Winter in July

Usually in the months of June and July, Singapore is into its hottest season. There is lesser rain fall and the heat is sweltering. But this time of the year in 2010, the weather was just weird and Singapore had several floods.

There were floods in the prime shopping district of Orchard Road and the low lying areas in the east of Singapore. There were at least four major floods reported in these two months.

The average monthly rainfall is about 150 mm for this time of the year. But on those days that floods occurred, about 100 mm of rain fell in just a single storm. Fortunately, there was no loss of lives reported. And I do sympathise with the people who loss valuables and property in this feakish weather.

But when weather was fine and sunny, I noticed that the skies of Singapore had some of the most beautiful clouds. Big, Fluffy and White. Some of them look towering. Against a blue coloured sky as backdrop, the view can be quite beautiful.

So during those two months, I carried my own trusty camera around and snap pictures of blue skies and clouds. Sometimes when I notice a nice scene while driving, I will stop the car (in a safe spot, of course!!), take up position and shoot.

In the evening on the way back from work, the setting sun adds a wonderful dimension and colour to the view. Just want to share some pictures here......

Facing it-Head On

The National Museum of Singapore is located on Stanford Road and there was an interesting exhibition from 2nd July to 31st August 2010. It was a free admissions art exhibition, and being the "cheapo" who I am, I headed down to take a look.

Entitled "Head On" by renowed artist Cai Guo-Qiang, it featured 99 live-sized wolves arranged in a circular formation, with the front end leaping en masse towards an unseen glass wall. Those in the front of the pack fall and tumble down after striking the wall, ending up in a heap while those rearing up from behind continue to surge forward, undeterred.

The exhibit is showcased in a well-lit hall but with darken walls. And once I entered the hall, I was drawn to those life-like wolves in various postures. Some of them were running, one was looking back, one was snarling and many others were just leaping into the air.

You can immediately feel the dynamics that the artist is trying to convey to you if you position yourself in the center of the piece. After landing in a heap, the wolves attempt to get up. Some try and fail but others succeed.

Those that recover and pick themselves up start to walk and run again. They gather momentum and surge forward. Finally they leap into the air together, continue their sprint and gain height. Right at the plateau, at the peak, they crash into the unseen glass wall. The wolves fall in disarray and land back onto the heap. According to some related websites, the piece conveyed a message of herd instinct. That humanity can be blinded by collective action and mentality and that mankind will repeat its past mistakes. The glass wall represents some invisble barrier which we fail to see. However, the lesson that I took home after viewing the piece was somewhat different. The glass wall presents the challenges and barriers that we face in our lives. The fact that it was glass meant that the problems can be overcome (someday at least). All we have to do is to pick ourselves up, dust off the dirt, and start running again. We just have to try again,and face the problem head on. You may have a different appreciation of the piece based on your life experiences. Think about it.....

Lift, Drag, Thrust and Weight

There are four fundamental forces acting on an aircraft. They are namely lift, drag, thrust and weight. The weight of the aircraft is what everyone is familar with (and what women are most conscious of !!). It is just a measure of how heavy the aircraft is and it is due to the downward forces of gravity acting on it.

The lift is an upward acting force that overcomes the gravitational weight of the aircraft. The lift force keeps the aircraft airborne and sustains flight. To generate lift, the aircraft has to be in motion and the engines provide the required forward thrust force. A larger thrust force propels the aircraft to a higher flight speed and, to a certain extent, generates a larger lift force.

Finally, the drag force is the resistive force that retards the aircraft's foward motion. As long as the aircraft is in motion, the drag force is present due to the general shape of the aircraft and the viscosity of air. If you place your open palm out the window of a moving car (done safely of course !!), you will feel the drag force acting on your palm.

From a certain point of view, the aerodynamist is aware that there is a constant conflict (or competition) among these four forces. It is logical to minimise the empty weight of the aircraft which can be done by using lighter but stronger materials (carbon fibre composites) for the aircraft's fuselage and wings, like what we see on the A380 or B787 Dreamliner. The weight of the aircraft is relatively constant and it is like a burden which does not contribute to the bottomline of a company.

To increase the profit margin for the aircraft company, the designer always aims to maximise lift force so that the aircraft can carry a heavier payload or more fuel. The aircraft can then carry more passengers (which contributes to $$$$) or fly a longer range (increased endurance). Increasing lift contributes directly to the useful work that the aircraft is designed for and basically makes shareholders happy.

