180 research outputs found
Statics Concepts Inventory Results at Kettering University
No full textThis paper discusses the results of implementation of the online Statics OLI modules in several courses by the author. Although it took students a lot of additional time for doing these modules, they seemed to help many students who have poor or fair understanding of Statics concepts. The longitudinal studies of this NSF-CCLI grant will be discussed in the form of charts and tables
Learning Experiences of Using Teaching and Assessment Tools for Solid Mechanics Course
No full textThis paper describes the author\u27s experiences of using a few teaching and assessment tools for Solid Mechanics course taught at Kettering University. This course is taught at junior level and is offered during all the four terms. Kettering University is a co-op institution in which the students alternate each term between work and school. This creates a time gap between the study and the work terms, posing some challenging issues for many students to retain the pre-requisites knowledge. It is very time consuming to review the pre-requisites knowledge to get the students back on track in either the Solid Mechanics or in the Machine Design courses. This paper describes the teaching and learning experiences of incorporating some of the teaching and assessment tools to improve the overall performance in the Solid Mechanics course. Some of these simple tools include reaching out the students during their work term by sending them the upcoming course review materials, implementing cooperative learning and project based learning through in-class group work and group homework, assignment of mini-projects, etc. It was observed that using some of these tools improved their overall understanding and better performance as measured by their scores on the final examination. The final examination questions have been carefully designed by a group of faculty teaching this course so that each question is tied with the course (or student) learning objectives (CLOs or SLOs) and the program outcomes (POs). Sample assessment charts are presented at the end of the paper and discussed
Integration of Real Forming Experience in a Virtual Forming Course
No full textThe main objective of this paper is to present the current status of the course ME-510: Introduction to the Computer Simulation of Metal Forming Processes that was developed at Kettering University (KU). Currently, this course is offered independent of another course Sheet Metal Forming , which deals with the real forming technology. However, 3 to 5 students take both these classes. The ME-510 class is well received by both the students and the participating industrial sponsors. At the ASEE2000 Conference in St. Louis, MO, the background, philosophy, benefits and limitations of offering a course sequence on the real and virtual forming was discussed. Due to a recent curriculum reform at Kettering University, many courses were revised, and wherever possible some of the courses or course topics have been integrated. With regard to the above mentioned two courses on metal forming, it became evident that there may be a possibility of integrating them in to a basic single course that covers both real and virtual forming scenarios. Initial feedback of the students taking these two classes supports this idea. This new proposal is still in its discussion stage and the resulting outcomes of such integration if any, will be presented in a future conference. This paper outlines the integration of some of the real forming technology in to the virtual forming course. In addition, the evaluation and assessment tools developed for this course will be addressed. Also, the results of some of the undergraduate/ graduate student applied research projects will be presented in more detail at the meeting, and the role of tool-based learning discussed. Due to the large size of the simulated computer graphics files, the detailed results will only be presented at the conference meeting. Finally, the author\u27s perception of the course layout of a possible integrated course is presented in an Appendix
Experiences and Outcomes of Teaching Senior Capstone Course
No full textThe author taught a senor capstone design course during Fall 2017 in the Mechanical Systems design stream at Kettering University. The course duration for this course is approximately 11 weeks (Quarter system) that posed several challenges for handling the classes due to shorter academic term. The students are expected to perform detailed analysis and also validate the proof of concept of their designs by building prototypes. In all, there were 5 teams with 4 students each in each team. This paper discusses the course organization, topical selection policies and the final choice of a topic selected for each group to work on. Also, the appropriate assessment methods used to monitor weekly progress made by each group will be discussed. Finally, a brief description of work carried in each project along with the results from a sample project will be discussed
Senior Mechanical Systems Design Capstone Projects: Experiences and Assessment
No full textOrganizing and completing an undergraduate senior design capstone project course that lasts only ten to eleven weeks (one quarter term) is challenging for both the instructor and for the students. In this paper, the experiences and assessment of few senior capstone design projects in the mechanical systems area is discussed in detail. The present author is the coordinator of this capstone course. One of the senior lab technicians helps the students outside the class hours with refining their design drawings, procurement of material, fabrication and testing phases. He helps the author instructor with the assessment of students’ work by providing constant feedback about the progress the student groups make at various intervals of time. In this paper, sample capstone design projects and their outcomes will be presented. In particular, this paper gives an overview of the developed devices specifically by focusing on the design and development aspects of the prototypes. Rubrics for grading were provided at the beginning of the term and their progress monitored on a weekly basis. The student involvement includes understanding the strengths and weaknesses of their prerequisites knowledge needed to successfully complete the chosen project. Since ours is a co-op university, students alternate between academic and work terms. They have working knowledge and good time management skills. Industry interaction in the capstone courses is highly desirable but not always easy to secure due to various practical reasons that the companies have, one of which is short duration of the class (10 to 11 weeks)
