Lab 05 involved testing four motors on four unique wind tunnels. Each wind tunnel had a unique propeller configuration. The lab was intended to help the group understand which propeller configuration would be most efficient for the group’s AEV design. Each group member took a turn at the front of the lab room testing a unique wind tunnel with members from other groups. The wind tunnels were testing at different power inputs, starting at 60% power and working down to 0% power in increments of 5%. At each reduction of power, notes were taken on the RPM, Thrust Scale, and Current Amps. After a max testing time of 10 minutes with a wind tunnel, a new member went up to a new wind tunnel and proceeded with the same testing. The members left at the table worked on an Excel data file with the data collected.
There were takeaways to be made in relation to the AEV and real life objects with the wind tunnel testing. Testing the propellers allowed the group to gain a sense of what it is like finding the most efficient setting for propellers to avoid wasting energy. These ideas could be related to helicopters or wind mills. Each member was able to get hands-on testing with a propeller and wind tunnel, and gather data with other members of other groups. Then, once each member completed their turn, they were able to refresh knowledge of Microsoft Excel, entering their data into a group Excel file to be used later on.
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