Engineering Education- EngE 1024 December 1, 2009

1. Introduction to Experimental Design and Testing Engineering Education-EngE 1024December 1, 2009 Created by: Erin Crede

2. Presentation Outline • Learning Objectives • Pre-Class Assignment • In Class Activity • Materials • Logbook • Competition! • Sample Results • Out of Class Assignment • Possible Test Questions

3. Learning Objectives Introduce students to experiment logbook preparation and use. Introduce students to gliding flight, specifically performance calculations. Construct, test, and evaluate a model glider.

4. Pre-Class Assignment • During class you will be designing and testing a wooden glider. In order to ensure a successful experiment, you must prepare your design and test logbook ahead of time. In addition to testing your own design, you will also be comparing your finished product to your competitors using the same criteria. Using excel, construct a logbook for your experiment using the reference material provided. Feel free to use additional resources with proper documentation . At a minimum your logbook should include: • Group Member information • Glider parameters (weight, dimensions, locations etc) • Calculation for glide distance • Other information may include room for sketches, notes about design decisions, and any other information you may want to have for later use.

5. Sample Logbook

6. Material List/Cost for In Class Activity

7. In Class Activity Class Activity Outline (0-5 min) Pass out materials to each group (5-10 min) Explain overview of activity (10-35 min) Students build gliders and document in logbook (35-45 min) Glider Competition! (45-50 min) Students collect “competitor’s” information and final activity wrap Note: 10 minutes available for use at instructor’s discretion

8. In Class Activity General Activity Instructions: Working in teams of 4, design and build a wooden glider using the materials provided. Be sure to document the design in your logbook including drawings, dimensions, weight etc.

9. In Class Activity • Prior to the test flight, predict the glide time and distance your glider should be able to attain. Be sure to note these predictions in your logbook.

10. In Class Activity • Glider Competition! • Each team should provide the following information about your glider prior to testing: (instructor can compile a set of tables) • Wingspan • Chord • Fuselage type (rod thickness) • Weight • Throwing Height • Location of wing leading edge • Location of tail leading edge • Each team should make notes/sketches about each glider.

11. In Class Activity • Briefly comment on the results of the test flight prior to leaving class. Be sure to copy the competitors dimensions into your logbook for future calculations. If a single logbook was used for the activity, be sure to share the results among the group members.

12. Out of Class Assignment • Complete Logbook! • Each student should complete their logbook at home to submit the following week. In addition to the class activity, address the following: • Create a table or chart to compare each glider, comment on the designs. • Which glider should have gone the farthest based on the predicted glide distance? • Which glider actually travelled the farthest? Comment on the possible reasons for this discrepancy • If you were able to do this activity again, what would you have done differently: • As part of the preparation? • As part of the overall design?

13. Possible Test Questions • For a given set of aircraft parameters, calculate the glide distance. • a. Five numeric answer choices • Which of the following are notdirectly used to calculate gliding distance? • Aircraft weight • Aircraft drag • Height above ground • Wing shape • None of the above • Which of the following is generally true? • Predicted glide distance is greater than actual glide distance • Predicted glide distance is less than actual glide distance • Predicted glide distance is equal to actual glide distance • 4. Which of the following not a use for a logbook? • Planning an experiment • Storing data from an experiment • Creating a record for experimental data collection • None of the above • All of the above

14. Summary The activity described addresses the following learning objectives: Introduce students to experiment logbook preparation and use. Introduce students to gliding flight, specifically performance calculations. Construct, test, and evaluate a model glider. While this activity was modeled after a popular aerospace activity, experimental design is an important concept for most engineering disciplines, specifically related to planning ahead, reflection on design decisions and theoretical versus actual performance measures. Questions??