My Last Project

Everything has passed so quickly. I remember that when I was in my first year, and I met some fourth years, I was looking up to them thinking that their existence is beyond my comprehension. Well, I was right at something - freshers know nothing and I look down on everyone else. Well, of course not, or really?

I must say, I do feel like a boss. Seeing first and second years queuing up in front of LT0, our lecture theatre, it reminds  me of the times when I had my lectures there too. If I meet a student in the department, the chances are that I have been here longer than him, unless I meet a PhD student who did his undergrads here. As I walk around the department and I see all the corridors, lecture rooms etc, I recall the countless instances of me walking through them and where I was heading. There is only a few labs that are card-only accessible in the department. Due to my fourth year project, I gained an access  to the Aeroacoustics and Aerodynamics lab. This boosted my boss feeling. I also know of a few places to microwave my food, which hardly anyone knows about, thanks to the extra time I spent in the department doing CUER and similar activities.

Markham wind tunnel, the biggest machine I have ever operated.

The structure of the fourth year is very different. The final mark is a combination of exams and fourth year project. In order to get a distinction, one must obtain first class both in the project and the modules.

As a part of the course, 4th year engineers undergo a whole year project. The project is chosen towards the end of the third year.  A list of projects, generally something about 300-350, is put up on the net. Students browse through them and then organise meetings with the project supervisors to find out more about them. Supervisors then choose the students. Vast majority of the students get at least one of the three project they put down as their preference.  Some projects are very competitive, especially those that are supervised by the most popular lecturers. I wanted to make an informed decision about my fourth year project, so I read all 300-350 project descriptions. Right from the start, there was one project that really caught my attention.

Rocket balloons

The project was called 'Rocket balloons and wheezing in lungs'. If you blow up a small rubber balloon and let it go, it will does its 'pbrbrbrbr' sound.  The project is about finding what the frequency of the sound depends on. Understanding this phenomenon might help to understand wheezing in lungs. I found this project to be the most interesting for several reasons. Firstly, it was multidisciplinary: fluids, vibrations, elasticity, finite element methods. Secondly, it was about mathematical modelling. I have never done a proper modelling of a real thing so I was very curious how it is done. It will also involve finite element modelling, which will be challenging, because the phenomenon is non-linear with large displacements and fluid-solid interaction. Finally, no one has ever tried to explain this phenomenon before so I would be doing a research, which could even get published. I was very fortunate that my supervisor was happy to pre-allocate the project to me. He also told me that his projects in the past won the award of being the best project in the department.

My testing rig. The rubber tube at the end of the white nozzle (3D printed) is the neck from a rocket balloon.

I was very keen to start working on my project, so I arrived back to Cambridge a week early to get rolling. I met my supervisor Friday (2nd October) before the term started and after a 40 min meeting I headed off to the Aeroacoustic lab to speak to some people. I felt very strange. Although I have been around the department for more than three years, the Aeroacoustic lab was totally new to me: new place, new rules, new people. It was more like a first day at job. I was basically asking people questions and trying to find out what I question I am actually asking. The first day was just very weird.

The amazing opportunity of making a groundbreaking discovery in Aeroacoustic, the fact that I am in my last year and the fact that I am at University of Cambridge, led to my decision to really focus on my project and so I have dropped a serious time commitments like competitive dancing or CUER.  Of course, I will be doing some dancing and stuff outside of my degree, but I want to have time to and actually try to read deeper in my subject.