A Comparative Analysis and Evaluation of Model Selection Criteria

The ongoing research for model choice and selection has generated a plethora of approaches. With such a wealth of methods, it can be difficult for a researcher to know what model selection approach is the proper way to proceed to select the appropriate model for prediction. The authors present an evaluation of various model selection criteria from decision-theoretic perspective using experimental data to define and recommend a criterion to select the best model. In this analysis, six of the most common selection criteria, nineteen friction factor correlations, and eight sets of experimental data are employed. The results show that while the use of the traditional correlation coefficient, R2 is inappropriate, root mean square error, RMSE can be used to rank models, but does not give much insight on their accuracy. Other criteria such as correlation ratio, mean absolute error, and standard deviation are also evaluated. The Akaike information criterion, AIC has shown its superiority to other selection criteria. The authors propose AIC as an alternative to use when fitting experimental data or evaluating existing correlations. Indeed, the AIC method is an information theory based, theoretically sound and stable. The paper presents a detailed discussion of the model selection criteria, their pros and cons, and how they can be utilized to allow proper comparison of different models for the best model to be inferred based on sound mathematical theory. In conclusion, model selection is an interesting problem and an innovative strategy to help alleviate similar challenges faced by the professionals in the oil and gas industry is introduced.

Students’ Perceptions and Effects Towards New Teaching Approach in Energy and Environment

This paper presents the results of a new teaching approach in the Energy and Environment 6, in the 5th and last year of the Integrated Master in Mechanical Engineering of University of Minho. This curricular unit focus on the fossil fuel resources and combustion. For a Mechanical Engineering starting his/her career this status quo can be seen as an opportunity rather than a barrier. Thus, the students were invited to do a research on several subjects with the purpose to find challenges and opportunities to be addressed. The final purpose of this project was to give motivation to the students in order to find ideas for new products, services, technologies, etc., to develop in their future career, based on the idea of finding things they should do for the world rather than ask others what to do. Summing up, to promote innovation and entrepreneurship. The results of the questionnaire to obtain students’ perceptions towards the implementation of this new teaching approach and assessment methodology in order to improve and apply it in the future are discussed showing a positive result.

Project-Based Learning: Microfluidic Lab-on-a-Chip Point-of-Care Medical Tests for Engineering Undergraduates

Point-of-care (POC) medical diagnostics tests based on instrumented microfluidic chips are instructive and highly-multidisciplinary projects for undergraduate research and Senior Design. Students can apply their knowledge of fluid mechanics, heat transfer, optics, electronics and microcontrollers, materials, prototyping and systems engineering in translating and adapting a laboratory-based test for use in non-traditional venues. We discuss the design, prototyping, and testing of POC lab-on-a-chip (LOC) systems in an educational setting, where undergraduate students develop and demonstrate novel and practical POC tests. This application area serves as an effective gateway to the medical diagnostics field for engineering students, with opportunities for providing sustainable, appropriate, and ‘green’ technology to the developing world where healthcare infrastructure is lacking.

Continuous Liquid Interface Production of 3D Objects: An Unconventional Technology and its Challenges and Opportunities

The purpose of this paper is to understand and research literature on the “continuous liquid interface production (CLIP)” of 3D objects to address the current challenges. This proprietary technology was originally owned by EiPi Systems but is now being developed by Carbon 3D. Unlike conventional rapid prototyping of printing layer-by-layer to print 3D objects, CLIP is achieved with an oxygen-permeable window made of proprietary glass membrane and the ultraviolet image projection plane below it, which allows the continuous liquid interface to produce 3D objects where photo-polymerization is restricted between the window and the polymerizing part. This process eliminates the time requirement in between the layers resulting in the faster production of 3D objects with a resolution less than 100 microns. It is a known factor that the “supports” play a vital role in any liquid based 3D printing techniques and this does not change in CLIP. In addition to the parameters of support structure like shape, size, strength, ease of removability, surface finish after removal of supports etc, CLIP needs to deal with different types of materials. The support structure needs to be designed according to the respective material’s properties. There are two broad categories of the materials available from Carbon 3D, prototyping resins, and engineering resins. While the prototyping resin is used for the cosmetic models and the engineering resins are used for the practical applications. There are 6 types of engineering resins developed for the end user; of these, EPU and CE are more challenging to work with. EPU parts needs more supports and careful handling till the completion of post processing as the material is soft. CE parts are fragile and needs more systematic handling to complete the successful production. Although printing parts of EPU and CE is more time consuming when compared to the normal CLIP process, they are worth for their unmatched industrial applications. None of the existing 3D printing technologies offers this quality. The support structure, orientation and pot life are the influencing parameters for all resins. In this study, it is statistically proven that by optimizing the part orientation with respect to the slicing of each layer and customized supports; parts are built way better than before. The part orientation is optimized by ensuring each layer is supporting the subsequent layer and minimizing the islands. It is noticed that the results are always better by tilting the part 5 to 10 degrees in both X and Y axis in the build setup and this applies for most of the straight geometrical parts. For parts of specific geometry which can create a vacuum while pulling up the part needs to be oriented in a different way or create a re-closable air passage that can prevent the vacuum being created.

