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Appropriate Technology in an Introductory Engineering Design Experience

Appropriate Technology in an Introductory Engineering Design Experience . Alan W. Eberhardt, 1 R. Justin Lesley 1 Tina G. Oliver, 2 Rose N. Scripa 3 Biomedical Engineering, 1 Mechanical Engineering, 2 Material Science & Engineering 3 University of Alabama at Birmingham

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Appropriate Technology in an Introductory Engineering Design Experience

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  1. Appropriate Technology in an Introductory Engineering Design Experience Alan W. Eberhardt,1 R. Justin Lesley1 Tina G. Oliver,2 Rose N. Scripa3 Biomedical Engineering,1 Mechanical Engineering,2 Material Science & Engineering3 University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham, AL

  2. Outline • Undergraduate Designs to Aid Disabled • NSF & NCIIA activities • SIFAT, Engineers w/o Borders & Zambia • EGR 200 design project • Appropriate technology constraints • Engineering design tools • Assessments and Results • student & faculty perspectives

  3. Undergraduate Design Projects for People with Disabilities • NSF RAPD funding • 13 years + • Projects to aid children & adults (in Alabama) with various disabilities • Senior Design • EGR 100, 200 • BME, MSE, ME

  4. New direction:Appropriate technologies • NCIIA funding – 2 years • Partner with EWB using appropriate technologies • Senior design projects for disabled in developing countries • Peru – all terrain crutch • Zambia – bamboo wheelchair

  5. UAB Engineers w/o Borders + SIFAT (Servants in Faith and Technology) • SIFAT: Christian nonprofit that provides training in self-help programs for a needy world. • EWB + SIFAT building a training facility in Zambia • Opportunity for reproduction of devices designed by UAB students

  6. EGR 200 Intro to Engineering • Course is for 2nd year transfer students (pre-BME, -ME, -CE etc) • Majority from 2-year community colleges • 2 sections of ~50 students • Topics: Reverse engineering, team projects, oral & written communication + 5 week design project

  7. Design Project:Crutches using appropriate technology Crutches for men, women and children of Zambia • Zambia • One of the poorest countries in the world • 87% of total population live on less than $2 USD per day • Health problems abound… • Ex. Infection leads to amputation… war torn neighbors

  8. Design Constraints • Appropriate materials • Bamboo poles, string, glue, leather, cloth scraps, burlap • Appropriate technology • Hand tools only (saws, files, vises, hand drill) • No power tools or expensive machining equipment • Time: 5 weeks (end of term)

  9. Schedule – Fall 2010 * class time to work in teams SOE Design Lab/computer labs

  10. Design Contest • Crutch designs judged for “Best Engineered Device” based on Final Presentation + Final Report Winning team gets dinner at Dreamland Bar-B-Q • “Best engineered” based on use of engineering tools in design • Computer aided drawing • Free body diagrams, force/moment calcs • Stress and buckling analysis • Material description – engineering properties

  11. Drawing • Discuss the range from hand sketching to Pro-E CAD • Intro to Pro-E demo, some students taking Pro-E course

  12. Statics, Equilibrium & FBD’s SF = 0 Action-reaction (Newton’s 3rd) SM = 0 Ex. Civil War era crutch 1. Underarm piece P P M P

  13. Mechanics of Solidsaka, Stress and Strain • Fundamental concepts of stress and strain can be illustrated by considering a “prismatic bar” (straight structural member with constant cross section) that is loaded by axial forces P at the ends • Material failure is often a function of stress or strain (not just the force applied)

  14. Stress - strain curve:Engineering materials • In elastic zone, • = Ee • “Hooke’s Law”

  15. Material selection/analysis • CES Edupak software • On EGR computers: • Programs • Engineering software • CES • Properties of bamboo • Modulus • Failure strength • Joining techniques

  16. Column Buckling • Pcrit = p2 EI/Le2 Note: The effective length Le depends on the boundary conditions

  17. Important!Allocated class time for project work • SOE Design Lab • Tables for teams with materials (bamboo, string, glue, etc) • Hand saws/drills, files… • Instructor + grad student (Lesley) circulating & advising…

  18. Rubric circulated Students told how they would be graded = how judged for contest….

  19. Results & student learning outcomes: • All design teams completed their projects (19) • Student ownership & satisfaction was remarkable (personal best for freshman experience) • Students comments: “understand what it means to design … what engineers do… feel prepared & excited for next level courses…” • Many signed up for UAB Engineers w/o Borders

  20. Benefits from the teaching end • Costs are low • $500 covered two sections of ~50 students • Materials purchased a priori & provided • Bamboo, string, glue, leather, burlap • Facilities are simple • Hand tools (saws, files, hand drills, vises) • Projects are safe • No special training needed…

  21. Acknowledgments • National Science Foundation (NSF RAPD) • National Collegiate Inventors and Innovators Alliance (NCIIA) • UAB School of Engineering • Dreamland BBQ Thank you!

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