Adaptation of design modules to first-year engineering courses and K-12 outreach update on IDEAS project

Abstract

Students enrolled at Michigan Technological University and are pre-calculus ready follow a three-course sequence through the first-year engineering program (ENG1101, ENG1100, and ENG1102). As part of the NSF Funded IDEAS project (DUE-0836861), design modules were created in biomechanics, wind, and aquaculture for this course sequence (∼200 students). For the biomechanics module, students designed, built, and analyzed a prosthetic leg. Students in the wind turbine module completed and analyzed a lab-scale wind turbine constructed from recycled materials for their first course and used 3-D modeling software to design turbine blades for a second semester project. These blades were printed on a 3-D printer an attached to an existing stand for a performance analysis. In the aquaculture project, students design, built, and analyzed a small-scale aerator for an aquaculture facility. In the second semester, students developed the layout of the facility and evaluated the pumping system currently in place. The wind turbine and biomechanics modules were implemented as group projects in two summer youth programs (Women in Engineering and the Engineering Scholars Program) in 2011. Students in these programs had ten hours to construct and analyze their designs. Students looking at the biomechanics module constructed an artificial limb using PVC piping for the "bones" and constructed the knee joint using a variety of materials (hinges, paint rollers, etc). They tested this design in various ways. The first test was to verify that their design had the correct range of motion. They compared measurements from their own legs to the design using a goniometer. The next step was to determine the force exerted during a kick as measured on a force plate and also using a soccer ball. For the wind turbine project, students constructed blades for an existing hub and stand using various materials (plastic bottles, paper maché, cardboard, etc). The turbine performance was measured using a multimeter for the voltage generated and a phototachometer for the turbine RPM. From an IDEAS project overview provided during a faculty workshop in August 2011, the wind energy project was selected by instructors for implementation into ENG1101. Aspects of the project from ENG1001 and ENG1100 were used for this new application. This paper will detail the original design projects, the integration aspects and challenges for modifications to a separate course sequence and the summer youth program, and recommendations for further integration in other applications. © 2012 American Society for Engineering Education.