Extruded Starch Artificial Snow Composition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing artificial snow products are often toxic and environmentally harmful, and they fail to accurately replicate the texture and behavior of natural snow, particularly when falling or lying on surfaces.
Innovation Solution
A non-toxic, environmentally benign artificial snow composition comprising 80-90% starch, 10-15% polyvinyl alcohol, 0.1-2.5% talc, 0.1-2.5% hydrogenated soy flakes, and up to 5% colorant, which is extruded, cut into fragments, and sorted by size to mimic natural snow flakes, and a method for making this composition using a three-barrel twin screw extruder and processing steps to achieve the desired texture and appearance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If conventional artificial snow materials are used, then the product is readily available and easy to manufacture, but the materials are toxic and environmentally harmful
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite material system consisting of starch (80-90% by volume) as the base material, polyvinyl alcohol (10-15% by volume) as binder, and minor additives including talc (0.1-2.5% by volume) and hydrogenated soy flakes (0.1-2.5% by volume). This composite approach allows the artificial snow to be non-toxic and environmentally benign while maintaining manufacturability through extrusion processes.
2Manufacturing precision
If simple artificial snow compositions are used, then the manufacturing process is simple, but the texture and appearance do not resemble natural snow
Solution Approach 1:
The manufacturing process segments the artificial snow production into distinct stages: extrusion of the starch-polyvinyl alcohol-talc-hydrogenated soy flakes mixture, freezing of the extruded material, and crushing into snow-like particles. This segmentation allows each stage to be optimized independently, achieving natural snow resemblance without excessive overall complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent controls specific parameters including the volume ratios of ingredients (80-90% starch, 10-15% polyvinyl alcohol, 0.1-2.5% talc, 0.1-2.5% hydrogenated soy flakes), extrusion temperature and pressure, freezing temperature, and particle size distribution. These parameter controls enable precise reproduction of natural snow texture and appearance.
3Speed
If artificial snow is designed to drift slowly like natural snow, then it resembles falling snow, but it requires specific density and aerodynamic properties that are difficult to achieve
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves controlled falling speed by adjusting the density and size distribution of the artificial snow particles through control of ingredient ratios and processing parameters. The starch-based composition with specific polyvinyl alcohol content (10-15% by volume) creates particles with appropriate aerodynamic properties for slow drifting.
Solution Approach 2:
The extrusion and freezing process creates a porous internal structure within the artificial snow particles, reducing their density and increasing their drag in air. This porous structure, combined with the specific size distribution achieved through crushing, enables the particles to drift slowly like natural snowflakes.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution produces artificial snow that is safe, resembles natural snow in texture and behavior, and can be colored for specific applications, effectively addressing the toxicity and environmental concerns of previous products while replicating the appearance and movement of natural snow.
Implementation Method 1
a three-barrel twin screw extruder
Implementation Method 2
The composition is extruded, cut into fragments
Implementation Method 3
sorting the fragments by size
Data Source
AI summary
A non-toxic, non-static, environmentally benign artificial snow product is made by extruding a mixture of starch, polyvinyl alcohol, hydrogenated soy flakes and talc to form an extruded starch product and processing the extruded starch product into snow flake like fragments. The snow flake like fragments may be sorted by size. Colorant may be added to yield artificial snow flakes in various festive colors.