Title: Optimum Hand Santizer Bottle Shape

Research Question: What is the optimum shape for a hand sanitizer bottle?

1
Rationale

Hand sanitizers have been a product of high demand due to the world’s current pandemic.

As it has been an essential item to purchase in order to maintain hygiene and prevent the spread of

the COVID-19 virus, hand sanitizers have been produced in large amounts, with bottles of varying

shapes and sizes. According to the Wall Street Journal, the rise of hand sanitizer sales has increased

by 600% in 2020.1

Seeing the high increase of hand sanitizer production, with myself as one of the consumers,

has led me to realize the increase of plastic pollution as a result of this product, along with other

plastic packaging. Furthermore, not only is investigating this beneficial to the environment, as

manufacturers could also reduce their production costs by using less plastic to produce these

bottles. Due to this circumstance, I would like to investigate a hand sanitizer bottle shape with

dimensions to obtain a minimum surface area. In order to achieve this, I will investigate a design

that can contain 60 cm3 hand sanitizer bottle and find the dimensions for the smallest surface area,

thus resulting an optimum shape. This led me to my research question:

What is the optimum shape for a hand sanitizer bottle?

Introduction

In order to answer the given research question, I will need to find the minimum surface

area of the entire hand sanitizer bottle. The hand sanitizer bottle is a regular 3D shape and the

bottle’s outline will be modelled using a continuous piecewise function as a graphical

approximation to determine the surface area.

11
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hand-sanitizer-sales-jumped-600-in-2020-purell-maker-bets-against-a-post-
pandemic-collapse-11611311430

2
 I will find the minimum surface area in a 60 cm3 hand sanitizer bottle using the following

procedures:

1. Model the functions of the bottle using two sub-functions and curve-fitting to produce a

single continuous curve that will fit the contour of the bottle

2. Since the surface area function will depend on multiple dimensions, some of these variables

will need to be eliminated in order to determine the surface area. Volume V will be set to

60 cm3, and a formula will be determined for both sub-functions using integration.

3. Derive the formula for the surface area S of the bottle using approximation

4. Plot S against the bottle’s dimensions using matlab, and determine the dimensions suitable
for the minimum surface area.
Discussion

I. Modelling the Functions of the Bottle

Figure 1.1-Function of Bottle

The hand sanitizer bottle was first positioned sideways, and viewed in elevation as depicted

by figure 1.1. The symmetrical line of the bottle was determined as the origin set of Cartesian axes,

where x is considered as the horizontal displacement from the origin, and y, as the vertical

3
displacement from the origin. As the purpose of this study is to optimize the shape of the bottle,

through minimizing the bottle’s surface area, the dimensions of this bottle are given parametrically

instead of numerically.

The continuous piecewise function contains two functions as one is a curve f(x) and the other

linear g(x), which models the bottle, as depicted by the domain x ∈ (-p2, p3) and range y ∈ (r1, r2),

which is the horizontal displacement from the origin, and returns the vertical displacement y from

the origin or the radius of the bottle at the horizontal displacement. The piece-wise function will

be defined by sub-functions of two intervals: x1 ∈ (-P2, 0) for f(x) and x2 ∈ (0, P3) for g(x).

On the interval x2 ∈ (0, P3)= r2, the second sub-function from B to C was approximated simply

as a horizontal line, in which the overall shape of that segment is considered as a cylinder, with

function g (x) = r2, where x2 ∈ (0, p3), and the horizontal line from the origin to point B (0, r2)

will be treated as equivalent to the bottle’s radius. However, through this, the bottle’s bottom part,

which forms a curve at the end of the graph, will not be considered, and therefore the final volume

of the bottle will be larger than expected. Meanwhile, for the first sub-function from point A to B,

with origin x1 ∈ (-P2, 0), it is a curve, that can be considered as either a sinusoidal, logistic, or

parabolic function.

To model the curve f(x), there are numerous curve types to choose from, such as the sinusoidal

logistic, and parabolic curve. However, given that the curve modelled has extreme points, I will

evaluate each of these choices, and find which one is most suitable.

This curve may have been fitting for a sin function, as it has the minimum point as coordinate

A, and the maximum point at coordinate B. However, it does not have a saddle-point which is a

part of a sin curve, therefore it was not suitable to model my function.

4
 The next choice was a logistic function, which can be a good consideration, however, this

curve shows that after the coordinate B, the function will form a straight line, meanwhile, logistic

functions continue with a curve. Therefore, I eliminated the logistic function as well.

