Pub Date : 2023-08-29DOI: 10.1177/03064190231197119
L. M. Medina Uzcátegui, Carmen Müller-Karger Pereda, Euro Casanova Medina
The “Virtual Rotor Kit (VRK) Project” is a lightweight and standalone application developed in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak in the field of rotating machinery dynamics. This alternative emulates a rotor test rig, enabling virtual balancing tests on a single-plane rotor and offering students a comprehensive learning experience that simulates on-site balancing. The Virtual Rotor Kit utilizes a three-dimensional model based on a well-known rotor test rig widely used in educational and research settings. To simulate the dynamics of the rotor test rig, the application employs PyChrono, a dedicated Python library that wraps Chrono, a validated open-source multi-physics simulation engine. A detailed usability assessment involving 41 senior mechanical engineering students yielded promising results, indicating the Virtual Rotor Kit’s potential to enhance comprehension of vibration phenomena in unbalanced rotating machines. Despite revealing certain issues related to the graphical user interface and the application's execution time, three defined achievement indicators demonstrated positive outcomes for a virtual balancing laboratory experience using the Virtual Rotor Kit application. By focusing on the dynamic behavior of a rotor test rig instead of simulating a specific laboratory experience, the application offers instructors greater flexibility in developing learning experiences. Unlike other virtual testbeds, the Virtual Rotor Kit allows students to conduct both steady-state and transient experiments, offering a comprehensive understanding of rotating machinery dynamics. Additionally, the application is distributed under the BSD-3 license and can serve as a complement to on-site laboratory experiences. The results presented in this study inspire further research and development to enhance its efficacy.
{"title":"The Virtual Rotor Kit Project: A virtual rotor test rig for balancing experiments","authors":"L. M. Medina Uzcátegui, Carmen Müller-Karger Pereda, Euro Casanova Medina","doi":"10.1177/03064190231197119","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231197119","url":null,"abstract":"The “Virtual Rotor Kit (VRK) Project” is a lightweight and standalone application developed in response to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 outbreak in the field of rotating machinery dynamics. This alternative emulates a rotor test rig, enabling virtual balancing tests on a single-plane rotor and offering students a comprehensive learning experience that simulates on-site balancing. The Virtual Rotor Kit utilizes a three-dimensional model based on a well-known rotor test rig widely used in educational and research settings. To simulate the dynamics of the rotor test rig, the application employs PyChrono, a dedicated Python library that wraps Chrono, a validated open-source multi-physics simulation engine. A detailed usability assessment involving 41 senior mechanical engineering students yielded promising results, indicating the Virtual Rotor Kit’s potential to enhance comprehension of vibration phenomena in unbalanced rotating machines. Despite revealing certain issues related to the graphical user interface and the application's execution time, three defined achievement indicators demonstrated positive outcomes for a virtual balancing laboratory experience using the Virtual Rotor Kit application. By focusing on the dynamic behavior of a rotor test rig instead of simulating a specific laboratory experience, the application offers instructors greater flexibility in developing learning experiences. Unlike other virtual testbeds, the Virtual Rotor Kit allows students to conduct both steady-state and transient experiments, offering a comprehensive understanding of rotating machinery dynamics. Additionally, the application is distributed under the BSD-3 license and can serve as a complement to on-site laboratory experiences. The results presented in this study inspire further research and development to enhance its efficacy.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46276270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-21DOI: 10.1177/03064190231195609
Katie Melsky, Isabella Stuopis, Kristen B. Wendell, E. Kemmerling
Many undergraduate engineering courses rely heavily on highly idealized textbook problems, which are often difficult for students to view as connected to the world outside the classroom and as productive contexts for making meaning of technical concepts. The goal of this study was to explore one potential approach to reforming the problems assigned in thermal fluid courses: developing open-ended design problems that specifically address the self-identified personal interests of the students in the course. We studied the influence of problem personalization on students’ peer-to-peer discussion of thermal fluid transport concepts. The data set included eleven small-group conversations recorded as students worked collaboratively to solve one personalized problem and one non-personalized problem within a homework session lasting approximately one hour. Our analysis of student discourse revealed that students exhibited more instances of positive engagement and drew more connections between thermal fluid concepts and the world around them when discussing personalized problems as compared to when discussing non-personalized problems. These discourse differences occurred despite the fact that problems of both types were ill-structured, design-focused, and based on real-life scenarios. We found no influence of problem personalization on the frequency of knowledge construction and task production discourse by students, nor on the balance of participation by different group members. We discuss implications for future research on learning outcomes related to problem personalization and for instructional practice in thermal fluid transport courses.
