could easily create small tunnels, allowing air to pass through.

EXPERIMENT DESIGN

The constants in this study were:

  • The Type of liquid (frozen tap water) 
  • The amount of water (250ml.) 
  • The funnel 
  • The measuring device (graduated cylinder) 
  • The freezing time (12 hours)
  • The method for measuring the liquid 
  • The temperature of the air where the experiment is conducted (21 degrees Celsius) 
  • The testing device 
  • The stopwatch 


The manipulated variable was the type of insulation. 

The responding variable was how long it took to melt 100 ml of ice.

To measure the responding variable I used a stopwatch to record time and a graduated cylinder to monitor the amount of melting ice.

MATERIALS
 
QUANTITY ITEM DESCRIPTION
6,000 ml. water
1 18.5 by 24 cm notebook
1 pen
1 100 ml. Graduated Cylinder 
1  3’ X 4’ screen of metal mesh
1 staple gun
5 strip of staples
1 plastic funnel, with small drain tip
3 3" X 2" oval shape cups
6 6’ X 1.5" wood boards
3 6’ X 3" wood boards
1 freezer
1 calculator
1 pair of safety glasses
1 saw
1 drill
30 screws (Phillips)
2 bags of woodchips
1 roll of fiberglass insulation
5oz of packing peanuts
3 1.5 foot X 5" styrofoam boards.

PROCEDURES

Making the cold chamber
1. Cut two pieces of 12" X 1.5" boards. 
2. Cut two pieces of 7.5" X .75" boards
3. Connect boards by drilling in 1 screw to each corner. 
4. Cut eight 6" X 1.2" boards
5. Take two of the 6" X 1.5" and connect them (in an "L" shape) using screws. 
6. Repeat step five 3 more times.
7. Connect the "L" boards to each of the four corners, pointing up, using screws. 
8. Cut four 18" X 3" boards. 
9. take one of the 18" X 3" boards and connect it to the outside of an "L" board, making sure that it touches the tip of the "L" board and goes down. 
10. Repeat step nine 3 more times, using all the 18 inch boards. 
LID 
11. Cut two 6" X 1.5" boards. 
12. Cut two 10.5" X 7.5" boards. 
13. Connect them together in the shape of a rectangle.
14. Cut two 10.5" X 3" boards, and nail them to the short ends of the rectangle   (the most previous one). 
MESH
     15.Cut two 7.5" X 10.5" piece of fine screen. 
A. Staple it to the bottom of the cold chamber. 
 16.Cut a 7.5" X 9" piece of screen (less fine, for support), and staple it to the other side. 
 17.Take another 7.5" X 10.5" piece of fine screen, and staple it over the less fine screen. 
 18. Cut a 2" circle through each screen. 
 19.Take a piece of 2" X 3 1/4 " PVC pipe and stick it through the holes. 
 20.Cut two 6.5" X 8.5" pieces of the less fine screen. 
A. Staple those two pieces to the inside of the cold chamber. 
 21.Cut two 6.5" X 7" pieces of the less fine screen. 
A.  Staple those two pieces to the inside of the cold chamber. 
 22.  Cut two 6.7" X 8.7" pieces of the less fine screen. 
A. Staple those two pieces to the inside of the cold chamber. 
 23.Cut two 7.5" X 6.5" pieces of the less fine screen. 
A. Staple those two pieces to the inside of the cold chamber. 

The Experiment

1. Pour 250 ml of water into a 3" X 2" oval container. 
2. Let it freeze overnight (preferably 12 hours). 
3. Take insulation and put it in-between the mesh. 
4. Take the ice block out and put it into the funnel. 
5. Put on the lid 
6. Start stopwatch. 
7. Once 25 ml has been melted record the time, it took to melt. 
8. Stop and restart the stopwatch as soon as you have recorded the time. 
9. Repeat step 7 until 100 ml has been melted. 
10. Add the total amount of time it took to melt 100 ml. 
11. Repeat step 1-9 two more times. 
a. Record the average for the specific insulation. 
11. Repeat steps 1-11 four times using all the specified insulations.


