Transcript Slide 1

EXTROVERT:
To Innovate
Across Engineers
Disciplines
Extrovert:Learning
Helping
Aerospace
Develop Advanced Concepts
Narayanan Komerath, Marilyn Smith, Brian German
Georgia Institute of Technology
Erian Armanios, U. Texas, Arlington
Dolores Krausche, Florida Center for Engineering Education
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The work reported in this paper was made possible by resources being
developed for the “EXTROVERT” cross-disciplinary learning project under
NASA Grant NNX09AF67G S01. Mr. Anthony Springer is the Technical
Monitor.
Valuable technical resources on high speed aircraft aerodynamics came from
the Boeing Company, courtesy of Dr. B. Kulfan.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Project Structure
Skills
Library
DesignCentered
Introduction
McMahon
Solutions Library
Propulsion
Physics
Chemistry
Thermal
Sciences
Controls
Composites
Elasticity
Engg.
Disciplines
Strength
Materials
Space
Science
System
Design
Advanced
Concepts
Case
Studies
Library
HighSpeed
Gasdynamics
LowSpeed
Fluids
Core Subject Knowledge
MODULE-BASED ASSESSMENT
UR
Here
Social
Sciences
Public Policy
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Project Objectives:
• Build resources for problem-solving across disciplines to develop new concepts.
• Acquire experience on how engineers perform in such learning.
Approach:
Enable learners to gain confidence with the process of solving problems,
-starting with their own preferred learning styles.
Ideas being implemented include:
•Design-centered portal to aerospace engineering
•Vertical streams of technical content
•Case Studies
•Library of solved problems
•Integrative concept modules
• Module-based assessment to measure learning in time to improve it.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Paper builds on last year’s description of the issues, and presents usage experience.
Course experience
•Introduction to aerospace engineering
•Low speed aerodynamics
•Vehicle Performance
•High speed aerodynamics
•Aeroelasticity
•Graduate high speed aerodynamics
•Graduate Propulsion Design
Assessment Results
1. Formative assessment and evaluation results from courses.
2. Survey site (http://www.surveymonkey.com) linked into courses.
3. Experience of student learning styles and preferences through discussion fora
set up in course management websites.
4. Initial learning styles survey of students in different courses.
5. Formative survey modules in 3 courses. Being technical in nature, students
(should) have somewhat strong motivation to answer these.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Learning styles
What types of resources are you most likely to FIRST TRY, when you are trying to
learn a subject (for instance, as you prepare to do an assignment for an
engineering class?)
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
What types of resources are you likely to eventually use, when you are trying
to learn a subject?
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Module Survey: Introduction to Fluid Mechanics
1. Please think how you learned this section. What did you find to be helpful? Please
tick all that apply.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Module Survey: Introduction to Fluid Mechanics
Please list the top 5 concepts that you learned in this module. For example,
your 4th choice may be: "vorticity is twice the rotation vector of a packet of
fluid."
1. - The equation for a streamline
2. - dilatation is the divergence of velocity
3. - vorticity describes the rotation of flow
4. - circulation is the line integral of velocity about a curve
5. - Kutta-Joukowski Theorem
3. What concepts pose(d) difficulties for you? Please discuss, and also how
you solved the difficulty if you did.
The physical interpretation of dilatation
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
4. Explain as to a 6th grader the 4 basic types of fluid motion
Translation is the air moving, dilatation is the expanding of a fluid like air in a balloon, rotation can be
though of stirring water so the water is rotating, and shearing can be thought of as rubbing something
against jello and observing the jello shift in the direction of motion
5. Explain as to a 4th grader (or professor) two different types of fluid motion that lead to lift
generation, and how the Kutta-Joukowsky theorem allows you to calculate lift per unit span
in low-speed flow.
Rotation leads to lift because if flow turns, it produces a force perpendicular to the turning due to it
accelerating. This force can produce lift. Dilatation can also lead to lift because if the volume changes,
the density changes and this can cause a pressure difference. The pressure difference also causes a
force pointing in the direction of decreasing pressure. The Kutta-Joukowsky theorem allows the
calculation of lift by using the fact that rotating flow produces a force in a direction perpendicular to the
rotation and also the velocity. So when the circulation is crossed with the velocity, it produces a vector
perpendicular to both, lift.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
DISCUSSION
Relation of Student Educational Outcomes to ABET
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Assessment: Iterative Refinement
•Sophomore classes took by far the greater interest, introspecting well.
•Junior/senior class showed far less participation.
•1st year graduate class failed en masse to answer surveys even after repeated
demonstration that test questions would come from there (until late in the course).
•Reliance on notes, solved problems and textbooks is as expected and welcome.
•Poor attention to order-of-magnitude estimates as common-sense validation.
