The mechanical design and laboratory curriculum in the fields of fluid and thermal science and system controls will be enhanced with the acquisition of five Personal System 2 workstations. These workstations will be equipped with Keithley data acquisition systems and transducers capable of performing engineering measurements, such as temperature of a solid or fluid, flow rate of a fluid, pressure, displacement or force. These measurements will be used to implement control algorithms or optimize designs for different student projects. This is significant in that it gives undergraduate engineers a state- of-the-art data acquisition and control environment in which to develop individual projects in fluid and thermal science and design. The equipment is easy to use; students need only understand BASIC programming to do projects. Once theory and analytical materials are covered in the classroom, algorithms for measurement and control can be derived and implemented very quickly, and complicated measurements can be performed to confirm analytical predictions and test design prototypes. These systems permit early creativity for students because assembly language programming and advanced circuit design do not need to be mastered to build "smart" projects. They can move directly to actual design and construction of mechanical engineering systems.