 

RESULTS

The original purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of different insulative materials on the melting rate of ice.

The results of the experiment were that fiberglass batt insulation was the best insulation.  The results of this experiment also indicate that the packing peanuts were the worst insulation 

See my table and graphs.


 
 

CONCLUSION

My hypothesis was that fiberglass batt insulation would be the best insulation. The results of this experiment indicate that my first hypothesis should be accepted, because fiberglass batts were the best insulation. 

My second hypothesis was that the woodchips would be the worst insulation.
My second hypothesis should be rejected, because the packing peanuts were the worst insulation. 

Because of the results of this experiment, I wonder if conducting the entire test in a warmer place would affect the results.  I also wonder if the shape or mass of the ice might affect the results. 

If I were to conduct this project again I would try to use a more exact measuring instrument than a graduated cylinder.  I would also have two stopwatches to obtain more accurate results.  This would enable me to keep one going while I stop another one, to record the amount of time taken to melt a certain amount of water.  In addition I would test more insulations.


 
 
Research Report

INTRODUCTION 

Without insulation humans would live less comfortable lives.  Insulation is what helps keep temperature inside buildings at an appropriate level.  It helps us conserve on energy needed to heat cool spaces. 

INSULATION
 Insulation’s main purpose is to stop the flow of heat.  This occurs when a certain material has air pockets.  The trapped air is called dead air.  The dead air is a barrier that helps stop the flow of heat.  Stopping this flow can keep heat out or inside a specified area, like a refrigerator or an oven.  Various insulation types are able to do both.

In order to understand how insulations can do both, one has to understand the idea of heat transfer.  There are three ways that this can happen:  conduction, radiation and convection.  Conduction is when heat is transferred from one object to another by physical contact.  Touching hands is an example of this.  Types of insulation differ in how well they conduct heat.  Metals and glass let heat pass though quickly and are not good conductive insulators.  A well lined oven mitt allows us to pick up hot pans and lids because it does not allow heat to pass through quickly.  The thickness of a type of insulation also affects conduction.

 Convection is the transfer of heat between objects that are not touching each other.  The heat is transferred by means of a fluid such as water or air.  Radiation is the transfer of heat outward from one object to another, across a space, vie electromagnetic energy waves. 

The standard measurement to compare how well a type of insulation stops heat flow is called the R-value.  This is the ability of an insulator to resist heat transfer through it.  The higher the R-value, the better the insulation value of the product

Insulation is also used to prevent sound and electricity from moving.  Sound insulation is commonly used in movie theaters.  Electrical insulation is used mainly for wires. 

The most common type of insulation used by humans, is clothing.  Wool is an excellent cloth insulation.  This is because it is tightly woven.  That creates many air pockets, and a larger dead air wall.  If one person were to put on one heavy layer of clothing, and someone else put on many thin layers of clothing (same thickness), then the person with many thin layers would be warmer.  This is because air is trapped between the layers, and creates multiple dead air walls. 

Although clothes are the most common type of insulation, home insulation is the most important.  There are five main types of home insulation: batts and blankets, loose fill-blown, loose filled poured foam, and rigid board. 

Batts and Blankets
Batts and blanket insulation are nearly the same.  They are both soft flexible material. Blankets are long strips, while batts are in smaller pieces.  The advantage to this type of insulation is the cost and convenience.  Disadvantages are that the blankets can be clumsy to install and the batts must be cut to fit.  R-value varies according to thickness and materials used.

Loose fill 
Loose fill-blown insulation is easily installed but requires special installation equipment.  Its r-value is low compared to batts and blankets.  Workers need to be careful handling this, and should wear masks so they don’t inhale any of the material. Loose fill-poured insulation is easily installed and is able to move easily into openings.  It does tend to settle over time and its R-value is low. 

