Session L39: Fluid Dynamics: Education and Outreach

Flippin' Fluid Mechanics -- Comparison of Blended Classroom vs. Traditional Lecture

We conducted a study of student performance in and perceptions of a blended classroom delivery of a junior-level fluid mechanics course. In the blended pedagogy, students watch short on-line videos before class, participate in interactive in-class problem solving (in dyads), and complete individualized on-line quizzes weekly. Comparisons are made among four sections of the blended classroom delivery in the period of 2013-2017 to eleven sections delivered in a traditional lecture-style format by the same instructor in 2002-2012. The results reveal dramatic improvement in student engagement, perceptions, and achievement in the blended pedagogy. For instance, the withdrawal/fail/barely-passing (WFD) rate is significantly lower for the blended classroom (8.6{\%} vs. 16.3{\%}; p \textless 0.05). The average course total (i.e., aggregate of exam and assignment scores) is significantly greater in the blended classes (p \textless 0.001) with a medium size effect (Cohen's d $=$ 0.42). Further, we regressed students' course total on a dummy variable for the blended classroom, as well as with controls for gender, students' major, and prior achievement as measured by incoming GPA. The regression model (for all students) explains a strong amount of variation in final course grade with an R-squared of 0.563, and the blended class variable is significant (p \textless 0.001) with a coefficient of 4.437 (100-point scale). Regarding student perceptions, surveys reveal significantly greater enthusiasm, stimulation, self-perception of how-much-learned, perception of the value of the course activities, and the overall effectiveness of the course and instructor in the blended classroom.   

Embedding Entrepreneurial Thinking into Fluids-related Courses: Small Changes Lead to Positive Results

Many fluid dynamics instructors have embraced student-centered learning pedagogies (Active {\&} Collaborative Learning (ACL) and Problem/Project Based Learning (PBL)) to promote learning and increase student engagement. A growing effort in engineering education calls to equip students with entrepreneurial skills needed to drive innovation. The Kern Entrepreneurial Engineering Network (KEEN) defines entrepreneurial mindset based on three key attributes: \textit{curiosity, connections, and creating value. } Elements of ACL and PBL have been used to embed \textit{Entrepreneurial Thinking} concepts into two fluids-related subjects: 1) an introductory thermal-fluid systems course, and 2) thermo-fluids laboratory. Assessment of students' work reveal an improvement in student learning. Course Evaluations and Surveys indicate an increased perceived-value of course content.   

Technical Competencies Applied in Experimental Fluid Dynamics

The practical design, construction, and operation of fluid dynamics experiments require a broad range of competencies. Three types are instrumental, procedural, and design. Respective examples would be operation of a spectrum analyzer, soft-soldering or brazing flow plumbing, and design of a small wind tunnel. Some competencies, such as the selection and installation of pumping systems, are unique to fluid dynamics and fluids engineering. Others, such as the design and construction of electronic amplifiers or optical imaging systems, overlap with other fields. Thus the identification and development of learning materials and methods for instruction are part of a larger effort to identify competencies needed in active research and technical innovation.   

F*** Yeah Fluid Dynamics: Getting started in science communication

We live in an era of unprecedented opportunities for connecting with other scientists and with the public about our work, but taking the first steps into this wider world of science communication can be intimidating. This talk will focus on what researchers and students need to get started or to take their efforts to the next level. It will highlight some inspirational examples both within fluid dynamics and elsewhere, share lessons learned from fluid dynamics outreach blog FYFD, and provide current and future science communicators with valuable resources for developing their outreach.   

