Bridging the Gaps: Augmenting Design Learning Through Computer-Aided Exploration

A bioengineering course is offered to senior students in the Mechanical Engineering major as an elective at Penn State Behrend in the first semester of their senior year. On average around 20 students enroll in this project-based course and 72% of their grade depends on three comprehensive group projects, one of which is to design a bone plate for a fractured femur. 6% of the grade comes from an individual application presentation, discussing different circumstances in which the concepts in mechanical engineering can be applied to solve/analyze biomedical problems. Background of physiology is introduced in the class while the majority of applicable engineering knowledge was learned in prerequisite courses, such as statics, dynamics, strength of materials, system dynamics, etc. Finite Element Analysis (FEA), an elective offered in both semesters of senior year, is not a prerequisite for this bioengineering course. Most of students enrolled in our bioengineering course either do not have FEA course or are taking FEA concurrently. Therefore in spite of its popularity in the areas related to biomechanics, thus far FEA has not been incorporated in this bioengineering course. Previously, the fractured femur project utilized the applicable theoretical analyses including those from statics, strength of materials, materials, and machine design. In Fall 2015, the instructor of bioengineering course made an effort to have an FEA study on femur and ensuing presentation be completed by a willing student. This student was taking FEA simultaneously with bioengineering, and was scheduled to present during the last week of semester. The instructor of FEA wrote an introductory manual of FEA procedures to analyze a healthy femur using a CAD model of the femur. Then the student used the manual to initiate the FEA study of the fractured femur. A major challenge to the student was the complicated loading and assembly feature of the bone plus the addition of bone plate. After a several week struggle and independent learning, while guided by the faculty members of bioengineering and FEA, the student was able to accomplish the FEA analysis and presented the results to the class. The discrepancy between FEA results and theoretical analysis was shown to be less than 5% in most results. The presentation also included FEA results for a diverse realistic loading and boundary conditions. Since all students had finished the fractured femur project, they actively participated in a meaningful discussion after the presentation. The completion of this project demonstrated the feasibility and importance of incorporating FEA in our bioengineering course. In addition, the presenting student was able to complete a working manual for the FEA analysis of the fractured femur, which can be passed to the future students of this course. A plan is to include FEA in the project as a bonus activity, and regarding the formation of project teams, the instructor would appoint a member who is enrolled in the FEA course. An assignment or project, based on the present FEA study of the femur, can also be incorporated in the FEA course offered at our campus.

NSF funded “Collaborative Research: Evaluating the Impact of Teaching Function in an Engineering Design Curriculum” in the Fall of 2015. Since then, the PIs have been investigating the relationships between the level of student knowledge of functional modeling with (1) the ability to explore the solution space during design, (2) the ability to generate quality designs, and (3) the ability to represent and understand engineered systems. The primary goal of their ongoing research is to have quantitative data that explains the actual impact functional modeling has on engineering design. The importance of the research lies in the lack of actual, physical data to demonstrate the positive correlation between functional modeling and engineering design in the educational sphere prior to their studies. Furthermore, the PIs overarching hypothesis is that formal training in functional modeling practice increases students’ overall design comprehension. Initial work done by the PIs showed that students who were only taught functional modeling through lecture were outperformed by students who were given additional help outside of lecture using a step-by-step example and rules for model generation. To further investigate the impact of different functional model teaching tools on students’ understanding, the PIs studied a control group who only learned the basic meaning of function and a treatment group who received functional modeling instruction. Student assessment was comprised of a FunSkill quiz which tested the students’ ability to identify function, describe functionality, understand functional translation of design objectives, and create a functional model. The follow-on study showed that the treatment group successfully outperformed the control group in differentiating different design’s function, enumerating functions, and generating higher quality functional models. Further studies uncovered that students appear to be able to retain their ability to generate adequate functional models even after seven weeks of not practicing functional modeling generation. In a continuation of the exploration of quantifying functional modeling’s impact on the design process, it was found that students who learned about functional modeling and functional enumeration appeared to be better at identifying low-level functions that are critical for systems thinking compared to the students who were taught only functional enumeration. Stemming from the initial function-based investigations, the PIs have become interested in students’ abilities to generate mental models. Most recently, the team developed a tool to assess mental models and examine the impact of functional modeling on that mental model. Initial studies have asked students to break down a product into its components. They were then taught functionality and were asked to repeat the first task. Initial results show that students appeared to be unable to distinguish functional similarities of two products that were unfamiliar to them. However, the same students were able to distinguish functional similarities of products they were familiar with prior to the study.