{"title":"Personalized problems and student discourse in thermal fluid transport courses","authors":"Katie Melsky, Isabella Stuopis, Kristen B. Wendell, E. Kemmerling","doi":"10.1177/03064190231195609","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231195609","url":null,"abstract":"Many undergraduate engineering courses rely heavily on highly idealized textbook problems, which are often difficult for students to view as connected to the world outside the classroom and as productive contexts for making meaning of technical concepts. The goal of this study was to explore one potential approach to reforming the problems assigned in thermal fluid courses: developing open-ended design problems that specifically address the self-identified personal interests of the students in the course. We studied the influence of problem personalization on students’ peer-to-peer discussion of thermal fluid transport concepts. The data set included eleven small-group conversations recorded as students worked collaboratively to solve one personalized problem and one non-personalized problem within a homework session lasting approximately one hour. Our analysis of student discourse revealed that students exhibited more instances of positive engagement and drew more connections between thermal fluid concepts and the world around them when discussing personalized problems as compared to when discussing non-personalized problems. These discourse differences occurred despite the fact that problems of both types were ill-structured, design-focused, and based on real-life scenarios. We found no influence of problem personalization on the frequency of knowledge construction and task production discourse by students, nor on the balance of participation by different group members. We discuss implications for future research on learning outcomes related to problem personalization and for instructional practice in thermal fluid transport courses.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44722786","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-10DOI: 10.1177/03064190231194343
P. Gamez-Montero, L. Rodero-de-Lamo
In an emerging trend in engineering education students are engaged in the scientific discovery process through reading about research published in articles rather than textbooks. A research-based and curriculum-oriented intervention in an undergraduate course was designed to elucidate whether students can progressively gain reading skills when provided with selected articles explicitly related to fluid mechanics research. The aim was also to monitor student awareness of their own progress. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate how fourth-year fluid technology students perceived their reading skills during the teaching intervention. A progressive strategy was applied, including warm-up readings, in- and out-of-class assignments, and best practice lectures. Two parallel test exams and test readings were associated and quantitatively analyzed. Each cohort was randomly divided into two groups, and each group was assigned a different test reading before the lectures; the readings were then switched for the post-lecture assignment. The results demonstrate that the students acquired selective reading skills and awareness of accomplishment. The analyses indicated that learners gained an understanding of the core concepts and gave positive feedback on the teaching materials and schedule. These findings may serve as a guide for engineering educators to improve the preparation of undergraduate students.
{"title":"Effectively integrating research argumentation in syllabus learning: A case study of reading journal articles in four fourth-year engineering fluid mechanics courses","authors":"P. Gamez-Montero, L. Rodero-de-Lamo","doi":"10.1177/03064190231194343","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231194343","url":null,"abstract":"In an emerging trend in engineering education students are engaged in the scientific discovery process through reading about research published in articles rather than textbooks. A research-based and curriculum-oriented intervention in an undergraduate course was designed to elucidate whether students can progressively gain reading skills when provided with selected articles explicitly related to fluid mechanics research. The aim was also to monitor student awareness of their own progress. A questionnaire was designed to evaluate how fourth-year fluid technology students perceived their reading skills during the teaching intervention. A progressive strategy was applied, including warm-up readings, in- and out-of-class assignments, and best practice lectures. Two parallel test exams and test readings were associated and quantitatively analyzed. Each cohort was randomly divided into two groups, and each group was assigned a different test reading before the lectures; the readings were then switched for the post-lecture assignment. The results demonstrate that the students acquired selective reading skills and awareness of accomplishment. The analyses indicated that learners gained an understanding of the core concepts and gave positive feedback on the teaching materials and schedule. These findings may serve as a guide for engineering educators to improve the preparation of undergraduate students.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44956913","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-07DOI: 10.1177/03064190231192853
Mike C Chang, Syed Hasib Akhter Faruqui, A. Alaeddini, H. Wan
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to remote work-from-home (WFH) setups, including in the education sector. This transition had a significant impact on the interaction between students and instructors. To address this, our study aims to investigate the effects of the sudden transition to online learning on teaching methodology and to propose improvements to enhance its quality. We have developed a scoring system to evaluate teaching quality in the post-COVID-19 world. The scoring function incorporates various metrics, including students’ performance, sentiment towards the course (course material, teaching method, communication, etc.), feedback scores for weekly lectures, and students’ retention scores for recorded/live lecture videos. Following the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) procedure (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control—DMAIC), we assessed the overall quality of online courses. The undergraduate courses demonstrated an increase in overall score from 86.67% during the online transition to 90.0% after implementing the suggested improvements. For graduate courses, the initial face-to-face lecture score was 55.81%, which dropped to 50.28% during the first online transition. However, after a year, the score improved to 61.59%, indicating successful improvement efforts. Upon careful analysis of the data, this paper provides suggestions to enhance students’ online learning experience during situations similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcomes of the study aim to improve the quality of online learning experiences for students.
