Final Project

This page details information about the AE 3610 Final Project

Project Overview

The purpose of this project is to introduce you to experimental design by allowing you to design and execute your own experiment. You will be given the unique opportunity of designing your own experiment within the realm of fluid and solid mechanics from beginning-to-end. In AE 2610 and AE 3610 thus far, you have performed prescribed experiments where the problem definition, experimental design, experimental procedure, and data reduction process was taken care of for you. In this project, you will perform all of these aspects of the experimental process yourselves. These aspects include but are not limited to:

  • Conceptualization

  • Experimental goals and motivation

  • Experimental procedure

  • Fabrication of test articles

  • Testing

  • Obtaining raw data and processing data

  • Reporting and presentation of findings

This project will span almost the entire semester. You will be working in assigned groups of 3-5 people and will be assigned either the topic of solid mechanics or fluid mechanics. The ultimate goals of this project are to expose you to self-guided experimental design, help you to develop your engineering curiosity by molding the way you approach engineering problems, implement the theoretical knowledge you have gained thus far in your AE courses, implement the experimental knowledge you gained from AE 2610 and 3610, and introduce you to fabrication and working with hardware.

As mentioned before, this project will be as self-guided as possible to ensure you guys are thinking through the experimental process on your own. You will decide what to test, figure out a way to do it on your own, and execute an experiment to get data and present findings. You are expected to try, fail, persist, and if necessary, pivot. You will have the course professors and TAs to guide you through this process, but we will encourage you to try to do what you can on your own!

Once you have picked a topic, your group will submit a project proposal containing the information in the “Proposal Minimum Contents” section below. Upon submission of this proposal, the feasibility of your project will be assessed by a technical team consisting of the course professor, the lab manager, and the TA assigned to your section. This technical team will give you feedback and give you advice to ensure that your project is feasible and has an appropriate level of complexity while maintaining the overarching goal of the project. Once your project has been approved by the technical review team, you will begin working on your project.

There are three main components you are required to consider when designing your experiments:

  • Creativity and complexity of the experiment – Don’t redo a lab you’ve already done in 2610/3610

  • Design and fabrication of your test specimens and other fixtures

  • Testing process and data reduction

When designing your experiments, think about the trade-offs between each of these three components. You may realize that your project is a bit simple but is very fabrication heavy. You may realize that your project may not be too complex and fabrication is simple, but your data reduction process will be extensive. These are all acceptable! Experiments are different and focusing on one part versus the other is acceptable. What is NOT acceptable is skipping one of these three required components altogether.

Please know that this project is to be within the scope of this course—we are not expecting you to be doing experimentation and documentation worthy of journal articles (although if you do, we obviously won’t stop you)! From a course perspective, we want you to gain good exposure to designing experiments, working with hardware, and understanding and developing the experimental process through your own expertise, though your TAs and course instructor will be available to help you.

Furthermore, know your project may not work. This is okay—experimentation does not always play nice. We are interested in your thought process and effort more than the results. If your project fails, you are expected to pivot if necessary, and put effort into figuring out why your experiment didn’t work. Despite your experiment failing, you can still earn a great grade if you put the thought and effort into your project! The graders are aware of this.

Proposal Minimum Contents

In order for us to fully assess the feasibility and support needs for your experiment, your proposal needs to be accurately and thoroughly communicated. As such, ensure it includes the following contents at a minimum. An example project proposal and a proposal template are provided at the end of this section to aid you in creating your proposals. Include:

  • Your section number, fluids/structures, and list of section members, semester and year

  • A short summary of what the over-arching goal of your experiment is (1-2 sentences)

  • An extended section of prose that contextualizes and motivates the experiment have chosen

  • What your dependent variables are and how your plan to measure each dependent variable

  • What your independent variables are and how you plan to control each independent variable

  • An itemized list of specific equipment that you will use, and who will provide/fabricate those items. List all:

    • Lab spaces and associated lab equipment/apparatuses

    • Instrumentation

    • Sensors

    • Tools

    • Test articles and fixtures

  • What software you will use to execute the experiment or acquire data

  • How you plan to mount your test articles, and any modifications that are required to facilitate that mounting

  • A Team Responsible Itemized Bill Of Materials (BOM) for every part and consumable that needs to be purchased, including information on:

    • Item Descriptions

    • Quantities of each item

    • Unit costs of each item

    • Extended costs (unit cost * quantity) of each item

    • The vendor name with a hyperlink to the specific URL for each item

    • The Total Cost of your order

      • Remember your budget is $100

      • We do not pay sales tax!

