A CASE STUDY IN PROJECT BASED LEARNING USING FLOW VISUALISATION

Engineering Design modules, usually introduced in the first and second year’sundergraduate Mechanical Engineering courses, present a unique platform topractice the Project Based Learning (PBL). PBL is a widely accepted techniquethat can be used to achieve two major educational goals; affirming thetheoretical principles studied in other modules and developing the professionalskill essential for graduates such as team working and effective communicationskills.In this paper we describe the use of PBL to enhance the understanding ofturbulence, a classical problem in fluid mechanics. The project is carried out inthe “Mechanical Engineering Design Professional Skills” Module, whichrequires the students to construct the Prandtl recirculating water channel. Theskills and knowledge involved not only fluid mechanics, but design, materialselections and engineering mechanics, making it a truly multi-disciplinary project.