Design of Experiments Ideas - Control Systems?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on finding project ideas for a Design of Experiments class focused on control systems. Suggestions include conducting experiments related to wind tunnel testing, tensile strength testing, and food recipe optimization, all of which involve controllable factors. Specific control systems mentioned include gun barrel movement systems on tanks, autopilot systems in aircraft, and trajectory control systems for rockets, though these may be too complex for a semester project. The participant plans to reach out to professors for additional ideas that could align with their research. Ultimately, the goal is to identify a manageable experiment that incorporates statistical analysis of various factors.
fluidmech
Messages
17
Reaction score
1
Hi everyone,

I'm taking a Design of Experiments class which is focused on statistically designed experiments. I'm a bit lost for project ideas and this is my first graduate class. Would anyone have any ideas for an experiment that would have at least controllable factors that might have anything to do with control systems?

Thanks in advance!
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
fluidmech said:
Hi everyone,

I'm taking a Design of Experiments class which is focused on statistically designed experiments. I'm a bit lost for project ideas and this is my first graduate class. Would anyone have any ideas for an experiment that would have at least controllable factors that might have anything to do with control systems?

Thanks in advance!

Can you say more about what "statistically designed experiments" means? What have other students done in the past for this project?
 
berkeman said:
Can you say more about what "statistically designed experiments" means? What have other students done in the past for this project?
It could be something to the effect of wind tunnel testing to study aerodynamic behavior. In this case you would have a lot of different factors that could affect the results of the test, such as aerodynamic profile, wind speed, air pressure, air temperature, etc. The goal of the experiment would be to optimize the results based on varying control variables.

Examples would include:
  • Wind tunnel testing (many different input factors)
  • Tensile strength testing (affected by heat treatment, material composition, material supplier, cross sectional area, etc)
  • Taste of a food recipe (different amounts of ingredients, cooking temperature, time, etc
If possible, I would like to do something related to Control Systems, but I can't really think of any good ideas. My plan is to email Professors to see if they have any ideas for something that could benefit their research. A portion of the experiment would be statistical analysis, including statistical significance of various factors.

Suggestions?
 
fluidmech said:
It could be something to the effect of wind tunnel testing to study aerodynamic behavior. In this case you would have a lot of different factors that could affect the results of the test, such as aerodynamic profile, wind speed, air pressure, air temperature, etc. The goal of the experiment would be to optimize the results based on varying control variables.

Examples would include:
  • Wind tunnel testing (many different input factors)
  • Tensile strength testing (affected by heat treatment, material composition, material supplier, cross sectional area, etc)
  • Taste of a food recipe (different amounts of ingredients, cooking temperature, time, etc
If possible, I would like to do something related to Control Systems, but I can't really think of any good ideas. My plan is to email Professors to see if they have any ideas for something that could benefit their research. A portion of the experiment would be statistical analysis, including statistical significance of various factors.

Suggestions?

So you want some sort of control system that has a number of inputs that need to be processed? If so, maybe:
  • The gun barrel movement control system on a main battle tank -- there are a number of sensors that feed into the control system that let's the tank be so amazingly accurate at long distances and while the tank is moving. Can you name some of the inputs and the outputs of this control system?
  • Autopilot systems on aircraft -- what are some of the inputs and outputs for such a system?
  • Trajectory control systems for rockets -- what are the sensors and what are the outputs? :smile:
 
berkeman said:
So you want some sort of control system that has a number of inputs that need to be processed? If so, maybe:
  • The gun barrel movement control system on a main battle tank -- there are a number of sensors that feed into the control system that let's the tank be so amazingly accurate at long distances and while the tank is moving. Can you name some of the inputs and the outputs of this control system?
  • Autopilot systems on aircraft -- what are some of the inputs and outputs for such a system?
  • Trajectory control systems for rockets -- what are the sensors and what are the outputs? [emoji2]
These are fantastic suggestions but probably too large of a scope to be achievable within the semester.

That being said, maybe I'll think about something along the lines that is a bit smaller scale..
 
How did you find PF?: Via Google search Hi, I have a vessel I 3D printed to investigate single bubble rise. The vessel has a 4 mm gap separated by acrylic panels. This is essentially my viewing chamber where I can record the bubble motion. The vessel is open to atmosphere. The bubble generation mechanism is composed of a syringe pump and glass capillary tube (Internal Diameter of 0.45 mm). I connect a 1/4” air line hose from the syringe to the capillary The bubble is formed at the tip...
Thread 'Calculate minimum RPM to self-balance a CMG on two legs'
Here is a photo of a rough drawing of my apparatus that I have built many times and works. I would like to have a formula to give me the RPM necessary for the gyroscope to balance itself on the two legs (screws). I asked Claude to give me a formula and it gave me the following: Let me calculate the required RPM foreffective stabilization. I'll use the principles of gyroscopicprecession and the moment of inertia. First, let's calculate the keyparameters: 1. Moment of inertia of...
Thread 'Physics of Stretch: What pressure does a band apply on a cylinder?'
Scenario 1 (figure 1) A continuous loop of elastic material is stretched around two metal bars. The top bar is attached to a load cell that reads force. The lower bar can be moved downwards to stretch the elastic material. The lower bar is moved downwards until the two bars are 1190mm apart, stretching the elastic material. The bars are 5mm thick, so the total internal loop length is 1200mm (1190mm + 5mm + 5mm). At this level of stretch, the load cell reads 45N tensile force. Key numbers...
Back
Top