Update: Week 9

During Week 9, we took a closer look at the videos that were took the week prior to help further analyze our results. We also began to make the revisions to our rough draft of the final report. The group worked to complete final presentation slides need to start editing the videos.
To start we analyzed the two videos of the group member dropping the ice and then the prykete, we recorded our collective thoughts to come to an overall result. There was a distinct difference between the ice and sample 1 of the pykrete during the moment of impact with the ground. When the ice hit the ground it looked almost as if glass had shattered, where as the point of impact when the pykrete (sample 1) hit the ground it broke into 7 large chunks. This showed that when dropped from the same height that pykrete can withstand a greater impact when being compared to ice.

Figure 1 - Image of Sample 1 after being dropped from 3.5 feet. You can see that the paper towels kept the Pykrete from breaking into a large number of pieces. 

 Figure 2  - Difference between sample 1 and the ice. Notice the difference in the amount of pieces that resulted from the drop of the two blocks.

Figure 3 - In sample 2 all of the sawdust sunk to the bottom of the composite. Because of this the group believes that that if the sample had been stirred more during freezing the sample would have more resistant to fracturing compared to sample 1 and the control. 

Goals to work towards:

• Finish editing videos
• Finish up presentation
• Run through final presentation couple more times
• Make sure group members understand their talking points during the presentation

Update: Week 8

Week 8 was a very busy week for Group 2. We all got together at Myers Hall (a freshman dorm on Drexel's campus), and brought out all of our supplies out into the courtyard in the middle of the dorm for testing. The first thing we did was set up three different cameras. The first was a ----- camera sitting on a tripod recording the overall set up of our experiment. The other two cameras were iPhone cameras. One camera was placed directly in front of the wall where we had our marker board sitting and one recording was recording the side view of the wall and marker. We recorded three blocks being dropped. The first was a block of ice, the control. The other two blocks were our Pykrete samples, the first sample dropped was the Pykrete that was made with ice, sawdust and our substitute wood pulp (paper towels), and the second was the sample of just ice and sawdust. After we completed our testing we realized several things. The first is that the addition of the paper towel makes the Pykrete sample a lot stronger than the sample of of Pykrete with only sawdust. The second thing is that the sample of Pykrete with just sawdust should have been mixed more thoroughly while in the freezer because we we took the sample out of its tin container all of the sawdust had sunk to the bottom of the block.





Goals to work towards: 

• Edit recordings.
• Complete calculations necessary to complete testing and project.
• Use comments on rough draft to complete and improve the final draft of the group's final presentation assignment.
• Continue to work on final presentation slide show.
• Practice final presentation several times and delegate different talking points to each group member. 

Update: Week 7

The rough draft of our final presentation was due this week and the group followed the template given to us by our professor to ensure our rough draft was a well-written representation of our project. In addition to the template we also made sure to add images of our project, and ensure that the document was written in third person.  During week 6 we were faced with the issue of having to find a new method of testing the strength of Pykrete for our research. As week 7 rolled around we came up with the idea to video a group member dropping Pykrete on the ground. Once we have the footage we can go back and watch the video in slow motion and use the speed of the video to help figure out several different force calculations.



Goals to work towards:

• Find place to record our testing.
• Create marker to measure height in recordings

Update: Week 6

During Week 6, the group spent most of our time updating and improving the blog. In addition, we contacted a Professor on campus about using an optical microscope to more closely investigate the chemical structure of Pykrete. The professor we contacted was unable to help us with the microscope as she doesn't know how to properly use the microscope. Lastly, we continued to wait for the Pykrete to freeze in order to complete testing as Pykrete takes a long time to freeze due to the combination of ice and sawdust. We also spoke with a member of the Engineering Workshop to see if there was an available hydraulic press in the workshop for us to use to test the strength of the Pykrete and also of ice. Unfortunately they do not have a hydraulic press in the lab and couldn't give any other suggestions of devices in the workshop we could use to test strength.

Goals to work towards:

• Find a new method to test the strength of Pykrete and ice. 
• Continue to update and improve the blog to insure cohesiveness and uniformity. 
• Find a different microscope to more closely examine the Pykrete

Update: Week 5

In week 5 we were able to complete several key components to our project! We bought all of the materials needed to make and demonstrate pykrete, as well as took time outside of class to create two different types of pykrete.

The Materials Used To Make Pykrete Are As Follows:

• Rectangular shaped tins
• Measuring cup (measuring both mL and cups)
• Wooden stirring spoon
• Paper towels (to be used as a substitute for wood pulp)
• A bucket of sawdust from a saw mill in New Jersey

The Process We Used To Make Pykrete Is In Two Parts As Follows:

Pykrete comprised of Sawdust and Water:

• We first measured out 1500 mL of water into one tin container.
• Next we measured out about 200 mL of sawdust and mixed in with the 1500 mL of water.
• We placed the pykrete mixture in the freezer and have left it there for about 4 four days. The mixture was placed in the freezer on 4/30/16 and will be left in their until 5/7/16.

