MEEG346 Thermal Laboratory

Spring 2010

INSTRUCTOR
Ajay K. Prasad
302 Spencer Lab
Office Hours: Open door policy

TA's

John Hamnett (office hours Mondays 2-3 pm in SPL 206)

Qingfeng Huang (office hours Thursdays 3-4 pm in SPL 131)

Rajesh Singh (office hours Tuesdays 2-3 in SPL 131)

Objectives

To illustrate the physical concepts of Thermodynamics (MEEG341) and Heat Transfer (MEEG342) developed in class.
To introduce experimental techniques for thermal sciences.
To demonstrate the limitations and applicability of theory.
To encourage creativity in the use of experimental apparatus and data-acquisition.
To promote the concept of design by creating a new experiment to demonstrate a chosen principle in thermodynamics and/or heat transfer.
To foster self-reliance required for open-ended experiments and reduce dependence on a cookbook approach.
To develop the ability for teamwork.
To develop effective communication of technical information.
To develop computer skills for acquiring data, data reduction, error analysis, and plotting.

Experiments

A total of five experiments will be performed (once every other week) during the semester by students working in teams of 5. Each group will acquire a common set of data for a particular experiment, and each group will submit a single report. In addition, each team will design a sixth, new experiment to demonstrate any principle of your choosing in thermodynamics and/or heat transfer.

Students must study the lab handout thoroughly before arriving at the lab session. The TA's job is not to do the experiment for you. Instead, the TA will familiarize you with the equipment and software. You will need to decide for yourself, how best to collect the data to answer the questions posed in the handout. Of course, some hints will be provided to get you on your way. The TA will use his judgment to determine at what point a group is ready to proceed on its own.

Experiments will be performed in 123 or 021 Spencer Lab.

List of experiments: (in chronological sequence)

The Ideal Air-Conditioning Cycle, Compressor and Throttling Valve in a Window Air Conditioner:
Lab Instruction Sheet; A.C. Manual; R-22 P-h diagram
Forced Convection Heat Transfer from a Fin
Two-dimensional Heat Conduction using Thermochromic Liquid Crystals
Natural-gas powered engine
Heat Exchanger
Design experiment

Lab Report

Each group will turn in a single report for each experiment. Reports must be typed. Reports should be concise but complete. Use your own words; verbatim copying of the handout should be avoided. Do not pad the length of a report unnecessarily.

The report should contain the following sections:

Title page

Title of experiment
Group ID; names of other group members
Date experiment was performed
Date report was submitted

Objectives (will be provided by instructor)
Theoretical background

What principle is this experiment designed to illustrate?
Describe the theory and any relevant equations/derivations.

Equipment

Describe all components used during the experiment.
Include a neat schematic diagram with all parts labeled and dimensioned (as required). Copying sections of a report, or sharing sketches with other groups is not permitted.
Provide a definition of all symbols used.

Procedure
For each objective in a given experiment:

Initial setup
Procedure
Parameters varied

Results

Raw data should be arranged in tabular form. Some data may be tabulated in the Appendix.
A completely worked-out sample calculation is required for repetitive calculations.
Use MS Excel (or any other spreadsheet program) for tabulation and plotting graphs.

Error analysis

Perform an analysis to show how all the individual errors in your measurement contribute to the total error in the final quantity. (See error analysis handout for an example.)
Suggest ways to reduce error in the final result.

Discussion and conclusions

What did you learn from this experiment?
What discrepancies did you notice between theory and experiment?
What would you do to improve it?

Appendices
Include copies of all notes taken during the experiment: (1) Name of data recorder, (2) group members present, (3) date, (4) all data recorded, including brief comments to help you later during data reduction and analysis. Do not use erasers during note taking (just draw a line through your mistake and proceed).

Design Experiment

Each team will design one experiment to demonstrate any principle in thermodynamics and/or heat transfer of your choice. You may draw upon the knowledge gained from your courses in thermodynamics and heat transfer for possibilities. Rather than leaving this for the very end, teams will submit a title with a one-page abstract on Friday, April 16, followed by a full and complete laboratory hand-out by the last day of class, Tuesday, May 18. The finished product should resemble the handouts that you receive before every lab. It should contain the title, objective, theoretical background, figures, equipment, procedure, points for discussion, and error analysis. Each team will be graded for an original idea that stimulates learning of key concepts of thermodynamics and heat transfer, attention to experimental detail, and completeness and readability of the laboratory handout. It is possible that a particularly interesting and clever design will be built as an actual experiment in future years, and your lab handout should be immediately usable by students who are to perform the experiment that you designed.

Ethical Behavior

Please read and understand the Office of Judicial Affairs Quick Reference Guide to Academic Integrity.

In particular, please pay close attention to PROACTIVE STRATEGIES FOR STUDENTS and ABOUT THE INTERNET. These documents will help you to overcome any misunderstandings of what constitutes unethical behavior. The proper and ethical use of external resources such as the internet is also clearly defined.

Pre-Lab Strategy

Before arriving at the lab session, students must study the lab handout and completely understand the phenomena they will investigate and the procedure to do so. Such preparation will make for a smoother and more fruitful lab experience.

Student teams should get together well before a lab session and plan their data acquisition procedure. A key outcome of the pre-lab preparation is an experimental data-sheet listing all the quantities that will be measured (and how many times) for each specific experimental objective. The row and column headings will prove that adequate thought has gone into planning the experimental procedure. Please obtain the TA's signature on this data-sheet as soon as you arrive at the lab. The TA will conduct a quiz before the experiment to determine your level of preparedness.

Grading of Reports

Fulfilling basic requirements listed above (neatness and professionalism is key) will fetch you an automatic 6 points on a scale of 10. The remaining points will be awarded on the basis of merit including the organization of thoughts, illuminating discussion, excellence of error analysis, and any additional effort.

Lab reports are due no later than two weeks after performing the experiment. An exception will be the last experiment which will be due one week later. Late reports will be penalized, 0.5 points for every late day. Lab attendance is absolutely necessary. 5 points are automatically deducted from each lab report if you miss a lab session.

A Peer Evaluation Form will be used to allow students to rank their own contribution, and that of their fellow team members, to the overall lab effort and the resulting lab report. Each individual's ranking is averaged, assigned a numerical value, and used as a multiplier on the team grade, to extract an individual grade. This mechanism will be used to differentiate and appropriately reward individual efforts. (You may be interested to know that companies often use such peer evaluations to calculate annual raises.)

Grading concerns should be addressed to the TA's.