19. January 2014
1. Heat Regulating Surfaces
My basic material is "Wax". The fabrication method is folding or melting wax. My first idea was to meld wax and bring it in a flat surface. I would like do this with some different kinds and colors of wax. Firstly I would stake them over and over. After, I want to fold the wax to one little cube and finally I want to cut it in the middle and get a flat surface with a crazy colored surface.
http://www.visualnews.com/2012/10/22/typogra- phy-in-layers-of-colored-wax/
http://www.visualnews.com/2012/10/22/typogra- phy-in-layers-of-colored-wax/
2. Computational Designs
One of the exercise in the lession.
One of the exercise in the lession.
A free Skatch in the lesson. It it a skateboarding truck.
3. First Ideas and Main Concept
I made some research about the characteristics of wax.
The result of the research is:
- Wax melts by 40 degree
- If it is solid it is non transparent
- If it is melting and liquid it is transparent
In summary I found some materials, which have these characteristics and can be used. I found some plastic material from shopping bags and some plastic material from the 3d prints who could be useful for my project.
This is a picture of a usual shopping bag.
An other picture of an usual shopping bag but with another surface structure
This is a thicker plastic material who is self-adhesive
All of these materials react with heating. These Materials contract if they are heated up with 30 -60 degrees. So I want to try to use this energy of the materials contracting for moving or reforming them.
Material test.
4. Modelling and Fabrication process
I started to create some objects, which can be formed out of these materials.
First material experiment with stripes.
Paper structure with plastic material
In this first experiment I used the cockle of the plastic to move the structure of the paper. If the plastic is contracting, the triangles in the paper (see above) will move up.
Tube with 3D printed holders
The contracting plastic, attached to the holders on the paper tube, makes the tube thinner.
Paper structure with heated plastic material.
The result of this experiment was, that the plastic was destroyed. So the plastic can be used just once due to it being destroyed afterwards, which is not the aim because if wax is cooling down, it gets back to its original condition. Therefore I used some thicker plastic foils, but the same scenario happened again. That’s how I had the idea to use some support material, which protects the plastic foil from the extreme heat. Amongst others I tried to use different kinds of paper as support material for the plastic foil. I did this by gluing the plastic on the paper and this worked out very well because the material was not destroyed and even after the cooling process, it went back to its original condition.
Research for the best Material.
Structure Experiment
After this success I thought how I could use this effect by using the different paper structures. The structures should help me making the paper permeable for light, liquids and different gases. Here are four different paper structures I developed so far, which can be seen in the pictures below. First the circle structure, secondly the triangle structure, thirdly the wave structure and fourthly the ellipse structure.
Circle and triangle structure.
Wave and ellipse structure.
In the end the best-developed structure was the ellipse structure because it reacts very fast on heating and cooling processes.
Structure test.
5. Final Outcome
Now, I thought about the use of this material technology for using it in a good way. After a research about where this could be used, I came to the result, that the materials can be used best as a heat regulating surface due to its structure with which the lower surface, when it’s opened, can be cooled by air and after it is closed and cooled down, it can be heated up again. Therefore the structures can regulate the temperature of the lower surface meanwhile this process.
My final idea was to use the material technology on an engine hood. But firstly the engine hood needs a special net structure, which can be seen below.
Mercedes SLS with a net structure on the engine hood.
The material technology will be attached to this net structure and the heat regulating process can be started. If the engine hood is heating up, the structure opens itself and fresh air can get in the motor compartment and cool the engine.
Mercedes SLS with net structure on the engine hood and the attached material technology.
Closer view of the engine hood with the attached material technology.
Mercedes SLS with net structure and open engine hood with the attached material technology.