Methodology
Design Conditions (90°F, 80% RH):
Since we are testing passive de-humidification, we want our starting temperature and humidity to be higher, so we can see how the material lowers one or both over a period of time. Our design conditions were set according to the average temperature and humidity conditions in Florida. According to the Climate Center, Florida's annual average dew point is 55 to 60. This means that their average temperature year round is above 60 degrees and their relative humidity is higher than 70%. We set our design conditions to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% relative humidity from the information recorded above.
So that multiple experiments could be completed in a day, 4 hours was selected as the experiment run time. This run time was chosen because of research done by other similar experiments and 4 hours can give us a complete run cycle of the materials to see if they can lower the temperature and or humidity and how long would they be able to hold that downtrend.
Since we are testing passive de-humidification, we want our starting temperature and humidity to be higher, so we can see how the material lowers one or both over a period of time. Our design conditions were set according to the average temperature and humidity conditions in Florida. According to the Climate Center, Florida's annual average dew point is 55 to 60. This means that their average temperature year round is above 60 degrees and their relative humidity is higher than 70%. We set our design conditions to 90 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% relative humidity from the information recorded above.
So that multiple experiments could be completed in a day, 4 hours was selected as the experiment run time. This run time was chosen because of research done by other similar experiments and 4 hours can give us a complete run cycle of the materials to see if they can lower the temperature and or humidity and how long would they be able to hold that downtrend.
Preconditioning for set control:
To test and understand if clothing can act as an efficient desiccant material, we first need to take proactive measures in determining the best possible environments to obtain the greatest results. Understanding the relationship between inside and outside and what that means for the experimentation and testing. We understand that our results are measured as a difference between temperature and humidity during periods of time between two different environments. The two different environments give an input and an output. The output would be the results of the difference of temperature and humidity for the inside box after a period of time. But there cannot be a difference without a common start. The outside box needs to have a constant control temperature and relative humidity that can be contrasted to the inside box results after a period of time. The outside box is our start, which needs to be relatively even across the board for all of the testing materials and the inside box is the finish, with an even controlled amount of time for each material to analyze the difference in change.
For this to occur we hypothesize a preconditioning period from about 30-40 minutes. The fluctuation of temperature and humidity will occur due to the heater that is inserted. the materials wouldn't be put in the desiccant chamber until the design conditions were set and consistent. below is an example image how how the outside environment box may proceed.
To test and understand if clothing can act as an efficient desiccant material, we first need to take proactive measures in determining the best possible environments to obtain the greatest results. Understanding the relationship between inside and outside and what that means for the experimentation and testing. We understand that our results are measured as a difference between temperature and humidity during periods of time between two different environments. The two different environments give an input and an output. The output would be the results of the difference of temperature and humidity for the inside box after a period of time. But there cannot be a difference without a common start. The outside box needs to have a constant control temperature and relative humidity that can be contrasted to the inside box results after a period of time. The outside box is our start, which needs to be relatively even across the board for all of the testing materials and the inside box is the finish, with an even controlled amount of time for each material to analyze the difference in change.
For this to occur we hypothesize a preconditioning period from about 30-40 minutes. The fluctuation of temperature and humidity will occur due to the heater that is inserted. the materials wouldn't be put in the desiccant chamber until the design conditions were set and consistent. below is an example image how how the outside environment box may proceed.
Testing Instructions
- Figure out where you want to place the box, it needs to be somewhere with a significant amount of space because the box is pretty big. You want to have room to move around the box and probably want to have it elevated off the ground for easy access.
- Plug in everything that is needed and make the your controls are working properly, Test the empty box to make sure the temperature and humidity are reading correctly on the LCD screen.
- Conduct a short experiment, making sure that the readings are correct and everything is working together.
- Precondition the box by turning on the heater and humidified for about 30-40 minutes so that it can get to consistent levels.
- Once the box is set to your liking (90 degrees Fahrenheit and 80% humidity) place the material in the mesh insert. It will be easiest to cut up the clothing so more can comfortably fit.
- Now turn on the fan that will push the hot and humid air through the materials and get ready for results from each item.
- Continue this process for each material and then compare your results to find which material is best at dehumidifying a space.
Materials Tested
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Cotton: Cotton, one of the most common clothing materials, is on our list as a tester for a desiccant material. In relation to being soluble, cotton has potential, but we also want to know can it regenerate over time? Cotton is a promising material and we hypothesize that it could be an effective desiccant, but could break down over time. Wool: The material with the highest probability of effectiveness is wool. Through research by Rajesh D. Anandjiwala, Anton Botha, Sudhakar Muniyasamy, it has been shown that wool can be effective as a desiccant and insulator. So as a team, we want to prove that it can act as an effective insulator and we want to test how long it can be effective as a desiccant. Can it be a desiccant in isolation? Or does it need a mixture of materials? Denim: One of the materials we have decided would be beneficial to test is denim because of its ability to absorb water. This material would most likely be very good at soaking up the water but we also want to test the ways in which it would dry and how fast that process could be done. It is very important for materials to be able to dry themselves so that it doesn’t hold moisture in the wall which could lead to more problems down the road. We do think that denim will be a good dessicant because of its ability to absorb water in its natural state. Silk: Slik is a highly absorbent material. Based on this alone, we can hypothesize that it can be at least partly effective as an acting desiccant at first. Similar to denim, we also want to inquire about silks ability to dry and continue the process of taking the moisture out of the air. On many of these materials this circumstance is important, so the ability to control the amount of time the materials test is something that will have a major impact on our research. Fur: We have decided to test fur because it has been very effective to keep animals dry. Although it most likely will not absorb the water, it can repeal the water like it does on many animals' coats. We want to be able to see what this does in terms of where the water would be stored if it is repealed away and if repealing means it doesn't go to the indoor environment or not. We do not think that fur will be a good desiccant because it doesn't absorb water easily. Leather: Leather is our final material to test because we know it does not absorb water. It is kind of like the fur above, we want to see if the repellent of water truly makes it not pass through the material and where the water goes if it is repelled. We do not think that leather will be a good dessicant because it doesn't absorb water which is needed to dehumidify a space. |
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