Inspiring Engineering in the K12: Biomimicry As a Bridge Between Math and Biology

The discipline of biomimicry encourages engineers to take design inspiration from the nearly four billion years of research and development since life first appeared on Earth — nature is the greatest engineering designer. Rather than leveraging biomimicry as a discipline unto itself (a worthy approach, regardless), this project explores biomimicry as a tool to inspire K12 students to appreciate math and engineering. We conducted this project in four lesson modules and one lab. In the first module, we presented various types of engineering. In the second, we introduced certain aspects of mathematics from a qualitative perspective. In the third, we discussed the fundamental mathematics that undergirds thermodynamics, although qualitatively and visually. In the fourth, we introduced the students to the world of biomimicry. Then we integrated the mathematics and biomimicry with a laboratory experience in quantitative design, borrowed from an NSF sponsored project. In summary, efforts in biomimicry reside at either the quantitative arena of multi-phase physics, or the qualitative arena of biological interpretations. However, we have used it as a bridge to science, math and engineering.

A Model Science-Based Learning STEM Program

In this paper, a model STEM program called Engineering Heroes: Qatar Special Investigators (QSI), aimed to familiarize young students with science and engineering in real life applications, is presented. The program theme is about forensic science and technology, which included science and engineering activities with hands-on projects to challenge students’ science and critical thinking skills. Throughout the program, students learned about forensic science as an application of science, engineering and technology to collect, preserve, and analyze evidence to be used in the course of a legal investigation. Participants learned the history of forensic analysis and how it evolved into today’s specialized career field. Forensic specialists include backgrounds in chemistry, physics, biology, toxicology, chemical and electrical engineering. Topics included in the program were a study of toxicology and chemical analysis, assays to determine drug contents, fingerprint development, environmental contamination, chromatography in forgery, presumptive vs. confirmatory testing, scanning electron microscopy, infrared analysis, and evidence handling techniques. The details of the program are presented, including the contents, preparation, materials used, case studies, and final crime scene investigation, which featured the learning outcomes.

Data Collection and Analysis Using a Wind Turbine and a Photovoltaic Solar Panel

A weather data collection study is currently conducted using a renewable energy training system. The system is composed of a LabVolt trainer, two sun tracking photovoltaic solar panels and a small wind turbine. The LabVolt training system is located in one of the McCoy School of Engineering laboratories, the solar panels and the wind turbine are located in the neighborhood of the Engineering building at Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas. A set of meteorological data collecting outdoor sensors to monitor the impact of weather conditions on the power generation of the sun-tracking photovoltaic solar panels and the wind turbine have been installed on the building roof. Weather parameters such as atmospheric temperature, pressure, humidity, and rainfall are monitored using a Davis Vantage Pro 2 data collecting system. A number of LabVIEW data acquisition cards and signal processing modules are used to monitor the sun-tracking photovoltaic solar panels’ output voltage, the wind turbine output voltage, the atmospheric temperature, the solar irradiance, and the wind direction, speed, and RPM. A voltage divider has been built to step down the 90V DC voltage produced by the solar panels to 12V DC voltage required for the trainer electrical circuits. A LabVIEW data processing program is used to create instantaneous graphic displays of the collected data on a monitoring screen. The LabVolt trainer is equipped with two charge controller electronic devices, one is used for the sun tracking photovoltaic solar panels, and one is used for the wind turbine. They are used to control the flow of electrical energy through a set of electrical loading devices and a set of storages batteries. Additionally, the LabVolt trainer is equipped with two kilowatt-hour-meters counting the electrical energy consumed by the electrical loads. The trainer is also equipped with two inverters transforming the 12 V DC voltage collected from both energy producing devices to 120 V that can be used by the electrical loading devices. A brief description of all used electronic components and devices is provided in the paper, as well a detailed experiment set-up with a procedure to run them. The project has been divided into three consecutive phases. The first phase dealt with connecting the solar panels, wind turbine, and data collecting sensors to the LabVIEW data acquisition software. The second phase is currently dealing with setting up the trainer solar and wind electricity providing circuits. In the third upcoming phase, it is expected that the data collected by the sensors will be gradually archived using Excel files and analyzed for weather data correlation purposes. It is also expected that the training system will be used to teach upcoming mechanical engineering students about how to set up an independent renewable energy system and the necessary equipment required to run it.

