Material Testing Lab

To Find the Optimal Materials to Construct our Tiny House

Tak Maga
02.06.2016
STEM PHYSICS AND ENGINEERING
Purpose

The purpose of this lab is to define how individual building materials react to heat,
specifically to hold in or reflect heat.

Materials

1. A sample of each material that is to be tested

a. Flooring
i. Tile
ii. Carpet
iii. Hardwood
iv. Bamboo
v. Pressure Treated Softwood
b. Ceiling and Roofing
i. Aluminium
ii. Corrugated Metal
iii. Felt
iv. OSB Wood
c. Exterior Walls
i. Brick
ii. Cement
iii. Terracotta
d. Interior Walls
i. White Drywall
ii. Dark Drywall
iii. Paper
iv. Hardwood
e. Other
i. Rubber
ii. Glass
iii. Stone Countertop
iv. Modeling Clay
v. Plexiglass
f. Insulation
i. Spray Foam

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 ii. Rigid Foam
iii. Fiberglass
2. 120 Watt Incandescent Heat Lamp (with power)
3. 0.25cm high cardboard base covering area of sample object
4. Infrared laser thermometer
5. Time keeping device
6. A climate controlled workspace that is kept at the same conditions throughout
the experiment.

Procedure

1. The mass of the sample is measured using a triple beam balance or spring scale,
whichever seems more appropriate for the object at hand.
2. The sample being tested is placed upon the cardboard surface, which is on the
workspace.
3. The heat lamp is placed, centered above the sample, so the top of the lamp (not
including the switch) is the 40cm from the top of the sample object.
4. At the start of the experiment, the temperature is measured using the infrared
thermometer, taking care to measure the temperature at the center of the
sample directly under the lamp.
5. The heat lamp is turned on and the time starts.
6. After 4 minutes and 55 seconds, the temperature is measured, again making
sure to measure the central temperature of the sample.
7. After 9 minutes and 55 seconds, the lamp is turned off and the temperature
immediately measured before substantial cooling can occur.
8. The experiment being complete, the sample is removed from the workspace,
with care being taken due to the potentially high temperature of the sample and
heat lamp.
9. This process is repeated until all materials have been tested.

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DATA

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5
 Material Mass 0 Minutes 5 Minutes 10 Minutes

Tile 97 23 46.5 54.5

Carpet 360 23 50.5 53

Hardwood 64 23 44 51.5

Bamboo * 22 35 40

PT Softwood 122 21 40 43.5

Aluminum 25 24 74 85

Corrugated
300 22* 23 24
Metal

Felt 10 22 33 34

OSB 750 23 44 49

White Drywall 900 22.5 36.5 44

Dark Drywall 900 22 47 53

Tar Paper 26 23.5 68 70

Hardwood 64 23 44 51.5

Brick 1000 22 30 36.5

Cement * 22 33.5 38.5

Terracotta 70 22 35 40

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 Rubber 600 23.5 46.5 56.5

Glass 230 22 30* 36

Stone
1000 22 30.5 38
Countertop

Modeling clay * 19 28 *

Plexiglass 60 22.5 45.5 54.5

Spray Foam N/A 80 N/A 25

Rigid Foam N/A 65 N/A 27

Fiberglass N/A 105 N/A 33

* Not found by our experiment. Estimated if needed for modeling purposes.

ANALYSIS

By first looking at relevant information that relates to our experiment, we can

draw a number of important conclusions. An object that heats up rapidly, but then
levels of for the 10 minute mark can be thought to have a low specific heat capacity.
The sample heats up rapidly to a high temperature, but then will cool quickly after the
heat source is taken away (not demonstrated by our experiment). An example of such
an object could be found in our carpet sample. An object that slowly heats up takes
longer to get to its highest peak, but then will take substantially longer to cool, giving of
heat while it does so (not demonstrated). These types of materials are said to have a
high specific heat capacity. We found corrugated metal to have a high specific heat
capacity (which is surprising, and could be an error). These numbers should be taken
into account when deciding what materials should be used. For example, it may be
appropriate to have a roof made out of a low specific heat capacity material. This is

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because such a material would heat up quickly, but would not have the capacity to
hold much heat, reflecting it away from the house.

