User:Baminnick/enes100/Speakers

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Give instructor top 3 project choice list
My top three project preferences were Perfume, Corn Starch, and Chaos Theory, in that order. The project I am currently working on is Corn Starch.

Write problem statement
Develop the non-Newtonian fluid, corn starch, and show how this fluid holds certain properties that other fluids do not.

Assign Task1
For week 1, I will purchase corn starch materials and produce sound vibrations with the CL 129 speaker cones.

Compare actual work done to Task1
The work completed for the task one is quite extensive. The materials needed to produce the non-Newtonian fluid were purchased, vibrations from the speaker cone was properly produced, and the corn starch mixture was developed.

Week1 Narrative
Three major contributions were made towards this project this week:
 * 1. Obtain the materials to create the cornstarch and water mixture.
 * 2. Produce vibrations from a speaker cone.
 * 3. Develop the cornstarch mixture and study the properties of the non-Newtonian fluid.

First, the materials to create the cornstarch and water mixture were obtained. These materials were cornstarch, a stirring rod, a mixing bowl, various sized measuring cups, and water. No major problems occurred when completing this task. The amount of cornstarch that was obtained this week is sufficient for continuing further experiments with the cornstarch. Therefore the completion of this task is necessary for completing this project.

The next task was to produce vibrations from a speaker cone. Unlike the first task, problems did occur while attempting to produce sound vibrations from the CL 129 speaker cone. The only major problem that occurred as this task progressed was regarding the setup of the speaker cone. It was initially setup in the computer and with a youtube video, sound vibrations were to be produced. However this did not occur, therefore solutions were thought of and tested. It was determined that the solution to this problem was to set up the speaker cone with the sweep function generator, not the computer. The sweep function generator allowed vibrations to be produced from the speaker cone, and therefore completing this task.

The last task that was accomplished this week was an experiment with the cornstarch mixture. With the materials that were collected in the first task, the cornstarch and water mixture (also known as oobleck) was created. However a problem occurred at this stage in the experiment. By referring to a cornstarch non-Newtonian fluid recipe found on google, the developed mixture did not show the properties of oobleck. The solution to this was to add more cornstarch, and therefore produce a more solid and viscous mixture. The next problem was taking this experiment further and use an object that produces vibrations, such as the CL 129 speaker cones. Several solutions were devised, however none of them succeeded. Thus the experiment ended and will be continued at the beginning of next week.

See youtube video of experiment for more information: Oobleck Experiment

Week1 Peer Review
I posted a comment on Z. Hill's discussion page regarding the documentation of work that should be posted.

Assign Task2
For task two, I will show the unique properties of this corn starch mixture by developing a larger cornstarch mixture.

Compare actual work done to Task2
The work completed for task 2 was extensive. Problems mainly occured when producing the large quantity of cornstarch. But once the mixture was completed the cornstarch experiment was succesful.

Week2 Narrative
The photos taken during this week's tasks are shown on the right side of the week 2 narrative.

The purpose of this week's task is to develop a large amount of cornstarch, and experiment with it. However, problems occured. The main problems that occured were regarding purchasing cornstarch and stirring the cornstarch. Once these problems were solved, the experiment was able to begin. And with the experiment, the properties of this mixture were recorded.

The first issue was determining how much of the cornstarch should be purchased. A cylinderical container was to be used to stir and hold the cornstarch mixture, however this container was not a perfect cylinder. This problem prevents a proper volume calculation and therefore an improper amount of cornstarch to be purchased. To solve this problem, the average radius was taken instead of the top or bottom radius of the container. Another problem that occured was finding a store to purchase the large amount of cornstarch. I initially visited Safeway, however since cornstarch is not a common purhcase, the amount of Safeway cornstarch was limited. Therefore another store was to be considered. BJ's was used to purchase 22 containers of cornstarch for approximately $60.00. With the cornstarch purchased, the next step to completing this process could begin, developing the cornstarch mixture.

The next set of problems that occured were regarding how to stir the mixture. Since cornstarch and water is a non-newtonian fluid, there is a large amount of resistance when stirring it. The first problem was using an appropriate stirring rod. The original stirring rod began bending and was deemed insufficient. Therefore another stirring rod was obtained. With an appropriate stirring rod, the stirring process began again. The last problem that occured was determining how to stir the mixture. Since the non-newtonian fluid is most efficient with a two parts cornstarch and one part water ratio, it was difficult to determine a method for mixing the cornstarch. It was determined that it is best to stir a mixture that is mainly water, and when the mixture is nearly complete, only cornstarch is added. These solutions brought interesting properties not considered before to the large amount of cornstarch, however the experiment has not been completed yet.

In the experiment, 20 BJ's containers of cornstarch were used totaling 20 kilograms of dry cornstarch, and 20 liters of water. The experiment was interesting, and several new properties were determined and recorded using a camera. The videos that were during this week are shown below:

The photos taken during this week's tasks are shown on the leftt side of the week 2 wikiversity entry.

