The following showcases my Capstone Project for Grade 11 including documentation, logs, images, videos, notes, and reflection. The Document contains my groups background, rationale, materials, log, reflection, and media. A limited amount of Highlight Images and the reflection are also listed for easier viewing.

Primarily, this Capstone was started due to our group's love and passion for engineering, learning, and our desire to do a project for the graduation-required Capstone. Furthermore, my uncle wanted us to build a Wind Tunnel and learn more about RC Cars. This suited the group's aspirations to learn about vehicles, engineering, physics, and aerodynamics.

This capstone project allowed us to utilize the skills we learned during Computer Science, Physics, Mathematics, and Engineering, as well as multiple ESLOs (Expected Schoolwide Learner Outcomes) to develop a further understanding of aerodynamics, downforce, and other physics and engineering concepts. It also allowed us to understand more of the deeper, more advanced mechanics and underlying meaning of different parts of engineering and building a car, and what tools and equations to use and when. The ESLOs, in question, were Innovative Thinkers, Strategic Learners, and Articulate Communicators. 

Each of the ESLOs of Innovative Thinkers, Strategic Learners, and Articulate Communicators played a huge role during the construction of the RC Car since we had to communicate with Han's uncle along with some of his colleagues/friends for advice on how to build the RC; such as where the center of gravity should be, which model to use, and whether the specs of the models we researched were similar or completely different. All the while observing other models on the track that my uncle owned (RC Infinity Addict), to see how they are maintained, tweaked, or modified in any way, as well as how and where to place certain parts, like the servo, the motor, the battery and receiver. During the observation we checked how the cover and battery were placed on the chassis, after that we were able to acquire an A800 for Uncle Preay and fix the motor, receiver, servo, and wheels onto the chassis. Then, we had to solder the motor and connect the wires. The final thing was to solder the battery’s wires and place the cover on, to test the car we had to borrow a controller and take it for a spin on the track, it performed better than expected because of the low drivetrain and chassis placement of the A800 making it’s cornering and turning along with grip much higher than the other models we researched. 

Then, my uncle and his friend told us about making a Wind Tunnel and convinced us to look into the aerodynamics, equations, and more advanced engineering and physics work the wind tunnel could be used for. We aspired to challenge ourselves and were quite happy with the wind tunnel idea, and with help and guidance, we were able to finish and fully build a decent prototype. During the construction of the Open Return Wind Tunnel, we chose this design because it would be simpler to explain and build compared to the Closed Return Wind Tunnel. Soon, however, we encountered a problem, such as the strength of the cardboard, when we realized that the cardboard wouldn’t be able to hold the weight of the car, leading to the entire tunnel's revamp. Changing the material to Aluminum L-channels and futureboard would provide more stability and support to the entire structure and separating the funnel from the tunnel itself meant that the fan’s position would be adjustable to fit into different tunnel sizes. The fan was also charged entirely to ensure that the air would be able to travel through the entire tunnel and out the outtake without any issue even after the car was placed inside. At first, the fan we used was a blower fan and not a duct fan, when we tested the blower fan the furthest the air got was 36cm, which was optimal for the old design but not viable for the current tunnel. Since the tunnel is 90 centimeters in length and 30 in width and height it wouldn’t be able to reach the other end of the tunnel if we persisted in using the blower fan. Thus, the current fan is now a 10-inch duct fan that drew airflow inside the tunnel, after testing it easily reached even further than the outtake. The makeshift pump was created from a glass jar and clear silicone tubes, the ones used in aquariums, using the concept of air pressure, volume, and density along with temperature once one of the tubes was closed off with a hand pump air can be drawn and pushed into the jar containing the mixture and the pressure will push the cooler gas with lower volume and lower density out of the other tube that would be inserted into a drilled hole of the ceiling of the tunnel and adjusted to spray smoke onto the hood of the car so that we could see the downforce, drag and whether or not the car chassis generated turbulence and if so, how much.

In retrospect, we could have made it more professional. If the school and my uncle want me to keep it, though, I’ll probably tweak the prototype to look more professional, filter out all the plastic and cardboard, add a real stand for the tunnel, and add more vapor chambers and piping for the smoke to emit and more easily demonstrate the aerodynamics around the object(s).

In conclusion, this capstone project, allowed us to demonstrate what we’ve learned and incorporate the ESLOs, as well as learn more advanced physics, engineering, and STEM into the work so that we could better communicate, adapt, and improvise against other challenges and projects to come.