It is here, the final two weeks of the semester. Long awaited but, equally dreaded. I have two projects due on the 20th and so far they are going well. In my Structures II course myself and another student are working on the analysis of an F 16 C wing. The analysis includes lift distribution, shear, moment, torque, shear flow, stress distribution, panel buckling, ANSYS modeling, and finally a write up including the history of  the aircraft. It seems like a lot but after two courses in structures it is actually pretty simply, we have had plenty of practice in each topic over the last year so it is coming along well.

The other project that I am working on with a team of 4 other students is in Experimental Aerodynamics.Basically we suspended a wire in front of the leading edge of a highly cambered wing and tested it at different angles of attack of the wire and of the airfoil. The testing was also completed at different distances of the wire from the leading edge. Overall, the results proved favorable as the maximum lift coefficient and angle at which stall was predicted to occur increased in both test cases.

To get the required data we had to rapid 3D print the airfoil, sand it, and adjust it for comparability with the balance that it was mounted to. We underwent 12 hours of testing to achieve our results and now we are working on the report. The report is in AIAA format and is so far incomplete but, I am hoping I can get it all wrapped up next week so it can be edited.

If you are interested in more information on coursework and the projects that you can be involved in please feel free to ask us! Thanks for reading everyone 🙂