Making environment better with stochastic modeling
No full textMore than ever stochastic modeling now plays an important role in our society. In this author\u27s opinion most everything we do or face on a day-to-day basis involves either manufacturing or service or both aspects. Modeling production, manufacturing and service systems is both challenging and important in practice. In this pedagogical and motivational presentation, we will briefly outline how each and every one of us can help to make our environment a better place by understanding how to apply stochastic models properly in our day-to-day activities
Quick-Return Mechanism Revisited
No full textIn this paper, the teaching and learning experiences of the author with two summer interns at one of the educational institutions in India is presented. These are the senior mechanical engineering students from two different engineering colleges in India who spent nearly two months at the institute where the author spent a 3-month sabbatical as a visiting faculty. Although these two students took the Theory of Machines course at their college, a complete understanding of kinematic and dynamic analyses of mechanisms such as a quick-return linkage seemed to be not realized well by them. In addition to the students from India, there are other mechanical engineering students who were taking a Design and Analysis of Mechanical Systems and Assemblies course as a directed study. The students were taught the basics of loop-closure equations pertaining to the kinematic and dynamic analysis of an example quick-return and other planar mechanisms. All these students developed an Excel based program to perform calculations and plot the various characteristics such as variation of quick return ratio as a function of the critical link lengths, kinematic and dynamic characteristics of the linkage. Studies related to partially balance the system are also under way, mostly using a CAE tool. The students modeled the linkage using the motion simulation application that is commonly available in any CAE tool such as Catia, UG-NX, NX I-DEAS, or SolidWorks. Other math tools such as MatLab Simulink, MapleSim, etc., are also available to study planar mechanism kinematics. Finally, the students in India used the available laboratory experimental apparatus to verify some of the theoretical calculations. The performance metric is a final report that included the learning outcomes and recommendations for further work
Analysis of a Finite MAP/G/1 Queue with Group Services
No full textThe finite capacity queues, GI/PH/1/N and PH/G/1/N, in which customers are served in groups of varying sizes were recently introduced and studied in detail by the author. In this paper we consider a finite capacity queue in which arrivals are governed by a particular Markov renewal process, called a Markovian arrival process (MAP). With general service times and with the same type of service rule, we study this finite capacity queueing model in detail by obtaining explicit expressions for (a) the steady-state queue length densities at arrivals, at departures and at arbitrary time points, (b) the probability distributions of the busy period and the idle period of the server and (c) the Laplace-Stieltjes transform of the stationary waiting time distribution of an admitted customer at points of arrivals. Efficient algorithmic procedures for computing the steady-state queue length densities and other system performance measures when services are of phase type are discussed. An illustrative numerical example is presented
Integration of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Topics in Design Courses - Experiences and Lessons Learned
No full textTeaching and learning a fundamental core course such as Machine Design continues to be fun but a challenging task for many instructors, as well as for students. Strong foundation in Statics and Mechanics of Materials is a must to appreciate the inherent open-endedness that is typical to a Machine Design course. After briefly reviewing the literature, this paper discusses the experiences of including innovation and entrepreneurship topic as a part of one of the design courses taught by the author. Assessment of students\u27 feedback of this effort is also discussed. While the use of math and/or CAE tools enhanced in studying alternative designs, many students still lack the motivation to develop an appreciation for the open-endedness and ambiguity of design requirements. These are some of the attributes for innovation and creativity that may be necessary to develop a mindset in both faculty and students for possible entrepreneurship. Integration of entrepreneurship is done through discussion of case studies, open-ended projects and a discussion of the five (5) principles of innovation. A math professor was also invited to teach a topic on the applications of calculus and statistics in the design and selection of rolling contact bearings. For each mini-project and the final project, the students are asked to write a brief review of NABC analysis. (Need, Approach, Benefits and Competition). The overall appreciation for inclusion of innovation and entrepreneurship topics and the NABC analysis seem to be encouraging
Cutaway of the Chrysler Gas Turbine Engine Model A-249
No full textThis preliminary drawing for the Chrysler gas turbine engine model A-249 was executed by the design supervisor Robert F. Pauley (1924-2020) of the Chrysler Corporation. A respected engineer and designer in the Chrysler Research Department to engineers and draftsmen, he worked twenty-seven years at the Chrysler Corporation in Highland Park, Michigan on the Turbine Engine Program. This department was started in 1933 by the design engineer Carl Breer and became instrumental in the creation of airflow cars, the XI-2220 aircraft engine and the engine for the turbine automobile, which later developed into the M1 tank engine. The intricacy of this drawing is representative of the work of Robert F. Pauley who furthered the advancement of gas turbine technology. He was greatly admired for his ability to translate design concepts spontaneously in meetings with Chrysler engineers as they collaborated on projects. A noted author on aviation history, he was a founding member of the Society of Air Racing Historians.https://digitalcommons.kettering.edu/selections_archives_humanitiesartcenter/1004/thumbnail.jp
- …
