Conference Session

Capstone Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Martin Edin Grimheden, Royal Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

changed the way many software developersorganize their work and projects, for example as in Scrum by delegating responsibilities,empowering individuals and delaying decisions. The main driver in most methods is“accelerated delivery” realized by focusing on small steps, incremental development,prototyping and quick feedback rather than extensive planning and documentation [1].The “Agile Manifesto” [2] is based on twelve principles to follow as an agile softwaredeveloper: from “…satisfying the customer through early and continuous delivery…”,“…welcome changing requirements…”, “…business people and developers must worktogether…”, “…face-to-face conversation…”, “…self-organizing teams…” to “…the teamreflects on how to become more effective…” [2].The

Conference Session

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Onursal Onen, University of South Florida; Rasim Guldiken, University of South Florida

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

future directions and a section to which students writetheir comments on. The content of the lecture will be listed in the next section, followed by themethod and results of survey including student comments. In the last section, the effectivenessand outcomes of the lecture will be discussed based on the results followed by planned futurework. Page 25.850.4Lecture ContentThe microfluidics lecture was based on a presentation with 60 PowerPoint slides includingintroduction to microfluidics and scaling laws, basic theory, design methods, state-of-the-artapplications, current and projected market and career opportunities. The content covered

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

submission of the Senior Project Design Report –II (during week #15 of the spring semester). • Periodic log book review (bi-weekly): Students maintain design journals which are periodically evaluated. • The grading rubrics for SP-I (Table 1) and SP-II (Table 2) were developed and adopted.Forming a Senior Project Team and Improving its Chances of SuccessTables 3 and 4 together provide a summary of the essential elements and stages of teamdevelopment as well as some suggestions for planning and improving the chances of success fora team based project (7).ConclusionThe efforts of a group of faculty at the School of Engineering of the College of New Jersey wereshared with the engineering

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

John K. Estell, Ohio Northern University; John-David S. Yoder, Ohio Northern University; Briana B. Morrison, Southern Polytechnic State University; Fong K. Mak, Gannon University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

documentation of course improvements made because of the assessment process. This section is used to list any substantive changes made for the current offering of the course and cites, as appropriate, the source of the improvement (e.g., recommendations from a previous FCAR document, an action plan for addressing observed shortcomings, or minutes of a committee meeting). These documented references are valuable as they allow for each modification to be traced back to its source, thereby providing proof of their systematic utilization as input to the continuous improvement process as called for by ABET Criterion 4. By combining this information with the relevant portions of the referenced items, one can easily demonstrate how the

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Trends and Tools

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy A. Doughty, University of Portland; Steven O'Halloran, University of Portland

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

1.83 associated hardware. 2. I would value seeing applications of data 4.03 4.19 4.09 acquisition in many of my courses. 3. I would value using data acquisition in my lab 4.05 4.22 4.12 courses 4. It is important to reinforce theoretical concepts learned in lecture with lab 4.50 4.26 4.40 experiences involving the same topics 5. I plan to use data acquisition (position measurement, strain measurement, 3.92 4.22 4.05

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

Thermodynamics, Fluids, and Heat Transfer

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Govind Puttaiah P.E., West Virginia University; Timothy A. Drennen; Samuel C. Brunetti; Christopher M. Traylor

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

successfully on a 2-cylinder Briggs & Strattongasoline engine. It was then modified to fit on a 6-cylinder TOYOTA gasoline enginemounted on a computer-linked test stand. The test stand is equipped with sensors andmeasurement systems that can be programmed to measure and record the parameters inthe performance analysis of an IC engine such as: rpm, torque, power, air-fuel ratio,temperatures, rate of fuel consumption, thermal efficiency, brake mean effective pressureetc. The test stand can be used to compare the performance of the engine with gasolineand hydrogen in any pre-selected proportions of the two fuels (0% to 100%). Both theseengines are operational and are planned to be used for student experiments in the M Edepartment at WVU Tech. The