Investigating the Involvement of Self-Directed Learning in Flipped Classrooms: A Unique URL-Based Search Method

Ability to engage in lifelong learning requires the individuals to possess self-directed learning skills. ABET student outcome 3.i states that upon graduation a student should be able to demonstrate “a recognition of the need for, and an ability to engage in lifelong learning”. The challenge is in instilling these skills to students in traditional learning environments. In an effort to overcome this challenge, educators developed and implemented various approaches; one being the flipped classroom approach. One challenge when conducting research for self-directed learning environment in flipped classrooms is the challenge of finding relevant papers using keywords search. Terms, such as “flipped classroom” and “self-directed learning” may be included in relevant papers but not necessarily together. And searching these keywords separately will yield results that might have overlapping papers. This paper presents a unique URL-based literature search to identify the publications in the areas of self-directed learning in flipped classrooms by improving keyword-based literature search. It is followed by a title text analysis that will be used to identify the most common discussed topics in the database search results. In addition, an overview of how these methodologies can help the researchers identify the most relevant publications in the research area is presented. Challenges, observations and outcomes of both search methods are explained and analysis plots are presented.

Teaching Impact and Evaluation Methodology Assessment in a Fluid Mechanics Course: Student’s Perceptions

Fluid Transport Systems topic is of fundamental importance in most Engineering areas. In this topic basic knowledge must be taught yet students normally resist and do not perform well in theoretical syllabus. In order to reinforce the importance of these issues, and based on teachers’ perceptions and experience, a change was made in the assessment process: a Practical Work and different moments and types of assessment were introduced. The objective is to evaluate the influence of these changes in the students’ final grades and to obtain students’ perceptions regarding these changes, and to know which teaching/learning methodologies are most effective. The students’ perceptions were analyzed through a questionnaire developed and validated for that purpose. Fifty students (88% of the enrolled students) carried out this new course format and answered the questionnaire. It is interesting to observe that most students (55.1%) do not perceive this course as essentially theoretical and 37% view it as balanced between theory and practice. One of the main reasons could be the fact that students realize that practical applications proposed during classes are enough to understand the theoretical concepts (75.5%). Globally students preferred several assessment moments (mini tests) to just one. Regarding the Practical Work, it was well accepted by students. The technical and soft skills promoted by the Practical Work as well as students’ learning styles were also analyzed through the questionnaires. The majority of students (71.4%) learn through the creation of concepts (abstract conceptualization) and perform things by an active experimentation. The grades obtained in the different moments of assessments were crossed with the final and Practical Work grades. It is worth pointing out that students increased their grades with the Practical Work.

Design of Portable Patient Lift System for Assistant Living Homes

The portable patient lift system is a Senior Capstone Design project that is defined through the collaboration between the University of Cincinnati and a retirement/assisted living community in Cincinnati. The objective of the project is to design, build, and test a lift system that is capable of safely lifting fallen elderly patients at assistant living homes out of tight spaces. Two student teams in 2015–2016 and 2016–2017 academic years had taken on this project. They applied the product development process which they learned from their senior year to develop a workable system. Their work started with survey, interviews, research, followed by developing alternative concept designs. The pros and cons of each concept were discussed, analyzed, and evaluated among peers, advisors, and Maple Knoll nurses. The final design of using inflatable method to lift patients was justified as the best option. Two final concept designs from each year were then manufactured or assembled in school. The testing of the final systems were conducted and demonstrated at Maple Knoll senior community. The expectations from nursing staff and senior residents were greatly satisfied. This paper will describe our senior capstone design and product development process of such portable patient lift system, and discuss our experiential learning experience at Maple Knoll and lessons learned from design and making such system with focus on the consideration of seniors and their capabilities at settings of nursing homes.

“To the Boards”: Team-Based Design for Student-Centered Learning

Engineering design is a complex subject that is often a challenge for students to learn. Heuristic-based design, design that primarily utilizes “rules of thumb” or best practices, can be even more challenging for students to learn when they do not yet have the experience to choose between competing design guidelines. Faculty of Manufacturing Engineering at Western Washington University sought to improve the students’ learning in a senior-level, undergraduate course in Design of Tooling, a heuristic-based design discipline. The faculty worked to answer the question “How can team-based active learning approaches be effectively utilized for students learning a heuristic-based design topic?” In answering this question, the faculty developed and implemented a team-based, student-centered design activity called To the Boards. This activity, where small groups of students simultaneously develop tooling designs at whiteboards around the room, has improved the students’ retention of key concepts and helped students learn to analyze and apply competing design parameters. Performing the work on white boards encourages participation by all members of the group and enriches the design evaluation experience through a collaborative analysis of the many different design solutions developed by all the groups. Use of To the Boards, in conjunction with out-of-class reading, short lectures, and five large projects, has proven to be an effective tool for engaging students in learning, helping them to evaluate and apply competing design goals in the solution of complex engineering problems, and enabling collaborative design through communication of engineering concepts using sketches. Results of this activity have been measured through student performance and student feedback. Student performance on projects demonstrated the appropriate utilization of knowledge and skills learned in class with all students performing at satisfactory or exemplary levels when evaluated against ABET learning outcomes for design. Student feedback has been largely positive with the students recognizing the value of the knowledge and tooling design skills and also of the communication and teamwork skills that are acquired through the activity.

Numerical Project for the Undergraduate Heat Transfer Course

A numerical simulation project, described in this paper, was assigned in an undergraduate heat transfer course in the mechanical engineering curriculum. This project complemented the heat transfer lecture course and its corresponding heat transfer lab. It was used to help students visualize and better understand the difference between conduction heat transfer which occurs within a three-dimensional solid body and the convection and/or radiation which occur at the surface of the solid body. It also allowed the students to generate and compare results of one dimensional heat transfer calculations to three dimensional simulation results. The project contained well defined deliverables and an open-ended deliverable which allowed students to be creative. It gave the students reason to discuss the course outside the classroom. It allowed students to use SolidWorks heat transfer simulation and manage a MATLAB script without taking classroom time. It was appreciated and enjoyed by the students.