•Cavalier attitude of seniors/grad students towards magnitudes of numbers, forces
drastic remedial measures.
•Similar assessments were conducted in the Aeroelasticity class in Spring 2011
where most students expect to be graduating seniors.
•Responses provide guidance to refine modules.
More detailed responses in Appendix A of the paper.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
SUMMARY OF OBSERVATIONS
Use of “skill” tools
Intrinsic ability (when pushed)
Applying “theory” learned in classes
Capturing essence of logic methods
Using analysis to develop bounds
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
CONCLUSIONS
•Second-year results from formative and summative assessments focused on vertical streams.
•Learning styles show expected dependence on notes, surprisingly good use of textbooks, some dependence
on discussions with co-students, and extensive efforts with solved problems and old tests.
• Use of EXTROVERT resources reveals major learning issues:
A. Few students appear to appreciate the role of conducting order-of-magnitude estimates in order
to bolster their problem-solving approaches.
B. Problem is worse with incoming graduate students (from “top institutions” worldwide!)
C. Irresponsible to let people coast with “advanced technology” when they are clueless on the
basics.
.Work on advanced concept development, and stricter insistence on common sense in course formative
evaluations, are successful in addressing this issue
.Transferable lessons:
A. Pushing the frontiers on what the best students can achieve, need not come at the cost of
leaving anyone behind.
B. Return to rigorous fundamentals is not inconsistent with experiential learning, teamwork or appreciation
for global and societal contexts, when intelligently organized through experiences in advanced concept
development.
C. It no longer matters where the resources or learner are located if they can be reached through the
Internet.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Project Structure
Skills
Library
DesignCentered
Introduction
McMahon
Solutions Library
Propulsion
Physics
Chemistry
Thermal
Sciences
Controls
Composites
Elasticity
Engg.
Disciplines
Strength
Materials
Space
Science
System
Design
Advanced
Concepts
Case
Studies
Library
HighSpeed
Gasdynamics
LowSpeed
Fluids
Core Subject Knowledge
MODULE-BASED ASSESSMENT
UR
Here
Social
Sciences
Public Policy
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Concept essays and concept modules provide succinct junctions between knowledge streams.
CE Examples
•Antenna Design
•Fluid dynamic Drag
•Aerodynamic Lift
•Brayton Cycle Engine
• Vortex Flows
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Case Study: SR 71 Performance Prediction in AE3310 class)
Case studies and “real world” applications provide
perspective and in-depth engineering analysis
experience to motivate learners and .stimulate depth
in thinking processes.
“The wisdom (?) of crowds !!!”
Presented at the
2010 ASEE Annual Conference & Exhibition
Configuration before and after supersonic area ruling.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Drag Prediction for Supersonic Hydrogen-Fueled Airliners
Alex Forbes, Anant Patel, and Narayanan Komerath
(AIAA Applied Aerodynamics Conference, Honolulu,
Thursday June 30, last session)
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Supersonic Area-Ruling Using Autodesk Inventor
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Advanced concept explorations help learners build “common sense” estimation skills based on
the laws of science, and experience with the process of systematically reducing uncertainty and
identifying areas requiring more knowledge while refining concepts.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Cross-disciplinary Project Examples
•Liquid hydrogen supersonic transport concept development, including demographics, economics,
carbon market issues.
•Space Power Grid approach to Space Solar Power, synergizing renewable energy,
communications, lighter-than-air platforms, radar technologies, orbital mechanics, economics and
public policy.
•Micro Renewable Energy Systems courses and testbeds.
•Retail Power Beaming
•Microgravity flight tests.
•Force-field Tailoring of objects in reduced gravity.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Role Of Other EXTROVERT Resources
Companion paper in the Multidisciplinary Division [12], extending work from prior years[11,13], summarize
our efforts to use advanced concept development as a way for students to learn how to proceed in the face of
large uncertainties, and how to reduce the uncertainty through use of physical laws and “common sense”.
This also addresses the above issue of inattention to orders of magnitude. While the survey responses above
indicate minimal use of the solved problem library, anecdotal evidence from questions brought by students
during courses and responses to other questions above, show that they are indeed using these problems,
without identifying the resource with the word “library”. Use of this resource will expand as more of the
examples and tests given out by course instructors are added here, after conversion to suitable formats.
Web--based notes are as valuable as they are expected to be, and are the leading resource used by
learners. Result may be biased by the fact that most respondents are taking these courses, an issue that
remains to be studied as we get more data from alumni and other practicing professionals. Initial data from
using Case Studies in a vehicle performance course [7] showed excellent impact in getting students to
validate their work. Reference [11] shows comfortable use of CATIA and MatLab as problem solving and
innovation tools. Sophomores in low speed aerodynamics showed an inclination to use Mathematica.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Assessment
Why? Discover how students are learning and using the resources we develop,
and how to adapt the resources to improve learning. Measure effectiveness of
given resources and strategies for transferable products. Obtain peer-review for
final products.
