Lesson 9 (several class meetings)
Make (and Shake) a Tail Feather
Aerodynamic Engineering Design Process, Hands-on Experimentation, Inquiry - based Learning
Overview
The addition of feathers to arrow shafts changed warfare and hunting forever. The feather’s remarkably efficient aerodynamic qualities are the result of millions of years of evolution by natural selection. Biomimetics is a new field that seeks to copy from nature’s playbook in order to increase the efficiency of our machines. More and more, aeronautical and aerospace engineers study living organisms, their structural adaptations, and the very proteins of which they are composed. This lesson in biomimetic engineering will give students a chance to immerse themselves in the role of an engineer facing a unique design challenge. Students will be asked to browse scans at the Feather Atlas to choose a feather (or series of feathers) to model on various length scales with Tinkercad (or other design tool) and a Bukobot dual extruder 3D printer. The completed feathers will then be positioned in a wind tunnel for aerodynamic analysis. Students may also check out actual bird feathers from Rene Corado at the Western Foundation for Vertebrate Zoology and create 3D digital ‘scans’ for use in the modeling process.
Materials
Introduction
Distribute a selection of flight and downy feathers to students.
ASK Questions
Direct students to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Feathers site to learn about how feather form and structure assist function. Then students will engage in the design process with the goal of creating a 3D printed feather using two different filament types. These feathers will then be positioned in the wind tunnel to gauge their relative aerodynamic qualities.
Wrap Up
Students will create a display with images of the original feathers, their 3D printed facsimiles, and relevant data such as mass comparisons, length scales, and feather position on bird species being modeled.
Discuss
ASU School of Life Sciences – Ask a Biologist / Feather Biology
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Feathers
USFWS – Feather Atlas
Teach Engineering – Engineering Design Process
Science Buddies - Engineering Design Process
Assessment
In this lesson, the successful production of a 3D printed feather demonstrates that the student has completed the design process. If the synthetic feather does not bear close resemblance to its natural analog, then subsequent iterations may be prescribed or recommended. Students will also be asked to complete a 350-500 word reflective journal entry that explores growth encountered, skills acquired and suggestions for lesson improvement.
Make (and Shake) a Tail Feather
Aerodynamic Engineering Design Process, Hands-on Experimentation, Inquiry - based Learning
Overview
The addition of feathers to arrow shafts changed warfare and hunting forever. The feather’s remarkably efficient aerodynamic qualities are the result of millions of years of evolution by natural selection. Biomimetics is a new field that seeks to copy from nature’s playbook in order to increase the efficiency of our machines. More and more, aeronautical and aerospace engineers study living organisms, their structural adaptations, and the very proteins of which they are composed. This lesson in biomimetic engineering will give students a chance to immerse themselves in the role of an engineer facing a unique design challenge. Students will be asked to browse scans at the Feather Atlas to choose a feather (or series of feathers) to model on various length scales with Tinkercad (or other design tool) and a Bukobot dual extruder 3D printer. The completed feathers will then be positioned in a wind tunnel for aerodynamic analysis. Students may also check out actual bird feathers from Rene Corado at the Western Foundation for Vertebrate Zoology and create 3D digital ‘scans’ for use in the modeling process.
Materials
- Internet enabled computer for each student
- Bukobot dual extruder 3D printer
- 3D scanner or digitizer
- Printer filaments with a diversity of characteristics
- Feathers loaned from research institution such as WFVZ
- Hand lenses, dissecting microscopes
- TinkerCad
- Rachis: The main shaft of a bird's feather, especially the part to which the barbs are attached.
- Calamus: The hollow stemlike main shaft of a feather, quill.
- Barb: One of the parallel filaments projecting from the main shaft of a feather.
- Barbule: Any of the minute hairs that project from a barb and that often hook together.
- Vane: The web of a feather that is formed by each of the barbs and barbules.
- Biomimetics: The study and development of synthetic systems that mimic the formation, function, or structure of biologically produced substances and materials and biological mechanisms and processes.
- Iterative Process: A process for arriving at a desired result by repeating rounds of a cycle of operations or procedures with modification.
Introduction
Distribute a selection of flight and downy feathers to students.
ASK Questions
- How does a bird produce a feather?
- What are the structural components of a feather?
- What qualities of feathers enable flight?
- Why might it be useful to be able to develop models of feathers?