Nowadays, there are various tools that support the initial stages of design available to use for engineers, the traditional Computer-Aided Design (CAD) has been implemented in the engineering components design and replaced manual drafting. However, with the advances and the rapid technology development, new trends emerged to cope with this evolution, namely, Generative Design, Topology Optimization, and Generative Engineering Design. The method is based on numerical algorithms that generate a variety of design and modelling options based on the criteria and constraints set by the designer to allow further design exploration. Proposed in this paper is an implementation of the generative design of a mechanical pedal with further finite element analysis.

Recent research into the effects of background (national and cultural) on design thinking and practice has shown that background does indeed affect the way an individual approaches a design problem. Given the role of design within engineering and national diversity of students within many engineering courses, an understanding of how this happens can be used to inform engineering design curricular. To inform how engineering design curricula can be modified to benefit a greater diversity of students. Prior art on engineering design expertise, theory on the effects of background upon psychology (specifically comparing Sino and occidental groups) and theory on engineering design education will be reviewed. The outcomes of these reviews will then be used to draw conclusion on likely problems and potential solutions. Cultural attitudes toward the nature of knowledge can affect the way a student thinks a problem should be solved, which can lead them away from developing proper engineering design expertise. Further, national background can affect what one thinks is important, and how a problem is framed, which can prevent a student from taking on engineering problems objectively to find optimum solutions. Because background does affect the way one approaches a design problem it is important to note that all students will have something in their background that might help or hamper their ability to tackle design problems and develop their engineering design expertise. Helping students understand and confront this will help them to improve their engineering design ability and make the most of other educational tools used to develop design skills.

This study was carried out to analyze the design pattern on engineering design curriculum of P University based on the curriculum design model. For this study, the relation model between organizational factors by Drake & Burns(2004) and university curriculum design pattern by Toohey(1999) were used as a frame of the analysis. From the analysis, we confirmed following results. Firstly, the relation between the subjects in the engineering design curriculum was designed to acquire the knowledges of facts, topics, and concepts and then to improve low-level skills, broad-range skills, and high-level skills related to engineering design sequently. Secondly, the design pattern of the engineering design curriculum analyzed in this paper is a

In Memoriam: Dr. Clive L. Dym (1942–2016)

A recent trend in engineering education related to the expected design competencies of graduating engineers is a shift from prescribing what the design requirements of a program should include toward examining the corresponding learning outcomes. One of the approaches used in implementing this trend is the adoption of outcome-based assessment criteria in the engineering design curriculum. Graduates should be able to apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering by designing systems, components and processes in learning environments that include both traditional and modern approaches, such as project-based learning, and should be able to apply their engineering design knowledge in open-ended real-life projects. The paper describes an approach to develop engineering design competencies using open-ended projects by providing detailed expected outcomes of the designed product and providing limited design specifications. Students are expected to go through all the steps of the engineering design process from defining the specifications of the designed product that addresses the expected outcomes to testing the final product. The purpose of the study is to find the engineering design competencies that are enhanced through international design collaboration.

A finite element analysis (FEA) model is established to investigate the concrete-encased concrete-filled steel tubular (CFST) column to reinforced concrete (RC) beam joints under cyclic loading. The feasibility of the FEA model is verified by a set of test results, consisting of the failure modes, the exposed view of connections, the crack distributions and development, and the hysteretic relationships. The full-range analysis is conducted to investigate the stress and strain development process in the composite joint by using this FEA model. The internal force distributions of different components, as well as the deformation distributions, are analyzed under different failure modes. The proposed connections are investigated under dimensional and material parameters, and the proper constructional details of the connections are recommended. Parameters of the beam-column joints, including material strength, confinement factor, reinforcement ratio, diameter of steel tube to sectional width ratio, beam to column linear bending stiffness ratio and beam shear span ratio are evaluated. Furthermore, the key parameters affecting the failure modes and the corresponding parameters ranges are proposed in this paper.

