Waterloo · Mechatronics Capstone · 2023
Drag Reduction
System Automation
Automating a wind-tunnel model’s drag reduction system, in collaboration with Williams Racing Formula 1.
1st Place · University of Waterloo Design Analysis Competition, sponsored by Ansys
Project Overview
Our capstone team designed a system to move a wind-tunnel model’s drag reduction system between testing positions without disturbing its aerodynamic surfaces.
We modeled the airfoil surface in Python and MATLAB to explore and optimize the system’s design parameters. With testing constraints limiting direct validation, we evaluated the design under adapted conditions and analyzed its performance.
- Focus
- Mechanical design, automation, and mathematical modeling
- Tools
- Python · NumPy · SciPy · scikit-learn · MATLAB