Final Reflection
Wow, that was my Wind tunnel Lab, 10 weeks in the tunnel can do a number on you but I think I came out a better engineer in the end. I will be honest though, the first few weeks of the quarter were difficult for me because of the workload, the reflections twice a week, homework of other classes as well as the labs, and extracurricular that I was doing.
But also, I felt like I was not doing enough for some of the group project. During the 4412 project Matlab was a big part of the lab, and Matlab isn't really a collaborative effort therefore some people were saddled with a lot of the coding or the difficult parts of the coding. While I did do a portion of the work, there was no practical way of helping code and complete the coding that was required. This was something that I was thinking about the whole duration of the 4412 airfoil.
Another thing that was on my mind during the 4412 airfoil was the pressure of finding the right numbers and the correct answers. Knowing that research existed that might contradict our findings was difficult to think about. Although these past experiments were useful to compare and check if our code was correct, we were still in constant anxiety that maybe our calculations aren't correct. I'm not sure if there is anything that can be done about this, but the transition from getting exact numbers in the labs that we had in previous labs to the level of uncertainty that the wind tunnel has was something that I believe was a transition that was hard to get used to. Fortunately, the lecture about error was extremely helpful in the confidence and the legitimacy of our tests and work. And I suppose thius fits into the idea that science never has an objective and fixed position on any experimentation. The experiments define the theory, and the math that is created is only serves as a tool rather than defining absolute truths.
This may sound like an obvious revelation but it give me confidence that the results that we collected are not something that I'm bad at but rather part of the process of the experiments we run.
Out of all the labs/ experiments we ran the NACA 4412 and the Lab Hack were my favorite parts of the lab because we were able to design and were given a lot of liberty with what we wanted to pursue. I get excited even thinking about it because it think it's exactly what I love to do. I find the most satisfaction out of going after an objective but with the freedom of pursuing the objective in a way that I see fit. And although that is what Matlab allows for, seeing an actual product come out of the effort that was put forth is satisfying.
To answer a prompt from the email that Dr. Doig sent out, I think I'll choose this one.
What did you find to be the most memorable "moment" of 307?
My favorite moment in the 307 Lab would definitely have to be the blue dye explosion, but I feel like that is way too generic, I wasn't even a part of that experiment and I can think of something better.
It would have to be Harrison drilling pilot holes in the diffuser. For some reason, Harrison was perfectly proportioned to be in the diffuser, and working around the diffuser cone was one thing that made it even more comical. We didn’t take a photo but nonetheless, the flexibility of Harrison was quite impressive. And it will probably be something I hold over his head for a while.
Overall, I really enjoyed how this Lab ended and the work that we did in the tunnel. I cannot wait to work in the tunnel this summer, even if it is unpaid, the ability to work in an environment that is similar to the lab hack project will be something that I cannot wait to do.