Video Links:
 * Difficulty with Stirring Cornstarch
 * Stirring Cornstarch without Difficulty
 * Pulling Cornstarch
 * Pushing and Pulling Cornstarch Vertically
 * Forming a Ball with Cornstarch
 * Cornstarch Waterfall
 * Tearing Cornstarch
 * Hands in Cornstarch
 * Placing Feet into Cornstarch
 * Walking on Cornstarch
 * Stomping on Cornstarch

Week2 Peer Review
I posted a comment on Ayapici's discussion page regarding how he should begin posting his information for this week.

Assign Task3
For task three, I will begin researching and preparing an experiment that explains the physical properties of cornstarch as a non-Newtonian Fluid.

==Week3 Activities==

Compare actual work done to Task2


Possible experiments were researched to determine how to measure viscosity. After looking into several experiments, preparation for the shear stress vs. strai rate experiment began. This required constructing a trough apparatus, collecting the necessary materials, and forming a method for completing the experiment.

Week3 Narrative


To accomplish this task, research is needed to determine how to qualitatively and quantitatively define viscosity. Several websites were researched (shown below), however the most helpful source was this pdf file: Viscosity and Fluid Flow

Websites that were researched:
 * Introduction to Viscosity, Shear Rate, and Shear Stress
 * Dilatant or Shear Thicking Fluid
 * Fluid Mechanics

The summation of this research can be explained using the picture in the pdf file (in the first link) and this equation: Viscosity is the shear stress and strain rate ratio. Shear stress can be defined as the force applied divided by the area of the force, this value is a pressure. The strain rate is the displacement of the fluid as the force applied moves the fluid. By varying the shear stress acting on the fluid, and collecting the strain rate, I can graph this fluid and determine whether it holds non-Newtonian or Newtonian fluid properties. 'Bold text'

I spent the remainder of this week by collecting and constructing the equipment necessary to determine the strain rate and shear stress of fluids. The apparatus needed to determine the viscosity of a fluid, the trough, should properly contain the fluid and have a mobile plate on top of the fluid. The plate on the top is where the applied force will occur, moving the upper molecules of the fluid, since the bottom molecules will be staitionary a shear stress is formed. The applied force will be a mass being pulled by a spring scale along the top plate. The dimensions of the apparatus, the trough, is 5 feet long by 5.5 inches wide. The thickness of the fluid will be 1 in, therefore 3 containers of BJ's cornstarch will be used. The process of constructing this apparatus took a sufficient amount of time and the procedure of constructing this is shown by the pictures on the left and right. There are other materials that are needed to determine the shear stress and strain rate of a fluid, the materials for this experiment are listed below:

Cornstarch
 * A Newtonian Fluid, such as water
 * Trough to contain fluid (Pictures shown to the right)
 * Spring scale
 * Different masses
 * Excel Program to complete calculations

Using the information that was collected and the materials listed, I will determine why cornstarch is a unique fluid. The goal is to graph strain rate over shear stress of a Newtonian fluid and a non-Newtonain fluid. With this graph the physical properties of cornstarch and other non-Newtonian fluid can be explained. With this experiment (that will be completed next week) all of the cornstarch videos can be explained quantitatively.

Week3 Peer Review
I posted a comment on Ayapici's discussion page regarding how he should begin posting his information for this week.

Assign Task4
For week 4, I will conduct the viscosity experiment to determine the shear stress, strain rate, and viscosity of cornstarch.

Compare actual work done to Task4
The experiment was completed and the shear stress, strain rate, and viscosity were calculated. However, these values were not an accurate estimate due to problems that occured during the experiment.

Week4 Narrative
Using the tools and materials that were collected from last week, it was not difficult for me to set up the experiment. Once the experiment was set up, I began preparing the cornstarch mixture, and since this experiment needed to be more precise with the consistency of cornstarch, the ratio was measured. The initial ratio was 2 parts cornstarch and 1 part water or 3 liters of cornstarch and 1.5 liters of water. This ratio produced a rather thick fluid, too viscous to perform the experiment. With this fluid, the velocity of the shear was too small resulting in a large viscosity. To solve this problem, water was added to the mixture resulting in a less viscous fluid. With this fluid the experiment began again.


 * Viscosity Experiment
 * Rolling Cornstarch

The procedure of the experiment involved three people. One person attached the applied force apparatus to the cornstarch fluid, another noted the displacement and time values, and the last person watched the force-time graph on the force probe display to keep an even force applied. After each trial, the average applied force and time were recorded into an excel spreadsheet which calculated the velocity, shear strain, strain rate, and viscosity. However during the experiment, the force applied values changed significantly resulting in inaccurate data. Due to this large error in the results, it was concluded that the current viscosity experiment could not produce valid results unless a more controlled system were devised. The possible sources of error were:


 * The consistency of the cornstarch changed with respect to time.
 * Other extraneous forces were at work. Such as the downward force of the block acting on the cornstarch.
 * The shear block did not produce a constant velocity.
 * Inaccurate measurements from the force probe.

These problems resulted in invalid data and results. However, a future team working on this project can repeat this experiment, learn from these problems, and produce a more controlled environment for the viscosity experiment.

Week4 Peer Review
I posted a comment on Ayapici's discussion page regarding how he should begin complete the ferro fluid experiment and post it on wikiversity.

Start Next Project Week0 activities
My top three project preferences were Perfume, Chaos Theory, and Escher in that order. The project I am currently working on is Perfume.