Section I of Experiment

2) The closed, pressurized reservoir above the hydraulic system pushes the hydraulic fluid down to the hydraulic pump at the bottom due to the pressure difference. The hydraulic pump provides energy to the fluid and increases the fluid pressure. There is a check valve before the fluid reaches the Directional Control Valve (DCV) before the fluid reaches it. This is to ensure one flow direction of the hydraulic fluid. In addition, a pressure gauge is also present which main function is to measure the pressure in the system. The DCV is a 4-way, 3 position, lever actuated, closed center DCV. At the neutral position of the lever, there is no flow of hydraulic fluid into the cylinder due to closed center of the DCV. When we manually push the lever upwards, the DCV allows the hydraulic fluid to flow into the cylinder .This causes the flap attached to the piston to rotate anti-clockwise, deflecting upwards due to the retraction of the piston by the fluid motion. When we push the lever down, the hydraulic flow reverses and deflects the flap downwards. The low pressure fluid will flow back from the cylinder towards the return line filter and back to the reservoir. The return line filter serves to remove contamination resulting from wear inside the hydraulic system. It is typically used in low pressure system to reduce costs. The manual hand pump is placed beside the hydraulic pump just before the check valve. It serves as an emergency alternative power to the hydraulic pump. There is also an emergency button to stop the operation of the system for safety purposes. Hydraulic pressure is controlled by the pressure relief valve which is connected to the DCV. When the pressure is too high, the valve releases the pressurized fluid via the filter to the reservoir to reduce the pressure in the system. When pressure is too low, the accumulator connected to the relief valve can provide power to increase the pressure in the system. The accumulator can store pressurised liquid in addition to serving as an auxiliary power source. Once the hydraulic pump is started, the accumulator will start to store pressurized fluid by drawing extra power from the pump. The accumulator can be cut off from the system via the shut-off valve. 3) We are given a verbal warning not to rest our hands on the equipment during our experiment and not to remove the filler cap of the hydraulic reservoir. However, this may not be an effective safety measure as there students may carelessly forget these safety measures. One improvement that can be made to the safety measures in place is to enclose the flap and hydraulic cylinder in a transparent box. This helps to prevent possible injuries that may result from sudden movement of the flap when we accidentally place our hands near the flap region.

Section II of Experiment: Improvement to the landing gear operation

1) Use of extension cable for the switches The switches located behind the flap can be hazardous as one has to go under the flap to access the switches. This is because the equipment may injure the operator when they move. An extension cable connected to the switches can be placed outside the equipment can be used to avoid this risk. 2) Damping the flap lever and the landing gear lever Damping can increase the amount of time taken by the levers to spring back to their original position. A larger the degree of damping will result in a longer the time taken for the levers to spring back to the original position. In addition, it also reduces the force exerted by the levers when they spring back. This can ensure that one has enough time to react to the lever returning to its equilibrium position and hence avoid being hit by the lever. It can also reduce the impact on one if one gets hit by the lever, reducing the injury caused. 3) Covering the edge of the wing with rubber The sharp edge of the wing is at present very much exposed. Covering the edge of the wing with rubber reduces exposure to the sharp edges of the wing and lowers the probability of injury occurring.

Section III of Experiment: Tabularising and analysing the results of the tyre pressure distribution measurement
In the first set of readings, pins 4, 6, 9, 10 and 11 registered zero values for the strain readings. This could be because the tyre did not come into contact with the 5 pins due to its curvy shape. Moreover, the adjustable floor strain gauge was at its lowest position for the first set of readings. In the subsequent readings, pins 10 and 11 registered positive strain readings, implying that the strain gauges experience tension forces and tyre distribution is low at these positions. This result is due to the circular shape of the wheel which causes pins 10 and 11 to be bent at an angle to the side. As a result, tensile forces and consequently positive strain is present. The negative strain values registered by the other pins indicate that compressive forces are experienced at those pin positions and tyre pressure is high at these positions. In addition, pin 5 registered the lowest strain value among all the pins, indicating that the tyre pressure at that point is the highest. Pin 11 registered the highest positive reading, implying that the tyre pressure at that point is the lowest. Pin 6 registered a 0 strain value for the 2nd reading, and a - 2 strain value in the 3rd reading. From the theory of bending moment, this implies that the gauge in pin 6 lies on the neutral axis in which total axial stress experienced is 0. When it registers a negative reading, it means the neutral axis has shifted as the stress distribution is different. In conclusion, we observe that the pressure distribution on the tyre is non-uniform, and is subject to fluctuations depending on the amount of contact with the ground. The point on the tyre which comes into contact with the ground first will experience the highest tyre pressure. One possible source of error could be the high sensitivity of the apparatus. As the apparatus has a precision of up to 10-6, a slight movement of the set up will cause fluctuations on the readings. This makes it difficult to choose which values to take for the readings as the values are constantly changing. Recommendations to improve reliability of experimental results 1) There may be a reduction in friction between the thread of the pulley system and the pulley system due to wear and tear. This may lead to slipping of the pulley wheel when we roll the knob of the adjustable handle. As a result, there may be inaccuracy in the measurement of the height of the adjustable floor, thus affecting our strain reading. As such, it is important to do a maintenance check on the pulley system and change the thread regularly. 2) To accurately determine the height of the adjustable floor, the position of the dial gauge should be shifted up to eye level. At the current position of the dial gauge, it is difficult to take small interval readings.