{"title":"Evaluation and improvement of student learning experience in the post-COVID world: A lean six-sigma DMAIC study","authors":"Mike C Chang, Syed Hasib Akhter Faruqui, A. Alaeddini, H. Wan","doi":"10.1177/03064190231192853","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231192853","url":null,"abstract":"In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a shift to remote work-from-home (WFH) setups, including in the education sector. This transition had a significant impact on the interaction between students and instructors. To address this, our study aims to investigate the effects of the sudden transition to online learning on teaching methodology and to propose improvements to enhance its quality. We have developed a scoring system to evaluate teaching quality in the post-COVID-19 world. The scoring function incorporates various metrics, including students’ performance, sentiment towards the course (course material, teaching method, communication, etc.), feedback scores for weekly lectures, and students’ retention scores for recorded/live lecture videos. Following the Lean Six Sigma (LSS) procedure (Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control—DMAIC), we assessed the overall quality of online courses. The undergraduate courses demonstrated an increase in overall score from 86.67% during the online transition to 90.0% after implementing the suggested improvements. For graduate courses, the initial face-to-face lecture score was 55.81%, which dropped to 50.28% during the first online transition. However, after a year, the score improved to 61.59%, indicating successful improvement efforts. Upon careful analysis of the data, this paper provides suggestions to enhance students’ online learning experience during situations similar to the COVID-19 pandemic. The outcomes of the study aim to improve the quality of online learning experiences for students.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45521598","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-08-01DOI: 10.1177/03064190231188650
T. Cloete
Extensions to the first and second theorems of Pappus are presented, whereby the centroid of a surface or solid of revolution can be determined using only the geometric properties of the generating plane curve or figure and the arc of revolution. The derivations are well suited to first-year-level courses in mathematics and engineering. From a didactic perspective, the resulting formulas are simple to apply, especially since the required geometric properties are typically available in standard tables of plane sections or relatively routine to derive. Furthermore, the formulas provide a general scaffold for students to attempt problems involving axisymmetric bodies while also reinforcing and embedding their knowledge of the properties of the generating plane shapes. A selection of illustrative problems is discussed that are generally regarded to be challenging for introductory mechanics courses but for which the formulas derived in this article provide straightforward solutions.
{"title":"Extensions to the theorems of Pappus to determine the centroids of solids and surfaces of revolution","authors":"T. Cloete","doi":"10.1177/03064190231188650","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231188650","url":null,"abstract":"Extensions to the first and second theorems of Pappus are presented, whereby the centroid of a surface or solid of revolution can be determined using only the geometric properties of the generating plane curve or figure and the arc of revolution. The derivations are well suited to first-year-level courses in mathematics and engineering. From a didactic perspective, the resulting formulas are simple to apply, especially since the required geometric properties are typically available in standard tables of plane sections or relatively routine to derive. Furthermore, the formulas provide a general scaffold for students to attempt problems involving axisymmetric bodies while also reinforcing and embedding their knowledge of the properties of the generating plane shapes. A selection of illustrative problems is discussed that are generally regarded to be challenging for introductory mechanics courses but for which the formulas derived in this article provide straightforward solutions.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":"51 1","pages":"319 - 332"},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44078311","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-31DOI: 10.14445/23488360/ijme-v10i7p102
Y. A. Winoko, Fery Sapta Wijaya
- The purpose of this study is to determine the largest and smallest power values and determine the maximum change in BMEP on the influence of the shape of the spark plug electrode tip on a 150 cc motorcycle engine. This study applies laboratory experiments as a research method with the open full-throttle test method. The increased power test for each spark plug with standard spark plugs yields the highest power of 6.64 kW at 6000 rpm and the lowest power at 2000 rpm of 2.04 kW. While the spherical electrode iridium spark plug produces the lowest power of 2.09 kW at 2000 rpm, the highest power at 6000 rpm of 6.68 kW, and the tapered iridium electrode spark plug produces the highest power among other spark plugs. The highest power is 7.09 kW at 6000 rpm, and the lowest power at 2000 rpm is 2.26 kW. Calculating the average effective pressure (Bmep) results in a pressure change in each spark plug from 2000 rpm to 6000 rpm, but not with a spherical electrode iridium spark plug; only 2500 rpm does not change. The calculation results in standard spark plugs with the lowest bmep value at 2500 rpm of 619 Kpa and the highest of 725.33 Kpa, while the tapered spark plug of the iridium electrode produces the lowest bmep of 606.34 Kpa at 2500 rpm and the highest of 749.78 Kpa at 6000 rpm. The tapered electrode iridium spark plug produces the highest bmep of any other spark plug, with the lowest bmep value of 670.61 Kpa at 3000 rpm and the highest of 774.23 Kpa at 6000 rpm.
