Development Of Undergraduate Laboratories In Thermal Fluids Area Through Student Involvement

The undergraduate mechanical engineering curriculum at Youngstown State University (YSU) currently requires the students to take three experiment-oriented 1-quarterhour laboratory courses from the areas in applied thermodynamics, stress-strain analysis, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, vibrations, acoustics, and advanced machine design. These lab courses are offered at the senior level and the department’s objective is to provide students with hand-on experience in modern measurement techniques, data acquisition, and extensive use of computers for analysis and reduction of experimental data. The lab courses, therefore, not only fulfill the pedagogic principle of validation of the engineering principles and laws, but also form an effective platform for enhancing the written and oral communication skills of our students through presentation of formal reports and oral presentations. In the lab courses that I teach in the thermal fluids area, I try to go beyond these basic objectives by providing students an opportunity to design and build new laboratory systems, or augment the existing equipment with modern instrumentation, and controls. In my lab courses, in addition to the conventional experiments during the weekly meetings, I assign one significant development project to student teams of two or three. The special project is assigned in the first week of the 10-week course to allow students sufficient time for the completion of their project. This paper discusses some of student projects, my philosophy behind the implementation of lab development projects, and the feedback I received from the students.