Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rogelio Luck, Mississippi State University; B.K. Hodge

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

the process of learning how to useMathcad. Students are introduced to Mathcad functionality by demonstrating how to definefunctions, perform differentiation and integration, simplify systems of algebraic andtrigonometric expressions, perform series analysis, find optimal solutions, fit equations to data,and solve differential equations. They are asked to verify and interpret the results using units,magnitudes, and graphical comparisons. This process of verification and interpretation allowsthem to focus on the definition and meaning of the mathematical expressions used to describeengineering problems. Page 14.65.3Example 1Figure 1 below

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Forsberg, Hofstra University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

14.1306.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Use of the Knowledge and Skill Builder (KSB) Format in a Senior Mechanical Engineering LaboratoryOverviewThis paper discusses the use of the Knowledge and Skill Builder (KSB) format in HofstraUniversity's ENGG 170 laboratory course during the Spring 2008 semester.The current investigation is a fifth-year research project of the NSF-funded MSTP 1, 2Project, "Mathematics Across the Middle School MST Curriculum" . KSBs werepreviously used by the author in a sophomore level Measurements and Instrumentation 3Laboratory course (ENGG 160A) . The success of the KSBs in that

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Yaomin Dong, Kettering University; Jacqueline El-Sayed, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

is, by definition [1], “a method of coordinated classroom instructioninvolving a team of teachers working together with a single group of students”. The teamteaching approach has been around for years and is a strategy used at many differentlevels in many schools. A strong team includes a variety of different teaching styles, andpersonal chemistry between the team members is arguably one of the most importantindicators of success.One method of team teaching is to have faculty raise comments from the floor duringpresentations. Lindauer [2] chose to formalize faculty interaction by employing adiscussant format, wherein each of the faculty was assured of ten minutes at the end ofthe other's lecture. The advantages of the discussant format have

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tony Jones, United States Army; Daisie Boettner, United States Military Academy; Joel Dillon, United States Military Academy; Stephanie Ivey; Anna Lambert, University of Memphis; Brian Novoselich, United States Military Academy; Stephen Suhr, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

). Page 14.937.5Data Collection InstrumentsThe primary instrument for data collection consists of each team members’ narrative response toan end-of-project reflective essay assignment required of all students enrolled in the CapstoneDesign Course. Instructions for completing the assignment were as follows: Reflect on your experiences with this project. What were three strengths and three areas needing improvement? How have you personally grown from this experience? What lessons from this Capstone experience will you take with you as a Lieutenant in the Army?There was no specified length requirement for the Reflective Essay, and all Capstone studentswere allowed to choose between two formats for submission: (1) the

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tony Jones, United States Army; Daisie Boettner, United States Military Academy; Anna Lambert, University of Memphis; Brian Novoselich, United States Military Academy; Stephanie Ivey

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

this process as social identification wheremembers see their team as more important than their individuality.7 The primary vehicles for thissocialization are communication and group problem solving strategies. Communication patternsfound in engineering design groups suggest that effective groups adopt an intricately-connectedweb of both cognitive and social interactions.1 and 6 Recalling the navigational example presentedin the background, each group member brings a combination of technical knowledge andcognitive skills to the larger group.5 Other researchers have made similar assertions that groupsdevelop their own problem solving processes that are distinct from individual group members’problem solving processes.3 and 9 Generally, these

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benxin Wu, Illinois Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

not organize regularclass survey to get feedbacks from the students. Only one official on-line survey is organized bythe university at the end of the semester, and it turns out the students feel that the author’steaching method has many problems, which the author has not realized until after the end of theclass when he sees the survey results. The evaluation of the students on the author’s teachingquality is shown in Fig. 1, and the average score (with 5 being the full grade) is only 3.54, muchlower than the department’s average, which is 4.25. Page 14.1207.3Previous studies 1-4 show that class evaluation/survey by students provides an