Styrofoam
Foam insulation has a high R-value and is energy efficient.  Unfortunately flammability can be a problem and it is difficult to install in existing homes.  Some foams produce toxic fumes when they are new.  Though Styrofoam is also the hardest insulation to cut, without ruining it.  Styrofoam also is a good sound insulation, and some can be moisture proof.

Woodchips
Woodchips are a type of loose fill insulation.  Therefore they have a relatively low R-value.  Woodchips are no used as a home insulation, because wood can decompose.  This would also force the home owners to buy new insulation every few years. 

Rigid insulation is usually fiberglass panel. It is usually covered up with bricks or wood.  These panels reflect the heat back from its first source.  This type of insulation has excellent insulating abilities, provides structural strength, is light and has high R-values.  Flammability and installation cost can be drawbacks.
. 
Insulation cuts electric and fuel bills.  With insulation a heater or an air conditioner does not have to run as long.  This way insulation quickly pays for itself. 

HEAT 
Heat can be a pleasure, or a nuisance to humans.  There are many ways in which technology can help this. 

There can be too much heat, which is when you need a cooling system.  One type of cooling system uses evaporation.  Radiators are heated to the boiling degree (100 degrees Celsius).  A water source then propels the water to the radiators.  The water evaporates, and cools the room. 

There can also be too little heat, which is when one needs a heating system.  One type of heating system uses metal coils that are inserted into a wall.  The coils are heated up.  The heat from the coils warms the specified room.  Though this works well it is very expensive. 

THERMAL POLLUTION 
Thermal pollution is when a body of water is warmer than it normally would be.  Many factories use water to cool down their machines, or equipment.  The water is warm after that, and then it is dumped into a nearby body of water.  That creates a dramatic rise in the water’s temperature.  This can kill fish or other animals living there and the food resources. 

There are ways to avoid thermal pollution.  One way is a cooling tower, a tall tower above a body of water.  Once water has been used it is sent to the tower.  There, it is cooled off by large fans.  The water is then released from the tower and falls to the body of water below.  On the way down the water cools even more. 

THERMODYNAMICS 
Thermodynamics are basically the laws of heat and energy.  There are two laws of thermodynamics. 

The first law states that energy can neither be created nor destroyed.  Energy can only be converted.  Power plants convert chemical energy to electrical energy. 

The second law is that heat always travels from a warmer surface a cooler one.  This means that if a burner is on, and a cooler object touches the burner some of the heat will flow into the cooler object. 

SUMMARY 
Insulation has been used for centuries.  Humans have always, and will always need insulation for a healthy, comfortable life.
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY

Cook, Warren. "Choose the Right Roof for Your Budget", Sept, 1,2002

"Cutting Styrofoam Insulation."  Fred and Gerry’s Radio Tips, 2-12-03, <http://www.theworkshop.net/radiotips/Cutting%20Styrofoam%20Insulation.htm>

Fetzer Scott, World Book’s Young Scientist, Chicago, Illinois. World Book Incorporated 1993, 25-28, 32-33, 38-39, 41-42, 51, 87

"Heat Transmission", The New Book of Popular Science 1998

Heimler Charles H., Price Jack, Focus on Physical Science, Columbus, Ohio, Merrill 1987, 423-436, 443-457

McElroy, David. "Insulation," The World Book Encyclopedia. 2002, pg. 306-308 

Product Features.  Styrofoam Insulation Boards, 2-12-03 http://dongnameps.koreasme.com/viewproduct_1_e.html

Saving Energy: Products insulation- Types, Oct,21, 2002 

The Insulated Room- Insulation Types, Oct,22, 2002
 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I would like to thank Mr. Newkirk for helping me step by step, with my project, and answering any questions I had.  I would also like to thank Mrs. Helms, for also helping me with my project, I would finally like to thank my mother and father, for supervising, and helping me with my project, and experiment. 
 
 

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