A Unique Undergraduate Laboratory Based Course In Engineering Failure

A unique laboratory-based course in engineering failure has been created for undergraduate aerospace and mechanical engineering students. This is a one semester, three-credit hour upperlevel technical elective in the Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Department at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Arizona. The course is team-taught and the emphasis is on structural and materials failure mechanisms, highlighting the aerospace industry. The course is composed of learning modules including advanced fatigue and fracture, thermomechanical failure, fastener failure, wear, corrosion, impact, composite materials failure, statistical analysis of failures, non-destructive evaluation (NDE), and structural health monitoring. Typically, these topics are not presented in undergraduate engineering degree programs, especially in a laboratory-based format. A significant amount of new learning materials has been created and is being made publically available through course webpages. In addition, student learning assessments and project evaluation tools are being constructed, including a short concept inventory exam. Select portions of the laboratory component are being assembled into a module on engineering failure for the yearly Aerospace Engineering Summer Camp held at the Prescott campus of Embry-Riddle, exposing high school students to advanced laboratory equipment and a range of engineering concepts. Select details of the course content, new learning materials, and a summary of the assessment tools and mid-project evaluations are provided in this paper.