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kathryn Marlor, Michigan Technological University; Gretchen Hein, Michigan Technological University; Nathan Manser, Michigan Technological University; Brett Hamlin, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

mechanics. The table below summarizes the topics covered. Table 1: Major Topics in ENG 32001 Topic Duration Basic Thermo/Fluids Concepts/Definitions 1 week Property Diagrams and Tables 1 week Ideal Gases, Compressibility Factor, Specific Heat 2 days Internal Energy, Enthalpy, Work, Conservation of Mass 2 days Thermo 1st Law of Thermodynamics (Closed Systems, Open Systems (Steady & (7 weeks

Conference Session

Statics and Dynamics: What's New

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Roman Taraban, Texas Tech; Edward Anderson, Texas Tech; Curtis Craig, Texas Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

to the goal state in a problem space. A problem spaceconsists of discrete problem states, which are simply explicit configurations of theproblem elements. The initial state consists of a description of the problem elements atthe outset of problem solving. Through the application of problem solving operators, aperson is able to transform the current problem state into the next problem state. A classicexample of the elements of this theory is the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, as shown in Figure1, consisting of three moveable disks and three pegs. Beginning with an initial state and agiven goal state, the initial state can be changed to the next state by applying the operator“Move disk C from peg 1 to peg 3,” for example. Constraints on the operators

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David Willis, Southern Methodist University; Paul Krueger, Southern Methodist University; Alice Kendrick, Southern Methodist University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

several group activities outside of thelaboratory to maintain a cohort experience. The primary activity was a seminar series, presentedby the PIs, on various aspects of experimental methods. The titles of the seminars and a briefdescription of each are listed in Table 1. Seminars were designed to provide students with skillsfor both the REU experience and their professional careers. Group trips to local companies thatemploy mechanical engineers in design, manufacturing, or research were also organized. Asocial event over the Independence Day holiday and the use of living quarters located in a singlebuilding were also used to enhance the cohort experience. Table 1: REU Seminars on Experimental Methods in Mechanical Engineering Seminar

Conference Session

Improving Mechanics & Structural Modeling Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pramod Chaphalkar, Grand Valley State University; Shirley Fleischmann, Grand Valley State University; Janice Pawloski, Grand Valley State University; Hugh Jack, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

second course in the mechanics sequence is toolong, and students are not adequately prepared early enough for the co-ops.This study describes the present state of the statics and solid mechanics courses, investigatesrelated issues, and showcases an innovative approach taken to address those issues. There is aparadigm shift in our philosophy about the way the mechanics and design topics will be taught.Preparation of these courses is underway and will be implemented beginning in Fall 2009. Thisstudy also describes challenges faced during the preparations which are also presented.Many techniques are being used in teaching statics. Techniques which use visual aids fromeveryday life appeal to those who are visually oriented 1, 2. In the presently

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Anne-Marie Lerner, University of Wisconsin, Platteville

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Got Stuck – Failed to Use FormulaTable 1: Ten error codes and their significanceThe ten error codes are placed into three groups in order of the severity of the error. Forexample, a math error is considered a minor error because it is not indicative of a lack ofcomprehension of the concept at hand. On the other hand, if a student got stuck and failed tofind the correct formula to use, this is a sign that the student does not sufficiently understand theissue at hand. While errors in the “Major Issues” category are significant and deserve attention,those in the intermediate and minor issue classifications can be indicative of a serious problem ifthey occur habitually.Grouping errors into classes of different severities is not a novel idea

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Terry Beck, Kansas State University; Bill Whitson, Kansas State University; Greg Payne, Kansas State University; Trevor Heitman, Kansas State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

tunnel flowvisualization, smoke injection is the usual means to visualize the flows; whereas with watertunnel flow visualization a dye injection method is typically employed. The ability to visualizeflows, and the associated boundary layer separation and vortex shedding phenomenon, forms anextremely important thrust of such introductory courses, and is an invaluable educational tool aswell as a tool for practical engineering design. Smoke Rake Converging Nozzle FLOW Illuminated Separation Bubble Smoke Streams (a) Schematic of Sharp-Edged Nozzle Flow (b) Actual Half-Section Nozzle Flow Figure 1: Wind Tunnel Flow Visualization—Internal FlowThe work presented

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Bijan Sepahpour, The College of New Jersey

