Conference Session

Learning and Assessment II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig J. Hoff, Kettering University; Gregory W. Davis, Kettering University; Kathryn L. Hoff

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

manner in which they structured their class. It appears that if the professor didnot invest him- or herself into the tutoring system, the students did not invest themselves into thesystem either. Furthermore, the objectives set out by the professor dictate how much effort thestudents apply to their educational success.Figure 1 identifies the number of each professor’s students in attendance at the weekly studysessions. 60 50 Students Attending 40 30 20 10 0 1

Conference Session

Capstone Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Manish Paliwal, College of New Jersey; Bijan Sepahpour, College of New Jersey

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, Page 25.100.2students need to have an advisor from their respective program. The elements emphasized andadopted to promote project evaluation practices include periodic review of journal/log bookentries, presentations, periodic milestone reports, at least weekly meetings with the advisor(s),and the final design report.IntroductionDue to its culminating nature, the senior design project course is probably the most significantexperience of the undergraduate engineering students (1). In the process the students apply whatthey have learned in their undergraduate course work; develop their communication,interpersonal, project management, and design skills; and learn about the product developmentprocess. Students also get an understanding of the

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sriram Sundararajan, Iowa State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

one.IntroductionContinual self-evaluation and improvement of instruction-related activities is critical tomaintaining excellence in an undergraduate educational program.1 In recognition of this fact,accreditation bodies (e.g. ABET for engineering) typically emphasize the establishment of such aprocess as a requirement for accreditation. For engineering programs, ABET has established aset of General Criteria for Baccalaureate Level Programs that must be satisfied by all programsto be accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission.2 These criteria are intended toassure quality and to foster the systematic pursuit of improvement in the quality of engineeringeducation that satisfies the needs of constituencies in a dynamic and competitive environment.Amongst

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wayne E. Whiteman, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

University of Wisconsin - Madison Worcester Polytechnic Institute Table 1. Distance Learning Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering ProgramsTo collect the data reported in this paper, information was gathered from the program’s web site,email correspondence and/or telephone communications with officials of the respectiveschools.3-26Results of the StudyAll of the programs that offer the distance learning master of science degree in mechanicalengineering are highly reputable. All have ABET-accredited bachelor level degrees inmechanical engineering. Six of the fourteen schools were ranked in the top 25 of BestEngineering Schools as reported in 2010 by U.S. News and World Report.27 Four of the schoolswere included in the

Conference Session

Outreach, Engagement, and Undergraduate Research

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Natalie Barrett, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

the adiabatic process, the students were asked if the heat, Q, wasgreater for process 1. Although the acceptable selection ranged from 40% to 56% percent, only11% gave an acceptable response based upon the first law of thermodynamics. This implies thatalthough the students could get the correct answer, they could not give an acceptable reasonabout why it was correct. This could be because they lack conceptual understanding of the firstlaw, but not necessarily procedural understanding. In addition, Loverude and others (2002) showthat students did not consider the first law of thermodynamics when given a problem that neededthe first law to be answered correctly. Loverude and others questioned 36 thermal physicsstudents during two rounds of

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas R. Consi, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

students gain experience with: 1. The design process as applied to mechatronics. 2. Debugging and troubleshooting a multidimensional project with interacting electronic, Page 25.119.2 mechanical and software components 3. Team work and communications. The independent project presents the instructor with important challenges that, if not metcan result in a poor experience for the student that will negate the positive aspects of the projectand potentially turn-off the students to the field of mechatronics. A project poorly conceived thatis too complicated, too large, or too advanced given the students' knowledge and resources

Conference Session

Outreach, Engagement, and Undergraduate Research

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benson H. Tongue, University of California, Berkeley

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, not realizing thatin today’s world high school physics classes most closely resembles mechanical engineeringpractice, not modern theoretical physics.Many students respond in a reasonable way to this uncertainty - by seeking admission inthe undeclared category and hoping to decide on their ultimate path once at the university.But, of course, most of their first courses will consist of required background material inscience and math - not engineering. And the danger here is that students may opt out ofthe engineering track before they have really had a chance to experience it.Thus our departments face a two-fold challenge with regard to lower division students. Thefirst is that of retention ([1], [2]), motivating newly admitted students to