3D Flow visualization in virtual reality

By viewing fluid dynamic isosurfaces in virtual reality (VR), many of the issues associated with the rendering of three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional screen can be addressed. In addition, viewing a variety of unsteady 3D data sets in VR opens up novel opportunities for education and community outreach. In this work, the vortex wake of a bio-inspired pitching panel was visualized using a three-dimensional structural model of Q-criterion isosurfaces rendered in virtual reality using the HTC Vive. Utilizing the Unity cross-platform gaming engine, a program was developed to allow the user to control and change this model's position and orientation in three-dimensional space. In addition to controlling the model's position and orientation, the user can “scroll” forward and backward in time to analyze the formation and shedding of vortices in the wake. Finally, the user can toggle between different quantities, while keeping the time step constant, to analyze flow parameter relationships at specific times during flow development.   

Fluid Mechanics Experiments as a Unifying Theme in the Physics Instrumentation Laboratory Course

We discuss the transformation of a junior-level instrumentation laboratory course from a sequence of cookbook lab exercises to a semester-long, project-based course. In the original course, students conducted a series of activities covering the usual electronics topics (amplifiers, filters, oscillators, logic gates, etc.) and learned basic LabVIEW programming for data acquisition and analysis. Students complained that these topics seemed disconnected and not immediately applicable to ``real'' laboratory work. To provide a unifying theme, we restructured the course around the design, construction, instrumentation of a low-cost Taylor-Couette cell where fluid is sheared between rotating coaxial cylinders. The electronics labs were reworked to guide students from fundamental electronics through the design and construction of a stepper motor driver, which was used to actuate the cylinders. Some of the legacy labs were replaced with a module on computer-aided design (CAD) in which students designed parts for the apparatus, which they then built in the departmental machine shop. Signal processing topics like spectral analysis were introduced in the context of time-series analysis of video data acquired from flow visualization. The course culminated with a capstone project in which students conducted experiments of their own design on a variety of topics in rheology and nonlinear dynamics.   

LIB LAB the Library Laboratory: hands-on multimedia science communication

Teaching scientific research topics to K-12 audiences in an engaging and meaningful way does not need to be hard; with the right insight and techniques it can be fun to encourage self-guided STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) exploration. LIB LAB, short for Library Laboratory, is an educational video series produced by Aaron J. Fillo at Oregon State University in partnership with the Corvallis-Benton County Public Library targeted at K-12 students. Each episode explores a variety of scientific fundamentals with playful experiments and demonstrations. The video lessons are developed using evidence-based practices such as dispelling misconceptions, and language immersion. Each video includes directions for a related experiment that young viewers can conduct at home. In addition, science kits for these at-home experiments are distributed for free to students through the public library network in Benton County, Oregon. This talk will focus on the development of multimedia science education tools and several techniques that scientists can use to engage with a broad audience more effectively. Using examples from the LIB LAB YouTube Channel and collection of hands-on science demonstrations and take-home kits, this talk will present STEAM education in action.   

Introduction to Naval Hydrodynamics using Advanced Computational and Experimental Tools

An undergraduate certificate program in naval hydrodynamics has been recently established at the University of Iowa. Despite several decades of graduate research in this area, this is the first formal introduction to naval hydrodynamics for University of Iowa undergraduate students. Central to the curriculum are two new courses that emphasize open-ended projects conducted in a novel laboratory/learning community that exposes students to advanced tools in computational and experimental fluid mechanics, respectively. Learning is pursued in a loosely-structured environment in which students work in small groups to conduct simulations and experiments relating to resistance, propulsion, and seakeeping using a revised version of the naval hydrodynamics research flow solver, REX, and a small towing tank. Survey responses indicate that the curriculum and course format has strongly increased student interest in naval hydrodynamics and effectively facilitated depth of student learning.   