I selected a parabolic function to model the bottle parametrically, using the formula

f (x) = ax2 + bx + c. However, I simplified this function, as the maximum and minimum values,

or the information of the extreme points is known. or it can be simplified as f (x) = a (x – xe)2 +

ye, where a refers to the coefficient for the function’s concavity, xe refers to the extreme or

maximum point of the abscissa, and ye refers to the extreme or maximum point of the ordinate.

Therefore, in order to find the function of this parabola, the function’s concavity coefficient, a, by

substituting the values of the formula using the given parameters.

The given formula to find the parabolic function is

f (x) = a (x – xe)2 + ye

These values can be substituted, using the coordinates for the maximum point of f(x)

which is point B (0, r2). Therefore xe, is substituted with 0 and ye is substituted with r2 e. Thus,

when the values are substituted, the function will be:

f (x) = a (x – 0)2 + r2

f (x) = ax2 + r2

Then, in order to find the value of a, f (x) and x, can be substituted by the coordinates

(-p2, r1), therefore the function will be:

r1 = ap22+ r2

𝑟1 − 𝑟2
=𝑎
𝑝22

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 𝑟1 − 𝑟2 2
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 𝑟2
𝑝22

Therefore the overall function for the first segment is as follows:

𝑟1 − 𝑟2 2
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 𝑟2
𝑝22

II. Deriving the Formula of the Volume

In order to find the overall volume formula for both sub-functions, first sub-function will be

integrated, using the 3d integration formula, meanwhile the second sub-function will use the

formula for the volume of a cylinder, using the given parameters.

Recalled from the first section, the overall formula of the two sub-function is as follows:

𝑟1 − 𝑟2 2
2 𝑥 + 𝑟2 , 𝑖𝑓 − 𝑝2 ≤ 𝑥 ≤ 0
𝑓(𝑥) = { 𝑝2
𝑟2 , 𝑖𝑓 0 < 𝑥 ≤ 𝑝3

To find the formula for the first sub-function, it must first be integrated. The formula for

this is
𝑥1

𝑉 = 𝜋 ∫ 𝑓 2 (𝑥)𝑑𝑥
𝑥0
Therefore, I will use the function that I have previously found into this formula, which
gives:

0 2
𝑟1 − 𝑟2
𝑉1 = 𝜋 ∫ ( 2 𝑥 2 + 𝑟2 ) 𝑑𝑥
𝑝2
−𝑝2

To solve this equation, the parameters must be manually integrated, using the following

steps:

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 0

𝑉1 = 𝜋 ∫ 𝑎2 𝑥 4 + 2𝑎𝑟2 𝑥 2 + 𝑟22 𝑑𝑥
−𝑝2

𝑎2 5 2𝑎𝑟2 3 𝑥=0
𝑉1 = 𝜋 [ 𝑥 + 𝑥 + 𝑟22 𝑥]
5 3 𝑥 = −𝑝 2

𝑎2 2𝑎𝑟2
𝑉1 = 0 − 𝜋 ( (−𝑝2 )5 + (−𝑝2 )3 + 𝑟22 (−𝑝2 ))
5 3

𝑎2 5 2𝑎𝑟2 3
𝑉1 = 𝜋 ( 𝑝2 + 𝑝 + 𝑟22 𝑝2 )
5 3 2

Since it was previously mentioned that

𝑟1 − 𝑟2
𝑎=
𝑝22
Therefore, these values can be substituted to the 3 different terms of the previous equation, with

𝑎2 2𝑎𝑟2
term 1 being 𝑝25, term 2 being 𝑝23 and term 3 being 𝑟22 𝑝2.
5 3

When the a in the first term is substituted, it will give

𝑎2 5 1 𝑟12 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟22 5

𝑝 = ( ) 𝑝2
5 2 5 𝑝24
𝑎2 5 1 2
𝑝 = (𝑟 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟22 )𝑝2
5 2 5 1

and when the a in the second term is substituted, it will give

2𝑎𝑟2 3 2 𝑟1 − 𝑟2
𝑝 = ( 2 ) 𝑟2 𝑝23
3 2 3 𝑝2
2𝑎𝑟2 3 2
𝑝 = (𝑟 𝑟 − 𝑟22 )𝑝2
3 2 3 12

Therefore, the formula for V1, or the volume of f(x) is

1 2
𝑉1 = 𝜋 ( (𝑟12 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟22 )𝑝2 + (𝑟1 𝑟2 − 𝑟22 )𝑝2 + 𝑟22 𝑝2 )
5 3