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Allan T. Kirkpatrick P.E., Colorado State University; Scott Danielson P.E., Arizona State University, Polytechnic; Thomas Perry P.E., American Society of Mechanical Engineers

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. Responses were received from academic leaders at more than 80 institutions, frommore than 1,400 engineering managers, and more than 600 early career engineers with less thanten years of practice. Complete data sets are given in the Vision 2030 report4, and an overallsummary is given in Danielson et al.5StrengthsFigure 1 shows a comparison of how the industry supervisors (n=647), the educators (n=42), andthe early career mechanical engineers (those that answered the strengths question, n~590) ratedthe 15 areas as a strength (e.g., “strong” on the scale above) of the graduates. Note the widedisparity of opinion between the industry supervisors and the academic leaders in many of theseareas. This should serve a reality check for many academic programs

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert G. Ryan, California State University, Northridge

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

assessment of student performance on these design projects wouldbecome a key component of our ABET assessment process.Rubrics for the evaluation of design presentations and reports were developed in order to providea uniform template for faculty expectations for effective communication during design reviews.The rubric development followed the characteristics suggested by Cooney4: consistency withcourse objectives, explicit scoring criteria, a simple form for recording scores, and a one pagesummary of criteria for easy reference for reviewers during the rating process.The design of the rubrics began with the definition of performance criteria for oral presentationsand written reports. Criteria for oral presentations are shown in Table 1. Generally

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amir Karimi, University of Texas, San Antonio; Randall D. Manteufel, University of Texas, San Antonio

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

easy for the publishers to deliver them to instructors. This has also made it easierfor students to get access to solution manuals. Most engineering textbook solution manuals arenow readily available to students through the Internet. We have noticed that each year a largernumber of students are using solution manuals in doing their homework assignments. In coursesurveys conducted recently in several of our courses, over 90 % of responded indicated thatsolution manuals or similar resources are available that provide solutions to problems in mostengineering textbooks.1 Four out of five respondents (about 80%) stated that they have usedsolution manuals to help them solve problems in their engineering courses.The availability of solution manuals

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Firas Akasheh, Tuskegee University; Raghu Echempati, Kettering University; Anca L. Sala, Baker College, Flint

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Page 25.229.3study about simple theory-based interventions to traditional homework, which have the potentialof restoring the effectiveness of homework as intended by its design. In that study, three differentinterventions were used but here we focus on the most representative one as far as the underlyingtheory goes. Additionally, the intervention is studied in different courses and classroom setupsthan the one previously studied. We aim to answer the following questions about the interventionto traditional homework studied in this work: • Research Question 1: How does the proposed homework intervention affect student motivation to thoroughly complete their homework? • Research Question 2: How is student overall learning

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Randall D. Manteufel, University of Texas, San Antonio; Amir Karimi, University of Texas, San Antonio

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

driven by increasing undergraduate enrollments, decreasing numberof faculty due to budget constraints, and increasing focus on achieving or improving the “tier-1”research status of the University. The quality of the teaching performed by adjuncts varies justlike that for full-time faculty. There is often the perception that adjuncts are more eager toplease students, and one easy way to please students is to issue high grades. This is easy tounderstand since end-of-semester student surveys are often the sole mechanism by whichadjuncts are evaluated. If their evaluation scores are perceived as being low, they may not beinvited back to teach next semester

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Awlad Hossain, Eastern Washington University; Hani Serhal Saad, Eastern Washington University; Martin W. Weiser, Eastern Washington University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

our plans to evaluate the educational outcomesobtained in our heat transfer curriculum.IntroductionThis paper documents a heat transfer project that incorporates analytical, numerical (finiteelement), and experimental analyses to enhance students’ understanding of convection throughtransient cooling. The project is designed to demonstrate the fundamental heat transfer conceptsonce they have been covered in the lecture. It is evident from our previous courses thatconducting experiments and solving analytical equations for devices that students can handleincrease their understanding. We use three different methods to solve the transient coolingproblem for two reasons, (1) some students relate better to each of the methods and (2) by thetime it

