The Future of Engineering Laboratory Courses: Virtual Laboratory Experiments

Öz

The Mechanical Engineering Laboratory I course at Lehigh University has a simple objective and that is, to introduce basic engineering measurement concepts to students. Experimental data from sensors in experimental setups that are loaded by testing machines are collected using digital acquisition techniques. Programming for data acquisition using LabVIEW is also introduced. While it is desirable to have the actual machines for touch and feel, these is not necessary for achieving the objectives of this laboratory course. What is important are: the understanding of the purpose and theory behind the experiment, the mathematical and engineering skills in manipulating the acquired data into something that is meaningful and, drawing correct conclusions from the resulting calculations. This paper proposes using LabVIEW in conjunction with an animation software such as SolidWorks, to simulate virtual experiments. Since the experiments are virtual, they can provide a way to include variations on the experiments. Thus, students can try these different variations for a better understanding of the theory behind the experiments. With the many advantages of having actual simulation of the experiments such an approach presents an alternative path for the engineering laboratory courses, but only for those with the right kind of experiments.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Virtual laboratory experiments
• Laboratory courses
• LabVIEW
• Computer-based laboratory
• Engineering education

Kaynakça

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