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert G. Ryan, California State University, Northridge

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

alternatives which wereconsidered prior to reaching their proposed design. The presented cost analyses were generally agood first cut, but other simple analyses (e.g. weight estimate for the folding bicycle) werelacking. It seemed that the groups in this course were sometimes lacking the teamwork skills thatall of the groups seemed to show in the freshman course. This is a paradoxical result since ME186 is a prerequisite for ME 286 (although not all students take the prerequisite as planned –more on this later.)On the positive side, the groups came up with creative designs, and in most cases seemed to beenthusiastic about their concepts.ME 386 (Computer-Aided Analysis and Design) is a course which covers finite element analysis(FEA) using SolidWorks

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

due to a combinationof more difficult mathematics and the use of material parameters that are less intuitive.Therefore, we use a combination of analytical, numerical, and experimental studies to improvethe students’ understanding of this topic. This paper documents development of this integratedheat transfer project and our plans to assess how it influences the students’ understanding oftransient heat transfer.The two projects discussed here vary the surface area and thermal diffusivity of samples to showthat these parameters are important in transient cooling. In the first project, the temperaturedistribution of different objects (or shapes) having the same volume but different surface area areanalyzed and measured. The use of finite element

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Tom Spendlove, Baker College, Flint; Anca L. Sala, Baker College, Flint; James Riddell, Baker College, Flint

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

design a response for the problem, and create a cost / manufacturing / quality plan in the firstten week term. In ME499 the students build a working prototype to validate the concept and dotesting and analysis on the working model. These courses are made up of eighty percent activityand twenty percent lecture, with most of the lecture coming in the first ten week course. The bestpossible outcome of the Senior Design Project course is that the students complete a project thatmeets all their project goals, but the application of previous learning along with the capstonedesign is also necessary. The fact that the students are doing projects of smaller magnitude orduration throughout their education should help them to excel in the six month long

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Garrett Miles Clayton, Villanova University; Teresa Genevieve Wojcik, Villanova University; Aleksandra Radlińska, Villanova University; Noelle K. Comolli, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

containing 20 straws, 10marshmallows, a roll of pennies and a Styrofoam cup. In addition to these supplies, scissors andadditional pennies were available at the front of the room.Project Time: The amount of time given to the students was 25 minutes. This allowed for thenecessary introduction (5 minutes) and reflection and discussion (20 minutes). Note that a lectureon the design process was also planned to be given during the next class session.Student Designs: Some examples of student designs resulting from the project are shown inFigure 2. It is always interesting to see the diversity of bridge designs. Page 25.741.6 Figure 2: Example

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lisa Abrams, Ohio State University; James William Altschuld, Ohio State University; Blaine W. Lilly, Ohio State University; Daniel A. Mendelsohn, Ohio State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

) processes sense of development Math (11) Manufacturing (10) Recognition that Many elements - Materials (10) Mechanical communicating, Fluids (8) Engineering is a work in teams, planning etc. Mechanics (6) broad field - are not so apparent Statics/dynamics (5) combining many Movement/motion (5) things Students aware of what a Science in general (5) Mechanical Engineer would Machine related (4) Design have to know

Conference Session

Laboratory Innovations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas R. Consi, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

willlikely result in: 1. Confusion that could lead to uncertainty in knowledge gained from the lectures and formal lab exercises. 2. An inability to work with complex systems that cross disciplines. If the initial hands-on challenge is too hard, then skills like project planning and troubleshooting will not be properly developed. 3. Lack of confidence, especially in a student’s ability to understand areas that are not in the students' major. For example, a mechanical engineering student’s understanding of programming and/or electronics. 4. Discouraging students from either careers in mechatronics or applying for jobs with a mechatronic component. In other words, narrowing a student’s perceived career options.The

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Simin Hall, Virginia Tech; Catherine T. Amelink, Virginia Tech; Deyu Hu, Virginia Tech

