Low-cost, transparent, hands-on fluid mechanics and heat-transfer experiments for the classroom*

Small scale desktop module can eliminate many common misconceptions in fluid mechanics and other related areas. Modules have been implemented in standard classrooms in undergraduate mechanical and chemical engineering courses to teach the energy concepts behind flow through a venturi, flow in a pipe, and heat transfer between hot and cold streams in a heat exchanger. A common student misconception related to the venturi is that the pressure should go up as the liquid flows through the throat because it is being “squeezed.” Manometer tubes molded into the hands-on venturi module clearly demonstrate that the pressure is much lower in the throat than it is upstream or downstream of the throat. A misconception related to continuity of flow in a pipe is that the velocity should decrease with distance because of friction. This is countered using a plastic ball entrained in the flow to show that it does not slow down. Several modules that mimic industrial heat exchangers allow students to measure heat duty and see its dependence on flow rate and temperature driving force. A module that allows students to see evidence for the thermal boundary layer on a heated cylinder in water can supplement active learning.