Conference Session

Innovations in Laboratory Studies

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Helen McNally, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

partnerships were organized from highest to lowest based on theoverall lab scores and the functionality of the receiver. Factors such as habitual absenteeism,tardiness or events such as problems between partners were identified and those pairs wereeliminated from the study. The questionnaires were then rearranged by lab partners.Commonalities and differences between partners were first identified. In particular, the degreesof active vs. reflective, sensing vs. intuitive, visual vs. verbal and sequential vs. global learninghad to be reviewed. Each partnership was then described based on the learning styles presentand the degree to which these learning styles were found.ResultsThis study is in it’s infancy with follow on studies planned to increase the

Conference Session

DELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Euan Lindsay, Curtin University of Technology

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

equally difficult, or equallyvaluable. Some require significant understanding and reflection; others are straightforwardsimple tasks. By providing an indication to the students as to which milestones are which,the students have more information with which to plan their work.For instance, a ±10% error margin may be acceptable in the project specification, but a ±1%is preferable. If the accuracy milestones are rated for difficulty, students who find themselveswithin the 10% margin can then decide whether they wish to invest the time and effort toachieve the smaller tolerance, and thus the additional mark, or whether to focus their energieselsewhere.Four difficulty categories were chosen for the milestones: Easy, Standard, Hard andChallenging. The

Conference Session

Fluid Mechanics Experiments and Laboratories

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

MURAT OKCAY; BILGEHAN UYGAR OZTEKIN

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

direct or reflected beam viewing. Class IV lasers are also a fire risk as they may also ignite combustible materials.3. Components of the ePIV systemIn this section, the ePIV hardware will be discussed followed by the software. Typical operationprocedure will also be explained.3.1. ePIV hardware – Interactive ExperimentThe Interactive Experiment hardware can be seen in Figure 2. Figure 2. The ePIV systemThe interactive experiment system is portable and it consists of a rugged module, housing all thesystem components. The components include a PCB mounted digital camera, a laser, an opticallens for the laser light, a small variable speed water pump, a reservoir, and aninterchangeable experiment module. All the

Conference Session

Electrical and Computer Engineering Laboratories

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Chiu Choi, University of North Florida

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

0.00 4.79 critical thinking Treats all students in a consistent R12 92.86 7.14 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.93 manner R13 Exams reflect the material covered 85.71 14.29 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.86 Willingly assists students outside of R14 78.57 21.43 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.79 class R15 I found this class to be challenging 64.29 28.57 0.00 0.00 7.14 0.00 4.43 Item

Conference Session

DELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Jason Yao, East Carolina University; Loren Limberis, East Carolina University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

the level signals sent to the controller and displayed onthe front panel (see Figure 6) reflect the actual levels (in inches) in the tanks. The flow ratequantity generated by the controller was converted into a voltage signal that allows the pump toproduce the desired flow. The coefficients of the digital controller are entered into an AUTOCONTROL module (see the block diagram in Figure 7) in a LabVIEW virtual instrumentprovided by the instructor. Level Sensors Laptop with the LabVIEW Controller Control

Conference Session

DELOS Best Paper Nominations

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Richard Drushel, Case Western Reserve University; John Gallagher, Wright State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

, but without the option (as in the traditional courses) ofchanging the mechanical design to simplify the software control. Performance evaluation couldnow include consideration of differences between the simulated robot and the physical robot in areal environment. Because each student had a local copy of the simulator, initial developmentand testing could take place off-line; when ready, the student could then test the same controlleron the physical robot. In principle, the simulator would be an accurate reflection of the real-world environment. Discrepancies could lead students to develop more robust controlalgorithms, and/or feed back to the instructors in order to improve the simulator itself. Studentscould work completely according to

Conference Session

Innovations in Laboratory Studies

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Ali Al-Bahi, King Abdulaziz University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

clear, measurable, learning objectives ‚ Specify clear, reliable, and objective assessment criteria of students workEvaluation of the Lab Experience in the CurriculumAppendix C contains a survey that was used to evaluate student’s lab experience in theengineering programs in King Abdulaziz University. The form evaluates the lab experience in 3distinct areas: ‚ Students and Learning ‚ Instructors and Instruction ‚ Facilities and SafetyThe results of the survey, when first used, indicated the weak as well as the strong points of theundergraduate lab experience of KAU students as shown in Fig 1. The results reflect the weakpoints of the classical recipe type experiments where the students are unable to deal with

Conference Session

LabVIEW and Mindstorms Based Experiments

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Nebojsa Jaksic, Colorado State University-Pueblo; Dawn Spencer, Colorado State University-Pueblo

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

Problem-solving • Analytical SkillsThis indicates a high level of interest and effort in the class throughout the semester.Besides igniting interest in robotics for the students in the class, we had an unintended effect ofexciting a class of about 24 preschool children who came to participate in a final testing stage.During the official DARPA Urban Challenge on Saturday, November 3rd, 2007, the students heldtheir own mini Urban Challenge in the lobby of the student dorm. Although it was interesting foronlookers, results were not as hoped due to the early date. In one case, the robot traversed theentire route, but didn’t detect another vehicle at an intersection. The obstacle didn’t reflect theultrasound back to the robot’s sensor. In another