    • Note: It is best to do this in table format

    • Below your BOM table, include URLs for your Home Depot and McMaster shopping carts (see instructions below)

  • A GTAE Reponsible Itemized Bill of Materials for all items you will use from the GTAE communal general consumables stock, including information on:

    • Item Descriptions

    • The amount of each consumable you will use

    • Who will be providing the consumable item

    • Note: It is best to do this in table format

  • What fabrication processes you will need to perform, where those processes will happen, how those processes will happen, and who will perform them

    • Note: you MUST be machine shop trained to use the AE Machine Shop!

  • What raw data you will be collecting and how it will be post-processed and reduced

  • A high-level timeline outlining fabrication, testing, data processing, report writing, etc.

  • A preliminary experimental procedure that outlines how exactly you will execute your test

You are free to format the above information according to your judgement, but it is not necessary to go over the top or use a lot of prose. Only the bare minimum to communicate the above in a readable fashion is required; bullet points and tables should cover most of it.

Below is an example proposal in pdf format:

Below is an example proposal in docx format. You may use this as a template to create your own.

Financial Support Provided

Each group will be provided with a discretionary $100 fund allocation that can be spent at either McMaster-Carr or Home Depot (Midtown branch ONLY). This will come in the form of a one-time purchase in the days after the final project plan and BOM list is finalized. All items on the list will be picked up in person by GTAE staff once and once only; it is on you to make sure your items are verified as in stock at the aforementioned locations. Items will be made available for pickup at the same time for all sections. An announcement will be made when items are available for pick-up. Any funds not used during this one-time purchase will be forever lost, so use it wisely. You will not be charged for sales tax. Purchases from other vendors or after this one-time purchase are permitted, but no funds or purchasing support for these items will be provided--you must purchase these yourselves.

In addition to discretionary funds for each section, GTAE also provides certain raw materials via the Aero Maker Space. The exact list of raw materials should be checked each semester with the AMS directly, but typically includes 3D printer filament, various bits of plastic and wood, and lots of consumables.

GTAE will also provide any consumables that benefit AE3610 as a whole. This includes fluids-specific and structures-specific consumables as well as general consumable items. All provided consumables are outlined below under General Consumable Items. Note that general consumables are provided for typical small amounts of use. If you need a gallon of epoxy to mold something, that is not a typical small use! In this case, you must include epoxy in your "Team Responsible BOM" and add the cost of this item to your total costs. We will make general consumables available to you in a common location for use (ESM G2) during the rest of the semester. You must still include small amount consumables provided by GTAE in your GTAE Responsible BOM list! This is to ensure enough of everything gets purchased.

How to export your shopping carts

McMaster-Carr

  1. Ensure your shopping cart is full of all the items you wish to purchase

  4. Go to your email account and the URL for your shopping cart will be found at the very bottom of the email sent to you by McMaster-Carr

  5. Create a hyperlink in your proposal document called "McMaster-Carr Shopping Cart Link", pasting the URL in from above (don't just paste the giant URL in directly)

  6. Click on the hyperlink to ensure it works properly

Home Depot

  1. Ensure your shopping cart is full of all the items you wish to purchase

  6. Create a hyperlink in your proposal document called "Home Depot Shopping Cart Link", pasting the URL in from above (don't just paste the giant URL in directly)

  7. Click on the hyperlink to ensure it works properly

Engineering Support Provided

Prior to proposal sign-off, each group's initial proposal will be reviewed by a technical review team including the Lab Manager, an assigned TA who will remain with you throughout the rest of the semester, and the professors. Thereafter, your section will meet with the technical review team during your assigned lab time to have a dedicated consultancy regarding your plan and how to execute it. After final signoff, teams will have continued access to their assigned TAs for assistance during assigned lab times and, to a limited degree, other times throughout the week.

