Collaborative Research: Integration Of Simulation Technology into Undergraduate Engineering Courses and Laboratories

University Of Iowa, Iowa City IA

Investigators

Abstract

Engineering - Mechanical (56) The objective of this project is the integration of simulation technology into undergraduate education through the development of teaching modules (TM) for complementary computational fluid dynamics (CFD), experimental fluid dynamics (EFD), and uncertainty analysis (UA) for use in teaching undergraduate fluid mechanics courses and laboratories. Faculty partners from colleges of engineering at small and large public, small private, and small historically minority private universities are collaborating on the development of the TM, the effective implementation, the evaluation, the dissemination, and the pedagogy of simulation technology using web-based techniques. The evaluation plan includes collaboration with faculty from the University of Iowa, College of Education, the Department of Psychology and Quantitative Foundation and Center for Evaluation Assessment. The TM include three parts: 1) lectures on CFD and EFD methodology and standard procedures and UA; 2) CFD templates for academic use of commercial industrial CFD software; 3) exercise notes for use of CFD templates and complementary EFD and UA. The commercial industrial CFD software is FLUENT, http://www.fluent.com/, which is a widely used CFD software in many industries and universities and a partner in the present work. Faculty development activities are occurring in parts 1) and 3) of the production of the TM, and during part 2), faculty development activities are occurring during the generation of TM specifications and collaboration with FLUENT on design of CFD templates. FLUENT is providing software development and testing of CFD templates; training of faculty in the use of CFD templates; national/international self-sustaining web-based distribution of the TM, including all parts 1) -3); and free faculty use of FLUENT/Flowlab. Faculty partners will meet yearly for development of the TM and collaboration and training with FLUENT/Flowlab. The initial capability of the TM are based on those capabilities developed in the proof-of-concept at The University of Iowa in spring semester 1999, fall semester 2000, and spring semester 2001. The results from this prior effort may be reviewed at http://www.icaen.uiwa.edu/~fluids/. This project is a collaborative between the University of Iowa (0126589), Iowa State University (0127459), Howard University (0127932) and Cornell University (0127464). Keywords: FLUENT, Flowlab, teaching modules, computational fluid dynamics, experimental fluid dynamics, uncertainty analysis.