1 2 1 2 2
𝑉1 = 𝜋𝑝2 ( 𝑟12 − 𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟22 + 𝑟1 𝑟2 − 𝑟22 + 𝑟22 )
5 5 5 3 3

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 1 4 8
𝑉1 = 𝜋𝑝2 ( 𝑟12 + 𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟22 )
5 15 15
𝜋𝑝2
𝑉1 = (3𝑟1 + 4𝑟1 𝑟2 + 8𝑟22 )
2
15

Meanwhile the volume formula for g(x) or the second sub-function uses the formula of the

cylinder’s volume, which is

V=πr2h

These values will be substituted by the given parameters, where the radius is r2 and the

height is p3, which will become

𝑉2 = 𝜋𝑟22 𝑝3

Therefore to find the overall volume,

𝑉 = 𝑉1 + 𝑉2

π 2 4𝜋 8𝜋 2
𝑉= 𝑟1 𝑝2 + 𝑟1 𝑟2 𝑝2 + 𝑟 𝑝 + 𝜋𝑟22 𝑝3
5 15 15 2 2
π
V1,= 𝑝 (3𝑟12 + 4𝑟1 𝑟2 + 8𝑟22 ) consist of 3 parameters which are. 𝑝2 , 𝑟1 , 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟2 . It enclosed
15 2

by subfunction f (x) which is a quadratic function.

V2= 𝜋𝑟22 𝑝3 simply a volume of a cylinder and it consist of 2 parameters i.e. 𝑝3 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑟2 . It

enclosed by subfunction 𝑓2 which is a flat line (constant) function.

III. Deriving an expression for the surface area

While finding the surface area for the second sub-function could use the surface area

formula for a cylinder, the first sub-function will need to use approximation. The formula for

surface area approximation from Purcell’s calculus book is:

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 0

2𝜋 ∫ 𝑔(𝑥)√(1 + (𝑔′ (𝑥)2 𝑑𝑥 2

−𝑝2
The first sub-function f(x) is a quadratic function.
𝑟1 − 𝑟2 2
𝑓(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 𝑟2
𝑝22
This can be written as
𝑓1 (𝑥) = 𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑟2

Hence, it produces a derivative of a linear function.

𝑓(𝑥) = 2𝑎𝑥 + 𝑟2

When I tried to formulate the surface area for this segment I found a complicated integration.

The complication occurs from the part of the square root.

2
√1 + (𝑓 ′ (𝑥)) = √1 + (2𝑎𝑥 + 𝑟2 )2

= √1 + 4𝑎2 𝑥 2 + 4𝑎𝑟2 𝑥 + 𝑟22

Together with the 𝑓(𝑥), it produces a somewhat trigonometric form
𝑥1
2
𝑆1 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑓1 (𝑥)√1 + (𝑓1′ (𝑥)) 𝑑𝑥
𝑥0
0

𝑆1 = 2𝜋 ∫(𝑎𝑥 2 + 𝑟2 )√1 + 4𝑎2 𝑥 2 + 4𝑎𝑟2 𝑥 + 𝑟22 𝑑𝑥

−𝑝2
I read in Purcell's Calculus that this kind of integration required tangent and secant

substitution, but the final result will not be able to have a closed form expression. So, I decided to

simplify the model using linear fitting, joining point 𝐴(−𝑝2 , 𝑟1 ) and point 𝐵(0 , 𝑟2 ).

To find the functions connecting point A and point B, the functions were then

approximated, where

2
Varberg, D. E., Purcell, E. J., & Rigdon, S. E. (2014). Calculus early transcendentals. Harlow,
Essex: Pearson.

9
 ℎ(𝑥) ≈ 𝑓(𝑥)

h(x) is then formed into a linear, function as

ℎ(𝑥) = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑐
and the gradient is then found using the x and y coordinates from points A and B.

(𝑟2 − 𝑟1 ) (𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )
𝑚= =
(0 − (−𝑝2 )) 𝑝2
c is then found by substituting the x and y values with the coordinates from Point 𝐵(0 , 𝑟2 )

𝑟2 − 𝑟1
𝑟2 = (0) + 𝑐
𝑝2

𝑐 = 𝑟2

The overall linear function is then found:

𝑟2 − 𝑟1
ℎ(𝑥) = 𝑥 + 𝑟2
𝑝2

𝑓(𝑥) ≈ ℎ(𝑥) = 𝑚𝑥 + 𝑟2

And when the function is derived, it is equal to the gradient.

