Teaching computer-aided design of fluid flow and heat transfer engineering equipment

Abstract A teaching programme for fluid mechanics and heat transfer is described which contains a computer-aided learning (CAL) component and a computer-aided design (CAD) component. The first centres on a final-year lecture course on the fundamentals of the subject and is heavily supported by computer-based tutorial exercises, while the second consists of a CAD course and separate project work in which the students apply the knowledge acquired in the ‘fundamentals’ course to selected design probems. It is argued that the understanding of the physical and numerical modelling taught in the CAL course is essential to the proper implementation of CAD.