Direct students to visit the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Feathers site to learn about how feather form and structure assist function. Then students will engage in the design process with the goal of creating a 3D printed feather using two different filament types. These feathers will then be positioned in the wind tunnel to gauge their relative aerodynamic qualities.
Wrap Up
Students will create a display with images of the original feathers, their 3D printed facsimiles, and relevant data such as mass comparisons, length scales, and feather position on bird species being modeled.
Discuss
- How did the design process help you to realize the goal of this assignment?
- What practical value does feather modeling have?
- What advancements in technology are needed to improve on our efforts at flight feather modeling?
- How did your feather perform in the wind tunnel?
ASU School of Life Sciences – Ask a Biologist / Feather Biology
Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Feathers
USFWS – Feather Atlas
Teach Engineering – Engineering Design Process
Science Buddies - Engineering Design Process
Assessment
In this lesson, the successful production of a 3D printed feather demonstrates that the student has completed the design process. If the synthetic feather does not bear close resemblance to its natural analog, then subsequent iterations may be prescribed or recommended. Students will also be asked to complete a 350-500 word reflective journal entry that explores growth encountered, skills acquired and suggestions for lesson improvement.
Lesson 10 (Several Class Meetings)
Wind Tunnel Design and Construction
Overview
In order to be able to test different airfoils for aerodynamic efficiency, students need a wind tunnel. There are numerous wind tunnel designs, tutorials and DIY plans available on the Internet. These vary in size, maximum wind speed generated, and total cost. As part of the curriculum on flight, students will work together to determine the best plan to build given the space allocated and budget. We are fortunate to have an engineering class and stagecraft workshop on campus so students have access to a broad range of tools that may be needed during the construction of the tunnel. These tools include chop saws, a table saw, drill press, milling machine, 3D printer, lathe, and an array of cordless hand tools. Though this element of the curriculum may be needed only during the initial year of the elective, subsequent years could see students building additional tunnels to donate to other schools in the area, or modifying the existing tunnel for improved functionality.
Materials
Table saw
Drill press
Chop saw
Hand sander
Cordless drill
Plywood
Plexi glass
Screws
Large fan
Diffuser (often made from many hundreds of soda straws)
Glue
Paint
Paintbrushes
Metal hinges (4)
Fog generator
Battery powered LED lights
Teaching Plans
Introduction
Show students video of the wind tunnel at MIT and some of the experimental work being done there. Also show students video of Jetman Yves Rossy doing some testing in a wind tunnel where he uses his body as a fuselage, which is quite unique.
Wind Tunnel Design and Construction
Overview
In order to be able to test different airfoils for aerodynamic efficiency, students need a wind tunnel. There are numerous wind tunnel designs, tutorials and DIY plans available on the Internet. These vary in size, maximum wind speed generated, and total cost. As part of the curriculum on flight, students will work together to determine the best plan to build given the space allocated and budget. We are fortunate to have an engineering class and stagecraft workshop on campus so students have access to a broad range of tools that may be needed during the construction of the tunnel. These tools include chop saws, a table saw, drill press, milling machine, 3D printer, lathe, and an array of cordless hand tools. Though this element of the curriculum may be needed only during the initial year of the elective, subsequent years could see students building additional tunnels to donate to other schools in the area, or modifying the existing tunnel for improved functionality.
Materials
Table saw
Drill press
Chop saw
Hand sander
Cordless drill
Plywood
Plexi glass
Screws
Large fan
Diffuser (often made from many hundreds of soda straws)
Glue
Paint
Paintbrushes
Metal hinges (4)
Fog generator
Battery powered LED lights
Teaching Plans
Introduction
Show students video of the wind tunnel at MIT and some of the experimental work being done there. Also show students video of Jetman Yves Rossy doing some testing in a wind tunnel where he uses his body as a fuselage, which is quite unique.
Introduce the idea of building a wind tunnel that will provide opportunities for testing aerodynamic shapes and designs going forward. Explain that this is a long term project that will take several classes to complete and require students to work in teams that each have a specific function or role in the completion of the larger task. Break students into small groups of 3-4 and give them class time to research wind tunnel plans with step-by-step instructions online. Ask them to select the design that they feel would best fit in the allocated space and meet our needs as a community. Students should then develop a detailed proposal (see rubric) that includes visuals and which will be shared with the other members of the class in a formal presentation. Alternate option: Students may use Sketch-up or other digital drafting software to design their own wind tunnels from scratch. The amount of class time given to the development of a plan can vary according to the time constraints and goals of the teacher. The design process can be empowering for students and can provide a strong sense of accomplishment. Ultimately, small groups should present their wind tunnel designs to the class (and perhaps a shark-tank style panel of independent evaluators made up of other teachers, parents, and friends). Presentations should run from 3-5 minutes. Students (and the potential panel) will use the online rubric to score / rate each group’s proposal, ultimately embracing a particular design.