Since 2005, with the endowment of the NSERC-GMCL Chair in Innovative Design Engineering at UOIT, and the Laptop-based, web-centric teaching approach, an ideal setting for the creation, prompt adoption, and implementation of advanced and innovative practices in teaching design engineering have been implemented, in addition to the use of traditional methods. A pilot program was recently completed to evaluate the use of Tablets in an engineering course. Tablets are currently used by faculty for teaching purposes at UOIT, but the program aims to integrate the use of Tablets within courses in the engineering design curriculum, namely for using CAD/CAM/CAE software. As CAD software capabilities improve, greater memory and computer speed is required, making the currently used conventional Laptops less useful for engineering design. In addition, Laptops do not lend themselves to graphical, free-form idea generation. It is intended that Tablets, with improved memory and processing speed, will facilitate CAD software usage, and hence, improve and enhance the overall design learning and application experience. Also, students can take advantage of software such as Microsoft OneNote to create preliminary sketches of designs and improve record-keeping of decisions during team meetings. In this pilot program, Tablet computers were issued to students and instruction personnel in a fourth-year Advanced Mechatronics course at UOIT. In this context, students were able to more efficiently carry out design assignments for term design projects, and students and instructors were able to evaluate the benefits of using Tablets. Overall, it was determined that Tablets were better as an engineering design tool compared to traditional Laptops.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have shed light on the potential uses and applications of AI tools in engineering design. However, the aspiration of a fully automated engineering design process still seems out of reach of AI’s current capabilities, and therefore, the need for human expertise and cognitive skills persists. Nonetheless, a collaborative design process that emphasizes and uses the strengths of both AI and human engineers is an appealing direction for AI in design. Touncover the current applications of AI, the authors review literature pertaining to AI applications in design research and engineering practice. This highlights the importance of integrating AI education into engineering design curricula in post-secondary institutions. Next, a pilot studyassessment of undergraduate mechanical engineering course descriptions at the University of Waterloo and University of Toronto reveals that only one out of a total of 153 courses provides both AI and design-related knowledge together in a course. This result identifies possible gaps in Canadian engineering curricula and potential deficiencies in the skills of graduating Canadianengineers.

Objective To explore the establishment of 3D thoracic model by finite element methods, and study the mechanical mechanism of minimally invasive surgery for correcting the chest wall deformity, and provide personalized surgery solution in the future. Methods According to admission and exclusion criteria, we selected 10 cases of pectus carinatum that received chest CT scan. The finite element model of pectus carinatum was established and analyzed by Mimics, ABAQUS, etc. The validity of finite element method for chest wall was verified by comparing the sternal displacement between the simulated values and actual values with the same force. Results The 3D finite element model of pectus carinatum was successfully established and analyzed. The stress distribution of the 10 cases in the posterior ribs was mainly in the 1-6 ribs on both sides, mostly concentrated in the 4th to 6th ribs, and the stress was symmetrical on both sides. Statistical analysis showed that the displacement value of the sternum was correlated, and the validity of the model was verified. Conclusion Mimics, ABAQUS and other finite element modeling and analysis software can effectively establish the thoracic 3D finite element model and mechanical analysis, which can help the further development of personalized minimally invasive surgery for correcting chest wall deformities. Key words: Pectus carinatum; Chest wall deformity; Finite element analysis

<strong>Background:</strong> One of the most popular methods for studying the cognitive processes of design and problem-solving activity is Protocol Analysis (PA). As such, PA has been widely used in engineering design education research. <strong>Purpose:</strong> The aim of this work is to describe how PA has been used in engineering design education contexts, understanding the range of research questions that can be addressed by the method as well as providing some commentary on the strengths, limitations, and future directions of the method. <strong>Scope/Method:</strong> We conduct a systematic review of the literature following the PRISMA method. A search combining key terms – protocol analysis, design, engineering, student – and their variants in the Scopus database resulted in 126 articles, which were further reduced to 45 through two rounds of abstract and full-text screening. The main inclusion criteria was that the work use PA as the method to investigate design activities in an engineering educational setting. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> The use of PA has significantly contributed to understanding the cognition of students engaged in design activities and to improving engineering design education. Technological advances enable new efficiencies in protocol collection and analysis, offering promising new directions in the use of PA in more authentic learning environments.