Modelling Buoy Motion at Sea

This project creates a model to assess the motion induced on a buoy at sea, under wave conditions. We use the Moving Frame Method (MFM) to conduct the analysis. The MFM draws upon concepts and mathematics from Lie group theory — SO(3) and SE(3) — and Cartan’s notion of Moving Frames. This, together with a compact notation from geometrical physics, makes it possible to extract the equations of motion, expeditiously. This work accounts for the masses and geometry of all components and for buoyancy forces and added mass. The resulting movement will be displayed on 3D web pages using WebGL. Finally, the theoretical results will be compared with experimental data obtained from a previous project done in the wave tank at HVL.

Current Trends of Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Curricula in California

This paper reviews and compares 29 ABET accredited mechanical engineering undergraduate curricula in California which include 13 programs from the California State University (Cal State or CSU) System, 8 programs from the University of California (UC) System and 8 programs from private universities. The programs examined in the present paper include both Ph.D.-granting and non-Ph.D.-granting institutions in public and private universities. Some CSU mechanical engineering programs have been taking steps to implement changes recently in their curricula to reduce the total required degree requirement to 120 units and yet satisfy the minimum requirement of general education units. This paper presents a summary of the current curricula structure of these programs in Cal State universities by delving into the study of their degree requirements and compare with that of UC and private universities. For example, the number of units of college level mathematics and basic science required by the program is examined closely and determine if it is beyond the one-year requirement by ABET General Criterion 5 Curriculum. In addition, one of the ABET program criteria requires the mechanical engineering program to prepare students to work professionally in either thermal or mechanical systems. As such, this present paper also examines how each program is proportionately distributing courses in each of these two areas. Attention is also given to how each program integrates first year experience, senior capstone design experience, hands-on laboratory experience and internship experience (if any) in the curriculum. In January 2016, CSU launched the Graduation Initiative (GI) 2025 to increase graduation rates of CSU students while eliminating opportunity gap for underrepresented minorities and Pell-eligible students. One of the main goals of GI 2025 is to increase the freshman 4-year graduation rate of CSU students to 40% by 2025. Part of the strategies for GI 2025 from some CSU campuses is to review the curriculum and identify potential barriers to timely graduation and find strategies to eliminate them. The goal of this paper is to provide educators a timely summary of reference while examining their own curricula. Although different institutions carry curricular revisions that stem from different motivation, the ultimate goal will be the same — provide students optimally the best curriculum to better prepare them for the industry workforce and have positive impact for the society.

Design, Development and Implementation of Vibratory Mechanisms to Be Utilized in Dynamics and Vibrations Courses

There is still a demand for novel laboratory equipment designs that are to be utilized in undergraduate level machine dynamics, mechanical vibrations, control theory and their related labs. Since the turn-key systems preferred in most undergraduate labs are expensive and require wide lab space, 3D printed portable, small scale and cost-effective vibrational lab equipment are designed to study the fundamentals of free and forced vibrations. Four laboratory equipment designs are proposed in this study to demonstrate the fundamentals of vibration such as free vibration, forced vibration, modeling, base excitation and vibration isolation. The first device is a vibration isolator and resonator mechanism incorporating large deflecting fixed-free flexible links and composed of primary and secondary masses and a linear actuator, the second mechanism is a compliant parallel arm consisted of flexible beams, mass and a support, third mechanism is a translational vibratory mechanism comprised of slider carts, 3D printed springs, rods and bearings and the final mechanism is the model of driver seat consisted of DC motor, driver and driven wheels and a mass. Main parts of each apparatus are built by 3D printing using either PLA or PETG filament. Learning outcomes and the methods of implementing each device to the course and their associated laboratories are provided.

Effect of Measuring Instrument Eccentricity and Tilt Error on Circularity Form Error

From power stations to power tools, from the smallest watch to the largest car, all contain round components. In precision machining of cylindrical parts, the measurement and evaluation of roundness (also called circularity in ASME Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing Y14.5) and cylindricity are indispensable components to quantify form tolerance. Of all the methods of measuring these form errors, the most precise is the one with accurate spindle/turntable type measuring instrument. On the instrument, the component is rotated on a highly accurate spindle which provides an imaginary circular datum. The workpiece axis is aligned with the axis of the spindle by means of a centering and tilt adjustment leveling table. In this article, the authors have investigated the dependence of circularity form error on instrument’s centering error (also known as eccentricity) and tilt error. It would be intriguing to map this nonlinear relationship within its effective boundaries and to investigate the limits beyond which the measurement costs and time remain no more efficient. In this study, a test part with different circular and cylindrical features were studied with varying levels of predetermined instrument eccentricity and tilt errors. Additionally, this article explores the significance of incorporating these parameters into undergraduate and graduate engineering curricula, and be taught as an improved toolkit to the aspiring engineers, process engineers and quality control professionals.

