Thermophysics For Manufacturing Engineers: A Nontraditional Approach

This paper describes the development of a set of instructional modules that will introduce candidates to the principles of thermal/fluid sciences, with applications to manufacturing engineering. The candidates are currently employed as machinists at the Center for Advanced Technologies (CAT), a world-class manufacturing facility which is part of the civil rights organization Focus:HOPE in Detroit. The Greenfield Coalition is a collaboration among six universities to develop a learner-centered, experiential-based, team-oriented, interdisciplinary curriculum for manufacturing engineering which will be launched at the CAT and later transferred to legacy university programs. Thermal/fluid sciences (thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer) are typically considered to be among the most difficult of topics taught in an engineering curriculum. This project makes the subject matter more accessible to candidates by embedding the material within the context of manufacturing activities that are part of the candidates’ daily experience. The foundational principles for most of the eighteen modules are taught in interactive tutorials written with the multimedia authoring package Authorware®. Complementing the computer-based tutorials are instructor-assisted problem-solving sessions, experiments, work-related team projects, case studies, or traditional lectures. The tutorials include periodic assignments such as computer problems (solved using a spreadsheet or mathematics package) and traditional "penciland-paper" problems. Presented here is a discussion of the teaching philosophy, a description of the structure of the thermophysics curriculum, and a summary of content. Portions of the computer-based tutorials are described, and examples of experiments, projects, and case studies are given.