Project Information

Names: Janny Ke and Karen Yu

Grade category: 10-12

Team size: 2

Subject area: Engineering/computer science

Project type: experimental

Language: English

Summary: We wanted to determine how the type of reinforcement fibre -- hemp, flax, pomelo skins, onion peels and hair -- reinforced by the anisotropic short fibre method at 5%, 25%, or 45% by mass, affected the tensile, flexural strength, and conductivity of the composite. The reinforced materials were less brittle than the control, and among the composites, the hair reinforcement performed the best, followed by flax and hemp.

Software used: Adobe Photoshop 7.0, CuteFTP

Hardware used: Canon Powershot S500 camera

Source idea: Being both environmentally conscious, we wanted to find an environmentally benign alternative to the current plastic products used on the market. We knew that cellulose acetate was biodegradable, but it was often too weak for many applications. However, fibreglass was often too expensive to be used in disposable electronic devices, but natural fibres such as hemp and flax are often only 1/3 the price of glass fibres. They also have the added bonus of being natural and biodegradable.

Special skills: HTML, Adobe Photoshop

Awards won for this project: Gold medal at the Greater Vancouver Regional Science Fair, Association of Professional Engineering and Geoscientists of BC Award, Senior Division

*Images: All photographs and images displayed on this website were taken by ourselves or created using Adobe Photoshop.