In this project, the animation of an open top capsule in a wind tunnel is developed using MATLAB. To create an interactive experience, users can toggle numeric sliders and use drop down menus to see how the airflow changes. These components allow the user to see the animation re-rendered in real time.

Various programming methods are used to characterize the behavior of the animation. Central to developing this model, ​​is updating graphics object properties. This technique involves updating the properties of a graphics object and displaying the updates on the screen. MATLAB’s built-in function, drawnow updates figures and processes any pending callbacks; The command is used to modify the graphics objects in real time. Within the source code, a user defined function uvf, is called, which updates the velocity values within the boundary layers. To create an immersive experience for the user, Interactive Controls are set up so that users can set values for parameters that are not hard coded. These are just some of the programming techniques that were used to approach the project.

The results of this project produce a simulation of airflow in the open top cavity. The simulation shows that when air moves in the positive x direction, the corner at the end causes a downward swirl in the flow. The same behavior occurs when the air travels in the opposite direction. As the flow moves further inside the cavity, there is a visible pressure loss as the pressure contour goes from a dark blue to light blue in color. In closing, MATLAB provides a wide range of visual customizations for CFD purposes and serves as a powerful software for numerical methods in Aerodynamics.