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

approach isdesigned to allow for more effective integration of course objectives with online strategies,pedagogies, and best practices (Royce 1970). We worked with our distance learning institute andusing their process that follows a life-cycle model with seven phases: (a) Planning Phase; (b)Analysis Phase; (c) Design Phase; (d) Development Phase; (e) Testing Phase; (f) ImplementationPhase; and (g) Evaluation, Support, and Maintenance Phase. Each phase is distinguished byactivities, techniques, best practices and procedures that combine to construct viable, sustainable,efficient, and useful online courses. The design choices are driven primarily by the learningobjectives associated with a given course. This methodology for eLearning course

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Craig W. Somerton, Michigan State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

carried out by the Associate Chair for theUndergraduate Program.Final ThoughtsThough not as thorough as more exhaustive outcome review, a sampling approach does allow for Page 25.384.5the identification of program improvements similar to those from a more exhaustive review.More importantly, it requires considerably less faculty time and effort and, hence, it much moresustainable.References1. ABET. Criteria for Accrediting Engineering Programs, 2012 – 2013, http://www.abet.org/engineering-criteria-2012-2013/, visited January 11. 2012.2. Younis, Nashwan, “Supplementary Assessment Tools for the Enhancement of the Program Assessment Plan

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Goodarz Ahmadi, Clarkson University; Suresh Dhaniyala, Clarkson University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

knowledge of particle measurement techniques to plan and conduct an ambient aerosol measurement campaign near the University. The students analyzed their data and compared it to measurements from nearby monitors and related the data to national standards.As the next step, the course material is being prepared for online posting and adapted for integration with the theoretical modules described earlier.COURSE WEB EFFECTIVENESS:The effectiveness of the course website was assessed in two ways:1. Usability tests were conducted on an early version of the site and conducted again onthe revised version of the site. In both tests, participants were given tasks to find coursematerial and use the calculation model available on the site. The purpose

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 voltage produced. The maximum temperature difference tested was 68.1°C and thisproduced an efficiency of 2.22% and an output power of 1.17 watts. While this efficiency mightseem low, thermoelectric generators are noted for their relatively low conversion efficiency.Also, the maximum temperature difference tested (68.1°C) is fairly modest, higher temperaturedifferences would result in higher efficiency. Typical thermoelectric devices require atemperature difference of approximately 500°C to achieve an efficiency of 10% 9,10. Testing isplanned for the future with higher temperature differences, but the current testing has beensuccessful for the conditions tested.It is planned to use this experimental setup both as an in-class demonstration

Conference Session

Outreach, Engagement, and Undergraduate Research

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Natalie Barrett, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

students seethe underlying principles in the problems which helps with all of the enduring understandings.Smith and others (2005) note that teachers can uncover material for students by using pedagogiesof engagement. To engage my students, I will use collaborative learning where the students willwork in small groups during class to solve problems. Finally, I plan to incorporate feedbackthrough class discussions, homework, and team problems.Teaching PhilosophyThe teaching philosophy for this course was based upon the book Making Learning Whole(Perkins, 2009) . Below I will outline how each of the seven steps impacted the design of thiscourse.Play the whole game- I will help my students see the “whole game” by introducing them to theentire game of

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment I

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

David B. Benson, Kettering University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

learning as an acquisition and integration process, thisis further reinforced when the concept of a spiral curriculum is also considered. Kolb (2000) in his Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) highlights the necessity ofcyclical instruction. ELT divides the learning cycle in to four phases: experiencing, reflecting,thinking, and acting. As a model for education, this process is both planned (formatted) andresponsive to the situation and content/skills being learned: activities are structured and plannedbut flexible to include individual. The cyclical nature of ELT supports this project in thenecessity of revisiting concepts at various points, over time to solidify and deepen a learner’sknowledge or concept acquisition and mastery