Within GT-AE, the Aero Maker Space and its mentors are available to you. If any of your group have completed Machine Shop training, you also have access to the machines therein. Some limited machine shop machining assistance *may* be provided by way of the Lab Manager and TAs, for water-jetting metals and simple machining. All Machine Shop use needs to be arranged via your assigned TA; the Machine Shop machinists SHOULD NOT BE APPROACHED FOR INDIVIDUAL HELP.

Outside of GT-AE, GT's other maker spaces are also available for your use, for example the Invention Studio and Hive Makerspace.

Finally, if your test plan requires something that will be useful to future semesters (such as a particular turntable mount, a tool, or a load frame fixture), GT-AE *may* provide engineering and financial support for these. Any such item should be proposed to the technical review team, but there is no implied guarantee of such support.

In all cases, please remember that all resources outside of your section are subject to real-life constraints and are not solely dedicated to your project. As such, there is no implied guarantee that any of these resources are available to you when and how you need them. Where possible, we recommend that you aim to be as self-sufficient as possible, to maximize your chance of success.

Equipment Provided

These lists define the available equipment provided by the labs for your use. Some other equipment may be available but not listed, so if you have a unique need please include this in your project proposal and we *may* be able to accommodate it.

Fluids Experiments

  • Low Turbulence Wind Tunnel, including:

    • The load-measurement turntable used in AE2610

      • A universal wing mount has been created for you to use to mount your wing onto the load-measurement turntable. This mount is described in detail under "Wing Mount Description and Dimensions".

    • The Baratron pressure transducer

    • The FlowKinetics flow meter

    • The 6" pitot traverse, mounted in one of two locations:

      • Location 1: traversing vertically from the floor 12" away from the near-side tunnel wall

      • Location 2: traversing horizontally 7" above the wind tunnel floor

    • The ceiling pitot-static probe

    • This tunnel reaches a max speed of 35 mph

    • Test section area is approximately 42" x 42" including the boundary layer

  • Aerolab Educational Wind Tunnel, including:

    • Pitot-static probe

    • 24-column liquid manometer

    • Wake rake

    • Boundary layer mouse

    • 3-axis sting balance

    • This tunnel reaches a max speed of 120 mph

    • Test section area is approximately 12" x 12" including the boundary layer

  • Other equipment:

Structures Experiments

  • Instron 5982 load frame, including:

    • 1 x 350 Ohm Quarter-Bridge Strain Gauge Adapter

    • 2 x 120 Ohm Quarter-Bridge Strain Gauge Adapter

    • Extensometer

    • 100kN load cell

    • Fixtures from your AE2610/AE3610 experiments:

      • Buckling V-Grooves (1" groove length)

      • 3-point and 4-point bending (12" max specimen length)

      • Dogbone clamps (2" x 2" clamping area and 5/16" max opening width)

  • Vishay 7000 strain gauge data acquisition system + Vishay software

  • Aramis 3D DIC system, configured for 4x4" viewing window (the area of interest of your test article must fit inside this window)

  • Other equipment:

    • Thermal imaging camera

    • A small toolbox with miscellaneous small tools including those for marking and measuring

    • Calibrated masses

    • A variety of clamps

General Consumable Items

  • An assortment of tapes:

    • Gorilla Tape

    • Duct Tape

    • Scotch Tape

    • Clear Packaging Tape

    • Aluminum Foil HVAC Tape

    • Masking Tape

    • Blue Painters Tape

    • Electrical Tape

  • An assortment of adhesives:

    • JB Weld

    • JB KwikWeld

    • Super Glue

    • Wood Glue

    • All-Purpose Glue

  • Ramboard and Packing Paper

  • Fluids Specific Consumables:

    • Tubing for the pressure transducers

    • Propylene glycol for the smoke generator

  • Structures Specific Consumables:

    • Uniaxial strain gauges (up to 4 per group)

    • Strain gauge application chemicals and equipment

    • DIC speckle application:

      • Self-adhesive printer labels

      • Label printer + speckle generation software

      • Matte/flat white spray paint for priming the specimen

      • Black spray paint and ink for the speckles

      • Toothbrushes for application implementation

Equipment Descriptions and Procedures

Wing Mount Description and Dimensions

A universal wing mount was created for fluids groups to use in the Low Turbulence Wind Tunnel. This mount will act as both a structural spar for wings to minimize flexure and torsion, and as an adapter to fix the wing to the load cell adapter plate. It is made from 1/2" thick Aluminum 6061.

