Bulletin of the American Physical Society
77th Annual Meeting of the Division of Fluid Dynamics
Sunday–Tuesday, November 24–26, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah
Session L31: Fluid Dynamics - Education and Outreach |
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Chair: Gerald Wang, Carnegie Mellon University; Scott Morris, University of Notre Dame Room: 255 C |
Monday, November 25, 2024 8:00AM - 8:13AM |
L31.00001: Go with the Flow! Empowering hands-on individual fluid dynamics education Kenneth Thomas Kiger, Andrew Elby, Giorgio Arzate-Juarez, Daniel Boback, Anna Dyson, Jeyadave Nuntha Kumar, Terrence Pierce, Joshua Sambrano, Alayna Sheahy Traditional instruction on the fundamentals of fluid mechanics often includes laboratory exercises to provide physical demonstration of the connection between the abstract theoretical principles and the physical reality they are intended to model. Hands-on experiential exercises have a proven instructional method in fluid mechanics, but typically requires large and relatively expensive equipment that must be shared by teams of students for a short duration. With our current effort, we aim to create a handful of modular experiments that permit demonstration and exploration of the principles of fluid mechanics by individual students within their own home. This is enabled by inexpensive DC power supplies, motor controllers and high-power compact fan system available to remote control hobbists. We report on the development of the kits with six different topics of focus: i) hydrostatics & manometry, ii) control volume analysis of momentum flux, iii) drag on external objects, iv) pipe flow losses, v) boundary layer growth, separation and form drag, and vi) fan characteristics. Preliminary results of student feedback in working with the prototype kits will be summarized. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 8:13AM - 8:26AM |
L31.00002: Affordable and student-safe fluid experiment: Bent-straw vortex ring generator Chris Roh, Yukun Sun, Elijah G James, Yicong Fu, Jena L Shields Vortex is a fundamental way nature organizes flow. Thus, a simple vortex ring generator in a classroom can provide opportunities to grasp this fundamental concept intuitively. Here, we present an affordable and student-safe experiment that can demonstrate vortex formation phenomena at various vortex formation times. After filling a bent straw with a column of food-dyed water, the thumb closes the top opening to maintain the pressure head. Then, the dyed water is transported to the water bath, and upon stabilizing the straw, the thumb is released. A beautiful vortex ring is created, and its propagation can be easily observed. This simple setup can be made more sophisticated by graduating the straw and thus quantifying the water-level height. This allows students to explore the effect of vortex formation time, L/D, where L is the column height and D is the diameter. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 8:26AM - 8:39AM |
L31.00003: A portable, desktop wind tunnel for in-class demonstrations Miguel A De La Cruz Wind tunnels are a key source of data collection, but have been out of reach for typical in-class |
Monday, November 25, 2024 8:39AM - 8:52AM |
L31.00004: Advancements in Education: Utilizing Additive Manufacturing for Mechanical Design and Conceptual Study of Turbomachinery Marcus E Anglin Additive manufacturing (AM), commonly known as 3D printing, has revolutionized the production of complex components across various industries. In this study, we investigate the design and manufacturing of turbomachinery blades and components, focusing on their application in educational and model scenarios. Additive manufacturing is used to develop parts. Students assemble a model axial reaction turbine, which was designed with 6mm blades. The turbine is subsequently supplied with a target flow rate of 0.025 ft3/s to 0.05 ft3/s to drive it to 10 ftlbs of torque. This is to illustrate the underlying mechanisms that drive our world. Challenges include sparse details about design and construction. The eventual goal is to create a fully functional axial organic reaction turbine based on an optimized design from 3D printing. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 8:52AM - 9:05AM |
L31.00005: Flow visualisation with smartphones as an educational framework for affordable and interactive micro-lab sessions Tom Lacassagne, Bertrand Mercier, Alexis Lebis We present the development of a set of micro-lab sessions for practical teaching of fluid mechanics at the undergraduate level [1]. Those rely on 1) the implementation of affordable and low-cost experiments with easily accessible material 2) the visualisation of the fluid flow using a smartphone camera, 3) the processing of images using specifically designed post-processing codes [2], 4) comparison of the experimental output with theoretical models. Students are expected to derive the theory, set-up and perform the experiments, and analyse the data in autonomy, guided by interactive h5p lab protocols [3] the structure of which is grounded in the Bloom’s framework [4]. This makes the concept of interest to implement practical approaches in classes with a high number of students and limited teaching staff and material resources, thus promoting equity and inclusiveness in education. Feedback from more than 250 students on 2 successive academic years and from 2 different programs indicate that the format is well appreciated by students and serves as a worthy complement to in-class face to face teaching activities. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 9:05AM - 9:18AM |