{"title":"The Effect of Variations in Spark Plug Electrode Tips on Power and BMEP of Motorcycle Engines","authors":"Y. A. Winoko, Fery Sapta Wijaya","doi":"10.14445/23488360/ijme-v10i7p102","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.14445/23488360/ijme-v10i7p102","url":null,"abstract":"- The purpose of this study is to determine the largest and smallest power values and determine the maximum change in BMEP on the influence of the shape of the spark plug electrode tip on a 150 cc motorcycle engine. This study applies laboratory experiments as a research method with the open full-throttle test method. The increased power test for each spark plug with standard spark plugs yields the highest power of 6.64 kW at 6000 rpm and the lowest power at 2000 rpm of 2.04 kW. While the spherical electrode iridium spark plug produces the lowest power of 2.09 kW at 2000 rpm, the highest power at 6000 rpm of 6.68 kW, and the tapered iridium electrode spark plug produces the highest power among other spark plugs. The highest power is 7.09 kW at 6000 rpm, and the lowest power at 2000 rpm is 2.26 kW. Calculating the average effective pressure (Bmep) results in a pressure change in each spark plug from 2000 rpm to 6000 rpm, but not with a spherical electrode iridium spark plug; only 2500 rpm does not change. The calculation results in standard spark plugs with the lowest bmep value at 2500 rpm of 619 Kpa and the highest of 725.33 Kpa, while the tapered spark plug of the iridium electrode produces the lowest bmep of 606.34 Kpa at 2500 rpm and the highest of 749.78 Kpa at 6000 rpm. The tapered electrode iridium spark plug produces the highest bmep of any other spark plug, with the lowest bmep value of 670.61 Kpa at 3000 rpm and the highest of 774.23 Kpa at 6000 rpm.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":"2 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88885031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-30DOI: 10.1177/03064190231190054
Melissa M. Gibbons
This paper describes the development and assessment of a collaborative open-ended design project for a second-year Introduction to Thermal Sciences course, in which groups had to design a renewable energy portfolio that would meet the University of San Diego's energy needs. The project was broken into three individual tasks, and the deliverables were a technical report and an oral presentation. Final reports submitted by groups in spring 2022 were directly assessed using rubrics to determine the efficacy of the project at meeting four of the student outcomes addressed by the course (1—ability to solve complex engineering problems, 2—ability to apply the engineering design process, 4—consider the impact of engineering solutions, and 7—ability to acquire and apply new knowledge). Four out of the six groups achieved student outcome 1, and five of the groups achieved student outcomes 2, 4, and 7. A self- and peer-evaluation form was used to indirectly assess student outcome 5—ability to function effectively on a team, and results showed that 27 of the 29 students achieved the outcome. Indirect assessment was performed using an anonymous survey instrument, and students’ responses about how the project improved their abilities in all skills that were assessed were statistically different from neutral in the positive direction. Students’ responses about their perception of the project organization, tasks expectations, timing, and difficulty were also statistically different from neutral in the positive direction. Open-ended feedback indicated that students appreciated learning about renewable energy, having real data from a realistic customer, and the amount of autonomy they were given.