Conference Session

Outreach, Engagement, and Undergraduate Research

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Matthew A. Carr, U.S. Naval Academy; Jim Cowart, U.S. Naval Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

engineering milestone. ThomasNewcomen (1663-1729) invented the first successful reciprocating steam engine with aninaugural installation in 1712. Newcomen’s engine used a piston and cylinder configuration andfalls into the category of an “atmospheric” engine: the cylinder was open at the top with thepiston exposed to atmospheric pressure. When a vacuum was formed under the piston bycondensing steam, the “weight” of the atmosphere exerted a net force on the piston, therebycausing the piston to move through its power stroke.Between 1712 and 1800, more that 1400 of these engines were built.1 Even while eclipsed by themore famous Boulton & Watt steam engines that were developed in the last three decades of the18th Century, Newcomen engines continued

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tony Lee Kerzmann, Robert Morris University; Eugene Joseph Werner Jr., GAI Consultants, Inc.

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

,” couldnot be more true for this group of students.IntroductionStudies have pointed to the notion that engineers are active learners and therefore hands-onexperiences are an important part of their education.1 In order to increase hands-on activities andto promote engineering enthusiasm at Robert Morris University, a group of students entered intoa regional Energy Efficient Buildings Challenge. This competition challenged the students tocreate an innovative product for existing buildings that reduces the demand for energy from non-renewable sources while exhibiting a payback time of less than two years. This challengeimmediately sparked excitement and intrigue on the topic of sustainability.At the onset of the competition the students were not very

Conference Session

Outreach, Engagement, and Undergraduate Research

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter John Arslanian, NASA/Computer Sciences Corporation; Payam Matin, University of Maryland, Eastern Shore

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

engineering programs are challenged to thoroughly apply their learnedengineering knowledge and research skills toward design and implementation of a challengingsenior design project. A wind tunnel is often used in mechanical or aerospace engineeringprograms as a laboratory instrument to gather experimental data for investigation of fluid flowbehavior. The authors have conducted research to implement a comprehensive design of a smallsize inexpensive wind tunnel for instructional purposes {overall length: 1.8105m, maximumdiameter (contraction nozzle): 0.375m, working section dimensions: 0.25m in length X 0.125min diameter}. The objectives of this research project are to engage an undergraduate engineeringstudent: 1) to design a well-structured wind

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy M. Hodges P.E., Virginia Military Institute; Elizabeth White Baker, Wake Forest University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

planning for continued longitudinal study of the program.OverviewAlexander (1) suggests that the essential features of a successful summer program include: ameaningful research experience, the opportunity to interact with role models and otherundergraduate students forming a “community”. In the Bauer(2) study researchers surveyed threegroups: those who participated in research experience as part of a “university organized”program, those who participated in research on their own with a faculty member or those whodid not do research as part of their undergraduate experience. In the first two groups thosesurveyed were more likely to go on to graduate school, reported a greater satisfaction in theirundergraduate experience, and reported increases in

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment II

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Evan C. Lemley, University of Central Oklahoma; Baha Jassemnejad, University of Central Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

, including results of the pre/post Heat Transfer Concept Inventory (HTCI).IntroductionThe availability of information for students, including worked problems in all engineering disciplines, isprobably at an historic high. Although these are potentially useful resources they can clearly be abused ormisused. In a Google search (search term: “heat transfer solutions manual Incropera”) 1 to attempt tofind a solutions manual for a popular heat transfer book by Incropera et al.2 seven out of first ten non-sponsored hits are from peer-to-peer “torrent” sites, user-upload file hosting sites, or cramster.com(looking at the first 100 hits also yields similar statistics). Whether we want them to or not, students canand do get these manuals.The author (Lemley

