Category: Extended Essay

I really enjoyed the whole process of my EE especially when an accurate graph was generated, which matched the predicted model very well. I have considered other research questions to explore. Instead of only looking at the effects of angles of attack on the lift-to-drag ratio, I could have looked for the perfect geometrical shape of the airfoil that is most efficient through altering chamber thickness, chord length, or even twisting angle. This was actually my original idea and it would provide results that were more complex and might have more applications. However, the current research question is still more appropriate due to the fact that there is not a single shape of airfoil that is “perfect”: when one aspect of airfoil is optimized, other properties might be influenced. The current research question ensures the simplicity of independent and dependent variables, which maximizes the probability of yielding results that are persistent and replicable. During the data collection, the significance of the stall effect actually surprised me: once past the stall angle, the originally joined airflow suddenly splits so completely that I can easily feel the difference. Overall, I am satisfied with the whole EE process and have learned a lot.

So far, my research in aerodynamics has been successful since the results fit my model quite well, although with minor flaws like the relatively big uncertainties for some values. Generally, my essay has been fully conducted in-depth yet easy to understand. I have learned a lot of aerodynamics knowledge from this research, especially in terminologies. Besides the knowledge, I also gained skills such as 3D modeling and 3D printing when I was creating the equipment (airfoils). Originally I was only trying to measure the angle of attack from -5 to 20 degrees, but soon I realized that the range is not enough to observe the stall effect. Therefore I extend the range to -5 to 40 degrees. Initially, I was aiming at developing a general model for wings, but due to the complexity involved in the variables, I had a better understanding that the research would be more doable if it only focuses on a specific model of wings.

After brainstorming a lot of topics that I can do on physics, I finally pinpointed on researching the efficiency of airfoils since I am really interested in aerodynamics and the design of aircraft. At first, I was trying to focus everything on the wings of airplanes, but my supervisor and I found it too narrow. Therefore, we extend the topic to the whole realm of airfoils which can be extended in the areas of helicopters, fans and submarines. At the same time, in order to narrow down the experimental part, I will be collecting data only about how the shape of the airfoils influence its lift and drag properties. Also, for a more doable experiment, I decided to use a triangle airfoil shape and only change the position of the maximum for my primary data collection, and use simulators to find out the optimal curvature for the airfoil as secondary data. This discussion clarified the structure of my EE.