Increasing the “POP” in Popcorn Increasing the “POP” in Popcorn Team Members Mrinalini Basu, Steven Chen, Jeffery Conti, Varun Ganesan, Giselle Hsu, Tracie Kong, Mark Massaro, William Talbot, Nikhil Yegya-Raman, Darvin Yi, Kaicen Zhu Advisor - Dr. Paul V. Quinn Sr. T.A. - AJ Pyle
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Increasing the “POP” in Popcorn Team Members Mrinalini Basu, Steven Chen, Jeffery Conti, Varun Ganesan, Giselle Hsu, Tracie Kong, Mark Massaro, William.
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Increasing the “POP” in PopcornIncreasing the “POP” in Popcorn
Team MembersMrinalini Basu, Steven Chen, Jeffery Conti, Varun Ganesan,
Giselle Hsu, Tracie Kong, Mark Massaro, William Talbot, Nikhil Yegya-Raman, Darvin Yi, Kaicen Zhu
Advisor - Dr. Paul V. Quinn Sr. T.A. - AJ Pyle
Introduction
Primary Goal: Increase size of popcorn flakes by reducing pressure Desirable for consumers Profitable for producers
Added benefits Decrease popping time Decrease kernel waste
Popcorn: Past and Present
Scientific Name: Zea Mays Averta
Originates in Americas Popping was main
way Natives cooked corn
Used by Aztecs in 16th century as food and religious decoration
1893: Charles Cretor’s steam-powered popcorn machine
Popcorn boom during Great Depression 5-10 cents per bag, was
relatively cheap Invention of microwave
and television moved popcorn from theaters to home
Popcorn: Past and Present
1990s: microwavable popcorn sales average $240 million annually 70% of popcorn eaten
at home 2005: Annual sale of
popcorn = $1,007,680,708
17 billion quarts consumed per year
Popcorn: Past and Present
Theory
Inside kernel: mixture of starch and moisture surrounded by pericarp
Starch and Moisture
Pericarp
The Popping Process
Pi
PY
Pf
Pf
Heat added => trapped moisture vaporizes and expands
Pi increases until Pi = PY
Pericarp breaks => water vapor and starch expand
When Pvapor = Pf expansion stops
Adiabatic Expansion
0CVPVP ffii 1
f
iif P
PVV
No heat transfer
Accepted value for water vapor: γ = 1.33
Our goal: maximize Vf
Pf decreases => Vf increases
Industry Values
Apparatus- Diagram
Procedure
Expansion Volume vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
σ (m
L fl
akes
/g k
erne
ls)
Flake Volume vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
π (m
L fl
akes
/num
ber
of k
erne
ls)
Percent Waste vs. Pressure Below Atmosphere
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
ω (%
was
ted
kern
els)
Apparatus- Diagram
Procedure
Procedure continued
Expansion Volume vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
σ (m
L fl
akes
/g k
erne
ls)
Flake Volume vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
π (m
L fl
akes
/num
ber
of k
erne
ls)
Percent Waste vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
ω (%
was
ted
kern
els)
Apparatus- Diagram
Expansion Volume vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
σ (m
L fl
akes
/g k
erne
ls)
Flake Volume vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
π (m
L fl
akes
/num
ber
of k
erne
ls)
Percent Waste vs. Pressure below Atmosphere
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Pressure below Atmosphere (in. Hg)
ω (%
was
ted
kern
els)
SUCCESS!
Experimental Uncertainties
General Kernel variation Estimated Volume
Measurement Microwave
Bag expansion Microwave Power
Movie Popper Unpopped kernels Unsteady pressure
Stove Popper Thermometer inaccuracy “Hot Spots” on mesh
Conclusion
Original Goal: Increase size of popcorn
π for microwave popper surpassed industry 9.83 cc/flake vs. 8.00 cc/flake
σ for microwave popper surpassed industry 45.5 cc/g vs. 45.0 cc/g
ω for stove and movie poppers surpassed industry 2.8% and 2.1% vs. 6.8% waste