The wing mount can be mounted onto the load cell adapter plate by aligning the dowels on the load cell adapter plate to the dowel holes on the wing mount. The wing mount will then be secured to the load cell adapter plate using 5/16" shoulder bolts, similar to how the AE 2610 Subsonic Experiment Wing was mounted.

The wing mount has two threaded holes for 1/2 NPT galvanized iron pipe. Two 1/2 NPT pipes of varying lengths will be threaded into these and will act as a spar support to minimize wing flexure and torsion. Two pipe lengths will be available for use:

  • 9-3/4 inch

  • 25 inch

Please size your wings accordingly. Note that wing spar shall not protrude from the end of your wings (e.g., a 15" spanwise wing cannot utilize the 25" spar and you must use the 9-3/4" spar provided). An isometric view of the wing mount is shown in the figure below featuring the 9-3/4" spar.

Shown below is a top view of the wing mount with the necessary dimensions for your projects. Please use these dimensions when designing the ribbing for your wing, as the holes for the spars will need to be cut into the ribs. Once constructed, your wing should simply slide onto the spars and into place for testing. The centers of the spars are 1.75 inches apart and the spars themselves have an outer diameter of 0.848"+/-0.005" and an inner diameter of 0.625". Note that there is a tolerance for the thickness of the spars. All dimensions are in inches.

Instron Machine Methods

There are two methods available for use for this project. One will be used for static load testing and the other will be used for tensile testing. Depending on the scope of your project, you may select either one for use.

This is the procedure to use these methods:

  • Decide if you will be using the extensometer or strain gauges for your experiment. You will need to use the appropriate transducers. The panel is located on the bottom left of the machine near the rear.

    • The open panel looks like this

    • Do not touch/remove "120 OHM A" transducer from the "Strain 1" port

    • Transducers must be swapped BEFORE turning the Instron machine on

    • Insert the appropriate transducers depending on whether you are using strain gauges or the extensometer for your experiment

      • Using 1 OR 2 strain gauges:

        • Open the panel on the back bottom left of the Instron machine.

        • Ensure that the "120 OHM B" transducer is plugged into the "Strain 2" port. Swap transducers if necessary.

      • Using only the extensometer OR 1 extensometer and 1 strain gauge:

        • Open the panel on the back bottom left of the Instron machine.

        • Ensure that the Extensometer transducer is plugged into the "Strain 2" port. Swap transducers if necessary.

  • Power on the Instron machine. The switch to turn it on is on the bottom right of the machine. Allow at least 10 minutes for the machine to warm up.

  • While the Instron is warming up, power on the computer. The computer used for this machine is the monitor attached to the right of the machine. The power on button is a small circular button located between the USB ports and the power cable on the back of the monitor.

  • Once the Instron machine is warmed up, open the Bluehill Universal program from the Desktop. The home screen is shown below.

  • Install your specimen using one of three available fixtures:

    • V-Groove Fixture

    • 4-Point-Bending Fixture

    • Dogbone Clamp Fixture

    Use the jog up and jog down buttons on the Instron machine control panel move the crosshead up and down. Use the Fine Position dial to make small changes to the vertical position of the crosshead. Take care not to jam the fixtures against each other or accidentally yield your specimen--Remember there is a lag time to releasing the jog up and down buttons.

  • Ensure that you have installed your test specimen correctly into the Instron machine. Refer to previous experiments if you need a refresher on how to install your specimen.

  • Connect your strain gauges to the strain gauge adapter modules (120 Ohm A and 120 Ohm B). If you are using only one strain gauge, use only the 120 OHM A adapter.

    • Be sure to note which strain gauge is connected to which adapter module in the event that you are utilizing both adapters.

  • Click Test on the Bluehill home screen. The following screen should open.

Static Testing Method

The static testing method is a manual load application method. This method can acquire data for up to two strain gauges. It is very similar to the Bucking experiment method used in the Bending and Buckling lab from AE 3610.

The jog up, jog down, and fine position dials must be used to apply a load manually onto your test specimen. The strain data must also be recorded manually, as was the case with the buckling experiment).

  • From the Test screen, select the red Browse methods button on the right of the page.

