Experimental Models
For all of my experiments, I had to conduct preliminary trials to determine appropriate volume of fuels to burn. I also needed to figure out how to burn the fuels because I didn’t have any equipment like ignition system.
I figured out that I could use cotton wicks or cheesecloth to soak in the fuels and burn them but the next problem was where to burn them.
For my first experiement, I tried on kitchen stuff like empty coffee cans, jam jars, glass cups, etc that could withstand fire without breaking. I tried burning fuels in 1.5 L coffee cans but the wicks didn’t catch fire. Because the containers were deep, it appeared that there was no enough oxygen in the bottom. Then, I tried on jam jars which worked better but the fire didn’t last long enough to burn the soaked fuels completely. Then, I tried burning on glass cups, which worked just right. However, to prevent overheating of the glass cups I had to place them on an aluminum tray with water as shown in my experimental model below.
Photo: A Working Model of Experiment 1.
(Photo taken by Aseem Sharma, February 2007)
Since I was to conduct these experiments in our kitchen dining area, my second challenge was to determine the appropriate size of wicks and volume of fuels so that I could make valid comparison among fuels with minimum possible burning to minimize carbon fumes at home. I tried burning cheese cloth or cotton wicks of different sizes starting from bigger to smaller depending upon the volume of fuel they soaked in and the duration of burn appropriate for each experiment. That’s how I determined the volume of fuels and size of wicks required to burn fuels.
For my second experiment, I had to use 5ml of fuel instead of 1.25ml, because in order to measure the Btu content of each fuel, I had to heat 16 ounces of water by one degree Fahrenheit. I also used 14cm x 0.5cm wicks, in order to fully absorb 5ml of fuel. In order to heat water, I needed to somehow place the steel bowl, filled with 16 ounces of water, directly above the flame. Therefore, I needed some sort of support to hold the bowl up, without blocking the flame from open air (all fires needs oxygen to burn). I tried putting stainless steel steak knives on top of an aluminium meat pan. This did not work out because the knives kept moving, making the model unstable. After this failed attempt, my mom suggested to try on a stainless steel carrot peeler with a spatula handle. I tried this idea, and to my relief it held the water bowl stable, and the combined pressure did not deform the aluminium bowl, where I would burn the fuel. Below is a picture of my model for experiment two.
Photo: A Working Model of Experiment 2.
(Photo taken by Aseem Sharma, March 2007)
In my third experiment, I used an aluminium meat bowl of the same size as my previous experiment. The challenge in this experiment was trying to figure out how to place the iTX multi-gas monitor and the CDU440 carbon dioxide monitor at the same elevation. I tried every thing from metal pans to banana holders to support the gas monitors. I attached a rubber hose and funnel to the iTX multi-gas monitor, because it was the heavier of the two monitors. I attached the funnel to a banana stand so it would be directly above the flame, and the emissions from the flame would go directly into the funnel, through the hose, and to the monitor. I put the CDU440 carbon dioxide monitor at the same elevation as the funnel, by stacking it on top of three metal pans. Click [ here ] for a view of my model for experiment three.
