Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Forsberg, Hofstra University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2010-1593: A MULTI-FACETED CAPSTONE DESIGN PROJECT IN HVACCharles Forsberg, Hofstra University Page 15.57.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2010 A Multi-Faceted Capstone Design Project in HVACThe Beginnings 1In 2000 I was contacted by a former student working for an engineering firm in theHVAC field. He wanted to discuss a system that he had designed for cooling of aglycol/water solution used in a heating and cooling system for a commercial building.The situation was as follows:A two-pipe heating and cooling system for a building has a central loop circulating eitherhot or chilled water. The central loop

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Shepard, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Camille George, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

psychrometrics in cooling units-understanding the implications involved in converting salt water into freshwaterWith the goal of encouraging creativity the performance of each design was minimallyweighted in the grading and the design aspect was completely open-ended. Theinstructor was available for questions and to help recognize potential issues but refrainedfrom offering suggestions during the design phase. As heat transfer or fluid mechanicscourses typically follow thermodynamics the project was not intended to be a capstone,but did provide valuable experience from which a student could build from in a futuresenior design project. The project also provided an opportunity to present a qualitative

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Baumann, Central Connecticut State University; Nidal Al-Masoud, Central Connecticut State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Management Methodologies Support a Senior Project Research Course and Its AssessmentAbstractMotivated by required program learning outcomes and recommendations from a continuousimprovement plan focus group, Central Connecticut State University has uniquely organized itsmechanical engineering senior project design research class to include significant review ofDesign of Experiments (DOE) and Project Management (PM) methodologies. Both studies havebeen linked to computational software tools for students to use in their capstone experience. Theultimate goal of the class is a project design proposal in which researched backgroundinformation forms the introduction to a managed project plan which can include designedexperimentation within the

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nicholas Harlow, Western Kentucky University; Robert Choate, Western Kentucky University; H. Joel Lenoir, Western Kentucky University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

capstone lab experimentfor the course that would incorporate various experimentation and instrumentation techniquesdeveloped throughout the semester. Moreover, this would create a link between this junior levellab and the thermal-fluids systems senior level lab which consists of similar type experiments.The experiment was developed through a design, build, and test (DBT) extracurricular projectgiven to the ME Program’s thermal-fluids sciences laboratory student worker. Developing thisexperiment as part of an extracurricular student project provided benefits to both the studentworker and the ME Program. The student worker was given an opportunity to develop importantproject management and technical engineering skills culminating in the writing of

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Maixner, United States Air Force Academy; William Parker, Air Force Research Laboratories

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

employed in many steady state and transient heat transfer problems—infact, students have employed the modeling and programming techniques learned in this projectto other courses, including their Senior Capstone projects. Results of a student opinion survey,anecdotal data, and performance on the heat transfer portion of the Fundamentals of Engineeringexamination data are presented.I. Considerations in Designing a FDM ProjectWhen designing a problem appropriate for completion in a certain number of class meetings,certain educational and institutional constraints had to be considered. As opposed to the inite-element method (FEM), the inite-difference method (FDM) does not have a steep learningcurve, and was therefore ideal to provide students

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Angkee Sripakagorn, Chulalongkorn University; Kuntinee Maneeratana, Chulalongkorn University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

the University into an autonomous university, competition forstudents, and Washington Accord regulations.PURPOSE (HYPOTHESIS)This paper describes experience in implementing design as the means to the eventual goal of anengineering program – to empower the students to flourish to be capable engineers – via acapstone design course.DESIGN/METHODThe course administrative committee redesigned the course to provide the design experience asthe integrative, capstone event of an engineering program. The design experience that isexpected to deliver the desired outcomes is discussed and concluded into three main features forthis framework. Then, the required ingredients for such design experience are discussed,including types of design projects

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Vuksanovich, Youngstown State University; Darrell Wallace, Youngstown State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

paper is todetail investments and benefits of this type of collaborative experience for the student as well asthe requirements for implementation, assessment and success of the work.Assessment of the student’s progress throughout the project and the student’s scholasticimprovement overall were tracked by both MET and F&PA faculty. The results of theexperiment have provided enough confidence to conduct further experiments which are beingplanned for the Spring semester of 2010.I. IntroductionThe United States has long prided itself on the innovative capabilities of its industrial base.Henry Ford’s assembly line concept not only put the Ford Motor Company ahead of itscompetition when it was introduced, it also helped the United States out

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hui Shen, Ohio Northern University; Richard F. Miller, Ohio Northern University; David Sawyers, Ohio Northern University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

changingschedules of individual students during both the academic year and during the summer. Third,due to the limited technical background of undergraduate students, a significant amount ofsupport and supervision is required of the faculty member. Fourth, there is little opportunity forresearch during the senior year unless it falls within the parameters of the capstone design courseor other required courses, since the capstone project demands a great deal of the students’ time.Finally, faculty members in a teaching university have extremely heavy loading in teaching andacademic advising, and can only commit a limited amount of time supervising undergraduateresearch.Since undergraduate students have a learning curve of engineering knowledge from freshman

