Improving Materials Selection in a Mechanical Engineering Capstone Course

2014 ◽  
Vol 1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bridget M. Smyser
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Materials Selection ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Materials Properties ◽  
High Temperature Alloys ◽  
Physical Prototype ◽  
Systematic Selection ◽  
Capstone Design

ABSTRACTThe Capstone Design course in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northeastern University requires students to build a physical prototype by the end of the two semester sequence. Although students have long been required to take an introductory materials science course as part of their curriculum, there was concern that materials selection was a weakness in the design process. Beginning in Fall 2011, the CES Edupack materials selection software was introduced into the Capstone Design class. The current work means to investigate: 1) how to assess designs for effective materials selection 2) whether the new software was actually used by the student teams and 3) whether there was evidence of improved materials selection in the projects that occurred after the new software was introduced. Final capstone design reports from 10 previous terms were examined to look for evidence of systematic materials selection procedures and clear discussion of materials properties as the basis for selecting a material. References to the software were also noted. Results show that 24% of the groups used the CES Edupack software in the first three terms that the software was available. In addition, there was an increase in the number of groups that used a systematic selection process based on research into published materials properties rather than choosing materials based on rough experimentation or convenience. Finally, there has been an increase in the number of projects which consider or incorporate composites, high temperature alloys, and advanced polymers as the software has increased awareness of these options.

scholarly journals FROM MECHANICAL ENGINEERING CAPSTONE DESIGN TO DESIGN IMPLEMENTATION

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick Dumond ◽  
Eric Lanteigne
Keyword(s):  
Experiential Learning ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Capstone Courses ◽  
Engineering Theory ◽  
Teaching Design ◽  
The University ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Capstone Design

Traditionally, mechanical engineering capstone courses focused on teaching students the application of fundamental engineering theory to complex mechanical designs. Recently, there has been a transition towards experiential learning initiatives, such as prototyping, in engineering design. This paper looks at the relationship between the mechanical engineering design capstone course and a course in product design and development, which provides students with the opportunity to build prototypes of their designs, at the University of Ottawa. The importance of the traditional capstone course is considered and the implications of implementing these designs are examined. Many capstone design projects would require extensive work so that they could be implemented. A large hurdle appears to exist between analytical design and design implementation, and the term time constraints limit the complexity of designs intended for prototyping. In fact, students require many design iterations before they can build full-scale functional prototypes of their design. Therefore, we have observed that simple products work best for teaching design implementation.

Effectiveness of involving the industrial and business professions into mechanical engineering capstone course

2017 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Na Zhu
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Course Design ◽  
Practical Experience ◽  
Student Outcome ◽  
Capstone Course ◽  
Engineering Program ◽  
Project Outcome ◽  
Group 2 ◽  
Design Schedule ◽  
Capstone Design

Capstone design, along with the last courses before graduation, is one of the major performance indicators of the student outcome in an undergraduate mechanical engineering program. Educational topics on the capstone course, such as the instruction content, course design, procedures, and timeline schedule, have been deliberated by engineering instructors in higher education. Meanwhile, more and more universities started to invite mentorship or advisement from industrial personnel to the capstone design classes as practical experience is also a significant factor in the engineering study. In this article, a senior design course for undergraduate mechanical engineering program is introduced. Collaboration and mentoring by industrial and business professions are offered in the course, though optional for students. As a result, the students in the same capstone course, though got the same lecture classes and follow the same design schedule, can be divided into three different groups: Group 1 worked in traditional design format, Group 2 received mentorship not only from the instructor but also from industrial professions, and Group 3 received help from a business profession. The course and project outcome of the three groups are evaluated by various assessment and results are demonstrated and discussed.

Performance of Oxidation and Creep Resistant Alloys for Primary Surface Recuperators for the Mercury 50 Gas Turbine

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
James M. Rakowski ◽  
Charles P. Stinner ◽  
David S. Bergstrom ◽  
Mark Lipschutz ◽  
J. Preston Montague
Keyword(s):  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Minor Element ◽  
Materials Selection ◽  
Breakaway Oxidation ◽  
Gas Streams ◽  
High Temperature Materials ◽  
Discharge Gas ◽  
Promising Alloy ◽  
Gas Pressures

Recuperation is a means for increasing the efficiency of a simple-cycle gas turbine, allowing for heat transfer between the exhaust and compressor discharge gas streams to occur in a highly efficient, relatively compact package. The primary surface recuperator operates at high temperatures and gas pressures and is constructed from thin metal sections, presenting challenges for high temperature materials selection. This paper discusses a joint Solar Turbines-ATI Allegheny Ludlum project which was undertaken to address the issue of elevated temperature attack in the presence of high levels of water vapor and its relevance to alloys intended for use in primary surface recuperators. An overview of the alloy selection process will be presented, followed by a detailed study of the two most promising alloy candidates. Breakaway oxidation was mitigated by using alloys with higher nickel and chromium content, and oxide scale evaporation was controlled with selected minor element additions.

scholarly journals Development of an Entrepreneurial Mind-set within a Three-Semester Mechanical Engineering Capstone Design Sequence Based on the SAE Collegiate Design Series

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
James Mynderse ◽  
Liping Liu ◽  
Andrew Gerhart ◽  
Robert Fletcher ◽  
Hamid Vejdani ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Mind Set ◽  
Capstone Design

ASSESSMENT OF GENERIC COMPETENCES IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING AND MATERIALS SCIENCE SUBJECTS: A PROPOSAL OF EVALUATION METHODOLOGIES

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Javier Carballeira ◽  
Enrique Nadal ◽  
María José Rupérez ◽  
Óscar Sahuquillo ◽  
Juan Dols ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mechanical Engineering ◽  
Materials Science ◽  
Evaluation Methodologies ◽  
Generic Competences

scholarly journals Understanding interactions in face-to-face and remote undergraduate science laboratories: a literature review

2019 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jianye Wei ◽  
David F. Treagust ◽  
Mauro Mocerino ◽  
Anthony D. Lucey ◽  
Marjan G. Zadnik ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Selection Process ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Student Interactions ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Remote Laboratories ◽  
Science Laboratories ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
Systematic Selection ◽  
Undergraduate Science

AbstractThis paper reviews the ways in which interactions have been studied, and the findings of such studies, in science education in both face-to-face and remote laboratories. Guided by a systematic selection process, 27 directly relevant articles were analysed based on three categories: the instruments used for measuring interactions, the research findings on student interactions, and the theoretical frameworks used in the studies of student interactions. In face-to-face laboratories, instruments for measuring interactions and the characterisation of the nature of interactions were prominent. For remote laboratories, the analysis of direct interactions was found to be lacking. Instead, studies of remote laboratories were mainly concerned with their practical scope. In addition, it is found that only a limited number of theoretical frameworks have been developed and applied in the research design. Existent theories are summarised and possible theoretical frameworks that may be implemented in studies of interactions in undergraduate laboratories are proposed. Finally, future directions for research on the inter-relationship between student interactions and laboratory learning are suggested.

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