𝑟2 − 𝑟1
𝑓 ′ (𝑥) ≈ ℎ′ (𝑥) = 𝑚 =
𝑝2

Hence, the surface area of the first segment will become

𝑥1
2
𝑆1 = 2𝜋 ∫ 𝑓1 (𝑥)√1 + (𝑓1′ (𝑥)) 𝑑𝑥
𝑥0
0

𝑆1 = 2𝜋 ∫(𝑚𝑥 + 𝑟2 )√1 + 𝑚2 𝑑𝑥
−𝑝2
Now, the square root part does not contain the variable 𝑥, so it can then be excluded from

integration process.
0

𝑆1 = 2𝜋√1 + 𝑚2 ∫(𝑚𝑥 + 𝑟2 )𝑑𝑥

−𝑝2

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 𝑚 2 𝑥=0
𝑆1 = 2𝜋√1 + 𝑚2 ( 𝑥 + 𝑟2 𝑥) |
2 𝑥 = −𝑝 2

𝑚 2
𝑆1 = 0 − {2𝜋√1 + 𝑚2 ( 𝑝 − 𝑟2 𝑝2 )}
2 2
𝑚 2
𝑆1 = 2𝜋√1 + 𝑚2 (− 𝑝 + 𝑟2 𝑝2 )
2 2

𝑟2 − 𝑟1 2 1 𝑟2 − 𝑟1 2
𝑆1 = 2𝜋√1 + ( ) (− ( ) 𝑝2 + 𝑟2 𝑝2 )
𝑝2 2 𝑝2

𝑟22 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟12 1

𝑆1 = 2𝜋√1 + (− (𝑟 − 𝑟1 )𝑝2 + 𝑟2 𝑝2 )
𝑝22 2 2

2𝜋 1 1
𝑆1 = √𝑝22 + 𝑟22 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟12 (− 𝑟2 𝑝2 + 𝑟1 𝑝2 + 𝑟2 𝑝2 )
𝑝2 2 2

2𝜋 1 1
𝑆1 = √𝑝22 + 𝑟22 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟12 ( 𝑟1 𝑝2 + 𝑟2 𝑝2 )
𝑝2 2 2
2
Canceling
𝑝2

𝑆1 = 𝜋√𝑝22 + 𝑟22 − 2𝑟1 𝑟2 + 𝑟12 (𝑟1 + 𝑟2 )

It also can be written as

𝑆1 = 𝜋√𝑝22 + (𝑟2 − 𝑟1 )2 (𝑟1 + 𝑟2 )

To find the surface area for the second sub-function g(x), the formula of the cylinder’s

surface area is used, 2πrh+2πr2. These values are then substituted with the given parameters, where

the radius is r2 and the height is p3, which gives

S2 = 2𝜋𝑟2 𝑝3 + 𝜋𝑟22

Therefore, to find the total surface area of the bottle,

𝑆𝐴 = 𝑆1 + 𝑆2

𝑆𝐴 = 𝜋√𝑝22 + (𝑟1 − 𝑟2 )2 (𝑟1 + 𝑟2 ) + 2𝜋𝑟2 𝑝3 + 𝜋𝑟22

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 IV. Minimizing the Surface Area

The last step of the investigation was to minimize the surface area, by using the formulas of

the volume and surface area found.

The total surface area formula is

𝑆(𝑝2 , 𝑝3 , 𝑟1 , 𝑟2 ) = 𝜋√𝑝22 + (𝑟1 − 𝑟2 )2 (𝑟1 + 𝑟2 ) + 2𝜋𝑟2 𝑝3 + 𝜋𝑟22

and the total volume formula is

π 2 4𝜋 8𝜋 2
𝑉= 𝑟1 𝑝2 + 𝑟1 𝑟2 𝑝2 + 𝑟 𝑝 + 𝜋𝑟22 𝑝3
5 15 15 2 2

Given that the desired volume for the bottle is 60 cm3, therefore, p3 and r2 will be variables

that will be modified, given that they are in the second sub-function of the bottle, which is the

largest part of the bottle, therefore using the most plastic. Meanwhile, the parameters that will be

assumed, using the actual dimensions from the bottle are r1 and p2, in which the values are 1.146

cm and 1.3 cm respectively.

