Open AccessMODELLING AND SIMULATION OF SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS: AN ENGINEERING DESIGN COURSE PROJECT
Author(s) -
Flavio Firmani,
Kevin Oldknow
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the ... ceea conference
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2371-5243
DOI - 10.24908/pceea.vi0.14897
Subject(s) - renewable energy , sustainability , hydroelectricity , project based learning , civil engineering , hydraulic engineering , irrigation , meteorology , environmental science , computer science , environmental resource management , engineering , geography , mathematics , mathematics education , ecology , physics , electrical engineering , biology , thermodynamics
To enhance the learning objectives of the course: Systems Modelling and Simulation (MSE 380), a Design-Based Learning (DBL) project centered on sustainability was developed and has been implemented for five years. The project consists of designing, modeling, and simulating a renewable energy system that solves a particular problem within a predefined scenario. Thescenario changes every year: past scenarios are a remote dwelling, a camping trip, a daily-life setting, a village in an underdeveloped country, and the design of a device that assists in the fight against COVID-19. The design of the system comprises two phases; first renewable energy is harvested and stored, and later the stored energy is used to solve the problem. Students model the systems using statespace representation and linear graphs; and simulate the response as linear, linearized, and nonlinear problems. Project examples for the scenario of underdeveloped villages are: discharge of flooded rice fields during monsoon season in South Asia using pumps, irrigation during the drought season in Northern India using stupas (artificial glaciers), uncovering of a Russian village after sandstorm with mechanical shovels, irrigation in Sub-Saharan Africa using solar uplift towers, saving crops from freezing temperatures in rural Iran using solar collectors (as opposed to burning tires which is the current practice), and producing hydroelectricity to power a cooking device in an Amazonian village. Our pedagogical experience with this didactic approach has been very positive. Students are creative and engaged with their own designs. As the project description and requirements have evolved through the years, not only the quality of the projects has improved but also it has had a positive impact on the course learning.