Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian Novoselich, United States Military Academy; Joel Dillon, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

. Page 14.1285.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Two is Better Than One: Experiences Revitalizing a Capstone Design Competition ProgramAbstractThis paper examines the steps taken to revitalize the Baja SAE program at the United StatesMilitary Academy (West Point). Due to some significant issues with the 2007 Baja SAE team,West Point did not compete in the 2007 competition. Because Baja SAE is conducted as a seniorcapstone design project, the lack of competitiveness led the senior faculty advisor to examine theprogram and take steps to prevent future failures. A brief history of the West Point Baja SAEprogram, course framework, and steps taken to revitalize the program are discussed in

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig Somerton, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2009-287: INTRODUCING BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING TO MECHANICALENGINEERS THROUGH THERMAL DESIGN PROJECTSCraig Somerton, Michigan State University Craig W. Somerton is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair of the Undergraduate Program for Mechanical Engineering at Michigan State University. He teaches in the area of thermal engineering including thermodynamics, heat transfer, and thermal design. He also teaches the capstone design course for the department. Dr. Somerton has research interests in computer design of thermal systems, transport phenomena in porous media, and application of continuous quality improvement principles to engineering education. He received his B.S. in 1976, his M.S

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

engineering educators, we seek to promote types of effective and satisfactory teamexperiences that will be required in professional practice. This project expands findings from aprevious case study examining the perceptions of individual team members working withinteams to determine each team’s processes of communication, problem solving, and leadershipstrategies used in Capstone Design projects. Our objectives in this study are to identify andcategorize this perceptual data at both individual and team levels in order to identify anyconsistent factors or characteristics that may contribute to each group member’s perception of ashared experience.Findings from a previous case study involving one team of Capstone Design studentsconsistently indicated

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

skills were assessed using skill-based coding schemes and a content-basedcoding scheme. A sketching importance lesson was given to students of one capstone designcourse section and results in their sketching of project concepts were analyzed and compare to acontrol group made up of another section. The sketching importance lesson focused on the valueof sketching for design not on how to sketch. A significant finding was that the sketchingimportance lesson changed the type of sketches produced; the number of sketches produced bythe students (a reduction), and increased the number of details within sketches.Key Words: sketching, cognition, engineering education, design documentation1.0 IntroductionA survey of the panorama of mechanical

Conference Session

Design Projects in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tim Brower, Oregon Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

All the 2 Frequently 3 Occasionally 4 Rarelyfamiliarity with the term “systems engineering.” The students also increased theirperception of how important systems engineering was to companies. With this exposure,students are better suited to go into their Capstone courses as well as entering industry.Any time a team project is used in academia fairness in student grading becomes aquestion. The approach16 used in this class was from both a team-to-team peer review

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

AC 2009-928: ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP AND EFFECTIVE TEAMPROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES IN ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECTS: ACASE STUDYTony Jones, United States ArmyAnna Lambert, University of MemphisDaisie Boettner, United States Military AcademyBrian Novoselich, United States Military AcademyStephanie Ivey, Page 14.936.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Organizational Leadership and Effective Team Problem Solving Strategies in Engineering Design Projects: A Case StudyAbstractThis project presents a case study examination of the problem solving strategies and discoursepatterns used by members of an Engineering Capstone Design Team. In our study, a

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Wael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

AC 2009-2416: INTRODUCING A TWO-SEMESTER RESEARCH COURSE INTHE FRESHMAN YEARWael Mokhtar, Grand Valley State University Assistant Professor, School of Engineering Page 14.798.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2009 Introducing a Two-Semester Research Course in the Freshman YearAbstractEngineering schools have been using capstone projects to introduce the students to ‘real world’applications and break the barrier between theory and practice. It is usually in the form of a two-semester course where the students use the first semester to develop the soft skills needed for theproject in terms of project management and

Conference Session

Mechanical Engineering Poster Session

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Anderson, United States Air Force Academy; Matthew Snyder, United States Air Force Academy; Michael Maixner, United States Air Force Academy

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

capstone courses.The manufacturing processes presented include wood working, machining, welding andcomposite lay-up. In addition, software tools are introduced and compared including MicrosoftExcel®, MatLAB®, MathCAD®, and Inventor®. Key aspects of technical communicationincluding reading, writing and presenting are introduced and practiced. Finally, a two-lessonseminar on engineering ethics completes the content. A small desk set is constructed by thestudents as a capstone project, and draws on many of the skills learned throughout the course.To evaluate the course, students were surveyed frequently and faculty feedback was collected.The results presented show that the welding, machining and Excel® content was very successful,while general

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

University is surrounded by several autosuppliers and furniture manufacturers. Over the years, our engineering school has developed astrong partnership with the local industry. Co-op is mandatory in our undergraduate program andwe provide well trained co-op students to the industry. All of our capstone projects are sponsoredby the local industry. It is therefore imperative that we strive to keep our curricula up to date, sothat they reflect local industry’s needs and our students remain competent in the fast changingenvironment of technology and businesses. Our engineering program emphasizes teaching andapplied research. Therefore, our faculty is continuously engaged in pedagogical research and itsimplementation and it is active in disseminating the

