Effect of Wind Speed, Foil Angle, and Percentage of Foil on Velocity of a Land Sailing Boat
The purpose of our experiment was to determine whether wind speed, angle of the sail foil, and percentage of the sail as a foil effects the velocity of a land sailing boat. The boat was placed inside a modified wind tunnel and a Photogate sensor measured the velocity at the end of the tunnel. Each factor was tested at three points: the foil angle at 45°, 0° and -45°; the foil percentage at 20%, 35%, and 50%; the wind speed at high, medium and low. Four full three-factor Design of Experiments (DOEs) were performed on our data, each with 11 randomized trials. Our experiment determined that wind speed and percentage of foil have a significant effect on velocity.
Research Done By:
Lisa Kwiatkowski
Cousino High School
Eric Thompson
Warren Woods Tower High School