170 J.P. De Clerck and J.S. De Clerck Fig. 16.1 Single degree-of-freedom test structure Authentic problem-posing scenarios are well-suited for undergraduates who typically have minimal understanding of industry practice. This pedagogical approach builds on traditional teaching that is focused on the dissemination of knowledge on a specific topic [2, 3] and includes two key aspects linking topical knowledge to engineering practice: (1) a problem scenario with a physical system that is familiar to the students and (2) an audience willing to implement their solution. The problem scenario frames the activity so students develop their abilities to situate problem-solving processes and apply disciplinary knowledge within the context of engineering problems. The scenario includes a specific decision making audience which reinforces the value of engineers because someone is waiting to review the work and implement their solution. Students build confidence writing test reports that are intended to contribute to engineering decision-making. The authors drew from their industry experience and their understanding of required curriculum, in particular the firstyear composition course, when redesigning the three-lab sequence on vibrations. The authors brainstormed scenarios to link laboratory topics to real-world scenarios that emphasized requirement verification. The Chief Engineer was selected as the authentic audience for the test reports. Also, the report title was changed from “lab report” to “test report”. Due to budget and space constraints, the authors could not replace the test structures with the actual physical test articles. The existing test structure was used as a surrogate structure for all lab activities. Surrogate systems are also used in industry to break down complex systems in order to emphasize and study aspects that are important to the function of the design. For each of the three topical modules, students meet for a 1-hour recitation and a 3-hour lab. During the recitation, the instructor presents the scenario and reviews the applicable engineering knowledge and skills. Students also do a pre-lab activity using a computer simulation to practice concepts and calculations prior to acquiring and processing actual data. During the lab meeting, three to four member student groups follow the lab instructions using the surrogate system, and then each student communicates findings and recommendations in individual test reports to the scenario’s decision-making audience, the Chief Engineer. 16.3 Lab Activity 1: Free Response of an Aircraft Wing The scenario for the free-vibration lab activity is a fixed-wing aircraft. A customer is concerned that one wing of their small aircraft vibrates too much. The student engineers are asked to measure the free vibration of a prototype aircraft to determine the equivalent mass, stiffness and damping. They also verify the design requirement values for natural frequency and damping. The student engineers then use free vibration measurements to determine the equivalent mass, stiffness and damping of the customer’s wing. Deliverables of the test report are (1) the quantitative discrepancy of the equivalent mass, stiffness, and damping of the prototype wing and the customer’s wing and (2) validation of natural frequency and damping of customer’s wing relative to the design requirements.
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