Integrating Technical Communication in the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

Technical communication is essential to engineering practice, but these skills can be challenging to teach and assess in the classroom. Instructors in the Mechanical Engineering (ME) program at the United States Military Academy are developing new learning exercises to prepare students for success in their capstone design course and beyond. In this paper we highlight the recent successes and lessons learned from two courses: junior-level Thermal-Fluid Systems and the senior-level ME Seminar. Both courses support the newly implemented West Point Writing Program (WPWP), an institutional, writing-across-the-curriculum program. The junior course incorporates four hands-on experiments, which provide an abundance of data for students to analyze, assess, and present. In the senior course the majority of the content that students present is from their ongoing capstone design projects. Between the two courses, students craft essays, lab reports, short summaries, posters, quad charts, and technical presentations. Both courses include peer evaluation, revision exercises, and timed (\textit{on demand}) writing assignments. The junior course includes assignments co-authored by a group as well as an individual report. An overview of both courses' assignments with course-end feedback from the students and the faculty is provided. Strengths and weaknesses are identified and recommendations for instructors seeking to implement similar technical communications assignments in their own courses are presented.   

Undergraduate Laboratory on a Turbulent Impinging Jet

An undergraduate thermal sciences laboratory exercise that includes both experimental fluid mechanics and heat transfer measurements of an impinging jet is presented. The flow field is measured using magnetic resonance velocimetry (MRV) of a water flow, while IR thermography is used in the heat transfer testing. Flow Reynolds numbers for both the heat transfer and fluid mechanics tests range from 20,000-50,000 based on the jet diameter for a fully turbulent flow condition, with target surface temperatures in the heat transfer test reaching a maximum of approximately 50 Kelvin. The heat transfer target surface is subject to a measured uniform Joule heat flux, a well-defined boundary condition that allows comparison to existing correlations. The MRV generates a 3-component 3-dimensional data set, while the IR thermography provides a 2-dimensional heat transfer coefficient (or Nusselt number) map. These data sets can be post-processed and compared to existing correlations to verify data quality, and the sets can be juxtaposed to understand how flow features drive heat transfer. The laboratory setup, data acquisition, and analysis procedures are described for the laboratory experience, which can be incorporated as fluid mechanics, experimental methods, and heat transfer courses   

The Julia programming language: the future of scientific computing

Julia is an innovative new open-source programming language for high-level, high-performance numerical computing. Julia combines the general-purpose breadth and extensibility of Python, the ease-of-use and numeric focus of Matlab, the speed of C and Fortran, and the metaprogramming power of Lisp. Julia uses type inference and just-in-time compilation to compile high-level user code to machine code on the fly. A rich set of numeric types and extensive numerical libraries are built-in. As a result, Julia is competitive with Matlab for interactive graphical exploration and with C and Fortran for high-performance computing. This talk interactively demonstrates Julia's numerical features and benchmarks Julia against C, C++, Fortran, Matlab, and Python on a spectral time-stepping algorithm for a 1d nonlinear partial differential equation. The Julia code is nearly as compact as Matlab and nearly as fast as Fortran.   

A Levitating/Rotating Ball: C.V, Euler n Equation and Topology Demonstrator

An axisymmetric jet, oriented near 45$^o$ of $-\textbf{g}$, can levitate and rotate a ball (Shapiro, 1968). This phenomenon provides a learning experience for control volume, Euler n and topology analyses. Using $J_1$ as the momentum flux vector at the jet exit, a C.V. surrounding the ball (weight $\textbf{W}$) and extending beyond it reveals: $J_2=\textbf{i} \left. J_1 \right\} x + \textbf{j}\left(\left.J_1\right\}y-\textbf{W}\right)$. The moment-of-momentum Eq., summed about the c.g. of the ball, establishes the normal distance ($\delta_2$) from the ball’s c.g. to the line of action of $J_2$: $\delta_2=\delta_1\left[J_1/J_2\right]$. The no-slip condition shows that the jet fluid does not touch the ball. Topologically, the required two nodes of the overlaid vector field are present at the lateral sides of the ball. From Foss (2004) the fore and aft saddles plus the underneath node satisfy the Topological Constraint and reveal a unique wake structure. Surface pressures make rational the force balance. \\\\ A.H. Shapiro, (1968). Pressure fields and fluid acceleration. NCFMF, http://web.mit.edu/hml/ncfmf.html\\ J. Foss, (2004). Exp. Fluids, 37:883-898