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jorge Rodriguez, Western Michigan University; Alamgir Choudhury, Western Michigan University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, every factor in the life cycle of the product should be taken into account. Aspart of a Capstone Design Project, and with the goal of illustrating complete engineering designprocesses where factors besides the technical ones need to be taken into account, industry-sponsored projects are undertaken by teams of students. The project presented here deals with anautomotive subassembly that needed to be redesigned and evaluated. The system is a powerslider assembly which is installed in the rear of current-model trucks and powers the rearwindow. The current design is bulky, expensive, and takes too much time to install. Theobjective of the project was to introduce a new design for the power slider which would be moreefficient in terms of operation

Conference Session

Teaching Mechanical Systems: What's New

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Raghu Echempati, Kettering University; Richard Dippery, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

the power and speed limits ofthe system are specified, leaving everything else open-ended. Students are expected to start withan application in mind that uses a similar subsystem, and justify all the subsequent assumed data,including the safety factors. This produced several alternative designs, which can be used by theinstructor for future classes. Each design report can serve as a case study that includes the mathand CAE tools that the students used for the project. Conventionally, many capstone designclasses use this approach. However, to a smaller scale, this idea serves the same purpose as acapstone course. Several other alternative inputs may be specified rather than input power and

Conference Session

Improving Mechanics & Structural Modeling Courses

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Praveen Malali, Old Dominion University; Pooja Bais, Old Dominion University; Robert Choate, Western Kentucky University; Sushil Chaturvedi, Old Dominion University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

outcomes fromthe professional plan, it is necessary to provide students with the opportunity to acquire tools andskills, as well as technical competency5.The ability of ME graduates to successfully design, conduct and analyze experiments is one ofthe skills integrated across the ME curriculum, and is demonstrated in the execution of multiplelab experiences in senior lab courses and of the senior capstone design course. Beginning in thefreshman year, students are provided with opportunities to acquire experimental, analytical andmodeling tools and skills, and to develop effective means of communicating the results of theirwork. In an analogous fashion to the capstone design project providing a measure of thestudents’ ability to perform a design

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ivana Milanovic, University of Hartford; Tom Eppes, University of Hartford

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

’ instructions, examples andassessment tools.Our approach which encompasses process, methods and tools improves resource efficiencywithin and across departments. For high level materials, a consistent format is essential forstrategic plans, continuous improvement, educational objectives, program outcomes andassessment plans. Additional leverage is gained by standardizing documentation of courseimprovements, capstone projects and faculty development. Common materials that describe co-curricular multidisciplinary activities and shared facilities are prepared and disseminated at theCollege level. The purpose of this paper is to present the specifics of our approach and lessonslearned from the latest general visit along with recommendations for future

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

obtained, has always been a challenge. They tend to think of components that are too simple to analyze. Therefore more guidelines have been provided on how to select an appropriate component for the project that addresses all CLOs. Where necessary, an engineering component has been selected for them to work on.As a side note to this, few students always creatively think of a common project topic thataddresses different aspects and requirements to satisfy another course(s) they take during thesame term, for example, a senior capstone design course or another ME elective course such asfailure considerations in design or failure analysis courses. This is a highly desirable as itprovides a total learning experience for the

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michele Miller, Michigan Technological University; Anna Pereira, Michigan Technological University; Margot Hutchins, Michigan Technological Universtiy; William Helton, Michigan Technological University; Leonard Bohmann, Michigan Technological University; Chris VanArsdale, Michigan Technological University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Undergraduate Engineering Education,” J. Engineering Ed., Vol. 94, No. 1, 2005, pp. 121-130.3. Kline, R., “World War II: A Watershed in Electrical Engineering Education,” IEEE Technology and Society Magazine, Summer 1994, pp. 17-23.4. Dutson, A. J., R. H. Todd, S. P. Magleby and C. D. Sorensen, "A Review of Literature on Teaching Engineering Design Through Project-Oriented Capstone Courses," Journal of Engineering Education, Vol. 86, No. 1, 1997, pp. 17-28.5. Howard, B. “Enough of this Science and Mathematics, Let’s Do Some Engineering,” Proc. of the Frontiers in Education Conference, 1999, Session 13d2, pp. 8-10.6. Nguyen, D. Q., “The Essential Skills and Attributes of an Engineer: A Comparative Study of Academics, Industry Personnel

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2010 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Kuntinee Maneeratana, Chulalongkorn University; Angkee Sripakagorn, Chulalongkorn University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

basic and intermediate mechanical engineering courses. This may be obvious asa very large amount of credits are devoted to these courses. However, the relationships are alsoquite low in the last three semesters, particularly the advanced solid and thermo-fluid designcourses (no. 39 and 42). This is quite notable as these semesters are devoted to the design andcapstone courses which represent the culmination of study and the design outcomes. Not onlyshould these situations be further investigated, it is quite clear that the final GPA is hardly a goodindicator of satisfactory outcomes.This disassociation is also particularly pronounced with the capstone Senior Project (Figure 5)with the highest average correlation being with the Technical Writing