  • Select the appropriate method

    • If using extensometer

      • Select AELabs>AE3610>AE3610 Project>AE3610StaticLoading-Extens.im_tens

    • If using only strain gauges

      • Select AELabs>AE3610>AE3610 Project>AE3610StaticLoading-Gauges.im_tens

  • Wait for the sample to initialize, and then select the red OK button. The following method screen will open

  • Hit Balance all on the bottom of the screen. All four of the live displays on the top of the screen should read zero or close to 0. If the strain starts drifting, ensure that the wires are connected to the adapter correctly and hit Balance all again.

  • Perform your test by loading your specimen. Load your specimen using the jog up, jog down, and fine position buttons on the control panel.

  • Manually record all your data. There is no report exported for this method. Make sure you sanity check your data before leaving.

  • Remove your specimen from the Instron and power it down by turning off the switch on the bottom right of the machine.

  • Turn off the computer by pressing the small circular button between the power cable and the USB ports on the bottom of the monitor.

Tensile Test Method

The tensile test method is a load application method wherein load an increasing amount of load is applied to the specimen until it ruptures. It is very similar to the tensile testing experiment from AE 2610.

  • From the Test screen, select the red Browse methods button on the right of the page.

  • Select the appropriate method

    • If using extensometer

      • Select AELabs>AE3610>AE3610 Project>AE3610TensileTest-Extens.im_tens

    • If using only strain gauges

      • Select AELabs>AE3610>AE3610 Project>AE3610TensileTest-Gauges.im_tens

  • Wait for the sample to initialize, and then select the red OK button. The following method screen will open

  • Hit Balance all on the bottom of the screen. All four of the live displays on the top of the screen should read zero or close to 0. If the strain starts drifting, ensure that the wires are connected to the adapter correctly and hit Balance all again.

**Warning: The parameters of this method are based on the material properties and geometry of the Aluminum 6061 dogbone specimen from the AE 2610 Tensile Test lab. The following parameters may need to be altered to fit your test:

  • Test Stop Parameters - the parameters that will stop the test and stop loading on your specimen. The test is currently set to stop when the Aluminum 6061 dogbone specimen ruptures. These may need to be changed if are only loading the elastic region of your material, are not loading the specimen to rupture, or for another reason your group deems important.

  • Rate of Displacement - the displacement rate is how the Instron machine applies an increasing amount of load onto your specimen. It is currently set at 0.15 in/min but may need to be altered depending the material and geometry of your specimen.

Reach out to your TA if you feel these parameters need to be changed. DO NOT ALTER METHOD PARAMETERS WITHOUT THE HELP OF THE TAs OR THE LAB MANAGER**

  • Click Start on the bottom right of the screen to begin the test. Observe the Force vs. Displacement chart to ensure the test is operating correctly.

    • If you feel you must stop the test at any point for any reason (e.g. you see yielding when you want to stay in the elastic region), you can hit the Stop button on the bottom right of the screen.

    • You can export your data even if you hit the Stop button during the test so you may use this as a method to Stop the test and still export any data you have.

  • When the test is completed, either automatically due to Stop parameters or hitting the Stop button, take a look at the final Force vs. Displacement chart to see if the test ran properly.

  • In the drop-down menu, select "Export to Tensile_1.csv"

  • In Windows Explorer, navigate to:

    • C:\Users\Public\Documents\Instron\Bluehill Universal\Templates\AE_Labs\AE3610\3610 Project\Fall 2022\Tensile.is_tens_Exports

  • In this folder should be a file labeled "Tensile_1.csv"

    • Open the file in Notepad and ensure the data is present and accurate.

    • If satisfied, rename this file with something meaningful (e.g. "A20_StainlessSteel_Rupture.csv")

    • Cut and paste this file to your team folder in:

      • C:\Users\Public\Documents\Instron\Bluehill Universal\Templates\AE_Labs\AE3610\3610 Project\Fall 2022\Group_Data

      • In the "Group_Data" folder, create a new folder with your group name if it does not already exist, and place the file there.

  • Close the Bluehill software

    • When prompted "Save changes to sample?", select No.

  • Email the file to yourselves.

    • If the computer is not already connected to the internet, you must log into your eduroam to connect the computer to the WiFi. Remember to FORGET the network once you are done emailing the data to yourselves.

  • Turn off the Instron machine and Power down the computer.

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