Conference Session

Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Michael Hennessey, University of St. Thomas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

AC 2008-565: STATICS AND DYNAMICS PROJECTS EMPHASIZINGINTRODUCTORY DESIGN AND MANUFACTURINGMichael Hennessey, University of St. Thomas DR. MICHAEL P. HENNESSEY is a tenured Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering within the School of Engineering. He has taught over 15 different courses in mechanical engineering at the undergraduate and graduate level and has written 33 papers in research (kinematics, dynamics and control of mechanical systems and related areas of applied mathematics) and mechanical engineering education, including the presentation of 10 papers at ASEE conferences (National (3), along with North Midwest (6) and St. Lawrence (1) sections

Conference Session

Mechanics and the Internet

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Mark Holdhusen, University of Wisconsin - Marathon County; Christa James-Byrnes, University of Wisconsin - Barboo/Sauk County; Luis Rodriguez, University of Wisconsin - Waukesha

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Techniques in Mechanics

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Christopher Papadopoulos; Josh Bostwick, Cornell University; Andrew Dressel, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

. Page 12.1206.1© American Society for Engineering Education, 2007 Promoting Holistic Problem-Solving in Mechanics PedagogyAbstractThe authors propose three strategies that are designed to enhance students’ understandingand problem-solving ability in introductory mechanics courses: (1) employing multiple-method problem-solving, in which students solve a given problem using more than onemethod; (2) organizing systems of linear equations into a standard “tabular” format whichresembles matrix format; and (3) emphasizing the discussion and use of assumptions inproblem-solving activities. The authors give a rationale for each strategy, present areview of several mechanics textbooks to determine the prevalence of these strategies,and provide

Conference Session

Innovative Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

James Morgan, Texas A&M University; Luciana Barroso, Texas A&M University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

curriculum.Course projects are based on realistic civil engineering examples, with an emphasis on theassumptions required to develop the analytical model. The projects are team assignments andrely on numerical analysis, a pre-requisite for the course. These projects have several objectives:(1) to allow students to tackle a larger and more realistic civil engineering dynamics problem, (2)expose students to computational tools used in solving dynamics problems for which a closedform solution does not exist, (3) evaluate critical thinking and communication skills. Theprojects also allow for the introduction to advanced engineering concepts, such as seismicresponse.This paper presents the implementation of this course for all civil engineering

Conference Session

Enhancing Mechanics Instruction

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phillip Cornwell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, theyprogress to using PHOTON II’s (a 32 bit, 4 channel data acquisition system), RT Pro for dataacquisition and signal processing, and DIAMOND for system identification and mode shapeanimation. In this paper the labs will be described and assessment results presented as to theirefficacy.IntroductionAccording to the dictionary, resonance is “a vibration of large amplitude in a mechanical orelectrical system caused by a relatively small periodic stimulus of the same or nearly the sameperiod as the natural vibration period of the system.”1 Thus, a large motion can result from a verysmall stimulus if it is at just the right frequency, that is, at the natural frequency of the system. Isthere an analogous phenomenon in learning? Do some teaching strategies

Conference Session

Anything New in the Mechanics of Materials?

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Daniel Magda, Weber State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

leads to a state of stress that is amaximum at the surface of the material1. The value of stress is different in the various directionsrelative to the direction of travel of the tool, and has its maximum in a direction parallel to thetool movement. Most of the residual stress is generated from the mechanical action of the tooland not from the thermal effect of the cutting process. The effect of heating in the material bycutting would be expected to be approximately equal in all directions which is not the case withthe mechanical effect. Figures 1 and 2 show the distortion of the material being cut by a singlepoint cutting tool. The grains near the surface are pulled out parallel to the surface and look likea layer of thin strings. Further down

Conference Session

Anything New in Dynamics?

