Date of Award

Fall 2008

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering

Program/Concentration

Mechanical Engineering

Committee Director

Sushil K.Chatutvedi

Committee Member

Ramamurthy Prabhakaran

Committee Member

Tarek Abdel-Salam

Call Number for Print

Special Collections ; LD4331.E56 D517 2008

Abstract

This work presents a methodology for mapping physical experiments into real-time, web-based virtual experiments. The four broad elements included in the physical-to-virtual experiment transformation methodology are: (a) computer solution of conservation equations of mass and momentum to generate velocity and pressure (virtual) data that serve as the foundation for recreating the physical phenomenon in the virtual domain; (b) use of virtual pressure and velocity sensing devices to generate signals or readings from computed virtual data that can be observed and read on a computer screen; (c) use of visualization software such as Macromedia FLASH to create a highly interactive environment that closely mimics student interaction with a physical experiment; (d) creation of an interface that allows a learner to interact in real-time with the CFD code via the visualization software Macromedia FLASH.

The CFD code FLUENT has been used in the present study to create the real-time database for flow properties such as pressure and velocity. These numerically generated data are used for the operation of the experiment in the virtual domain. The connection between CFD code, Macromedia FLASH visualization software and the user is accomplished through a number of software codes developed in the programming language C. These programs facilitate transfer of input data from the user to the CFD code and output data from the CFD code to FLASH visualization interface that creates a highly dynamic and interactive environment for the virtual experiment.

In the present work two physical experiments from the thermo-fluids laboratory (ME 305) have been transformed into virtual experiments. The first virtual experiment (www.mern.odu.edu/dra .html) is designed to introduce students to pressure and velocity measurement techniques and use of the momentum integral method to calculate drag force and drag coefficient for two geometries, namely cylinder and flat plate. In order to determine lift and lift coefficient of airfoil, the module has been designed to measure pressure on its surface in the virtual domain. The objective of the second virtual experiment is to determine pressure recovery along the flow direction in the diffuser. (www.mern.odu.edu/diffuser.html).

A real-time interactive interface, use of graphics and animation in the virtual environment make these modules ideal for enhancing instructional methods in fluid mechanics courses and laboratories. For instance, these modules can be used as web-based pre-lab sessions to prepare students for physical experiments. The real-time, virtual experiment developed in this study represents an improvement over previous works that have used pre-calculated virtual data files to power virtual experiments.

Rights

In Copyright. URI: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

DOI

10.25777/7z0h-2s53

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