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Koenraad E. Gieskes, Binghamton University; Roy T.R. McGrann, Binghamton University; Charles Gazeley DeRusso, Binghamton University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

to try to introduce students to multiple forms of representations at once.This is exactly what is often done in engineering, science, and math education. [1] In this introductory review of representations in mechanical engineering education, first ageneral overview of representations in mechanical engineering is presented. Following that,some of the differences in the common types of these representations are discussed. Lastly, theeffect that the representations have on the language used by the students is discussed.Representations in Mechanical Engineering Education In mechanical engineering education, the approach taken to solving a problem is oftenpresented as a three part process: (1) The educator explains the problem that

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University; Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

specific instructional/intellectual objectives of the proposednano/microengineering course are:(1) Students will be able to link meso-scale engineering to micro/nano-scale engineering;(2) Students will compare/contrast/evaluate nano/micro-scale engineering applications;(3) Students will use the computational/design tools available for nano/micro-scale engineering and will know their limitations;(4) Students will use fabrication facilities to implement micro-scale structures.PARTICLE TRANSPORT COURSE MODULES These combined research and curriculum development (CRCD) courses arecomposed of four modules. The models are: • Fundamental of particle transport, dispersion, deposition and removal. • Computational modeling of particle

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Steven O'Halloran, University of Portland; Matthew Rodrigues, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. The setup described canbe incorporated into an undergraduate thermodynamics laboratory, or also used as ademonstration in a thermodynamics lecture course. Page 25.1049.2Experimental SetupA commercial thermoelectric device was used for the experimental testing and is a model TEC1-12706 Bismuth Telluride device with a physical size of 40mm x 40mm x 3.5 mm. The devicehas 127 couples and a photo of the device is shown in Figure 1 below. Figure 1: Photo of thermoelectric device used for testing (model TEC1-12706).A testing assembly was constructed such that a known heat could be added to “hot” side of thedevice. By measuring the

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John-David S. Yoder, Ohio Northern University; James P. Schmiedeler, University of Notre Dame; Michael Milo Stanisic, University of Notre Dame

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

-12 students [1], robotic soccer competitions have spanned the globe [2],and various professional organizations, including ASME [3] and IEEE [4], have included roboticcompetitions in their student design competitions.However, none of these competitions seem to have similarities to many other long-term,successful intracollegiate engineering competitions (such as SAE Baja or Heavy Lift). Thesecompetitions inspire students, but also allow teams to improve their designs and technology overthe years, rules that change slowly, and clear rules on what can and cannot be “reused” fromprior competitions. The result of this is that over the years, a winning Baja car from years agowould struggle to compete in today’s competition – teams have gotten much

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lynn Albers, North Carolina State University; Laura Bottomley, North Carolina State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

throughparticipation in the Family STEM Night. Upon performing a paired t-test on each sample, ES1(p < 0.05, 28 df), ES2 (p < 0.5, 17 df) and MS1 (p < 0.05, 18 df) data were significant forincreases in science and engineering likeability. MS1 also showed significant gains in mathlikeability: a very positive result for this age group.1 While only a pilot study, these results arepositive indicators that hands-on activities are helpful in improving awareness and likeability ofSTEM disciplines, which can lead to a more pleasurable learning experience.Given the positive results of the pilot study and upon observing the students’ success in grasping Page

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David B. Benson, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. Forexample, a phase diagram for the concept of conservation principles published for ClemsonUniversity (Leonard, 1998) indicates that students will be exposed to the concept (Level 1) intheir Sophomore year and then brought to Level 2 by the end of that year. In addition to large-scale curriculum methods, there are also a number of focusedapproaches to examining learning which attend to the cyclical and scaffolded structure oflearning. These approaches are primarily focused on the cognitive processing involved indeveloping individual concepts and have received considerable attention in K-12 education. Onemodel of interest to this research is the concept of a learning progression