Pykrete comprised of Sawdust, Paper Towel, and Wood Pulp (Paper Towel):

• We again measured out 1500 mL of water into another tin container.
• Next we measured out about 150 mL of sawdust and cut a two large individual paper towels into long thin strips.
• We decided to layer the sawdust and paper towel, starting with a layer of sawdust and water, then a layer of paper towels going down the direction of the length and the width creating a "mesh" layer. We continued the process with another layer of sawdust followed by another layer of paper towels laid down the same way. 
• We placed the pykrete mixture in the freezer and have also left it in there for about 4 days. The mixture was placed in the freezer on 4/30/16 and will be left in their until 5/7/16.

We are still waiting for the pykrete to freeze completely and have yet to do any testing. When the pykrete is completely frozen and we can start testing we will also have a tin with ice which we can use to help show the importance and strength properties of adding the sawdust and wood pulp to ice.

Goals to work towards:

• Begin testing the strength properties of pykrete in the engineering lab using a load cell.
• Obtain access to a microscope to examine a sample of pykrete more closely.
• Start work on the final report rough draft so there is ample time to ensure we meet all the requirements listed in the template by the deadline.
• Add more pictures to the blog.

Update: Week 4

While week 4 was not a very research heavy week, it was still very essential to our project. During week 4 we were able to better establish our blog. We were able to add a great deal of posts as well as check that we were up to date on our posts. First off we started to delegate different research topics that we wanted and were required to have on our blog. Alex was tasked with writing about the strengths and weaknesses of ice, while Derek had to make a comparison of pykrete versus ice. I was tasked to write about the background of pykrete, as well as posting all of the FAQs from the project. In addition, we also constructed a schedule for weekly update posts, so that each person has an opportunity to write an update about our research, findings, and other activities of the project. Lastly we also figured out a general idea of what materials we need to perform our experiment. Which are containers to freeze the pykrete in, saw dust, paper towels (which can be used as a substitute for wood pulp), measuring cup, stirrer, large plastic bin that can be used to catch debris during testing and demonstration.


Goals to work towards:

• Determine the exact materials we plan to use for our project
• Buy necessary materials for the project
• Find more methods to test the pykrete 

FAQs about Pykrete

Q: What is the purpose of this project?
A: The purpose of this project is to test the strength properties of Pykrete as compared to ice.

Q: What is Pykrete made of?
A: Pykrete is made of 86% ice and 14% sawdust and wood pulp.

Q: How did Pykrete come about?
A: In 1942, during the heat of WWII, Geoffrey Pyke of Canada came up with the idea to build boats out of the ice and wood pulp compound. The idea was relatively sound due to the strength, material availability, cost and ease of construction, but never fully convinced the military leaders to take action.

Q: What makes Pykrete stronger than ice?
A: The sawdust and wood pulp add a different degree of strength. The fibers in the wood products give the ice a bump in resilience without compromising the initial strength. It is like adding the tensile strength of steel to the compression strength of concrete.

Q: How are you testing the strength properties of Pykrete?
A: We are testing the strength properties with a few methods. The first is to use a hydraulic press to see how much strength can be applied to the Pykrete. The second is to place the block of Pykrete between two ledges and placing a hanging weight in the middle to test the strength.

Q: What are you doing to learn about the properties of Pykrete?
A: In order to gain a better understanding of the structure of Pykrete we plan to look at the Pykrete under a microscope and researching those properties.

Q: Why was Pykrete never fully developed?
A: The uncontrollable nature of ice and problems in terms of melting halted any progress that would have taken place. Its hard to place your trust in what is essentially frozen water.

The Background of Pykrete

Pykrete is a composite comprised of ice, wood pulp, and saw dust. Pykrete was discovered by Geoffrey Pyke and was used in World War II for the base of floating aircraft carriers.  Ice is hard, yet brittle and usually breaks if you drop it on the floor. Pykrete, while made of ice,  also has wood pulp and sawdust which make it more durable and less likely to break if you were to drop it on the ground. Later on in the blog we will cover some of the reasons why the wood pulp and saw dust improve the durability of the pykrete.  While Pykrete is not well known to most people, it has been featured and tested on MythBusters, The History Channel, and even on a few local news stations. Also there have been many other things that people have done with pykrete including making pykrete bullets, shooting at pykrete, and even making a pykrete dome. On MythBusters, they attempted to create a pykrete boat.

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/mythbusters/about-this-show/what-is-pykrete/

http://www.pykretedome.com