Comparison of Parametric, Nonparametric and Semiparametric Modeling of Wind Tunnel Data

This article presents a case study illustrating the use of parametric, nonparametric, and semiparametric modeling. The study comes from aeronautical research that examines a highly nonlinear relationship between coefficient of lift and angle of attack in a wind tunnel experiment. For this study, nonparametric and semiparametric approaches provide reasonable alternatives to the usual linear parametric approach and we demonstrate that they can aid in understanding the underlying process. Model comparison and replicated design points are also addressed in the article.