The Efficacy of Spreadsheet Modelling As an Alternative Means of Teaching Process Simulation

Spreadsheet based simulation has many advantages over the pre-programmed simulation applications more commonly used in teaching simulation in undergraduate courses. They are almost universally ubiquitous in business settings around the world. There is near certainty that students will have access to them after graduation since spreadsheets are a standard business tool used by nearly all engineers [1]. In addition, spreadsheets are already present within most standard operating systems. This means that there will be no need to buy or get approvals from Information Technology software committees or other managerial roadblocks. As an alternative to this, there are now free OpenOffice and LibreOffice spreadsheets available on most platforms which make their access effectively universal. Aside from their excellent availability, spreadsheets are an extremely capable learning tool for best practices in process simulation. Most engineering students are arriving at college with a good set of spreadsheet skills from their primary education and then the rest tend to pick it up early as underclassmen [2]. Spreadsheet simulation is easy to explain and generally very simple to debug. Although the now mainly antiquated code-based simulation packages used to offer these same advantages, they have now been largely replaced by more graphically oriented packages which depend in part on subtle mouse clicks and sometimes complex sub-menu structures. In addition, spreadsheets offer easily accessible native analysis and excellent graphing capabilities. Several advantages and potential disadvantages of spreadsheet simulation are presented in comparison to contemporary process simulation. Several simulation projects are then discussed related to Markovian processes including stochastic scatter patterns, sequential random object movement, multi-server queueing processes, dynamic intercept models, complex traffic and evacuation models, and Susceptible-Infected-Removed infections design simulations were taught using spreadsheet simulation.

Development of a Virtual Lab in Assistance of a Fluid Mechanics Laboratory Instruction

Physical laboratory experiments are built to provide students with hands-on opportunities and have long been crucial for engineering training. However, due to the rapid growth in number of enrollments, limited and shared space, undergraduate students have experienced an increasing difficulty gaining valuable hands on experience in the lab. While traditional lab should never be abandoned, adding virtual labs to assist with it could benefit students without the limitation of enrollment capacity or lab availability. In this paper, we discussed a pilot study of developing a virtual fluid mechanics laboratory to supplement existing physical lab exercises. The virtual lab was designed to enrich students’ lab experience, stimulate interests, and bring more individual exercise time. It was developed to contain two components: a virtual lab tour and a virtual reality (VR) simulated pump experiment. The virtual tours served as a pre-lab instruction tool that provided students with an overview of the fluid mechanics lab. The VR pump experiment replicated the physical experience of performing the physical lab. Preliminary feedbacks were positive for both components of the virtual lab. Students considered that the virtual tours were very informative and useful, while that the VR pump lab was intuitive and time-saving. This proved that with realistic lab simulations, the virtual lab had great potential to provide students more flexibility to perform hands-on experiment and to develop technical acumen outside of the physical classroom. Further improvement was discussed to implement in the next stage to create more immersive experience in assistance of the lab instruction.

Explicit Evaluation of Design Readiness for Student Refinement of Conceptual Design

Students at three graduate schools of mechanical engineering and adult groups in Japan have been taking conceptual design courses the authors teach. Among the three graduate schools, the 24 hour course, at the University of Tokyo, spread over 13 classes during 4 months, takes the students all the way from identifying their design goals, generating ideas, refining their designs, to building prototypes. The adult course students also spend long hours of building prototypes. Despite strong encouragement by the instructors for detail design, the students often leave their design concepts at rough stages without refining their ideas to the detail level needed for prototype building. Building a prototype from a design concept that is not fully expanded often results in efforts that lead to failure and retrial. Such back and forth between concepts and physical trial is unavoidable in design, however, if possible they better be kept at the minimum. The instructors, in their efforts to better motivate students to refine the designs, developed a metric “Level of Readiness (LOR) index” for evaluating how refined a design is. Students are better motivated to reach higher scores and this index that evaluate the quality of their designs, in terms of how detail they are, in numbers serves as a better incentive for the students than words from the instructors.