RUNNING HEAD: RESISTIVE HEATING UNDERWATER 1

Resistive Heating Underwater

Noah Egan, Alen Jomon, Shahid Khan

Governor’s School at Innovation Park

Dr. Psaker

December 18th, 2018

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the faculty and staff at the Governor’s School at Innovation

Park for providing us with the resources and instruction that enabled us to pursue this project.

We would like to thank Dr. Psaker especially, for providing advice and mentoring our project.

We would also like to thank Mr. Smaltz and Mrs. Massie, for helping us to form our idea and

helping us decide which parts to use for our project. We would also like to thank Mr. Chouikha

and his assistant for giving advice and helping us find parts.
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Abstract

Our project goal is to create a resistive heating pad that is small and portable, with the

capabilities of functioning underwater. The conditions of water must be applicable in situations

regarding scuba diving, meaning the heating pad must be able to counteract the cold water. We

have found that the most effective and efficient way to resistively heat someone underwater is by

using carbon tape connected to a battery, where the temperature of the system is regulated by an

Arduino processor. We came to the conclusion that the carbon tape method was more effective

than others such as chemical heating or water circulation because of its compactness and ability

to create more heat due to resistivity. To prevent water from interfering with the processor or

heating system, the carbon tape will be plastic sealed. It will be left underwater to heat for an

hour, and the heat up time along with how close the temperature hovers around the point given

by the Arduino will be recorded. In the future, our heater could be optimized using cheaper

materials to make it lower cost. Further development should aim at decreasing the battery pack

size and making the batteries easily rechargeable, possibly using solar panels.
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Resistive Heating Underwater

The goal of this project is to design a small, compact heating pad that heats up efficiently.

It will also work underwater, to help divers in cold waters. Since divers are in direct contact with

the water, there is a more significant loss in body-heat than compared to a body-heat loss

in air. This higher rate of heat dissipation can lead to hypothermia underwater, even in warmer

waters. Hypothermia is a medical problem that occurs when your body loses heat faster than it

can produce heat, causing a dangerously low body temperature. Hypothermia has three stages. In

the first stage, caused by a temperature loss of 1-2 °C, shivering and numbness occur. In the

second stage, caused by a temperature loss of 2-4 °C, violent shivering occurs, and the victim

will feel disoriented due to lack of blood flow to the brain. In the third stage, caused by the body

temperature falling below 32 °C, organs shut down, leading to cardiac arrest and death (Wedro).

Most divers who get hypothermia get it in the 1st or 2nd stage during and after dives. We aim to

help prevent this and to increase the comfort of divers underwater.

This heater will be based on resistive, or Joule, heating. Joule’s first law states that the

energy converted to heat per second in a wire or other conductive material is equal to the square

of the current multiplied by the resistance (Multiphysics Cyclopedia, 2014). This formula is used

when current and resistance are constant, which they are in this experiment (because of the

limitations of batteries – they cannot supply an arbitrary amount of current). It will function by

running a current through a long piece of carbon tape. This tape will be contained within a plastic

seal and will sit on the chest of the wearer. However, it can also be used on other parts of the

body. The formulas we used in our predictions and processes throughout our project are the

following:
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1. Q = mCT Legend

2. Q = I2Rt ∆𝑇 = temperature difference (Kelvin, K) t = time (seconds)

3. P = I2R
I = current (Amperes, A) m = mass (kg)
𝑃∆𝑡
4. ∆𝑇 = R = resistance (Ohms, Ω) C = heat capacity (J/ kg⋅°K)
𝑚𝐶
𝑄 𝑘𝐴(𝑇1 − 𝑇2 ) P = Power lost to heat (Watts, W) Q = heat (Joules, J)
5. =
𝑡 𝑑
k = thermal conductivity W/(m⋅°K) A = area of heated material (m2)

d = thickness of heated material (m)

The fourth formula is obtained from combining and rearranging all of the first three

formulas and shows that the ideal material is low-mass, has a low specific heat, can support a

large current, and has high resistance. The fifth formula shows that a material with high thermal

conductivity and area, and a small thickness, is ideal for a heater. These formulas will not very

accurately predict the temperature the person will feel since there is a multitude of factors

affecting that like the water temperature, the rate of water flow across the person’s body, how

thick the plastic insulation is, and the rate of heat conductivity of the plastic. We are using these

formulas to show what factors affect the heating, to help us better optimize our heater. The actual

rate of warming will be determined experimentally.

