Use of Capstone Engineering Design Projects to Construct a Teaching Laboratory

This paper intends to show that projects of the senior-level Capstone Engineering Design course can be used to design and construct a cost-effective teaching laboratory. The educational benefit of this undertaking is two-fold: students design and construct experiments, with the guidance of the instructor, and subsequently other students will use these experimental setups in a laboratory of a different course. Over the years, a number of capstone groups have been tasked with creating new experiments for the laboratory of the Internal Combustion Engines course at Northeastern University. The setups are used to provide hands-on experience with engine components and operation, and facilitate the demonstration of theories presented in class. User-friendly, educational experiments allow students to observe engine induction and exhaust processes, supercharging and turbocharging, engine valve timing, fuel injection timing, and spark timing. Students measure engine performance parameters and calculate engine efficiencies (mechanical, volumetric, and thermal). Finally, they study the operation of the geartrains in the transmission and the differential gearboxes and measure torque and rotational speed outputs. The design teams identify crucial elements of a successful engineering laboratory, such as team-based learning, objective data analysis, and theoretical vs experimental results comparison. These learning goals are routinely incorporated into the final design of the new experiments and laboratory procedures. The entire laboratory follows an aesthetic theme including vibrant colors, clean lines, and hidden wiring.