Exploring practicing engineers’ understanding of fluid mechanics concepts

Although it is widely recognized that conceptual understanding is vital to effective engineering education and practice,both practicing engineers as well as students demonstrate misconceptions related to basic engineering concepts. And whilea growing body of research has demonstrated the differences in the role and function of concepts across school and work,less is understood about the ways engineers in practice describe the concepts they use. The purpose of this research is toexplore the way practicing engineers articulate their understanding of fundamental concepts in fluid dynamics. Using twoindependent samples, we administered the Fluid Mechanics Concept Inventory (FMCI) to one group of practicing civilengineers and used FMCI to conduct clinical interviews with the other. Our analysis focuses specifically on understandingof pressurized pipeline problems. We performed descriptive statistical analyses alongside the application of ana prioricodebook informed by prior research with students. Misconceptions revealed through incorrect responses to FMCI areelaborated on by the qualitative clinical interviews. Findings suggest that, much like students, practicing civil engineers stillharbor misconceptions concerning fundamental fluid mechanics concepts related to pressurized pipe flow problems.Engineers in this study relied on overly simplified relationships and inappropriately applied principles in ways that echofindings from similar research with students. Given the persistence of such misconceptions, it seems important to considerthe meaning of these concepts both at work and in preparing students for work.