Task
Once the wind tunnel design has been selected, items from that group’s materials list must be procured. After these are assembled, construction of the tunnel can begin. One group should have a designated ‘documentarian’ that will photograph the construction process and post a step by step, ‘how to’ on a site such as Instructables when done.
Wrap Up
After the wind tunnel is complete, the class may want to host a ribbon-cutting / dedication ceremony with a tour of features and demonstration of the tunnel’s capabilities. The school newspaper should also be notified early in the process in case a feature story can be written about the endeavor.
Internet resources:
Instructables - DIY Wind Tunnel
NASA - Build Your Own Wind Tunnel
Science Buddies - How to Build and Use a Subsonic Wind Tunnel
Task
Once the wind tunnel design has been selected, items from that group’s materials list must be procured. After these are assembled, construction of the tunnel can begin. One group should have a designated ‘documentarian’ that will photograph the construction process and post a step by step, ‘how to’ on a site such as Instructables when done.
Wrap Up
After the wind tunnel is complete, the class may want to host a ribbon-cutting / dedication ceremony with a tour of features and demonstration of the tunnel’s capabilities. The school newspaper should also be notified early in the process in case a feature story can be written about the endeavor.
Internet resources:
Instructables - DIY Wind Tunnel
NASA - Build Your Own Wind Tunnel
Science Buddies - How to Build and Use a Subsonic Wind Tunnel
Lesson 11 (several class meetings)
Formulating Flapping Fliers
Overview
Ornithopters are flying machines that use flapping wings to generate lift and propulsion. In recent years, radio controlled ornithopters such as rofalcon have found useful application at airports around the world as bird deterrents. A pilot operates an ornithopter in areas near the runways where birds such as ducks, gulls, and geese pose a threat to aircraft. The idea is that the robotic falcon, eagle or hawk will scare away any birds in the area, thereby keeping passengers and flight crews safe. Several research institutions in the US have been awarded large grants to continue the work of developing ornithopters of increasing realism and mass. Many of these grants stipulate that the PI needs to engage in meaningful educational outreach so that students in secondary schools will have the chance to be captivated by these types of professional (STE(A)M) pathways. One such PI is professor Soon-Jo Chung at the Aerospace Control and Research Group of University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne campus. Soon-Jo and I have developed a close relationship over the course of the last five years as he discovered my blog on bio-inspired flight called Great Blue Machine and found my writing inspirational. For the last three years, his research group has covered the expenses associated with the blog as part of his outreach effort. Some of professor Chung’s graduate students have been engaged in the work of developing a robotic bat mimic in collaboration with bat researchers at Brown University such as Sharon Schwartz. In addition to providing technical support to students enrolled in this STEAM Flight course, Soon-Jo Chung has indicated an interest in sending a graduate student (or two) out to work with San Fernando Valley area high school students in a summer Bio-inspired Robotics Camp where 3D printing of ornithopter components is a major portion of the curriculum. Flapping Wing Production Studio is a Japanese company that has also recently developed a 3D printed ornithopter that students can model using freely available software such as Tinkercad.
Materials
Laptop Computer (or other) with Internet connection
3D printer
Thin membranous materials such as ripstop nylon and saran wrap
Assortment of small hand tools such as needle-nosed pliers, tweezers, hold punch, and scissors.
Rubber bands
Li-pro batteries
Coreless motor
More parts and materials for variations can be found at the Ornithopter Zone
Key Words
Ornithopter: Machine that flies using flapping wings rather than propeller
Wing spar: Long thin piece of wood or plastic that mimics long bones of a bird wing. May be hinged in some advanced designs such as Smartbird.
Downforce stabilizer: the tail of the ornithopter provides a downward force in order to keep the nose up.
Flap rate: The number of complete wing beats per unit of time (seconds or minutes).
Teaching Plans
Introduction
Have students research the various types of ornithopters available on 3D printing forums, for sale on hobby sites and being tested at research labs. They should contribute links and photos to this shared Google Slides file: Ornithopters.
