Nano Waterproofing

Student Activity:
Waterproofing Challenge

You are part of a team of engineers who have been given the challenge to develop a new process for waterproofing clothing. You have been provided with several pieces of cotton along with many possible materials you might decide to use for your waterproofing technique. For the purposes of your challenge, "waterproof" means that water should not be absorbed by the fabric, but will bead up on the fabric instead.  You may try two or three different solutions and see which works best! 

 Planning Stage
Meet as a team and discuss the problem you need to solve.  Use the box below to describe your solution and list the materials you think you'll need to meet the challenge. Explain why you think your solution will solve the problem!  

Fabric A
Your plan and hypothesis:

Materials Needed:

	

Fabric B
Your plan and hypothesis:

Materials Needed:

	

Fabric C
Your plan and hypothesis:

Materials Needed:

	

 Nano Waterproofing

Student Activity:
Waterproofing Challenge (continued)

 Manufacturing Stage
Execute each of your plans (be sure to mark each piece of fabric, so you know what process you applied to it).

 Investigation Stage
If you have access to a microscope, examine each of your pieces of fabric and in the box below describe what you see, noting both what you see and how they differ from the other fabric samples.  You'll have a chance to examine a sample of fabric that has been altered at the nano level too! Consider whether the fabric surfaces appear smooth, bumpy, convex, concave, or have other characteristics. 

Surface Observations	
Fabric A	Fabric B	Fabric C	Nano Fabric	

	

 Testing Stage
Over a wash basin or sink pour water over your fabric and see if it beads up or is absorbed.  If your teacher agrees, you may wish to use a colored water or juice to more easily see if the water is absorbed at all.  Mark your observations below.
  
Water Test Observations	
Fabric A	Fabric B	Fabric C	Nano Fabric	

	
 Nano Waterproofing

Student Activity:
Waterproofing Challenge (continued)

 Evaluation Phase
Complete the following questions as a group:

1. Did any of your fabrics prove to be waterproof?  

If yes, which procedure do you think was the best, and why?  
If no, why do you think your procedures did not work? 

2. What solution of another team do you think worked best?  Why?

3.  What do you think would happen if you washed and dried your fabric?  Would it retain the waterproofing?

4. What was the most surprising observation during the microscope comparison (if you completed that part of the activitiy)?

5.  How did the nano treated fabric compare to your most successful fabric in the water test?

6.  How did the nano treated fabric compare to your most successful fabric under the microscope?

 Nano Waterproofing

Student Activity:
Waterproofing Challenge (continued)

7. If you had to do it all over again, how would your team have approached this challenge differently?  Why?

8. Do you think that materials engineers have to adapt their original ideas during product testing?  Why might they?

9. Did you find that there were many different solutions in your classroom that met the project goal?  What does this tell you about how engineering teams solve problems in the real world?

10. Do you think you would have been able to complete this project easier if you were working alone?  Explain…

11.  What other applications can you think of where a surface might be changed at the nano scale to improve function or performance?  One idea is coating windshields so water flows off faster…..what can you think of?