Therefore, when the volume formula for the second sub-function is

π 2 4𝜋 8𝜋 2
𝑉= 𝑟1 𝑝2 + 𝑟1 𝑟2 𝑝2 + 𝑟 𝑝 + 𝜋𝑟22 𝑝3
5 15 15 2 2

when r1 and p2 are substituted, the volume formula will become

π 8𝜋
V =5 4.27 + 1.4898𝑟2 + 15 1.3𝑟22 + 𝜋𝑟22 𝑝3

This is then processed in Matlab and gave the following formula:

𝑉 = 1.2475r2 + 3.14p3 r22 + 2.1771r22 + 1.0722 = 60

3.14p3 r22 = 60 − (1.2475r2 + 3.14p3 r22 + 2.1771r22 + 1.0722)

60 − (1.2475r2 + 2.1771r22 + 1.0722)

𝜋𝑝3 𝑟2 =
𝑟2

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 A similar method was used for the surface area, where

𝑆(𝑝2 , 𝑝3 , 𝑟1 , 𝑟2 ) = 𝜋√𝑝22 + (𝑟1 − 𝑟2 )2 (𝑟1 + 𝑟2 ) + 2𝜋𝑟2 𝑝3 + 𝜋𝑟22

using the code displayed by this image to form the graph

Figure 4.1- Matlab Code

The graph for the function of the surface area against r2 found to display this surface area is
below.

Figure 4.2-Graph of Minimum Surface Area

The minimum values found using Matlab was

13
 r2 =2.286 cm

SA=74.15 cm2

Then to find the p3 value, the values of the formula can then be substituted using the values

found from r2, r1 and p2.

𝑆(𝑝2 , 𝑝3 , 𝑟1 , 𝑟2 ) = 𝜋√𝑝22 + (𝑟1 − 𝑟2 )2 (𝑟1 + 𝑟2 ) + 2𝜋𝑟2 𝑝3 + 𝜋𝑟22

74.15 = 𝜋√1.32 + (2.29 − 1.146)2 (2.29 + 1.146) + 2𝜋(1.146)𝑝3 + 𝜋(1.146)2

𝑝3 = 2.464

Conclusion

The objective for this investigation was to find the optimum shape for the hand-sanitizer

bottle, by finding the dimensions for the minimum surface area. Therefore, to answer this
The optimum shape for a 60 cm3 hand-sanitizer bottle has the dimensions of
r1= 1.146 cm r2=2.286 cm p2=1.3 cm p3=2.464 cm
These dimensions will give the minimum surface area required to hold 60 cm3 for a bottle with the surface
area of 74.15 cm2

Given the assumptions that:

1. The surface area of the bottle is the same surface of revolution of a curve around its

axis

2. The model function for the minimum surface area is a parabolic function

3. The surface area of the bottle’s neck and cap is not included.

Recommendation

If I could re-conduct this experiment in the future, there are several errors which I have

evaluated in which I would like to improve.

14
 The first error, I found was that there was a linearization error in the modelling of my

functions, as depicted in the image below.

As it can be seen, the best fit lines for the line before point M, and after point M are uneven.

In order to fix this error, next time I can first find the mid-point of line AB, and later find the line

equations of 𝑔1 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑀, and 𝑔2 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑀 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵.

Another error that was not in line with my investigation was that I only found the surface

area of plastic for the part of the bottle only, and not the cap, although the cap contains plastic as

well. Therefore, in the future, I would also like to find the minimum surface area of both the cap

and the bottle.

Lastly, I am aware that this is not the only shape for a hand-sanitizer bottle, as there are

various other shapes for hand-sanitizer bottles, including ones with irregular shapes that are not

cylindrical as the one that I used. Therefore, in the future, I could also find the minimum surface

area for more than just one bottle, and in fact compare which bottle shape is most suitable for a

hand sanitizer bottle shape that has minimum surface area.

15
Bibliography

Belcher, P. (2019). Mathematics: Applications and interpretation. Oxford, United Kingdom:

Oxford University Press.

Boucher, C. (2011, March 7). Wolfram demonstrations Project. Retrieved April 09, 2021, from
https://demonstrations.wolfram.com/MinimizingTheSurfaceAreaOfACylinderWithAFixed
Volume/

Extreme value of quadratic function. (2003). Retrieved April 09, 2021, from
https://portal.tpu.ru/SHARED/k/KONVAL/Sites/English_sites/Site3_M/5/5_07_2.htm

Terlep, S. (2021, January 22). Hand sanitizer sales JUMPED 600% in 2020. Purell Maker bets
against A Post-pandemic Collapse. Retrieved April 09, 2021, from
https://www.wsj.com/articles/hand-sanitizer-sales-jumped-600-in-2020-purell-maker-bets-
against-a-post-pandemic-collapse-11611311430

Varberg, D. E., Purcell, E. J., & Rigdon, S. E. (2014). Calculus early transcendentals. Harlow,
Essex: Pearson.

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