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Amanie N. Abdelmessih, Saint Martin's University; Irina Gendelman, Saint Martin's University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

distance learning. Distance learning appealsto mature working students and their employers as it does not disrupt the working day. Bourneet. al.1 discuss the impact of online learning on continuing education of graduate engineers anddegree seeking engineering students. They recommend that engineering colleges explore,implement, and extend blended learning and the collection of data and distribution of knowledgeabout successes and failures, as well as to continue to build-out the use of technologyimplementations that increase the quality of online courses. Mulligan et. al.2 describe case Page 25.1224.2studies for teaching online Manufacturing

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Laboratories I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Forsberg, Hofstra University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

design and construct a fluid mechanics experiment to illustrate theconcept and usefulness of dimensional analysis. An accompanying benefit of the effort was theaddition of an experiment to the mechanical engineering laboratories.II. Experimental ApparatusThe experimental apparatus is shown in Figure 1. It has been designed to be low cost, relativelyeasy to construct by lab technicians, and readily transportable from storage location to place ofuse. Page 22.37.3 Figure 1 - The Experimental ApparatusThe copper tubing (1/2" and 3/4" Type L), including valves and fittings, is mounted on a ½"plywood board. Air and water

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer I

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brent A Nelson, Northern Arizona University; Constantin Ciocanel, Northern Arizona University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

on exams. Students will demonstrate an ability to correctly solve numericalproblems while maintaining physical misconceptions about the topics involved in the problemsthey solve.1 To evaluate and address this disconnect, many concept inventories have beendeveloped to evaluate students‟ conceptual understanding of various topics within science andengineering.2-10 Research using these inventories has shown that students in a class willfrequently exhibit no gain, and even regress, in their conceptual understanding of the topicscovered in the class, regardless of their academic performance in the course. Students frequentlyfail to understand how mathematical and physical concepts translate to real systems and viceversa.Another manifestation of

Conference Session

Engineering Mechanics Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Schuster, California Polytechnic State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

calculations.IntroductionStudent conceptual learning can be significantly enhanced by providing opportunities forstudents to see and feel the effects of their theoretical analysis. (1) This means more than justenhanced computer-based presentations. It means hands-on (physical or virtual) projects wherethe students get to directly test the theories given in textbooks and lectures.At our university, a quarter-long mechanical engineering senior technical elective course coversintermediate topics in stress analysis, including energy methods (Castigliano’s and Rayleigh- Page 22.101.2Ritz), torsion of non-circular cross-sections, axisymmetric problems, plates, shells

Conference Session

Design Education

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John E. Pakkala, Milwaukee School of Engineering

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

and their multi-degree of freedomcouplings. In addition, nonlinear functions such as tire lateral forces may be altered within thesolver routines to make design decisions for vehicle components. Much of the detail provided inthis work is the result of those two theses. [1, 2]Dynamics ModelingThe modeling in the design tool is quite comprehensive and only a few of the modeling andsimulation methods and results are provided in this paper. The modeling and solvers weredesigned to simulate the behavior of a vehicle under various inputs by both the road and thedriver. Using these simulations, the influence of different design parameters on the vehiclebehavior may be evaluated.The vehicle is modeled as a 14-DOF system consisting of three

Conference Session

Why Industry Says that our Engineering Students Cannot Write

Collection

2011 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

William K. Durfee, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities; Benjamin Adams, University of Minnesota; Audrey J. Appelsies, University of Minnesota; Pamela Flash, University of Minnesota

Tagged Divisions

Liberal Education/Engineering & Society, Mechanical Engineering

three-phase WEC process is (1) to develop awriting plan based on discipline-specific writing outcomes desired for graduating majors, (2)implement the plan and (2) assess the plan and revise based on the assessment. The plan formechanical engineering defined nine attributes of mechanical engineering writing and 14 desiredwriting ability outcomes for graduating majors. Stakeholders agreed that problem sets were thenumber one form of writing for engineering students and that attention paid to writing a problemset would help students to learn the material. The plan was implemented by targeting three corecourses for explicit writing instruction and raising the awareness of writing in other requiredcourses in the program. Assessment is on-going and