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

higher level of details is provided for the first project toserve as a sample of the depth and breadth of information that may be added and transmitted tothe students.Project #1: Design of a Two-Stage Accelerometer for Automobile AirbagsPerformance requirementsAn accelerometer that would deploy a Two-Stage Airbag System with the first stage deployed ata G-Force of ≥ 7*g with a Voltage Range of 6 ≤ V ≤ 9 volts and the second stage deployed at aG-Force of ≥ 12*g with a Voltage Range of 9 ≤ V ≤ 12 volts. The spatial constraints limit thespace to a rectangular prism with the dimensions of 3.0 mm deep, 4.50 mm wide and 6.0 mmlong.Design CharacteristicsFigure MP-1 illustrates a proposed design for the Two-Stage accelerometer. In this figure, themiddle

Conference Session

Outstanding Contributions to Mechanical Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sivakumar Krishnan, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis; M. Razi Nalim, Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

students was to design the heating and cooling system for a typicalsingle-family residence of a given size, based on a control volume analysis of the energy Page 14.986.4balance. The energy analysis was to be done for average and extreme summer conditions, andfor average and extreme winter conditions (a total of four analyses), for a climate location.Climate data for the different states in the US was made available to the students and each teamselected a choice of state for them to work on. They were then asked to identify, evaluate andcompare two choices for the heating and cooling systems:(Choice 1) - Dual-purpose heat pump / air conditioner

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Enrique Barbieri, University of Houston; Raresh Pascali, University of Houston; Miguel Ramos, University of Houston; William Fitzgibbon, University of Houston

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

within the Conceive, Design, Implement,and Operate (CDIOTM http://www.cdio.org/) professional engineering spectrum. The new modeladvocates that a TAC/ABET accredited, 4-year B.S. degree in Mechanical EngineeringTechnology (MET) is a logical, viable, and in fact a key component in the student’s path toentering the engineering profession and in earning Mechanical Engineering (ME) degrees. If themodel is adopted, it is envisioned that a new first professional engineering degree can beconstructed whereby: (1) All engineering-bound students would first complete 2 years of anMET program; (2) With proper advising and mentoring, those students interested and skilled tofollow the more Conceive-Design side of engineering would transfer to a Department

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raghu Echempati, Kettering University; Enayat Mahajerin, Saginaw Valley State University; Anca Sala, Baker College

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

by many researchers3, for example, papers presented in ASEE-IEEEConferences.Course 1: Machine Design I (Taught at Kettering University)Course Description:This course is a first course in Mechanical Component Design with pre-requisites ofMechanics of Materials and Statics. Pre-requisite knowledge test in Statics is given at thebeginning of the course to reinstate the importance of understanding of free bodydiagrams. Thus, the Machine Design course deals more with application of the theory andconcepts learned in the mechanics sequence, namely, equilibrium of rigid bodies and freebody diagrams to design and/or to select mechanical components. Design standards (suchas ANSI, AGMA, etc.) are used in depth in this course and the students are

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ashland Brown, University of the Pacific; Kris Wood, University of Texas; Kristen Kaufman, Grad Student Universiy ot Texas; Daniel Jensen, United States Air Force Academy; Joseph Rencis, University of Arkansas; Christina White, Columbia University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

firms6,8 are asking their B.S. and A.A.S.engineering graduates to learn and apply this complex analysis technique. In manyundergraduate programs, the FE method is not taught as a required element thus graduates oftenlack knowledge of the proper use of this tool26,27. Two principle reasons for this are: 1. Introducing new material in curriculum typically requires the removal of other material (possibly essential by the faculty and ABET.) This approach must be balanced with the Page 14.75.3 recent push to reduce total credit hours of programs nationwide. 2. FE coursework typically is organized around theoretical details considered

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Constantin Ciocanel, Northern Arizona University; Suzanne Pieper, Northern Arizona University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Engineering at the OhioState University redeveloped the freshman engineering classes into a combined course withhands-on laboratory elements2. Teamwork, project management, report writing, and oralpresentations were the main parts of this program.Another recent study3, focused on the classroom-based pedagogy of engagement, recognizedactive and collaborative learning as better ways for students to learn by being intensely involvedin the educational process. These learning methods can further be implemented by encouragingstudents to apply their knowledge in many situations. The study attempts to highlight thesuperiority of problem-based learning over subject-based learning by contrasting the twoapproaches in Figure 1. Problem based learning (PBL

