A design-and-build project for heat transfer course

Abstract

Design and build type projects could constitute a part of experiential learning. This paper presents a design and build type project that was implemented in a senior level Heat Transfer course in mechanical engineering. The project was about designing and building of an insulation device that would keep a specified amount of hot water in a standard 250 ml beaker for extended period of time as warm as possible as well as the mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of the behavior of the insulation device. The project was first implemented in winter 2014 semester with considerable success and was assigned again for the second time in winter 2015 with improved specifications of the requirements and deliverable product and analyses. This paper will present the design project, which was run as a performance competition project among the students that were enrolled in the aforementioned course. The lessons learned and the feedback from the students are presented in the paper.