Project Based Software Application Analyses In Undergraduate Heat Transfer

As new engineering analysis software codes for mechanical engineers become available, it is incumbent upon academic programs to introduce students to these tools and for the students to develop at least rudimentary skills in the application of these codes. The issue that arises is how to effectively introduce these tools into a curriculum that is already crowded. As engineering programs struggle to find accommodations, many students reach their senior year before realizing an opportunity to apply these sophisticated analysis methodsfrequently with little or no training. A recurring example is that of students’ a priori construction of a system component followed by a perfunctory stress analysis using a commercial computer code. Often the analysis performed is irrelevant or incomplete. The notion of analysis being an essential element in the design process can be lost in the minds of many students. Therefore, the ME department faculty at SDSM&T together with campus partners are integrating into the traditional junior-level core curriculum project-based software applications and tools such as FLUENT and ABAQUS. This paper discusses a proposed option to the traditional offering of an undergraduate course in heat transfer. The method proposed brings project-based learning and analysis applications into the classroom in a novel way.