A remotely accessed flow rig student laboratory

The movement of a fluid represents a fundamental phenomenon with many practical applications in a variety of engineering disciplines. The losses incurred in pipes, ducts and fittings and the characteristics of the corresponding fluid flow patterns are core subjects of undergraduate engineering courses in fluid mechanics. These courses are typically accompanied by laboratory components that aim to help the students in visualizing and understanding the complex theoretical concepts. Conducting hands-on experiments in undergraduate laboratory courses with large student enrollment imposes significant strains on the fiscal, spatial and personnel resources of the educational institutions. Therefore, virtual and remote laboratories are rapidly being adopted in engineering education across the globe as a compelling tool for enhancing the laboratory experience of students residing on campus as well as beyond the local campus. This paper will discuss some recent developments that were accomplished as part of a multi-disciplinary research project on online laboratories at Stevens Institute of Technology with funding from the National Science Foundation. Here, a remote laboratory setup is presented, which was developed by retrofitting a commercially available air flow rig with remote control and remote monitoring capabilities. The resulting system enables the students to access the experimental apparatus via the Internet in real time from anywhere at anytime and to conduct several laboratory exercises, including the calibration of a flow meter based on an orifice plate that is inserted into the air stream, the exploration of the flow development in a straight pipe and the determination of the free-flow velocity profile after the outlet. This remote experiment setup and/or a previously developed interactive virtual flow rig simulation module can be used in the laboratory part of the fluid mechanics course to complement hands-on experiments where the students are present in the actual laboratory facility.