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Geoff Rideout, Memorial University of Newfoundland

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

the motion of a double pendulum released fromrest (Figure 1), would likely embrace the challenge optimistically and enthusiastically. Theability to predict the link motions and pin forces of the double pendulum is more relevant than itmight first appear. An early course in mechanism theory will impress upon most students thatslider crank and four-bar mechanism have broad application and are building blocks for morecomplex mechanisms. The slider crank is a double pendulum with the endpoint constrained tomove in a straight line. The four-bar is a triple pendulum with the endpoint fixed. The influenceof dynamic effects on pin forces is essential to sizing the pins using the concepts learned inmachine component design. Unfortunately, problems

Conference Session

Mechanics and the Internet

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Calvin Ashmore, Georgia Institute of Technology; Bo Yeon Lee, Georgia Institute of Technology; Geoff Thomas, Georgia Institute of Technology; Daniel Upton, Georgia Institute of Technology; Sneha Harrell, UC Berkeley; Christine Valle, Georgia Institute of Technology; Wendy Newstetter, Georgia Institute of Technology; Janet Murray, Georgia Institute of Technology; Laurence Jacobs, Georgia Institute of Technology; Sue Rosser, Georgia Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

andexpectations of women and URMs, also overlap with the attributes of more flexible thinkingenvisioned for the Engineer of 2020 2.ApproachOur funding was awarded on March 1 2007. Our group is roughly divided into three teams thatwork both independently and together on various tasks that are often inter-related:1- The engineering team (Jacobs, Valle, Lee) is primarily responsible for designing the problems and developing their solutions.2- The digital media team (Ashmore, Schrank/Thomas/Upton) works on programming and visual implementation of the computer simulations.3- The evaluation team (Newstetter, Harrell) works on clarifying the learning goals and conducting assessment.In addition, Prof. Rosser is in charge of the overall project goals

Conference Session

Innovative Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Pramod Chaphalkar, Grand Valley State University; David Blekhman, California State University Los Angeles

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

a necessity for the today’sundergraduate mechanical engineering programs. At Grand Valley State University (GVSU), westrive to keep our curriculum up to date, reflecting the demands of industry. We have thereforebegun the process of integrating the use of FEA tools throughout the curriculum, instead ofdelaying it until the senior year either for senior design or elective courses. This paper describesthe introduction of FEA to students in the first course of Statics and Solid Mechanics. The firstpriority of this course is to build the foundation for Mechanics. The challenge therefore was todetermine the content without compromising the priority. Keeping this in mind, 1-D Barelements and 2-D Truss elements are introduced in the course. These

Conference Session

Innovative Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jean Nocito-Gobel, University of New Haven; Gregory Broderick, University of New Haven; Samuel Daniels, University of New Haven; Michael Collura, University of New Haven; Richard Stanley, University of New Haven

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

most part, CE and ME students tookcommon core mechanics courses during the sophomore year, taught from a discipline specificperspective.However, like most engineering programs, mechanics courses offered first semester junior yearare discipline specific. CE students took CE312 Structural Analysis in which students learnabout the theory and application of structural analysis specifically applied to the analysis oftrusses, beams and frames. The first semester junior year for ME students begins with thetraditional core mechanical engineering course in Solid Mechanics (ME307), which includeselasticity and failure theories for combined stresses. Summarized in Figure 1 are the courses forboth the traditional and new curriculum for CE and ME students

Conference Session

What's New in Mechanics of Materials?

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Adam Creuziger, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Wendy Crone, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, based on teaching experience, appears to bea difficult concept for students. Whether this difficulty is due to a single fundamental difficulttopic, a variety of difficult topics, or some other factor has not been addressed in the literature.Because the teaching methods used in this course are similar to how mechanics of materials istaught nationally, the survey results of the study discussed below should be broadly applicable.There are a variety of methods that can be used to determine what concepts are difficult forstudents. For many disciplines, concept inventories have been used to determine what conceptsare most difficult for students. A concept inventory for mechanics of materials (strength ofmaterials) has been developed [1-3]. From this

Conference Session

Mechanics Division Poster Session

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ing-Chang Jong, University of Arkansas; Joseph Rencis, University of Arkansas

