Integrating Design and Design of Experiment in Mechanical Engineering Courses and Laboratories

Two important educational outcomes required of any engineering program, as per ABET 2000 Criteria 3, are the ability of engineering graduates to: 1) design a component, a system or a process to meet the desired needs within realistic constraints; and 2) design and conduct experiments, as well as analyze and interpret data. To achieve these requirements, engineering design and the design of experiments need to be integral parts of several mechanical engineering courses and laboratories throughout the curriculum. This paper presents examples of engineering design experience in the thermal science area, as well as the use of the design–build–test concept in developing experiments in a heat transfer laboratory.