Conference Session

Fluid Mechanics Experiments and Laboratories

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

B. Terry Beck, Kansas State University; Brian Anderson, Kansas State University; Mina Hosni, Kansas State University

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

4and 5 also show the laser-based illumination setup used for the current testing. A 500mW solidstate laser was mounted vertically on an adjustable support platform. The platform providedlateral displacement adjustment and tilt adjustment degrees of freedom for aligning the lightsheet with the plane of the smoke streams. A simple cylindrical lens optic produced the desiredsheet of light for illumination of a section of the test section. The top of the test section, as wellas the side-walls, are of Plexiglas for optical access. Not all of the flow field could be viewed atthe same time with the current optical setup due to the spreading of the laser light sheet. Forsafety reasons, precautions were taken to minimize stray laser reflections. Test

Conference Session

Metrology Laboratories

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Georgia Harris, National Institute of Standards & Technology; Christopher Grachanen, Hewlett Packard Company

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

P Ptechnical sessions of the 2005 NCSLI Annual Workshop and Symposium, participants weregiven sticky dots to mark on kiosk displays the areas that they believed to be of highest priority.In addition, a survey form was distributed to gather feedback on suggested action steps thatNCSLI might take. The overwhelming feedback on the kiosks, surveys, and individualdiscussions related to Metrology Outreach. The objectives and framework of the roadmap wereslightly modified in 2007 to reflect the intervening time and are noted below. Page 13.922.2Objectives:1. Metrology & Standards Outreach. Ensure awareness of metrology, measurement sciences

Conference Session

Experiments and Laboratories in Mechanical Engineering

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Alexander Colletti, The College of New Jersey; Joseph Monaghan, The College of New Jersey; Bijan Sepahpour, The College of New Jersey

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

obtaining the practical range of parameters that are both suitable for a laboratory environment and are preferably available stock items 5. To provide a means to collect and interpret data recorded through experimentation. 6. To share the schematics and parts required to fabricate additional units via a website accessible through Vjg"Eqnngig"qh"Pgy"Lgtug{Óu"website. 7. To develop appropriate instruction for experimentation to optimize the function of the apparatus.III - BACKGROUNDA comprehensive review of literature (1-6) was conducted on Single Degree of Freedom (S-D-F)Vibrations as well as the existing pertinent laboratory apparatuses. Appendix (B) reflects on acollection of the relevant equations for the study of S-D-F

Conference Session

Fluid Mechanics Experiments and Laboratories

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

El-Sayed Aziz, Stevens Institute of Technology; Constantin Chassapis, Stevens Institute of Technology; Sven Esche, Stevens Institute of Technology; Sumei Dai, China University of Mining and Technology; Shanjun Xu, China University of Mining and Technology; Ruiqing Jia, China University of Mining and Technology

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

zoom functions built in. In order to accommodate different studentpreferences, these functions can be controlled by either moving the mouse in the 3-D space, bykey combinations using the “←”, “→”, “↑”, “↓”, “Page Up” and “Page Down” keys, or by gamekeys “A”, “D”, “W”, “S”, “E” and “R”. During the experimentation, any changes in parametersand variables are immediately reflected numerically and graphically as a response to the students’inputs. For example, by selecting a different airfoil type from the “Model Selection” list, allcorresponding outputs are refreshed automatically. This design is expected to create a strong feelof immersion in the represented space for the students. Figure 14: GUI of virtual airfoil and wing

Conference Session

LabVIEW and Mindstorms Based Experiments

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Joel Dillon, United States Military Academy; Jose Salinas, United States Military Academy

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

the success or failure oftheir engineering design projects. This failure to fully understand physical principles wasattributed to a tendency by some students to over-simplify or fail to completely grasp thefull extent of the problems presented. When this happened, students invariablydeveloped perceptions that the engineering design process was, at best, unnecessary and,at worst, a hindrance to effective problem solving.The following comments, excerpted from course-end reflective student essays illustratethis particular area of concern:“The modeling and analysis was so nebulous a concept that I grew to hate it.”“During this project, we were required to apply principles and concepts without fullyunderstanding them.”“I only began to learn about

Conference Session

Fluid Mechanics Experiments and Laboratories

Collection

2008 Annual Conference & Exposition

Authors

Calvin Hsieh, Portland State University; Gerald Recktenwald, Portland State University; Robert Edwards, Pennsylvania State University-Erie

Tagged Divisions

Division Experimentation & Lab-Oriented Studies

opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed inthis material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the NationalScience Foundation. The authors are grateful for the assistance of Ms. Jenna Faulkner in editing the laboratoryworksheets, and the assistance of Dr. Jack Kirshenbaum in interpreting the survey data. Theauthors are also very appreciative of the cooperation and support of Dr. Hamid Moradkhani andMs. Sheryle Quinn as we conducted our educational research in their class. Page 13.710.17Bibliography1. Butterfield, R., Benefit without cost in a mechanics laboratory. Journal of Engineering