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

approach.I. IntroductionThere are different well-known methods for determining deflections of beams in mechanics ofmaterials. These methods may include the following: 1 & 1 0 (a) method of double integration (with or without the use of singularity functions), (b) method of superposition, (c) method using moment-area theorems, (d) method using Castigliano’s theorem, and (e) conjugate beam method.This paper extends an earlier study on method of segments11 by using singularity functions andmodel formulas. As a result, the proposed new approach allows a considerable reduction in thenumber of segments required in the study. This new approach makes available an effectivemethod for mechanics educators and practitioners when it comes to determining

Conference Session

What's New in Dynamics?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phillip Cornwell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

a lecture. The Direct Indirectreference used for much of this historical information is the Approach Approachwonderful first chapter of Fundamentals of Applied Dynamics byJames Williams.1 The biographical information came primarilyfrom a couple of great websites, The MacTutor History of - Newton - Leibniz 2 - Euler - John BernoulliMathematics Archive and Eric Weissteins’ World of Scientific 3 - D’AlembertBiography, both of which have huge collections of short

Conference Session

Innovative Mechanics Education Programs and Projects

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Phillip Cornwell, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Charles Farrar, Los Alamos National Laboratory; Peter Avitabile, University of Massachusetts-Lowell

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

motivate students to go to graduate school, preference is usually given to studentswho are not yet in graduate school. Thus far, the students participating in the program have beenas follows: 67 students just finished their junior year, 30 students just received theirundergraduate degree, and 14 first year graduate students. Over 34 undergraduate universitieshave had students participate. Students in the program have had undergraduate majors inmechanical engineering (82), civil engineering (19), aerospace engineering (3), electricalengineering (4), engineering mechanics (2) and mathematics (1). Thus far, approximately 27%of the participants have come from underrepresented groups (13.5% women). The number ofapplicants has ranged from about 20 to 45

Conference Session

What's New in the Mechanics of Materials?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Andrea Surovek, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

illustrate the difference between contextual problems and those lacking context,consider a potential mechanics of materials problem: A shaft is subjected to the torque shown. Find A the shear stress developed in the shaft and the angle of twist at point A relative to point B. B Figure 1 A basic torsional shear stress problem in mechanics of materialsThe problem does not tell the students anything about the source of the torque, the likely use ofthe shaft, or anything else that might allow then to place some context on why it might bevaluable to know the shear stress or angle of twist. Even if the

Conference Session

Internet Delivery of Mechanics Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Peter Boyle, Saint Mary's University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

student’s convenience,with the professor adding enrichment in class. A commercial software served as the workhorsefor most of the symbol and number manipulation required for the solution of textbook problems.The courses that are the subject of this paper were delivered using an electronic course packagewith the following components: 1) The framework was a commercial course management system (CMS). 2) Two recently published e-texts were employed, allied with evolving, and somewhat problematic, solution manuals. 3) Online tests were used with automatic marking of tests and assignments. What was gained and what was lost with synchronous marking is discussed. 4) The instructor’s e-lecture notes amplified, simplified and

Conference Session

What's New in Mechanics of Materials?

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Lucas Passmore, Pennsylvania State University; Aiman Kuzmar, Pennsylvania State University-Fayette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Conference Session

Back to Basics in Mechanics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Thomas Malmgren, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

examples thatfollow will illustrate the use of CAD-based graphical problem solution to faculty unfamiliar withCAD software to encourage CAD-based graphical analysis in student assignments as well asspark interest in its use for themselves.The first rudimentary example of using graphical analysis with CAD as the solution methodrepresents a typical problem found in Engineering Statics. This force analysis problem requiresfinding the tension in two cables supporting a 200 pound weight. One cable (A) is 45° from thehorizontal upward toward the left while the other (cable B) is 15° from the horizontal upwardtoward the right. From a Free Body Diagram (FBD) shown on the left side of Figure 1, we seethat we know the magnitude and direction of the weight

Conference Session

Back to Basics in Mechanics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Robert Martinazzi, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown; Brian Houston, University of Pittsburgh-Johnstown