Present course evaluation process
EXTROVERT approach
Focused on instructor popularity
Focus on learning effectiveness
Anonymous survey devalues thinking
Learners asked to participate as team members; open-ended
questions seek new thinking
Web-based surveys eliminate need for repetitive signatures
and disclaimers; reduce overhead
Adopt web-based survey creation resources accepted in assessment
community
Low participation
Integrate survey into modules throughout the course. End-of course
results derived from learner evolution through the semester
Customer Service focus weighted towards complaints.
Drives to minimum change/surprise
Encourage initiative, recognize value of dealing with innovative
thinking.
Focus on popularity discourages excellence
Reward excellence in learner value addition
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Issues
• Adapting to evolving technology, knowledge resources & project needs
• Not practical to take a new course sequence for each project.
• Breadth vs. depth
• Different learning styles become critical to motivation, especially when
learning happens outside a formal course.
• Innovations come from all quarters, but require academic depth and breadth
to understand and refine.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
http://www.adl.gatech.edu/research/extrovert/
Design Centered Introduction To Aerospace Engineering
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Designing a Flight Vehicle: Road Map
Force Balance During Flight
Earth's Atmosphere
Aerodynamics
Propulsion
Performance
Stability and control
Structures and Materials
High Speed Flight
Space Flight
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Why?
•Rapid change demands swift and confident movement across disciplines
to innovate advances
•Cross-functional teams require everyone to learn quickly and understand the
principles and methods of everyone else’s area of specialty.
•Extreme complexity and technological diversity of aerospace systems
•Breakthrough innovations come from experience in turning dreams to reality
•Perspective needed for innovations comes from far-away disciplines (breadth)
but is applied to solve intricate problems in a core discipline (depth)
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
How
• EXTROVERT builds on 12 year experience of the Aerospace Digital Library
collection of resources, expanding and refining the resources.
• Intuitive gateway to AE based on conceptual design of flight vehicle systems,
suited to learners at all levels.
• Allow any user to go up to the perspective of the general public, and down to
level of detail needed for R&D.
• Detailed sequential course notes, linked across disciplines.
• Worked Examples, Concept Development examples, Case Studies
• Continuous, modular learning assessment, focused on learning.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
http://www.adl.gatech.edu/research/extrovert/
Core Subject Knowledge
Statics
Dynamics
Thermodynamics
Fluid mechanics& Low Speed
Aerodynamics
Gas dynamics& High Speed
Aerodynamics
Propulsion & Power
Composite Materials
Aerostructures
Aeroelasticity
Controls
System Design
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
http://www.adl.gatech.edu/research/extrovert/
Skills Library Examples
•
Aerodynamics Codes
•
Atmosphere Calculator
•
Unit Converter
•
Aviation Weather Forecast
•
Periodic Table
•
Shock-Expansion Tool
•
Materials Properties
•
Wolfram Mathematica Online Solver
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
http://www.adl.gatech.edu/research/extrovert/
McMahon Solutions Library
Library of solved example problems and applications to guide learners.
Built from the core of solutions published by permission from the estate of
Georgia Tech’s Professor Emeritus Howard McMahon.
Enables learners to navigate worked examples at a wide variety of skill levels in
these core areas. Now that a basic structure is in place and is being utilized in
academic courses and PhD Qualifying Exam preparation, these resources will
be expanded to other disciplinary content across the aerospace curriculum.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Case Studies of Innovations Used as Course Study Projects
•C-5 Military Cargo Transport Aircraft
• SR-71
• ??
For students: Design-Build-Fly case study
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Serve Diverse Learning Styles* of Innovators
(*Everyone has some of each trait somewhere within!)
• “Rocket Scientist”:
Succinct core content in aerospace disciplines with uncompromising
tie-back to the laws of physics and mathematics followed by demonstrations
“Astronaut”:
Detailed worked examples including demonstrations, data, procedures.
•
“Eagle”:
Case studies with access to concept modules, demos, results
•
“Barnstormer”:
Advanced concept development examples with instant
resources across many disciplines to illustrate and define.
•
access
to
visual
“Designer”:
Advanced concept development examples with access to data and standards
illustrated via case studies and detailed worked examples.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Case Study: SR 71 Performance Prediction by Brian German’s AE3310 class)
“The wisdom (?) of crowds !!!”
