A demo every day: Bringing fluid mechanics to life

Abstract

Fluid Mechanics can seem particularly non-intuitive to the typical student. For example, most students will tell you that if velocity increases, the pressure also increases. Misconceptions such as these can be difficult for students to overcome. Multiple types of exposure to each topic, such as lecture, problem solving, and reading assignments can help, but demonstrations add another type of exposure that is not only informative and visual, but also enjoyable. Demonstrations during a lecture period can increase attentiveness and give the students a "feel" for the topic, helping them actually believe the concept that they are learning. These demos also provide an excellent memory point for the students to reference when they need to use the concept to solve a problem. Additionally, since both the instructor and student have experienced the demo together, the instructor can allude to the demo in order to help correct a misconception. By reminding the student of a demonstration, both student and professor have a starting point for discussion. This paper describes in detail over 30 demonstrations and videos that can be used to improve student understanding and to increase interest in the various topics associated with fluid mechanics. Demonstrations and videos have been developed for all of the topics covered in a typical fluid mechanics course including hydrostatics, viscosity, control volume analysis, similarity, Navier-Stokes solutions, pipe flow, minor losses, and external flow. Most of the demonstrations are inexpensive and were homemade by the authors and their students; most videos are readily available on YouTube.com. The paper reviews each of the demos/videos, discuss how they are incorporated into the class, and describe how to fabricate/procure the demo equipment.