Hands-on engineering design in an undergraduate thermodynamics learning context

Hands-on engineering design is a critical element of quality engineering education commonly featured in the first and last year of undergraduate programs. Technical science and engineering coursework dominate the sophomore and junior year, often with fewer hands-on design experiences. We sought to mitigate this by integrating a hands-on engineering design project into a second-year thermodynamics-focused course for mechanical engineering students. We iterated on a heat-to-work device design project developed by Shepard and Hoxie to make it more open-ended, and to introduce a ‘who’ and a ‘why’ into the project by having students design devices to help hypothetical users accomplish tasks. We analyzed student reflections about the project using an inductive thematic approach. Our results indicate that the project was challenging; students consistently described experiencing failures. Most students were eventually able to succeed in the project using a combination of design iteration, risk-taking, and adaptation. They articulated growth in engineering design capabilities (including the valuation of simplicity in designs, brainstorming, applied learning, and time management), and increases in confidence (including takeaways about the importance of self-trust and intuition). In this paper, we present the revised project design and findings from its implementation using student and instructor reflections, and suggestions about how it could be implemented in thermodynamics courses for other mechanical engineering programs.