Methodology

Questions we are asking:
  • Surface temperature: How much heat can the material retain?
  • Ambient temperature: How much heat can the material reflect?
Pretest trials were conducted prior to data collection

Pretest Trial #1


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  • 14.5 in distance​
  • Heated in open area
  • took around 2 hrs to heat wood
  • gradual increase 
  • reached higher temperatures

Pretest Trial #2



  • ​2 ft 4 in distance
  • took only 1 hr to heat wood
  • with insulative material, quickened heating process
  • Note sudden increase and decrease
  • ambient temperature plateaus unlike surface temp that slowly increases
What went wrong?
Heat did not distribute evenly along the sample
  • hottest in the center
  • due to how direct the heat is from the lamp
  • data collected was at hottest point in the sample
Arduino live temp may not be consistent with the temp data the HOBO will collect
  • same for surface temp
HOBO no connecting properly to HOBOware
Temperature differences in wood don't show in thermocamera
  • there might be a starker contrast in different materials (slate, asphalt, concrete)
What's next?
  • Getting HOBO to work
  • LCD display burnt out, figure out how to fix
  • testing thermocamera with other materials in part 1
  • prepping for testing of part 2 and 3 materials
  • try to collect any sort of material to test (gravel outside, leaves)

 Preconditioning and Controls

  • Materials are set in the testing chamber and left to precondition for at least an hour with data collection prior to experimentation.
  • All materials will be tested in the same control room in order to avoid influence of external variables
  • All data is collected with same equipment (same heat applied over time)
  • Note any variations in external factors that may affect experiment

Procedure

  1. Launch HOBOdata logger and make sure that it is collecting data
  2. Material set in testing chamber with temperature sensor taped to the surface (note time)
  3. Take picture with thermocamera (before picture)
  4. At least an hour later, turn heat lamp on (note time)
  5. 2 hours later, turn heat lamp off 
  6. Take picture with thermocamera (after picture)
  7. Leave material in testing chamber for another two hours before removing (note time)
  8. Switch out material and repeat steps from beginning.

Data Analysis


What the raw data should look like
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Temperature data will be adjusted to show change in temperature.
Data is shown in three ways:
  1. Ambient and surface temperature of one material
  2. Ambient temperature of all materials
  3. Surface temperature of all materials