The second edition of Applied Mechanics of Solids provides a concise description of all the concepts needed to predict how solid materials deform and fail under stress. With its companion volume of solved example problems, it is an invaluable class textbook or reference for personal study or review. With the aid of computer simulations, design engineers can predict stresses, deformation, and failure in structural, mechanical, and bio-mechanical components with a few keystrokes. But simulations are built on sophisticated mathematics, physics, and numerical methods, and always involve some judicious approximations. Engineers need a thorough grasp of these concepts to know how to set up their simulations correctly and to interpret their predictions.&nbsp;&nbsp; This book contains all the theory they need to make the best use of their simulations. Beginning with a description of the physical and mathematical laws that govern deformation in solids, the text presents models of material behavior; solutions to important boundary value problems using classical methods of analysis; a detailed description of the finite element method; fracture mechanics and failure analysis; as well as structural theories of rods, plates and shells.&nbsp; All chapters in this new edition contain additional material, but the most substantial changes are to Chapter 8: “Finite Element Analysis: Theory and Implementation,” which now covers topics such as locking-resistant finite elements for simulations of solids subjected to large deformations; structural elements (trusses, beams, and plates); as well as methods for enforcing constraints in finite element simulations, cohesive zone models of interface fracture, and contact elements.&nbsp; In addition, a new companion volume provides over 400 example problems with their solutions. The text is supplemented by example finite element codes posted on GitHub, which demonstrate all the finite element algorithms described in the text.

Due to price competition, low-cost design plays an important role in the power amplifier (PA) market. The cost of new single board design saves about 50% of direct material cost. Other advantages include decreasing direct labor cost, increasing maximum power output, increasing PA efficiency, and decreasing piece part count. For quality and reliability of solder joints, liquid-to-liquid thermal shock test would be considered during the design cycle. It was postulated that the failure is related to the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatch between different materials, in the PCB, heat spreader, lead, cast heat sink, and device. The high power RF devices used in power amplifiers for base station applications have pushed the requirements of advanced materials and processes to provide new low-cost packaging solutions. A methodology is presented for design option evaluation and failure possibility prediction for solder joints on single board power amplifier. This method integrates the finite element analysis models and experimental data. The finite element model identifies the displacement at the solder joint locations. Several sets of experimental tests have been conducted and analyzed to evaluate the design improvements. Good correlation has been achieved between finite element analysis (FEA) predictions and experimental tests on design options.

The present study aimed to identify the optimal design of the unicompartmental femoral component through parameter analysis and stability evaluation. A finite element (FE) analysis was applied to analyse and adjust the parameter combinations of the anterior tilt angle of the posterior condyle resection surface, the position of the peg, the length of the pegand the inclination angle of the peg, resulting in 10 different FE models. Setting three knee flexion angles of 8.4° (maximum load state during walking), 40° (maximum load state during stair climbing)and 90° (maximum load state during squatting exercise), quantitatively analysing the micromotion values of the bone-prosthesis interfaceand defining a weighted scoring formula to evaluate the stability of different FE models. The validity of the FE analysis was verified using the Digital Image Correlation (DIC) device. The errors between the FE analysis and the DIC test at three flexion angles were 5.6%, 1.7%and 11.1%. The 10 different femoral component design models were measured separately. The FE analysis demonstrated that the design with a 0° anterior tilt angle of the posterior condyle resection surface, both pegs placed on the distal resection surface, lengthened 5 mm pegsand a 10° peg inclination angle provided the best stability. The current study proposed a method for evaluating the stability of the femoral component design. The optimal intersurface stability design of the unicompartmental femoral component was achieved with two pegs placed on the distal resection surface, a 5-mm peg length incrementand a 10° peg inclination. These results might provide a reference for the selection of unicompartmental femoral components in clinical practice and therefore improve the survival rate of future unicompartmental knee arthroplasty. Level III.