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

% 55% lecture materials and doing homework problemsTable 5 and 6 present the results of student responses at the start and the end of semester,respectively, to the questions related to the amount of time spent in engineering courses. At thestart of semester only 29 % of students indicated that they were planning to spend more than 6hours per week for ME 3293. At the end of semester that number was increased to 39%. At thestart of semester 55% students indicated that they would spend less than 4 hours per weekoutside the classroom preparing for the course.Results of the survey conducted at the start of the semester regarding solution manuals aresummarized in Table 7. The numbers used in the headings are based on the following definitions

Conference Session

Learning and Assessment III

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jenna L. Gorlewicz, Vanderbilt University; Robert James Webster III, Vanderbilt University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

presented in Section 4. Section 5 contains a discussionof the results as well as future planned improvements for the laboratories based on the results, withconclusions in Section 6. 2 Overview of the Vanderbilt Haptic Paddle Hardware and Laboratory Assignments At Vanderbilt, we have contributed to the evolution of the haptic paddle through mechanical,electrical, and software changes. Initially, we used a paddle similar to that used at Stanford andJohns Hopkins, which was a cable-driven capstan that ran on C-executable files9 . The most recentversion of our setup is shown in Figure 2. The mechanical design of our paddle is similar to thatof Rice11 and Utah14 , in that the motor is at the bottom, with the capstan and handle consistingof a

Conference Session

Active and Project-based Learning

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Isaac M. Choutapalli, University of Texas, Pan American; Robert A. Freeman, University of Texas, Pan American; Young-Gil Park, University of Texas, Pan American

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

not important enough to merit much attention to featureslike improved accuracy and precision. However, in complex measurements, when the stakesbecome greater, the selection of measurement equipment and techniques and the interpretation ofmeasured data can demand considerable attention. CBI for MECE 3320 teaches students theimportance of measurements in these complex situations. The technique helps students developan experimental test plan and use the measurement system so that the engineer can easilyinterpret the measured data and be confident in its meaning. The study by Pandy et al. [1] whichshowed that the CBI approach, as compared to a traditional approach, increased the students’conceptual knowledge and the ability to transfer the

Conference Session

Simulations and Visualizations

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Claudio Luiz Curotto, Federal University of Parana, Brazil; Kurt C. Gramoll, University of Oklahoma

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

using multi threads and hundreds of coresare available on the server cluster, hundreds of users can be attended simultaneously.The chosen time-based collision physics engine fits extremely well in the research scope. Since itdoes not provide acceleration results, this feature has to be implemented as soon as possible.Parallel programming still has to be done, as well as the implementation of some cosmeticeffects on the web page, more experiments and a complete user’s guide including thespecifications of the projects.Since the system is new and just started operation on spring semester, 2012, there is no students’feedback. The authors plan to introduce this methodology in a Dynamics course this academicyear.The entire package will be available

Conference Session

Trends in Mechanical Engineering: Curricula and Courses

Collection

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Benita M. Comeau, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Rohit Karnik, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Sang-Gook Kim, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanical Engineering

student response to the micro/nano lab has been highly positive. The positive word-of-mouth coupled with increases in the number of mechanical engineering undergraduates has ledto a rapid growth in enrollment for this course. Thus, our future plans involve continuedstreamlining to make a more efficient laboratory experience, and developing more transparentteaching materials so that the course may be easily transferrable to additional engineeringinstructors.Course Objectives Page 25.442.2As this course was developed, there were a number of course objectives and learning outcomesthat were desired. Overall, the course is meant to introduce concepts

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

). • DimDim is non reliable, it went out of service during scheduled class times. Solution: Adobe Connect license has been acquired, and a web conferencing system (IVC) was purchased. • Bad quality sound and echo. Solution: Headsets for all users. • Inability of the instructor to move away from the podium. Solution: use of a wireless microphone and headset. • Engineering Analysis does not fit on DimDim’s or Adobe Connect white board. Solution: Wide camera on the classroom board, with IVC • Document camera display was not able to transmit through IVC, DimDim, or Adobe Connect. Solution: use a wide camera with Adobe Connect or a wide camera for IVC. We also plan to experiment with connecting a smart board to the IVC system and