Design Review – Portable AC Unit in Modern Aesthetic

The initial inspiration and a resource that would provide great guidance towards my portable AC unit is the following video:

The initial need for me to personally do this project is due to how hot my apartment can get in the upcoming summer months, where temperatures often exceed 90 degrees and on occasion surpass 100 degrees Fahrenheit.  While my roommates have bought other sorts of smaller AC units such as window mounted ones, I have not. I seek the gratification of personally making my own “AC unit” rather than buying one, and can further my understanding in various engineering principles such as Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, which are arguably my two least favorite and least desired principles so far in my engineering career. I can further advance my knowledge as well as utilize my current knowledge in order to optimize the performance of the AC unit. This includes optimizing and perfecting the insulation and other factors that may lead to melting the contents inside the cooler, as well as optimizing the output of the AC unit correlated with the inputs. 

Aesthetic:

The two major aesthetics I have been exploring are a modern aesthetic and a car enthusiast aesthetic. Below is an excerpt from my previous post where I presented these options :

My one issue from the inspiration I have seen is how bland the cooler looks with some pipes sticking out. From here I can really expand on the aesthetics side of the project. I immediately thought of coolers traditionally designed for fraternity formal events, but I thought it would be corny for a project like this. I did some browsing on the internet and came across a couple options:

1. Modern Cooler design

I thought this design was very sleek and could blend well in nearly any environment in which a portable AC unit may be implemented, whether it is your room or living room or even the back of your car if you do not have AC in your car. The “wood” in this cooler is actually just a wood grain contact paper, like a sort of wrap that could be attached to a desired surface. I love the look and sleekness, and i think possibly painting it a color like a cement gray would be really modern and sleek.

2. Car enthusiast inspired.

Cars will remain timeless in our culture and the car enthusiasts will likely be around for longer than cars may even be a popular mode for transportation. With the pipes that extrude from the cooler for the AC unit, I thought it would be cool to possibly have it resemble a turbo or air intake of a car. Along with this, It would be interesting to make my own cooler “body kit” which would resemble a car. However, this would likely significantly increase the footprint of my project as it would have to be elongated to resemble a car I would desire to have it imitate. Perhaps, other designs on the cooler could help achieve a car culture aesthetic, like the designs on a race or rally car:

On top of achieving a desired aesthetic, It could easily be customized furthermore to be personalized to me. For example, in the image above the drivers get their names and country flags along with sponsorships attached. I could do very similar, and add stickers and designs that apply to me.

I ultimately decided to go with a modern aesthetic. I will likely paint or wrap the cooler white, and add a sort of wood textured wrap to the lid of the cooler. Additionally, all extruding pipes and such may be painted white to match the aesthetic.

The major issue I had with the automotive/car enthusiast aesthetic is total design and I felt it would be less fitting in a nice clean interior space. This is a project that could be optimal in various spaces in a modern configuration.

Materials:

The materials for this project primarily involve a cooler and some pvc type piping as well as ice that would be implemented in the cooler along with a fan.

A list of materials involve the following:

4″ Black Elbow – https://amzn.to/2SBNVTF

Cooler (UPCYCLED)

120 Volt Blower Motor (seen in video) – https://amzn.to/2A3brCQ

Aluminum Duct – https://amzn.to/2xCXGdf

4″ White PVC Pipe – https://amzn.to/2SAZWZG

4″ White PVC Elbow – https://amzn.to/2WorB0U

White PVC Shower Drain – https://amzn.to/2xGphu4

Dap Quick Seal Plus – http://amzn.to/2u6G6Mi

Timeline:

I will need to go home in spring break before I embark on the project. The cooler I will be reusing is one from home and will provide the foundation of my project.

The overall manufacturing of this project will likely not take a copious amount of time. I will strive to get this done as soon as possible to quickly implement my project to use.

Optimization:

As per the engineering, there are various steps I can do to ensure the optimization of the AC unit. With the cooler, I can ensure great insulation and no leaks and where there are leaks in the cuts in the cooler, I can ensure to cover them up and add great insulation.

Large blocks of ice will melt slower than small chunks of ice. Additionally, adding cold water in with the ice will decrease contact surfaces and add additional resistance to heat transfer to the ice.

Airflow would need to be specifically optimized. The holes for the in take on top and output from the side of the cooler would need to be made in a way to best perform. The mounts and holes for the intake and output will have to be sealed and insulated well.

Reflective material on the outside of the cooler would help. Perhaps a foil will help reduce heat absorption of the cooler. Additionally, the cooler itself can be precooled to help in preserving the contents of the cooler to melt slower.

Looking forward to any feedback and other envisions you may have acquired through reading this post. Thank you.

Sources:

diy modern and very cool cooler

https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/g22088459/best-racing-liveries/

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-news/tech/how-does-a-turbo-work/

https://www.autozone.com/diy/air-intake/what-is-a-cold-air-intake