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andre Butler, Mercer University; William Moses, Mercer University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

to meet the objective. This laboratory structure has now been in place forabout ten years and has been formally assessed for one and a half ABET cycles, including twoABET site visits. This paper has three main goals: (1) to present an overview of the currentstructure of these labs at Mercer University, (2) to examine details and results of the School ofEngineering’s assessment scheme for demonstrating “an ability to design and conductexperiments, as well as to analyze and interpret data” when applied at the specialization level,and (3) to both quantitatively and qualitatively compare performance in the two lab courses todetermine whether the junior-level experience is sufficient preparation for the senior

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Laura L. Pauley, Pennsylvania State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

steps listed including given, find, properties, assumptions, solve, solution,and comments. The final answer is boxed and highlighted.The four example adaptable homework solutions in the Appendix were selected todemonstrate various capabilities of Mathcad. Example 1 shows a laminar pipe flow problem.In the “instructor work space” the Reynolds number is calculated so that the instructor canverify that the selected values describe laminar flow having a Reynolds number below 2300.Example 2 is a manometer problem with the fluid and column height specified by theinstructor. The third example demonstrates the analytical solution and plotting capabilities ofMathcad. The fourth example solves a turbulent pipe flow problem. The Reynolds numberis again

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Aman Yadav, Purdue University; Gregory Shaver, Purdue University; Peter Meckl, Purdue University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

active when using case studies (38.4%), while only 9.4% felt more active during traditionallecture. Figure 1 presents these results graphically (See Appendix A for a detailed descriptivestatistics).IV. Discussion Results from this study suggest that students felt the use of case studies allowed them tobe more engaged in the course and take an active role in their own learning. However, it isinteresting to note that even though students felt more active, and engaged when case studies Page 14.344.5were used, they felt they learned less from case studies and developed a better understandingfrom traditional lecture. This was particularly

Conference Session

Statics and Dynamics: What's New

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward Anderson, Texas Tech; Roman Taraban, Texas Tech; Diana Hudson, Texas Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Analysis:The average grade earned in this course by the 76 participants was 78.7% with a standarddeviation of 14.9%. Their average GPA was 3.98 with a standard deviation of 0.63.The first two columns of Table 1 present the mean scores and standard deviations for students’course grades and overall GPA as well as the SCI post-test scores and gain scores. Gain isdefined here as (post-test number correct – pre-test number correct) / number of possible correctanswers. For example, if a student got 12 correct on the post-test and 8 correct on the pre-testout of the 27 possible points (i.e., 27 points were possible for the entire test, and 3 points werepossible for each of the 9 categories), the percent gain would be 4/27 or 14.8

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sophoria Westmoreland, University of Maryland; Ashley Grenier, University of Maryland; Linda Schmidt, University of Maryland

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

ability to create hand-drawn sketches is still a relevant skill for design engineering. [1] Theidea that thoughts and cognitive processes can be captured by pencil and paper is the basicessence of sketching. Engineers and architects alike have long been used sketching as a tool fordocumenting mental processes, organizing ideas, creating plans, and presenting their ideas toothers via a comfortable medium. The authors present a sampling of literature to remind all thatsketching helps the designer work through his or her own cognitive processes in a self-documenting fashion. This paper reports on the sketching habits of capstone design students atThe University of Maryland, College Park in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.Student sketching

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Horacio Vasquez, University of Texas, Pan American; Carlos Gomez, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

or human power. The generator isdeveloped for these specific applications taking into account the power limitations of suchenergy sources but considering as a very important task to harvest this energy for long timeperiods to benefit our society as well as the environment. 1. Introduction Wind generators could be good electricity providers when moved by other means as long asthere is enough power to rotate them in the neighborhood of their rated speed and to sustain thetorque required to continuously operate them under those conditions for a long time. Humanpower could be used to propel these generators; but, the maximum power a person is able togenerate for several minutes while exercising is in

