Development of Virtual Equipment: Case Study of the Venturi Tube Experiment

Hydraulic experiment courses in engineering education usually require students to follow a “standard procedure.” Students are expected to learn the underlying theories through manipulating the equipment, observing the phenomena of fluid mechanics, and analyzing the data recorded in the laboratory. However, the procedures are usually complicated and require large amounts of preparation to ensure the success of the experiment. In this research, current paper-based preparations are improved by providing virtual equipment that can provide instant and realistic feedback, with the ability to deliver these over the Internet. This research selected the Venturi tube experiment as a case study. Five steps were defined in the development process: (1) defining the experiment procedure, (2) building a three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality model, (3) adding procedure controllers, (4) adding physics rules to the virtual world, and (5) adding 3D manipulation functions. The virtual experiment of Venturi tube was implemented and evaluated in a real class, with the involvement of 48 undergraduate students in National Taiwan University. The students were separated randomly into two groups, one using paper-based preparation and the other using the virtual equipment for experiment preparation. The results showed that the students who prepared using the virtual equipment performed significantly better in both speed and skill application in the real experiment. Their attitudes toward learning were also significantly more positive than that of the other group.