{"title":"Developing and assessing a collaborative open-ended design project with a renewable energy focus in an introductory thermal sciences course","authors":"Melissa M. Gibbons","doi":"10.1177/03064190231190054","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231190054","url":null,"abstract":"This paper describes the development and assessment of a collaborative open-ended design project for a second-year Introduction to Thermal Sciences course, in which groups had to design a renewable energy portfolio that would meet the University of San Diego's energy needs. The project was broken into three individual tasks, and the deliverables were a technical report and an oral presentation. Final reports submitted by groups in spring 2022 were directly assessed using rubrics to determine the efficacy of the project at meeting four of the student outcomes addressed by the course (1—ability to solve complex engineering problems, 2—ability to apply the engineering design process, 4—consider the impact of engineering solutions, and 7—ability to acquire and apply new knowledge). Four out of the six groups achieved student outcome 1, and five of the groups achieved student outcomes 2, 4, and 7. A self- and peer-evaluation form was used to indirectly assess student outcome 5—ability to function effectively on a team, and results showed that 27 of the 29 students achieved the outcome. Indirect assessment was performed using an anonymous survey instrument, and students’ responses about how the project improved their abilities in all skills that were assessed were statistically different from neutral in the positive direction. Students’ responses about their perception of the project organization, tasks expectations, timing, and difficulty were also statistically different from neutral in the positive direction. Open-ended feedback indicated that students appreciated learning about renewable energy, having real data from a realistic customer, and the amount of autonomy they were given.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44577864","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-30DOI: 10.1177/03064190231191251
P. Cumber
The Lagrange method is applied to two dynamic models of a Slinky, one based on point masses and linear springs and a second where the Slinky is represented as a sequence of half hoops connected by torsion springs. For the first time, the use of Lagrange's method applied to a Slinky has produced a multi-body dynamic model that can potentially with minor modification reproduce all the interesting behaviour Slinkies are well known for; descending stairs, pseudo levitation, transmission of longitudinal and transverse waves. In this paper, the models are derived and a limited exploration of the two dynamic models’ behaviour is considered. For unforced oscillation, the point mass model and torsion spring model produce a similar amplitude and frequency. When considering forced oscillations, the point mass model has a very different spectrum of natural frequencies than the torsion spring model. The torsion spring model is considered for different forcing conditions.
{"title":"Lagrange's method applied to a Slinky","authors":"P. Cumber","doi":"10.1177/03064190231191251","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231191251","url":null,"abstract":"The Lagrange method is applied to two dynamic models of a Slinky, one based on point masses and linear springs and a second where the Slinky is represented as a sequence of half hoops connected by torsion springs. For the first time, the use of Lagrange's method applied to a Slinky has produced a multi-body dynamic model that can potentially with minor modification reproduce all the interesting behaviour Slinkies are well known for; descending stairs, pseudo levitation, transmission of longitudinal and transverse waves. In this paper, the models are derived and a limited exploration of the two dynamic models’ behaviour is considered. For unforced oscillation, the point mass model and torsion spring model produce a similar amplitude and frequency. When considering forced oscillations, the point mass model has a very different spectrum of natural frequencies than the torsion spring model. The torsion spring model is considered for different forcing conditions.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"48305342","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-07-27DOI: 10.1177/03064190231190052
Himali Mistry, D. S. Laila, M. Foo
This article presents the design and monitoring of a lab-scale smart farming system through the integration of control and app designs that can be used for teaching embedded control application to electromechanical systems. A combination of sensors and actuators is used to develop an Arduino-based embedded feedback control system that could be implemented in a smart farming environment. Specifically, we look at controlling electromechanical devices to actuate the fan and water pump to provide the optimal temperature and moisture, respectively, to enhance plant growth in a smart farming setting. The effectiveness of the feedback control is tested by conducting a plant growth experiment. Using garden cress ( Lepidium sativum) as a case study, the plant grown in the controlled temperature and moisture settings shows substantially healthier growth compared to the one grown in the non-controlled environment. In addition, an app is designed and developed to transform the Arduino data stream from the sensors into valuable insights that could help the users to monitor and improve the overall crop health. The developed system in this paper enables students to learn integral skills from interdisciplinary engineering fields (e.g. systems, control, mechanical and computer) to solve an agricultural problem.
{"title":"Teaching embedded control system design of electromechanical devices using a lab-scale smart farming system","authors":"Himali Mistry, D. S. Laila, M. Foo","doi":"10.1177/03064190231190052","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/03064190231190052","url":null,"abstract":"This article presents the design and monitoring of a lab-scale smart farming system through the integration of control and app designs that can be used for teaching embedded control application to electromechanical systems. A combination of sensors and actuators is used to develop an Arduino-based embedded feedback control system that could be implemented in a smart farming environment. Specifically, we look at controlling electromechanical devices to actuate the fan and water pump to provide the optimal temperature and moisture, respectively, to enhance plant growth in a smart farming setting. The effectiveness of the feedback control is tested by conducting a plant growth experiment. Using garden cress ( Lepidium sativum) as a case study, the plant grown in the controlled temperature and moisture settings shows substantially healthier growth compared to the one grown in the non-controlled environment. In addition, an app is designed and developed to transform the Arduino data stream from the sensors into valuable insights that could help the users to monitor and improve the overall crop health. The developed system in this paper enables students to learn integral skills from interdisciplinary engineering fields (e.g. systems, control, mechanical and computer) to solve an agricultural problem.","PeriodicalId":39952,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.4,"publicationDate":"2023-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45626607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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