The effect of fiber type on heat retention in sleeping bags
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Engineering
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Written Paper Award
2nd Place
Abstract
People who go camping in cold environments without proper protection may get hypothermia or frostbite. This project looked at heat retention in several natural fibers commonly used in the textile industry. The purpose of this analysis was to find which natural fiber was the best at retaining heat in cold temperatures. Heat retention is how well something works as an insulator. It was hypothesized that a custom mix of duck down, goose down, and cotton fibers would keep the temperature above -10°C for the most amount of time. Each model sleeping bag had 26.7 grams of insulation. The Custom sleeping bag was created with a 1:1:2 ratio of duck down: goose down: cotton. Four trials were completed to see which fiber or mix would be the best at retaining heat: cotton, goose down, duck down, or the Custom mix of those three insulations. Those insulations were picked as they are commonly used in sleeping bags and textiles used in camping in cold weather conditions. An ANOVA test (F(3,12)=19.67, p<0.001) was run on the data with alpha equal to 0.05. It was concluded that cotton fibers were the worst at retaining heat and that there was no significant difference between duck down, goose down, and the Custom mix. Future research will have to test the difference of the Model Sleeping Bags without cotton, as well as different ratios of duck and goose down.
Recommended Citation
Huddlestun, Asher, "The effect of fiber type on heat retention in sleeping bags" (2018). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 152.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2018/all/152
Location
Lassiter 119
Start Date
4-14-2018 10:00 AM
Presentation Format
Oral and Written
The effect of fiber type on heat retention in sleeping bags
Lassiter 119
People who go camping in cold environments without proper protection may get hypothermia or frostbite. This project looked at heat retention in several natural fibers commonly used in the textile industry. The purpose of this analysis was to find which natural fiber was the best at retaining heat in cold temperatures. Heat retention is how well something works as an insulator. It was hypothesized that a custom mix of duck down, goose down, and cotton fibers would keep the temperature above -10°C for the most amount of time. Each model sleeping bag had 26.7 grams of insulation. The Custom sleeping bag was created with a 1:1:2 ratio of duck down: goose down: cotton. Four trials were completed to see which fiber or mix would be the best at retaining heat: cotton, goose down, duck down, or the Custom mix of those three insulations. Those insulations were picked as they are commonly used in sleeping bags and textiles used in camping in cold weather conditions. An ANOVA test (F(3,12)=19.67, p<0.001) was run on the data with alpha equal to 0.05. It was concluded that cotton fibers were the worst at retaining heat and that there was no significant difference between duck down, goose down, and the Custom mix. Future research will have to test the difference of the Model Sleeping Bags without cotton, as well as different ratios of duck and goose down.