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Foley, United States Coast Guard Academy; Michael Plumley, United States Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

a real feel as to what theproperty is telling us. The paper presents an analysis therefore of a simple hot water pipe to show specific issuesand areas of confusion with second law control volume selection. It concludes emphasizingthe importance of consistently listing assumptions both for the student solving, and theinstructor setting an assignment. In summary, this paper highlights and gives an example ofnovel teaching methods that have been successfully used by the authors to overcome this‘bottleneck’ in thermodynamic instruction.Introduction Foley [1] derived the property entropy from consideration of a simple orifice plate in apipe. This derivation was unique in that the entropy term derived did not arise from any heattransfer

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrew Foley, United States Coast Guard Academy; Michael Plumley, United States Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

vaguely and randomly enthalpy is introduced inmany engineering texts, many justifying its introduction simply by saying ‘because the sumU+pV occurs so frequently …. It is convenient to give the combination a name, enthalpy”[1]Some texts allude to it is an energy property that includes ‘flow work’, and this in turn issomewhat diversely defined. Indeed the root of the problem could be traced back to theGreek origins of the word itself, ‘enthalpos’ [2], translated to ‘to put heat into’. Again asmost undergraduates will recite, enthalpy is a property and heat is not, so immediately we arerunning into problems here. Another early discussion by Planck [3] does attempt to be moreprecise by referring to Gibb’s description of a property, H called ‘the

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Plumley, United States Coast Guard Academy; Andrew Foley, United States Coast Guard Academy; Earnest Greene, US Coast Guard Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

course is required of all students seeking mechanical, civil, or navalarchitecture and marine engineering degrees. Many electrical engineering and marine sciencestudents take the course as an elective. The need for a lab, along with the complexities ofincorporating one into already crowded student schedules, was recently addressed in a localprogram review. The issue of balancing thermodynamic instruction and student course load isnot unique to this institution [1]. To account for the lack of lab time, the authors, who were newto teaching this course at this institution, endeavored to introduce hands on demonstrationsduring typical lectures. This resulted in the design, construction, and use of three stand alonedemonstration units. The devices

Conference Session

Outstanding Contributions to Mechanical Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Dianne Pawluk, Virginia Commonwealth University; Curtis Taylor, University of Florida; Marcia Hoffman, Virginia Commonwealth University; Maria McClintock, Virginia Commonwealth University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

surfaces. Forsighted students, the corresponding visual graphics are also presented. For describing theinteraction forces, mathematical equations are used directly to describe a probe tip interactingwith a flat surface, with gravity and inertia dominating at the macroscale, and van der Waals andelectrostatic forces dominating at the nanoscale. The student is able to move the Falcon towardsand away from the surface, at the different scales, to feel the contribution of the different forces. Page 14.471.2They are also able to “turn-off” components of the net force to enable understanding of theeffects of individual types of forces.1

Conference Session

Improving Mechanics & Structural Modeling Courses

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Ledlie Klosky, United States Military Academy; Elizabeth Bristow, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

.Measuring Student Retention; The Evaluative InstrumentFor this study, the authors set out to make a quantitative rather than qualitative measure of term-to-term student retention rather than gathering anecdotal or qualitative data. To accomplish this,students’ medium-term retention of the material covered in Video AI clips was measured using ashort quiz given the first day of the Mechanics class, which most students take one semester afterthe Statics-Strengths class. This quiz, presented as Figure 1, contained three simple applicationproblems that are essential to Mechanics and for which Video AI clips had been available in theprevious semester. The problems required students to find the centroid of a compound shape,solve a two-dimensional

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthias Lang, University of Texas, Austin; Dinesh Rabindran, University of Texas, Austin; Tricia Berry, University of Texas, Austin

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

graduate students and engineers, and learn about graduate schooland other undergraduate research options. Graduate students participate in career developmentworkshops and gain mentoring, project management and teaching experience. The program alsoinvites guest speakers that provide information on the topics most relevant to applying andgetting through graduate school successfully.The goals of GLUE are to:1. Contribute to the overall goal of WEP to recruit, retain and graduate women in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin2. Provide undergraduate students with the opportunity to experience research first-hand3. Increase the number of female engineering students pursuing graduate degrees and research careers4