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

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

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

preparation for the first ABET evaluation visit. To assessprogram learning outcomes and program educational objectives, the department has adoptednumerous data collection and evaluation mechanisms. Courses at all levels of the curriculumhave been selected to collect data. Course-based Fundamentals of Engineering Exam style tests,lab-based courses, senior capstone design project, field practicum, employer and graduatesurveys and industrial advisory board feedback are utilized as assessment tools for both programlearning outcomes and program educational objectives. Detailed description of thecomprehensive assessment plan, its implementation, up-to-date results and plans for continuousimprovement are presented.IntroductionThe engineering program at

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

stress analysis of the gear teeth, and finally, ‘fitting them alltogether’. Excel/MathCAD/Maple has been used in the calculations. Design standards(ANSI, SAE, AFBMA, AGMA, etc.) have been used while designing each component.Only the power and speed limits of the system are specified, leaving everything elseopen-ended. Students are expected to start with an application in mind that uses a similarsubsystem, and justify all the subsequent assumed data, including the safety factors. Thisproduced several alternative designs that the instructor can use as numerous workedexamples for future classes. Each design report can serve as a case study that includes themath and CAE tools they used for the project. Conventionally, many capstone designclasses use

Conference Session

Student Learning and Assessment

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andre Butler, Mercer University; William Moses, Mercer University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

Method of Assessment to Examine Experimental Design in Mechanical Engineering LaboratoriesStudents in the mechanical specialization at Mercer University are currently required to take twogeneral mechanical engineering laboratory courses—one in the third year of the curriculum andthe other in the fourth year. The first of these courses begins with seven or eight single periodlaboratories in which the students are directed to complete a well-defined set of procedures andperform simple analyses. In an effort to more formally introduce experimental design into thelaboratory experience, this course ends with a three project sequence in which students areprovided with an experimental objective (e.g., determine the coefficient of

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering II

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ping Ren, Virginia Tech; Janis Terpenny, Virginia Tech; Dennis Hong; Richard Goff, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

robotics curriculum is presented in this section. The structure isorganized in a hierarchical manner from senior robotics course and projects to advanced graduaterobotics courses.Senior Robotics Course:Introduction to RoboticsCapstone Senior Design Projects, Robots-relatedNote: The capstone senior design projects on robot development can be used to apply theknowledge in introductory robotics courseEntry Graduate Robotics Course:Robotics Kinematics, Dynamics and ControlNote: This graduate course can also be used to recruit graduate students interested in robotics,but with different backgrounds. The requirements are higher than those of a senior level course.Such examples are shown in previous sections. The coverage can range from

Conference Session

Outstanding Contributions to Mechanical Engineering Education

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Hakan Gurocak, Washington State University, Vancouver; Linda Chen, Washington State University Vancouver; Dave Kim, Washington State University, Vancouver; Amir Jokar, Washington State University, Vancouver

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

and indirect assessment of studentperformance, systematic data collection, assembly, analysis and evaluation. Furthermore, theprogram must demonstrate that there is a continuous improvement process in place. For newprograms or existing programs, transition to this new outcomes-based approach can be difficult.At many institutions the program outcomes are assessed using various rubrics. Course content ismapped directly to the program outcomes and student grades are used to show the level ofachievement of the program outcomes. Faculty course assessment reports are used to measureand document the program outcomes3,4,5. Capstone courses are where culminating projects aregiven to the students. Therefore, sometimes these courses are used either to

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

Knowledge in Design System Lifecycle, Improvement, Evolution, & Design Under Constraints Support Application & Deployment of Current & Research & Development of Future Emerging Technologies Technologies Hardware Manufacturing – Software Design Process, Phases, & Approaches Implementation Development Project Management Hardware/Software Integration Ensure Reachable Goals Test, Verify

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering I

Collection

2009 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Charles Forsberg, Hofstra University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

five of the lab experiments in the course. In light of Page 14.1306.7the very positive results, it is planned to extend the KSB approach to the otherexperiments in the course and ultimately to other courses (e. g., capstone design courses).Bibliography1. MSTP Project: Mathematics Across the Middle School MST Curriculum. Retrieved fromwww.hofstra.edu/mstp on March 5, 2009.2. Hunter, Margaret A. and Forsberg, Charles H.; Experiences of Engineering University Faculty in aMiddle School Math, Science and Technology Partnership (MSTP), Proceedings of the ASEE Mid-AtlanticSpring 2005 Conference; April 15 & 16, 2005; Fairleigh Dickinson University

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

AC 2009-1673: PRACTICAL DEMONSTRATION UNITS, USING COMMONCOMPONENTS, FOR AN INTRODUCTORY THERMODYNAMICS COURSEMichael Plumley, United States Coast Guard Academy LCDR Michael Plumley is an Assistant Professor, and 1998 graduate, of the Mechanical Engineering program at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. He has served as coordinator for a variety of courses, including Capstone Design, Machine Design, Mechanisms, Heat Transfer, and Modeling and Control of Dynamic Systems. He holds Master of Science degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and he is a registered Professional Engineer in the State of Connecticut