SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers

© 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Chemical engineering students are trained to solve problems involving pipe flow and heat transfer at a fundamental level. However, when they confront such problems as graduates, they often do not have time to perform such calculations. Although many comm...

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Main Authors: Dry, R., Rabadia, H., Felipe, D., Ingram, Gordon, Maynard, N., Ventura-Medina, E.
Format: Journal Article
Published: Elsevier 2016
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55149
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author Dry, R.
Rabadia, H.
Felipe, D.
Ingram, Gordon
Maynard, N.
Ventura-Medina, E.
author_facet Dry, R.
Rabadia, H.
Felipe, D.
Ingram, Gordon
Maynard, N.
Ventura-Medina, E.
author_sort Dry, R.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Chemical engineering students are trained to solve problems involving pipe flow and heat transfer at a fundamental level. However, when they confront such problems as graduates, they often do not have time to perform such calculations. Although many commercial software packages exist, most (i) require licence fees and (ii) have a significant learning time. Consequently, commercial packages are generally not a realistic choice for the average plant engineer wanting to solve a quick, "once off" problem. SigmaPipe is a new simulation tool that blends video game-like 3D pipe geometry with pressure drop/heat transfer calculations. It was developed as a "community service" project specifically to fill the abovementioned gap: it is free, universal and easy to use. It is envisioned that a key factor supporting SigmaPipe's uptake in industry will be creating a bond between the software and the student during undergraduate education.Accordingly, to assess SigmaPipe's potential use in education, evaluation projects were conducted at Curtin University (WA, Australia) and Monash University (Victoria, Australia). The different methodologies and outcomes of the projects are presented here. Student feedback was generally positive and valuable ideas were generated. Importantly, the feedback has already been incorporated into the next version of SigmaPipe.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-551492017-09-13T16:11:12Z SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers Dry, R. Rabadia, H. Felipe, D. Ingram, Gordon Maynard, N. Ventura-Medina, E. © 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Chemical engineering students are trained to solve problems involving pipe flow and heat transfer at a fundamental level. However, when they confront such problems as graduates, they often do not have time to perform such calculations. Although many commercial software packages exist, most (i) require licence fees and (ii) have a significant learning time. Consequently, commercial packages are generally not a realistic choice for the average plant engineer wanting to solve a quick, "once off" problem. SigmaPipe is a new simulation tool that blends video game-like 3D pipe geometry with pressure drop/heat transfer calculations. It was developed as a "community service" project specifically to fill the abovementioned gap: it is free, universal and easy to use. It is envisioned that a key factor supporting SigmaPipe's uptake in industry will be creating a bond between the software and the student during undergraduate education.Accordingly, to assess SigmaPipe's potential use in education, evaluation projects were conducted at Curtin University (WA, Australia) and Monash University (Victoria, Australia). The different methodologies and outcomes of the projects are presented here. Student feedback was generally positive and valuable ideas were generated. Importantly, the feedback has already been incorporated into the next version of SigmaPipe. 2016 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55149 10.1016/j.ece.2015.10.002 Elsevier restricted
spellingShingle Dry, R.
Rabadia, H.
Felipe, D.
Ingram, Gordon
Maynard, N.
Ventura-Medina, E.
SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers
title SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers
title_full SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers
title_fullStr SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers
title_full_unstemmed SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers
title_short SigmaPipe as an education tool for engineers
title_sort sigmapipe as an education tool for engineers
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/55149