An aircraft that sits on the tarmac is not going to generate revenue for the company. It has to deliver the goods from point A to B. It has be in motion and the thrust force generated by the engines does that and at the same time produces the required lift force to fly from point A to B. Naturally, it is desired that the aircraft can fly as far as possible (increased range) and one way is to increase the fuel load. However, doing so will increase the weight of the aircraft, reduce the revenue generating passenger and cargo load. You may argue that we can increase lift force by increasing the surface area of the wing. You are right but there is a catch. Doing so will also increase the drag force as there is increased friction with air. I guess you are starting to sense the conflicting nature between the four forces now.

To complicate this conflicting nature, the drag also depends on how fast the aircraft flies and on the thrust force. With increased thrust comes increased speed and lift but at the expense of higher drag force. The drag force is just a resistive force that arises when the aircraft is in motion. Streamlining, having less protruding structures from the fuselage and having winglet on the end of each wing reduces drag.

I guess in life, we are constantly faced with either internal or external conflicts and difficulties. Much like the aircraft which has to attain a balance between lift, drag, thrust and weight, you too need to reach a fine balance between these four forces in your life. You need to trim off extra weight and drag in your life and strive to keep it lean. You need to increase your lift and thrust to propel you to achieve higher feats in life.

You may be burdened with too much weighty and draggy issues, like anger, a bad habit, impatience, hanging around bad company, being generally pessimistic in life, procrastination.... The list is endless.....These negativity slow and weigh you down, preventing you from seeking and achieving your desired goals.

On the other hand, you may have a certain sporting, music or art talent, a passion for a hobby, developed specialist knowledge in some subjects, being generally curious, led a morally good life, having good mentors...... Again the list is endless.... These characteristics push and propel you to attain your goals.

The goals that you aim for can be simple things from baking a cake to earning your first million dollars. From landing your first dream job to getting the A+ in your paper. But along the way, you are constanly bombarded, pushed, pulled, tripped and driven by these four forces in your life. If you cared about your life, you constantly seek to balance them as you prod along in your journey. Some try to seek the answers by reflecting internally, seeking solace in religion, re-adjusting their own expectations and developing inner strength. Others search for their answers externally, looking for other people's affirmation and meeting their expectations. Some lose hope, just give up, and turn to crime and drugs.

So what's your LIFT, DRAG, THRUST and WEIGHT? Only YOU can answer that...!

Aerodynamics 101

The movement of air and its effects on objects is fundamental in the study of aerodynamics. Air envelopes us and most living beings depend on it for their survivial. We feel its effects all the time, from the breath you are taking in now, to the gentle breeze you feel on a windy day. The fundamental laws governing air (or water) motion and its effects determine why cars, ships and aeroplanes are designed the way you see them. It explained why migatory birds fly in a V-formation and why sharks have micro-ridges on their skin. It played a basic role in the evolution of animals.

To teach aerodynamics in a blog is certainly not my intent, but I wanted to share some of my thoughts. After doing aero-related research for a number of years and now as an aerodynamics engineer, the subject matter has grown into me. I now draw a parallel to the job of a chef. A good chef, whose passion is to cook the finest cuisine, relies on his taste, his fundamental understanding of various ingredients and the chemistry behind cooking to dish out a winner. With a well stocked, well equiped kitchen, and with years of training to hone his skills, he will certainly develop a Zen-like appreciation of the culinary arts.

I hope to reach this "Zen-like" state in my job as an aerodynamics engineer. The engineering profession, in general, has a noble aspiration. It aims to help people, improve the quality of life and raise the standard of living through technical solutions that the Engineers design. No wonder that the French word for Engineer is "Ingenieur" because the root word is derived from the word “ingenuity". Taking the chef as an analogy, the Engineer relies on his training and understanding of the relevant branches of engineering science and mathematics to come up with creative solutions so as to improve the life of mankind. And within a limited budget, of course !!

So what is this "Zen-like" state that I aspire to reach ? That to internalise aerodynamics and its fundamental laws, and relate it to Life. I have high ideals for this blog and I hope that readers of what I share here will reflect on their own life. In essence, I am still using my training and understanding of aerodynamics to "come up with creative solutions so as to improve" YOUR LIFE..... In a nutshell, I am still an Engineer.