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Use of Capstone Engineering Design Projects to Construct a Teaching Laboratory

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Conference

ASEE-NE 2022

Location

Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts

Publication Date

April 22, 2022

Start Date

April 22, 2022

End Date

April 23, 2022

Page Count

12

DOI

10.18260/1-2--42214

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/42214

Download Count

324

Paper Authors

biography

Yiannis A. Levendis Northeastern University

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College of Engineering Distinguished Professor
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering
334 SN, Northeastern University
360 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA 02115
617-373-3806
Email: y.levendis@neu.edu

Dr. Levendis holds a B.S. (1980) and an M.S. (1982) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) (1987). He is currently a College of Engineering Distinguished Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering. Dr. Levendis' current research is dealing with topics related to Combustion, Alternative Energy Sources, Air Pollution and Acid Rain prevention, Incineration of Municipal Wastes, Engine Performance and Emissions, Combustion Diagnostics and Pyrometry, Polymers, Materials Development and Polymeric Coatings. Dr. Levendis has published over 300 technical papers and holds 11 US and several International patents. He has been elected Fellow of ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Fellow of SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers), Fellow of the Combustion Institute and Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry. He is a member of various engineering honor societies such as TBΠ, ΠTΣ, ΦΚΦ. He is also a current member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) and the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) and past member of the SME (Society of Manufacturing Engineering).

Dr. Levendis has received both the Outstanding Research and the Outstanding Teaching Awards from the College of Engineering (in 2001 and 2005, respectively). He is also the recipient of the University-wide Excellence-in-Teaching Award in 1995. Has extensive teaching experience in Capstone Engineering Design Instruction where he supervises groups of students design, construct, test, optimize and economically evaluate novel engineering concepts. He is the recipient of ASEE's Ralph Coats Roe Award in 2021

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Abstract

This paper intends to show that projects of the senior-level Capstone Engineering Design course can be used to design and construct a cost-effective teaching laboratory. The educational benefit of this undertaking is two-fold: students design and construct experiments, with the guidance of the instructor, and subsequently other students will use these experimental setups in a laboratory of a different course. Over the years, a number of capstone groups have been tasked with creating new experiments for the laboratory of the Internal Combustion Engines course at Northeastern University. The setups are used to provide hands-on experience with engine components and operation, and facilitate the demonstration of theories presented in class. User-friendly, educational experiments allow students to observe engine induction and exhaust processes, supercharging and turbocharging, engine valve timing, fuel injection timing, and spark timing. Students measure engine performance parameters and calculate engine efficiencies (mechanical, volumetric, and thermal). Finally, they study the operation of the geartrains in the transmission and the differential gearboxes and measure torque and rotational speed outputs. The design teams identify crucial elements of a successful engineering laboratory, such as team-based learning, objective data analysis, and theoretical vs experimental results comparison. These learning goals are routinely incorporated into the final design of the new experiments and laboratory procedures. The entire laboratory follows an aesthetic theme including vibrant colors, clean lines, and hidden wiring.

Levendis, Y. A. (2022, April), Use of Capstone Engineering Design Projects to Construct a Teaching Laboratory Paper presented at ASEE-NE 2022, Wentworth Institute of Technology, Massachusetts. 10.18260/1-2--42214

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