Presented at the
2010 ASEE Annual Conference & Exhibition
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Assessment Prototype: High Speed Aerodynamics
http://www.surveymonkey.com
2. Free-form comment
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
CASE STUDY: COMPOSITE MISSILE WING DESIGN
COMPOSITE SANDWICH WING COMPONENTS
FINITE ELEMENT MODEL
Core
Aluminum root
Facing
Shell elements Solid elements
Displacement in Z direction
Stress in the external layer
TEST SETUP
Transverse shear in the core
Dial -gage
Clamped plate
3-D Modeling
Wing
Load cell
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
DISCUSSION
Postulate: Learning and innovating across disciplines is substantially self-driven.
Requires initiative, confidence and persistence.
Hypothesis: Enabling people to learn on their own terms will enhance and
sustain such initiative and confidence.
Basic pedagogical question: “How should learners seek and grasp the
fundamentals of new disciplines, and how to use them appropriately to solve
problems?”
Cross-disciplinary learning is considered at 3 basic levels:
• At the freshman level: Everyone is a freshman when trying to “learn the
ropes” of a new discipline. Emphasis on the “culture”, and building confidence in
making estimates using laws of Nature, common sense and benchmarking.
• Senior undergraduate / new engineer level: learn to work in multidisciplinary
project teams, synergizing and building off the work of others.
• PhD student/ faculty / senior practitioner level: Focus on depth, while
obtaining perspective and learning the essentials quickly.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Is technological change really more rapid today than, say, in 1940 or 1960?
Are today’s engineers able to deal with concept innovation better?
Aerospace engineering requires depth of understanding.
Engineering curricula are designed on the reasoning that a firm foundation in
basic disciplines gives the graduate a lifetime to gain breadth.
The intense, demanding and rigorous college experience also instills
confidence and persistence to approach tough problems.
Traditional curriculum with linear course sequences coming together in senioryear “capstone” design experiences, was appropriate for Cold War era, largecompany recruiting that emphasized corporate training after school.
Small-team requires better comprehension levels, experience and perspective
through research participation and other learning by iteration.
Depth and breadth compete for shrinking learning time.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
SUCCESSES – AND ISSUES ENCOUNTERED
Target is depth of understanding and breadth of capabilities: encounters stiff
resistance from “experienced” students who “know” what should be taught.
- freshmen complained about intense calculations and learning in 1st 6 weeks of
conceptual design assignment (short-range airliner), but then repeated those
calculations in 1 week (LH2 fuelled short-range airliner) and then did the
essential parts of the design as one of six questions on a 3-hour final.
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Seniors in AE3021 had a good deal of trouble with the small conceptual design
part preceding supersonic airplane drag calculation. Concept of developing a
“figure of merit” for a given design from the ideal, was missed by most.
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Graduate students in AE6020 (transonic and hypersonic aerodynamics) were in
deep trouble as the availability of “assumed” undergraduate knowledge and
examples made “thought” questions fair game on closed book tests; several then
did extremely well on take-home open-ended, integrative “final exam”. Some still
not “get” the idea that one was expected to deliver well-thought-out quantitative
answers, not just “suggestions”.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
CONCLUSIONS
Attempt to deal with the issues of learning across disciplines in order to turn
advanced concepts into reality.
It is founded on the core knowledge of aerospace science and engineering, but
Uses a Conceptual Design gateway to make this knowledge quickly accessible
and usable.
Intense effort to develop a library of worked examples is a key feature
in opening the knowledge base to different types of learners.
At this writing, the initial test website is up with a substantial amount of core
content, and a number of resource modules and case studies are being refined
and uploaded.
Results to-date show that we are “getting traction” and dealing with real issues.
Students are indeed doing much better than they could before - when they pay
attention to the new expectations and use the resources.
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
Assessment Prototype: High Speed Aerodynamics
http://www.surveymonkey.com
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
6 Sample Categories Of Learners
• Experienced engineers in industry, and researchers
• University Faculty
• New graduates at NASA, DoD and industry centers
• Aerospace graduate students
• Upper-division undergraduates
• Non-engineering majors in aerospace project teams
• College freshmen
• K-12 students
EXTROVERT: Learning To Innovate Across Disciplines
6. Explain how fluids are different from solids
Fluids are different from solid by the fact that they take the shape of the container they're put in. They also
have higher molecular velocities and have more freedom of movement
7. How many atoms of nitrogen are present in a cubic meter of air at 20,000 meters altitude in the International
Standard Atmosphere? Repeat for 100,000m.
2.9E24, no data of density for 100,000 m
8. Why does shear cause rotation in a flow?
Because the flow will be moving slower the closer it gets to the surface causing the shearing. When there is a
region of low velocity the region farther away with a higher velocity wants to move in towards the lower
velocity, causing the flow to rotate
Detailed sample results for the “Introduction to Aerodynamics” module are listed in Appendix A since those are
of less general interest to readers.