SESSION NUMBER 1793: EMERGING TRENDS IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION COMMONLY AVAILABLE TECHNOLOGY APPLIED TO THE ANALYSIS OF HYDRAULIC SYSTEMS

摘要

As an applied science, there exists a natural tension between the study of fundamental scientific theory and instruction in analysis and design methodologies within undergraduate engineering curricula. Most engineering courses are structured to emphasize the relevant physical, chemical and biological processes that are then reinforced by learning specific problem solving skills applied to systems of engineering interest. In the area of water resources engineering, analysis commonly results in non-linear differential or algebraic equations or systems of equations. Consequently, the level of application complexity and realism introduced to undergraduates is often limited by the students' computational capability. Instructors must diligently balance the need to emphasize the engineering system physics versus instruction in numerical methods used to solve resulting mathematical equations. Student comprehension of basic concepts that govern complex engineering systems is often impeded by cumbersome computational procedures.