Research

 

In order to balance out the air resistance and gravity to slow down velocity of the falling object, egg, you need to consider the mass as well as materials you use.   My design would be successful for protecting egg with a small impact force due to three special features.

Firstly, it will be light weight which helps it to decrease falling speed.  This consideration can be predicted to hit the ground without falling to sides.  I will build my egg container by using rubber bands, cotton balls, cardboards, plastic labels of water bottles and a balloon.  These materials would be light weight; however, it allows you to create bigger container at the same time which is also important to make it air resistant.

Secondly, non-smooth surface area helps it to be air resistant.  This slows down the egg while it is falling and hit the ground without breaking the egg.  It is the same theory as parachute.  Having something which opposes the air force allows it to decrease velocity.  Thus, I have decided to have “Crush Zone” space which surrounds the container.  This can be used to spread the force when it hits the ground hard.  Also, by using a part of balloon and rubber bands, it will spread the force in case of collision.

Lastly, having large surface area which cuts the air allows the egg container to have a small impact force when it hits the ground.  Aerodynamic is a study of force which explains that velocity increases depending on how smoothly it goes and cuts through the air.  This opposes this study.  As a result, I can look forward to have a good effect on reducing impact force.

Therefore, due to those three features considered to have a smaller impact force, the egg container would be able to hit the ground without cracking the egg.

 

 

http://www.ehow.com/how_8642472_slow-descent-object-parachute.html

http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/crumple-zone2.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Report

 

      My partner and I decided to combine our ideas together to protect egg from cracking when it hits the ground.  The purpose of building the model is to test and clarify the flaws which cannot be justified in sketching process. 

In order to reduce and spread the impact force, we used light materials such as bubble wrap, rubber bands, cardboards, cotton balls and paper cups.  We thought that having a big surface for the base would help it to land firmly, so we decided to make a rectangular box.  For outside of the box, we wrapped it with bubble wrap to create the “Crush Zone.”  Also, we attached paper cups filled with cotton balls and a rubber band net to the box to spread the force when it hits the ground.

However, the egg could not survive since it fell to the side.  The side of the box was cutting the air as it was falling down, so this could be one of the reasons why the egg could not survive.  Also, another reason could be that there was no protection on the sides.  We were too focused on the situation when base hits the ground; thus, we only created the design which would reduce the force that is coming from the base.  Due to those reasons, our egg container could not prevent egg from cracking.

Our egg container can be improved by considering about all the possible ways of landing and redesigning the base.  First, I would add protections to each side understanding that the box can fall on any side.  For example, if I were to redesign this egg container, I would surround the egg with the rubber band net and place it in the center of the paper cup, so that it will not hit the container.  Moreover, redesigning the base would prevent the egg without falling to the side.  In order to achieve that, I would make the base even bigger and attach paper cutouts on the edges to make it more air resistant. 

 

 

Final Review

 

I chose this artwork for my portfolio because this was the very first project I did in TDJ using proper designing process.  From this project, I learnt how it is important to design by following the process of design.  I could  know how much effort people put to meet people's needs and satisfaction when creating new things.  Also, I now know that you nede to experiment and test different designs till you get satisfied product.  It took my group a little bit of time to come up with one design considering any circumstantces that can possiby happen.  When I was designing the egg container, there were few obstacles I faced.  I struggled  when I wanted to make a net using erastic bands.  However, I did not know the best and easiest way to tie them together.  Thus, I solved this problem by looking at pictures of net and mimicing those photos.  Moreover, I struggled providing protection for the egg container and understanding how it can fall when it hits the ground.  It was a struggle because it was difficult for me to predict the situation of droppoing the egg container.  Depending on how it falls, I needed to put more protection.  To solve this problem, I dropped similar thing to see where and how it falls.  I think it was better if he had bigger surface for the base.  That way, the box would not have fell after hitting the ground.  This knowledge can be applied when making other object, so I would like to keep it in mind,