Work-in-Progress: Integration of Hands-on Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in Undergraduate Curriculum

Applied research facilities, such as computational fluid dynamics (CFD), wind tunnel testing and other experimental fluid mechanics facilities, will bolster students’ knowledge and undergraduate level research. Recent advancements in computational modeling/simulation and user-friendly graphical user interface of CFD code enable undergraduate engineering students to perform CFD analysis of heat and fluid flow problems providing better understanding of heat and fluid properties, and their phenomenon. Using CFD simulation tool in undergraduate research can significantly improve the understanding of various fluid flow phenomena as students are able to visualize the flow domains using the simulation for different boundary conditions. We describe an innovative plan for the development, implementation, and evaluation of an effective curriculum of CFD intended as an elective course for undergraduate and introductory course for graduate level students. The curriculum includes learning objectives, applications, conditions, exercise notes with a proposed course syllabus. One of the main objectives is to teach students from novice to expert users preparing them with adequate fluid mechanics fundamentals and hands-on CFD project works to prepare for their capstone design projects, higher education and advanced research in fluid mechanics. We have planned to incorporate a CFD educational interface for hands-on student experience in fluid mechanics, which reflects real-world engineering applications used in companies, government research labs, and higher education research.