There are several advantages to using a heating pad with carbon fiber tape compared to

other methods, like circulating hot water or using a chemical heat pad. The main disadvantage

for circulating hot water is that hot water pumps within clothing could reduce mobility and be

much harder to implement. Chemical heat pads are also relatively bulky, especially when they

are worn. The advantages that a resistive tape offers are that it is very flat, which is good for

wearable technology. Carbon fiber tape also has a low specific heat, around 400 J/(kg⋅°K)
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meaning it can heat up fast with low energy. Carbon fiber can also have a thermal conductivity

of around 75-100 W/(m⋅°K) (V. Lopatin, personal communication, December 15, 2018). It also

has a large surface area, increasing the rate of conductance from the tape to the human body.

However, this large surface area also means that it will lose heat to the surrounding water at a

higher rate, so we must prevent as much of this leakage as we can by using an insulator on one

side of the heating pad. The tape has a resistance of 18 Ohms per meter, which increases power

lost to heat. Also, it also has a density of 2 g/cm3, which would give the same size heating pad a

lower mass compared to nichrome or copper. A lower mass would decrease heating time,

according to formula 4 (above). It can also be molded into any shape, letting the tape heat areas

of the body that are not entirely flat. Carbon fiber tape also requires low power to heat, and it can

be done with 3.7 V batteries.

In our design, we will be using multiple batteries connected in series. We will be doing

this because we need batteries capable of providing a high voltage. Small, portable batteries that

have high current capacities. The ones we will be using are rated as 3400 mAh, or milliamp

hours, which means they can support a current of 3400 milliamps for an hour before dying.

However, batteries rated for this usually come at 3.7 V. To get a higher voltage, which will

create a larger current and increase power lost to heat, we will connect these batteries in series,

joining the negative terminal of one battery to the positive terminal of another. This will double

the original voltage if we connect two, triple it if we connect three, and so on. This will create a

large voltage, which will create a large current, increasing heat. We will connect the 4 batteries

in series, giving them a voltage of 14.8V.

In the future, we plan to make this heater accessible to not just divers, but to the general

public. Low-cost portable heaters have many applications. They can save costs on heating bills,
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because it takes less energy to heat a blanket than it does to heat an entire house. They can also

increase comfort for the average person in daily life. The use of carbon fiber tape increases wear

ability, because the tape is flat and flexible. Portable heaters could even be used to help the

homeless in the cold winters. This project has many applications beyond heating scuba divers

underwater.
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Questions

The main question we will investigate is whether it would be practical and safe to have a

heating pad powered by a current run through a heating element, in this case carbon fiber tape.

We will explore whether the heating pad will heat up in a reasonable amount of time, without

supplying huge current to it (to decrease danger). An insulating plastic on one side of the heater

will also be used to decrease heat dissipation into the water. We will also investigate whether a

computer could control this heating underwater, with a temperature sensor. Finally, we will see if

it can be made compact and comfortable enough to be able to use regularly.

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Hypotheses

If current from a 14.8V battery is run through 1m of carbon fiber tape underwater, then it

will heat up to 50° C within 20 minutes, because of the low specific heat value (400J/kg. K), a

high thermal conductivity of 75 W/(m⋅K) at room temperature, a resistance of 18 Ohms, and a

low mass of 5 grams. We cannot predict the exact time, because there are a multitude of factors

like water flow rate, ambient temperature, thermal conductivity of the plastic seal, etc.

Null Hypothesis:

The electric heater will not be practical underwater because it will not be able to heat to

50° Celsius within 20 minutes.

Alternative Hypothesis:

The electric heater will be practical because it will be able to heat to 50° Celsius within

20 minutes.
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Materials and Methods

Materials:

 Arduino Uno

 Permatex Adhesive Silicone Sealant

 Mini Modular Breadboard

 1 meter of Carbon fiber tape

 Primode Sponge Neoprene Roll

 4 Nitecore NL1834 18650 3400mAh 3.7V Protected Lithium Ion (Li-ion) Batteries

 Nitecore i2 18650 Battery Charger

 Pressure-Sensitive Conductive Sheet (Velostat/Linqstat)

 Battery pack

 Insulated copper wires

Procedure:

Our first task is to set up all our materials. We will first insert the 4 batteries into the pack

and connect them in series. This will quadruple the voltage from the batteries, to 14.8V. Then,

we will set up the circuit. The wire from the negative terminal of the battery pack will connect to

the emitter pin of the transistor, and another wire connected to the collector pin will run to the

heating tape. At the other end of the tape, a wire from the positive terminal of the battery will

connect and lead back to the battery pack. A wire running from a digital output pin of the

Arduino will connect to the base pin of the transistor through the breadboard. A temperature

sensor will be placed on the heating pad and will connect to an analog input pin in the Arduino.