Our analysis also includes possible errors that may have occurred during our
experiment. These range from incandescent heat lamp issues to problems with the
experiment itself. Our first set of problems descend from human errors and errors in
communication. First of all, some groups were unclear of what the experiment
procedure was. The height of the heat lamp varied for some groups, as they did not
take into account how tall the material sample being tested was. Also, some groups
made errors in measuring the temperature and did not measure the center of the
sample. A final communication error would be inaccurate timing between groups.
Problems in terms of materials also arise. We used different heat lamps for different
materials, creating possible equipment errors. There was no allotted warm up time, so
therefore the temperature for the first couple of sample materials could be lower when
compared to later tests. A final material problem could be found in the differences of
volume and surface area of the samples. This was not a design error, rather, it was a
reflection of our inability to source the proper materials in the necessary time frame.
The group doing insulation testing outlined several problems, including not having an
airtight container, possible gaps of air in the insulation, and differences of starting
temperature.

Problems with the lab setup and design itself were also present in our
experiment. In order to generate a more comprehensive view of the cooling and
heating patterns of the tested materials, it would be advisable to extend the time tested,
and to decrease the amount of time between measurements (therefore adding more
data points). This could clarify the graphs that we have made. As an astute observer
might note, we have also assumed that the cooling time would be equivalent to the
heating time. We should measure the cooling time 9(the time from the turning off of
the lamp to the sample material reaching room temperature (or temperature that the
object started at)) to prove this hypothesis.

Future tests are necessary to determine each materials viability as a

construction material. Some that have been highlighted include material stability. This
is required to ensure that each material is structurally sound and appropriate for its
place in a building (i.e. walls should not collapse). A moisture test would also be
advisable. This is required to ensure that all materials handle well in a wet
environment. One may also extrapolate a climate test from this as well. A final test
may be to build a model house with our sample materials.

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CONCLUSION

Through experimentation, we have established that the color of an object is a

major variable when the heat absorption. Our experiment consisted of a test involving
24 various construction materials in 6 groups: interior walls, exterior walls, flooring,
roofing, insulation, and a miscellaneous group. We heated the materials individually
for 10 minutes, taking temperatures at the start, middle (5 minutes) and end. We drew
our conclusion in regards to color effectiveness based on several samples. Our first
sample, and in all probably the most telling, is the comparison between white drywall
and a dark coloured drywall. The tables are reproduced here.

Material Mass 0 Minutes 5 Minutes 10 Minutes

White Drywall 900 22.5 36.5 44

Dark Drywall 900 22 47 53

As one can see, the difference is startling. At the ten minute mark, the dark drywall
was almost 10 degrees warmer than the white drywall (which is equivalent to 50
degrees Fahrenheit). As both samples were the same size, volume, and mass (900
grams), the only reasonable explanation for this gap would be the color. We can then
say that darker colors absorb more heat their lighter counterparts. This position is also
supported by another example. In this case, the tile was of a dark, mixed color, and of
unknown material. The countertop was a light colored stone (possibly marble)
material.

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 Material Mass 0 Minutes 5 Minutes 10 Minutes

Tile 97 23 46.5 54.5

Stone
1000 22 30.5 38
Countertop

The difference of around 16 degrees (equivalent to 60 degrees Fahrenheit) provides a

compelling argument in favor of our claim. Although it could be pointed out that there
was a slight difference in starting temperatures, and that the materials were not
identical, it would be fairly hard to pin this large of a difference of temperature on any
other variable. This combined with our previous evidence conclusively proves our
claim that darker colored materials absorb more heat when compared to a lighter
colored material.

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