Principles of Engineering

by: Douglas Dias

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course consists of student teams working on projects to solve an engineering or technological problem. A typical unit would consist of students being given a challenge to design and build a machine that would perform a specific task or compete against other teams. Students would use whatever technology is allowed for the particular unit (wood or metal working machines, computers, drafting tools, etc.). Students would have to work with limiting constraints (such as limited materials or a budget) during their work, and then present their completed project at or before a preset deadline.

RATIONALE:

The course is designed to utilize the strengths of the students. In the past, the course has included students with a wide variety of interests and abilities. Some projects model an actual work environment, where students apply for, and are awarded specific positions with a clearly defined job. This is done in an attempt to provide students with some specific job-related skills in the areas of communication and writing.

Course Outline:

Because each course is tailored to the students, different projects are assigned. These projects may be:

Aeronautic Engineering

Rocket Boosted Gliders

Hydrodynamics Engineering

Boat Hull Design

Mechanical Engineering

Bridge Construction

Radioactive Waste Container

Crash Cage

Magnetic Levitation

Methods:

Each project will include a written report along with the completed project. Each report will be typed, double-spaced. It will have a completed cover sheet (teacher may provide) on the front. Because each project is unique, each report will be different. Most reports will consist of the following sections:

1) Background

Describe the project

2) Design

Describe the reasoning behind the design of the project. Include all blueprints and schematics in this section.

3) Construction

List general steps in construction of you project. If there are any challenging or tricky steps in construction, list them in greater detail.

4) Results

Write how the design fared in testing. Did it perform as designed? What happened? Where did the design fail? Where was the design better than expected?

5) Recommendations

What changes would you make in your design if you could do the project over again?

6) Budget

How much did the entire project cost? Include a detailed list of costs including the number of person hours that each person worked on the project.

Expectations of students:

Students are expected to be in class, on time, and contributing the the success of their group and project. At certain times, depending on the particular project or job description, they may be more active on some days than others days.

Skills to be developed:

Each semester, the course is prepared to accomplish three things:

1. Improve working in a group.

2. Apply engineering principles to solve problems.

3. Utilize individual strengths to best meet challenges.

Textbook:

There is no assigned text.

Other materials:

Occasionally videotapes will be included if the material is appropriate for the project.

Sample assignments:

The following is an example of a simple project direction sheet. This students would approximately three weeks to design, test, evaluate, redesign and do a final test. Afterward, the students would provide a written report on the entire project.

Background:

The U.S. Department of Energy was established to oversee research and production of nuclear materials used in weapons. Today, with the need for nuclear weapons decreased, the primary role of DOE is environmental restoration and waste management. In other words, DOE must now clean up was and contamination generated by past activities. Often the cleanup process involves moving waste to processing or disposal sight. DOE has designed packages which retain their contents and withstand severe transportation accidents.

Objective:

Your job as DOE engineer is to create and test a package (a cask) designed to contain waste (an egg) and withstand accidents.

Specifications:

1. Your entire design must fit within a 50 cm cube.

2. Mass Test: The maximum allowable mass of the entire cask must be less than 500 grams. This includes the egg.

3. Drop Test: The cask must withstand a drop of 10 meters without the egg breaking.

4. Shaft Test: The cask must withstand a drop of 1 meter onto a 2 mm diameter, 10 cm long vertical shaft.

5. Side Impact Test: The cask must withstand the force of a swinging 500 gram mass striking the side of the cask.

6. Only the materials listed may be used.

Materials:

2 1 liter plastic bottles 5 pins

2 pencils 8 plastic straws

8 rubber bands 2 labels

5 thumbtacks 2 packing peanuts

2 8.5" X 11" pieces of paper 30 wooden splints

2 corks 1 plastic caps

1 7.5mm X11.5mm balsa sheet Wood glue

(1.5 mm thick)

Evaluation:

Written Group Report: 30%

Mass Test: 5%

Drop Test: 5%

Shaft Test: 5%

Side Impact Test: 5%

Inspectors' Observations: 25%

Group Quiz Average: 10%

Individual Quiz: 15%

TOTAL: 100%

Assessment of students:

Because of the unique composition, structure, and subject matter of the class, your grade will be based on two general themes:

1) Group Evaluation

2) Individual Evaluation

The group evaluation will will be in several different formats:

Project Grade based on the actual device

Final Report-

Observations by the teacher or other observer:

The observations will be a type of performance assessment of what each person is doing in the group. The ability of a group of very different people to work together is an important skill to be learned in this class. This means that you will not always (if ever) be able to work with your friends. You must learn to cooperate and to discuss ideas in a constructive process.

You will not always know when you are being evaluated.

Some things that the observer will be looking for could be:

is there cooperation within the group?

does there appear to be a free exchange of ideas?

is there acceptance of others' ideas? (no matter how foolish they are)

is there attentive listening to said ideas?

is the group at task?1

is everyone in the group actively engaged in the project?

Individual Evaluation

The individual evaluation will separate you from the others in your group. It may be in the form of a separate written assignment, individual observations, or a combination of these.

It is important that you realize that at any time during the semester, if you wish to know how you are doing individually, to seek out and make an appointment with the teacher to go over your progress thus far.

On some projects, there may be one or two groups that are assigned a different assignment than the rest of the class. Those two groups are still responsible for the science and engineering material that goes with each project, and will write individual assignments along with the rest of the class, but they may not necessarily produce the same project as the rest of the class. (i.e. During a complex project, a team of managers may be necessary to oversee certain aspects of the competition, or a group might videotape the entire project and present a documentary of the project).