Finally, a potentiometer will be connected to the Arduino. One of the outer pins of the
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potentiometer will be connected to ground, the other outer pin to a 5V pin, and the middle pin to

an analog input pin.

Figure 1. The image above is a schematic of the experimental setup of the 14.8 V output

through the NPN transistor, then the 18.9 Ω carbon fiber heating tape.

The next step will be to program the Arduino. We will write the program to provide voltage

to the base pin of the transistor when the temperature sensor reads a temperature below whatever

value the potentiometer gives it, and to not provide any voltage to the base pin of the transistor

when the temperature sensor reads a value higher than whatever the potentiometer gives it. This

way, the temperature will always hover around a certain given value. We will run the heater for

an hour and record all the temperature values over time using the Arduino software, and examine

how fast the device heated up to the desired temperature, and how close it stayed to that

temperature.

After the circuit is set up and proven to work effectively, we will begin waterproofing the

device. First, the carbon tape will be sealed in between two pieces of the conductive plastic

sheets. It will have the air sucked out of it with a vacuum sealing device; then the edges will be

sealed using an iron to melt the plastic together which will prevent any water from getting into
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the device. We will also seal any entry points for the wires or temperature sensor with the

adhesive silicone sealant.

After sealing the device, we will assemble our case for the breadboard and Arduino. We will

drill three holes in the case for the wire from the temperature sensor, the wire from the negative

terminal of the battery pack, and the wire from the positive terminal of the battery pack. We will

feed these wires into the case, reconnect them to the pins, and seal the holes with the silicone

sealant. The battery pack will also be sealed to be waterproof.

Figure 2. The schematic above is the design of the prototype of the resistive heater. As

indicated, the carbon fiber heating tape will be in a “zig-zag” shape enclosed by the plastic to

make it genuinely waterproof with wires exiting, which connects the Arduino, resistor, batteries,

and the temperature sensor.

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The next step will be to test if the entire device is waterproof. First, we will submerge each

component of the device in water individually and check for leakage. We will do this to reduce

the risk of damaging the entire device at once if the cases are not sealed well enough. After it is

proven to be waterproof, we will submerge the device underwater and test how fast the device

heats up and compare it to how quickly it heated up when not in water. We will leave in

submerged for an hour and check to see if there was leakage. If the sealant did not work properly

at any point, we would add more sealant to make the device genuinely waterproof.

After we have tested the device underwater, we plan to attach all components to wetsuit

fabric, and showcase it at the science fair.

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Data and Analysis

We have no data to present yet, because not all our parts have been delivered and we

have not assembled the heater. However, we plan to use an Arduino temperature sensor to record

the temperature values while we are heating up the pad. We will use a data table with the

temperature recordings over time to analyze how fast the heater reached a certain temperature,

and if it held a steady temperature around the desired value. To do this, we will take the mean of

all temperature readings from the first time the Arduino blocked current flow through the

transistor (which would be after the heater has warmed to the desired temperature). Then, we

will find the percent difference of this mean value to the value given by the potentiometer. We

will also submerge the device into water, for different lengths at a time, and check for water

leakage and test if the device heated up any slower after being submerged.
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References

Benjamin Wedro, MD, FACEP, FAAEM, B. W. (n.d.). 7 Frostbite vs. Hypothermia Differences

in Symptoms and Signs. Retrieved December 11, 2018, from https://www.emedicinehe

alth.com /frostbite_and_hypothermia_symptoms_and_stages/article_em.htm

Carbon tape. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.carbonheater.us/

EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal. (2013, August 18). Resistive heating explained in details.

Retrieved from https://electrical-engineering-portal.com/resistive-heating-explained-in-

details

Hypothermia and Heat Loss while Scuba Diving. (2009, December 11). Retrieved December 12,

2018, from https://www.leisurepro.com/blog/scuba-guides/hypothermia-and-heat-loss-

while-scuba-diving/

Multiphysics Cyclopedia. (2014, October). Retrieved December 5, 2018, from

https://www.consol.com/multiphysics/the-joule-heating-effect

Resistance and Resistivity. (n.d.). Retrieved November 8, 2018, from http://hyperphysics.phy-

astr.gsu.edu/hbase/electric/resis.html