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

points added to their final coursepercentage was welcomed by the students and did serve to motivate them to assist the authors incoming up with some novel ideas. Any student team who did not choose to participate was notpenalized in any manner, but very few teams chose this latter option. The students were given a week to develop their ideas. They were required to presenttheir suggestions in a formal written format to be evaluated by the instructors. After all of theproposed reengineered quiz ideas were evaluated, 33% of the students earned 2% points to beadded to their final grade, 54% earned 1% point, and 13% of the students did not receive anybonus points for their efforts. Names were chosen by the instructors to best illustrate

Conference Session

Teaching with Technology in Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Honghui Yu, The City College of New York; Feridun Delale, The City College of New York

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

for the course and instructor evaluation, student feedbackappears to be very positive. Introduction Mechanics of Materials (MoM) is the first course in solid mechanics, which coversstress, deformation and strength of simple shaped members, and their applications.Topics include concepts of stress and strain, uni-axial loading, torsion, beam bending,column buckling and stress/strain transformation, etc. As a mandatory course, it has farreaching effects in students’ future learning and career development. Since the introduction of Timoshenko’s book, [1] Strength of Materials, the subject Page 11.839.2has become

Conference Session

Innovative Teaching Techniques in Mechanics

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Shanzhong (Shawn) Duan, South Dakota State University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

their designapplications than they could previously.IntroductionAn applied multibody dynamics course is usually offered to mechanical engineeringundergraduates in their senior year and to graduates in their first year. It is an advanced topic andrequires that students have a background in linear algebra, vector-matrix operations, dynamics,numerical analysis, and fundamentals of computer science, as well as in basic programmingskills. The specific contents of multibody dynamics may vary from school to school. Butgenerally speaking, they may contain but are not limited to the following: (1) Multibodykinematics: coordinate transformation matrixes and direction cosines, kinematical formulas,partial velocities, partial angular velocities, Euler

Conference Session

Teaching with Technology in Dynamics and Mechanics of Materials

Collection

2006 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Rungun Nathan, Villanova University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

few years to incorporate several of these findings in multimedia teaching aids usingoverlaid transparencies, electronic slides, fill-in worksheets, streaming videos, tablet-pc,one minute clarification, etc. The next few paragraphs will describe several of thesemodes used in the classroom and discuss the observations and feedback of students.Chalkboard to Transparencies…To begin the transition from chalkboard teaching, about four years ago work on creatingthoughtful and content driven transparencies utilizing several overlays and colored penswere commenced. For example, to demonstrate the idea of reduction of a system offorces on a rigid body to a single force and moment of couple overlaid several slides(figure 1) were created. First the idea

Conference Session

Internet Delivery of Mechanics Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Paul Steif, Carnegie Mellon University; Anna Dollar, Miami University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

each section in a modulesignal to students if additional studying is needed to meet learning objectives.1. IntroductionThere is an increasing demand for engineering education around the world, as well as increasingopportunities to leverage technology for this purpose. As one response, we are seeking to createa complete on-line introductory-level Statics course for novice learners. This project is part of awider Open Learning Initiative (OLI) at Carnegie Mellon University, supported by the Williamand Flora Hewlett Foundation, to develop cognitively-informed high quality on-line courses.With this Statics course we hope to increase the number of learners that can be reached(including independent learners), and to support other instructors with

Conference Session

Improving Mechanics Courses

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Timothy Mays, The Citadel; Kevin Bower, The Citadel; Kyle Settle, The Citadel; Blake Mitchell, The Citadel

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

problems and that the problem may be a direct result of the presentationformat used by the course instructor (traditional lectures with long problems only) and thesimilar presentation format used by the course textbook. A hypothesis was developed in 2005that student performance may improve if the course material is presented in more of a “conceptoriented” format with short (1 to 2 line) example problems that illustrate this material. Hence, in2006 the author elected to modify the conclusion of each chapter’s material presentation bypresenting short concept only problems to improve student understanding of the key subjectmaterial. No other changes to the course material or presentation format were made in 2006.The objective exams show a marked

Conference Session

What's New in the Mechanics of Materials?

