MECH 391 Instrumentation Detailed Course Description Future Plans

Course Goals Provide the foundation for measurement and testing in the Mechanical Engineering Curriculum. Introduce students to measurement and data reporting concepts, and help them develop practical skills needed to successfully complete open-ended experiments that are a part of the senior year course Future Goal: Provide service to other UNR undergraduate programs and to local industry, move to sophomore year to improve retention of juniors

Measurement Concepts Physical Operation of strain gages, extensometers, load cells, accelerometers, thermocouples, pressure transducers, fluid flow rate and velocity meters, analog to digital (A/D) and digital to analog (D/A) converters, solid state relays Instrument Calibration: random and bias errors, interpretation of commercial instrument specifications Statistical Analysis of Measured Data, mean, standard deviation, histograms, data fitting and quality of fit Propagation of Uncertainty: reporting how uncertainty in measured data affect the level of certainty in calculations that use the data Sampling Theory: Calculating derivatives, Fourier Analysis, Hann windowing

Practical Skills Use of strain gages, load cells, extensometers, accelerometers, pressure transducers, thermocouples, flow meters, fluid velocity probes Programming and use of computer data acquisition and control systems (using National Instruments LabVIEW and hardware). Use of Microsoft Excel for tabulating and plotting data, performing calculations and fitting to curves

Practical Data Reporting Reports in this course consist only of a cover page, a concise abstract, data tables and charts, and one-sentence conclusions for each table and chart. Emphasis is place on presentation of data using tables and chart, and drawing conclusions based on data (comparison with theory, suggesting improvements) Senior-level courses will emphasize open-ended laboratory assignments that require students to design experimental programs. Detailed verbal reporting of the experimental methods, data and conclusions will be emphasized on those courses.

Format 3 units (12 hours/week). One three-hour laboratory experience, two one-hour lectures, and one four-hour homework assignment per week Twelve well-defined labs during the term, performed in groups of two. All measurements are preformed, analyzed and reported during the three-hour lab period, with the help of lab instructors. Visit one local industrial test facility (Ebara International, which builds and tests large cryogenic petroleum product pumps). Lectures and homework are designed to prepare students for the lab assignments. One midterm and one final exam (in the future, replace final by a lab practicum) Website for downloading lab manual, lecture handouts, homework solutions, sample Excel workbooks and LabVIEW virtual instruments, and example lab reports. Will also be used to upload lab data reports.

Recourses $4000/year to replace broken and outdated computers, and replenish supplies (thermocouples, strain gages, pressure transducers, heaters, solid state relays, signal conditioning hardware) One time $10,000 investment to construct a new small-scale wind tunnel (and a shake table for a vibrations experiment) Two graduate teaching assistant (In the future, use one graduate TA and one undergraduate tutor who has taken MECH 391 in the past. The tutor will be compensated by pay and/or MECH 499 credit) One course release for the professor in charge in order to design new lab experiences, write lab handouts, train teaching assistants, purchase supplies and construct new equipment (in addition to preparing and presenting lectures)

Future Plans Eliminate course prerequisites and move to the sophomore year (MECH 291). This will improve retention of mechanical engineering juniors. However, it will require more lab sections to be offered (more TA support) or more laboratory stations because there are many more sophomores than juniors. Offer as a service course to other UNR undergraduate majors that require measurement experience (will require more TA’s and/or equipment) Offer to local industry (will require lectures to be offered at Noon, and an evening Laboratory Section).