L31.00006: A Generalized Online Active Text (GOAT) for fluid mechanics instruction Scott C Morris, Eric R Pardyjak, John F Foss Over the last two decades, the role of textbooks in engineering education has changed greatly. Publishers have slowly begun to adopt e-books that range from static PDFs to fully active learning tools. At the same time, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way faculty deliver material and how students expect material to be available. Even prior to the pandemic, students began to rely heavily on un-curated videos available on online. Given the complexity of the subject and importance of visualization, fluid mechanics is an obvious candidate for a course that benefits from multimedia and active learning. For example, the historical MIT videos have been a staple in fluid mechanics courses for years and have slowly transitioned from tape, to CDs, to DVDs, and are now embedded in online e-books along with videos from other excellent sources such as Cambridge Core’s Multimedia Fluid Mechanics Online. Here, we present a new alternative that makes use of Cocalc’s version of Jupyter Notebooks to actively deliver fluid mechanics material. In particular, this Generalized Online Active Text (GOAT) includes integrated Embedded Mini-Lectures (EML) as well as Python coding examples and exercises, which integrate computational tools into the curriculum (something that has been encouraged by accreditation organizations). |
Monday, November 25, 2024 9:18AM - 9:31AM |
L31.00007: Use of Embedded Mini-Lectures (EML) as an efficient teaching methodology in Generalized Online Active Texts (GOATs) Eric R Pardyjak, Scott C Morris, John F Foss There are currently a variety of ways in which video materials are used for teaching fluid mechanics. Some instructors simply record their standard lectures for review. These lectures are generally intended to supplement formal written materials, such as a textbook. Others have produced more polished video materials for viewing online (e.g., YouTube). However, these materials are generally not well curated, and do not necessarily fit the format of a standard course. We will discuss a new model, the Embedded Mini-Lecture (EML). This format uses videos that integrate materials from a variety of multi-media sources, are narrated, and fully embedded into a readable text. This talk will discuss the pros and cons of this type of media, and provide several EML examples. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 9:31AM - 9:44AM |
L31.00008: Form to Flow: a cloud-based workflow automation system for introductory CFD courses Mark Benjamin, Gianluca Iaccarino Introductory CFD courses at the undergraduate level are taught with an emphasis on the methodology of computational engineering and application to real-world problems, and with limited discussion of numerical methods and algorithms. The interaction of students with any CFD solvers used in such courses is therefore limited to running simulations, and does not include software or model development. However, two problems arise in this educational setting, both stemming from a lack of familiarity of beginner students with command line-based interfaces. Firstly, to run sufficiently high quality calculations of complex geometries and physics requires computing power beyond what is available to the students' personal computers, necessitating the use of high performance computing (HPC) systems which many undergraduates are not conversant with. Secondly, available industry and open-source tools that provide a graphical user interface (GUI) for students are of such complexity as to result in a large portion of class time spent in learning to interact with the tool. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 9:44AM - 9:57AM |
