1. Engineering Design Ice Cream Meltdown
Alexandra Iuga
Andrew Manning

2. Specifications and Constraints
Create a way to keep ice cream cold
Keep ice cream from melting for 20 minutes
Constraints
Limited materials
Only 3 classes periods to complete work

3. Develop Knowledge Heat transfer Insulators and Conductors
Where does energy come from?
Where does it go?
How does energy transfer?
Insulators and Conductors

4. Brainstorming
Use a cotton insulator in order to give a porous surface that can hold more air which has molecules that are less packed.
Use a reflective shield on the outside of the contraption. We want to reflect as much of the heat as possible.
>> How will these minimize heat transfer?

5. First solution Aluminum baking container Cotton balls
Cup with ice cream inside

6. More brainstorming
Create a big air cavity to distance the ice cream from the surface of the container and minimize thermal interactions.
We need to utilize evaporation to remove heat from the system, using either the soaked Popsicle sticks or soaked felt.
>> How will these minimize heat transfer?

7. First solution 2.0 Aluminum cover Aluminum baking container
Cotton balls
Wet felt
Straws
Cup with ice cream inside
Wooden stick

8. Test and Reflect Reduce cost by using less materials
Put in for 20 minutes at direct heat

9. More Brainstorming Soak the cotton in water.
Chill the container that the ice cream is set in.
More air cavities and lesson amount of aluminum foil.
Less materials.
>> How will these minimize heat transfer?

10. Second Solution

11. Test and Reflect This did not do as well We think it didn’t because:
The felt got really hot
Used too much aluminum
Not enough air cavities
Did not seal our container very well
The water soaked into the felt turned into hot steam that melted the ice cream
Too much surface area

12. Reflection and Lessons Learned
Difficulties and Success
Air cavities are effective at providing isolation
The wet felt was a good idea in indirect heat, however there was no place for the warm gas to evaporate in direct heat.
Consider points of contact
Minimize the surface area
Mass might not be a good indicator of whether or not the specifications were met, however a control provides strong evidence for the overall effectiveness of the design.