Collection

2007 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Julie Linsey, University of Texas-Austin; Austin Talley, University of Texas--Austin; Daniel Jensen, U.S. Air Force Academy; Kristin Wood, University of Texas-Austin; Kathy Schmidt, University of Texas-Austin; Rachel Kuhr, University of Texas-Austin; Saad Eways, Austin Community College

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

, and they believe the activities enhance theirlearning. The majority of the assessment data also shows that the active learning activitiesenhance students’ understanding of the material. While these general findings exist, students’opinions of the activities do vary with learning styles, institutions and their generalunderstanding in the course. Learning styles, personality type, and perception of performance inthe class all have influence on the students’ opinions of the activities and will be measuredfurther in future activity development and evaluation.1. Introduction and MotivationActive learning approaches improve students’ overall learning1. There is considerable literaturethat addresses the advantages of using hands-on experiences in an

Conference Session

Mechanics, Hands-on Demo - Show & Tell!

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sinead C. MacNamara, Syracuse University; Joan V. Dannenhoffer P.E., Syracuse University

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

courses have onstudents’ perceptions of engineering. This paper presents the results of this evaluation,alongside student performance data, student response data and faculty observations.1. BackgroundStudies into acculturation of engineering students are rare, but studies of retention offer aglimpse into the aspects of engineering education that most impact students’ happinesswith their choice of major, and into the student characteristics and skills that mostinfluence persistence and success for students in engineering programs. It is generallyacknowledged that high math and science barriers in the first two years of undergraduatestudy contribute to attrition, but it is also argued that more creative students becomefrustrated by a lack of “big

Conference Session

Mechanics, Hands-on Demo - Show & Tell!

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Carrie J. McClelland P.E., Colorado School of Mines

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

issues, at a global scale. In addition, technology and other aspects of society arechanging rapidly. Therefore the skills and knowledge that students attain in college need toprovide a foundation that will allow for them to be competent in a globalized, challenging, fluidprofession.1 Therefore, not only will they need to be competent with current knowledge, theyneed to also learn how to learn so that they can continue to stay up to date as technology andother aspects of society continue to rapidly change. These challenges in combination withenrollment that continues to increase caused the author to re-structure how a large, lecture-based,sophomore level fluid mechanics course was being taught.The philosophy of the re-structured course centers on

Conference Session

Mechanics, Hands-on Demo - Show & Tell!

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Edward J. Berger, University of Virginia

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

. Enterprise solutions for knowledge management presentapproaches to capture and archive an organization’s institutional knowledge from its systems,employees, and partners, and to operationalize that knowledge in the organization’s everydaypractice (Shahnaqaz et al. 1 , and the explosion of knowledge management journals in the past 10years 2 ). But a more accessible example of genomic thinking comes from pop culture: the MusicGenome Project 3 . Page 23.753.2About ten years ago, a group of music performers, experts, and enthusiasts came together with thegoal of creating “the most comprehensive analysis of music ever.” They defined hundreds ofmusical

Conference Session

Statics - They can move at constant velocity!

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Sean Moseley, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology; Shannon M. Sipes, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

Engineering Education, 2013 Initial Investigation into the Effect of Homework Solution Media on Fundamental Statics ComprehensionIntroductionSolutions to homework assignments are provided in many engineering science classes as amethod of helping students see a “correct” solution procedure for the assigned problems. Thiswork describes an initial investigation into the effectiveness of providing homework solutions indifferent media. Specifically, homework solutions are presented as either static PDFs of acompleted analysis (Treatment 1) or annotated videos (sometimes called “screencasts”) of theanalysis being developed (Treatment 2). Student performance on a pre/post Statics ConceptInventory and self-reported survey results

Conference Session

Dynamics - Wow! They accelerate

Collection

2013 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Brian P. Self, California Polytechnic State University; James M Widmann, California Polytechnic State University; Michael J. Prince, Bucknell University; Jeffrey Georgette

Tagged Divisions

Mechanics

based courses resulted in an 8.5% largernormalized gain on the DCI than traditional instruction (see Table 1). Additionally, activeengagement methods of instruction may not only result in higher conceptual understanding, buthave also been shown to result in equivalent or sometimes better quantitative problem solvingskills14-16. Page 23.761.3Table 1. Total pre and post DCI scores for Active Learning and Traditional classrooms. Overall Overall # of Students Post Average