L31.00009: Scaffolding programming skills through fluid mechanics coursework Katie E VanderKam This work examines the trajectory of programming skills of undergraduate students in mechanical engineering and how the departments’ computing requirements can be reinforced in fluid mechanics classes. Students were surveyed to understand the breadth of experience they had in programming when entering their undergraduate career. Additionally, a survey of existing mechanical engineering requirements of top-ranked engineering schools was conducted to determine which programming languages are required and through which departments those classes are offered. While the majority of programs require classes in either MATLAB or Python, some teach Java, Excel, or C++ in alternative course options. However, very few curricula require more than one total class dedicated to these skills, so the students’ proficiency can often degrade throughout the following years. Students’ programming skills can be supported by scaffolding work on these skills in existing classes in the curriculum, such as fluid mechanics. This work concludes by offering some examples of how programming can be incorporated into fluid mechanics activities. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 9:57AM - 10:10AM |
L31.00010: "Large Language Models, but Large Compared to What?" Teaching Scaling, Similitude, and Dimensional Reasoning in the Age of Generative AI Gerald J Wang, Rachel C Kurchin, PhD Setting aside hypersonics, three of the fluid dynamicist's trustiest weapons are scaling, similitude, and dimensional reasoning. Instilling future generations with a healthy respect for these principles remains a central goal in fluid dynamics education. A recent Wall Street Journal article noted that generative AI will change everything; it is natural to wonder, "does 'everything' include scaling, similitude, and dimensional reasoning?" In this talk, we present tastefully curated anecdata in support of the answer, "probably." We identify broad areas of strength and weakness on this subject matter across a range of large language models (LLMs), with a particular focus on unorthodox Buckingham Pi groups identified by certain LLMs. Time permitting, this presentation will also include a live demonstration. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 10:10AM - 10:23AM |
L31.00011: Challenge-based Learning Environment in Fluid Mechanics Lab Course: Implementation of an Open Lab Concept and Student Experience Jun Chen, Sally PM Bane, Sean Patrick Brophy Surged undergraduate enrollment in engineering programs presents a significant challenge to the instructional resources in fluid mechanics courses without sacrificing the quality of the delivered education. The presented work is part of a joint effort within the College of Engineering at Purdue University to renovate the instruction of fluid mechanics lab courses. Among the many renovations adopted, an open lab concept was developed to implement a challenge-based instruction (CBI) approach in these large undergraduate lab courses. It is expected to create an experiential learning module to support every student’s learning activity in a real-world setting. This teaching renovation orchestrates a sequence of learning activities in the framework of the Legacy Learning Cycle. Every student is exposed to this experiential learning experience with two or three teammates working closely to (1) initiate a hypothesis-driven project idea with a real-world challenge, (2) propose a test plan, (3) communicate the project in a written proposal submitted the instructor, (4) revise the test plan by accommodating instructor’s review comments, (5) perform the tests independently, generate the experimental data, and organize the acquired data as evidence related to the hypothesis, (6) communicate the discovery in a written lab report and a recorded presentation video. Exit surveys from four semesters in 2022-2024 received anonymous inputs from 1,052 students, indicating an overwhelmingly positive impact on students’ learning experience. |
Monday, November 25, 2024 10:23AM - 10:36AM |
L31.00012: Strategies to Expand the Diversity in Tenured-Track Faculty Applicant Pools In Higher Education Angel Francisco Rodriguez Higher education institutions are challenged with ensuring their faculty are diverse in areas of scholarship, teaching pedagogy, and cultural experiences. Engineering fields, like other STEM fields, see a lack of diversity in tenured-track positions. This research evaluates strategies to expand the faculty hiring pool in medium-size institutions. Through evaluation of hiring practices, retention policies, and job advertisement, we can shape new methods focused on diversifying the faculty applicant pool and creating opportunities for members from underrepresented communities in STEM fields. The research presents methods to diversify the applicant pool with initiatives, such as consortiums, cluster hires, collaboration with other institutions that share common interests to mentor groups of graduate students and provide teaching and research opportunities that can result in future employment. Furthermore, this research looks at search committee methods that ensure their hiring criteria includes a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and proposes methods to guide hiring committees through methods and rubrics that prevent unconscious biases throughout the hiring process. Lastly, this research looks at faculty retention processes that play critical roles in recruitment efforts. |
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