Task
Students will work in small groups to procure or design ornithopter parts using modeling software such as Tinkercad, print them out, and assemble various iterations of ornithopters that may run on rubber band power or be powered by a small motor and li pro battery. This is an inquiry driven lab with open ended results. groups should expect to try multiple designs and refine a specific concept many times to achieve the desired result.
Wrap Up
Students may host a 'fly in' in the campus gallery space or gymnasium to showcase their flapping fliers. They may also want to produce a video tutorial or celebration to be shared on Youtube.
Discuss
What did they learn about product development and design during this activity?
What were the most challenging aspects of the project?
How did groups overcome obstacles?
How did systems thinking and bio-inspired design play a role on each effort?
Internet Resources
Cornell Creative Machines Lab
Kazu Ornithopter 3D printing Parts Shop
Ornithopter Created By Japanese Company On Desktop 3D Printer
Ornithopter Zone
Smooth Test Flight with 3D Printed Crawler
Formulating Flapping Fliers
Overview
Ornithopters are flying machines that use flapping wings to generate lift and propulsion. In recent years, radio controlled ornithopters such as rofalcon have found useful application at airports around the world as bird deterrents. A pilot operates an ornithopter in areas near the runways where birds such as ducks, gulls, and geese pose a threat to aircraft. The idea is that the robotic falcon, eagle or hawk will scare away any birds in the area, thereby keeping passengers and flight crews safe. Several research institutions in the US have been awarded large grants to continue the work of developing ornithopters of increasing realism and mass. Many of these grants stipulate that the PI needs to engage in meaningful educational outreach so that students in secondary schools will have the chance to be captivated by these types of professional (STE(A)M) pathways. One such PI is professor Soon-Jo Chung at the Aerospace Control and Research Group of University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne campus. Soon-Jo and I have developed a close relationship over the course of the last five years as he discovered my blog on bio-inspired flight called Great Blue Machine and found my writing inspirational. For the last three years, his research group has covered the expenses associated with the blog as part of his outreach effort. Some of professor Chung’s graduate students have been engaged in the work of developing a robotic bat mimic in collaboration with bat researchers at Brown University such as Sharon Schwartz. In addition to providing technical support to students enrolled in this STEAM Flight course, Soon-Jo Chung has indicated an interest in sending a graduate student (or two) out to work with San Fernando Valley area high school students in a summer Bio-inspired Robotics Camp where 3D printing of ornithopter components is a major portion of the curriculum. Flapping Wing Production Studio is a Japanese company that has also recently developed a 3D printed ornithopter that students can model using freely available software such as Tinkercad.
Materials
Laptop Computer (or other) with Internet connection
3D printer
Thin membranous materials such as ripstop nylon and saran wrap
Assortment of small hand tools such as needle-nosed pliers, tweezers, hold punch, and scissors.
Rubber bands
Li-pro batteries
Coreless motor
More parts and materials for variations can be found at the Ornithopter Zone
Key Words
Ornithopter: Machine that flies using flapping wings rather than propeller
Wing spar: Long thin piece of wood or plastic that mimics long bones of a bird wing. May be hinged in some advanced designs such as Smartbird.
Downforce stabilizer: the tail of the ornithopter provides a downward force in order to keep the nose up.
Flap rate: The number of complete wing beats per unit of time (seconds or minutes).
Teaching Plans
Introduction
Have students research the various types of ornithopters available on 3D printing forums, for sale on hobby sites and being tested at research labs. They should contribute links and photos to this shared Google Slides file: Ornithopters.
Task
Students will work in small groups to procure or design ornithopter parts using modeling software such as Tinkercad, print them out, and assemble various iterations of ornithopters that may run on rubber band power or be powered by a small motor and li pro battery. This is an inquiry driven lab with open ended results. groups should expect to try multiple designs and refine a specific concept many times to achieve the desired result.
Wrap Up
Students may host a 'fly in' in the campus gallery space or gymnasium to showcase their flapping fliers. They may also want to produce a video tutorial or celebration to be shared on Youtube.
Discuss
What did they learn about product development and design during this activity?
What were the most challenging aspects of the project?
How did groups overcome obstacles?
How did systems thinking and bio-inspired design play a role on each effort?
Internet Resources
Cornell Creative Machines Lab
Kazu Ornithopter 3D printing Parts Shop
Ornithopter Created By Japanese Company On Desktop 3D Printer
Ornithopter Zone
Smooth Test Flight with 3D Printed Crawler