Summer SAVY, Session 6 Day 3, Intro to Engineering (Shuman & Green) (3rd – 4th)
Yesterday, students learned about the difficulties of containing water in a dam and controlling its release. They reflected on the importance of precision in engineering. We built on this concept this morning as we started covering Mechanical Engineering and some of its sub-types. Mechanical engineering involves anything that is supposed to move, like engines, robots, rockets, airplanes, cars, HVAC, manufacturing, industrial equipment, weapons, and more. The subtypes we covered included: automotive, manufacturing, aerospace, controls and robotics, and energy. Unfortunately, Mechanical Engineering is the broadest main type of engineering, so we were only able to scratch the surface of potential career paths for our students.
After learning more about how planes fly, students experimented with how certain shapes fall through the air when dropped, incorporating basic Aerospace Engineering design principles. Students asked questions about the safety features of cars which are designed and built by Automotive Engineers. Students also learned about Controls, Robotics, and Mechatronics by watching videos of the Boston Dynamics robot dog. We discovered how solar and wind energy is produced, and that there are immense challenges in making solar energy economically viable and in the design and material choice of wind turbine gearboxes. As a class, we went through the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and the issues with the Boeing 737 Max 8 that resulted in two crashes in 2018/9 and the loss of a part of the fuselage earlier this year.
As we discussed the various subtypes of mechanical engineering, students learned a little bit about each type. Automotive engineering involves designing, manufacturing, and operating motorcycles, automobiles, and trucks as well as safety engineering, which focuses on crash tests and safety devices (seat belts, airbags). Manufacturing engineering answers the question: How do we turn raw material into a product in the most effective, efficient, and economical way possible? Aerospace engineering involves the design and development of aircraft and spacecraft and includes aerodynamics, propulsion, avionics, materials science, and manufacturing. Controls and robotics involve using automation in manufacturing to improve build time, and quality, and decrease the cost of production, and it combines mechanics, electronics, and programming. Energy engineering involves how to create, store, and deliver energy, save energy, increase energy efficiency, and use more renewable energy sources more effectively.
On our tour today, we saw electricity being generated with natural gas turbines, and we saw that the exhaust from the turbines can be harnessed to create steam to save energy. Students were excited to see the control center for the entire facility. We were able to see the inside of one of the natural gas turbine chambers. The tour was definitely a highlight of the week for us.
Dinner Table Questions:
- What makes Toyota the best-selling car brand worldwide? Hint: Industrial Engineering
- What are some issues that led to the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster?
- What are some issues that led to the multiple failures of Boeing 737 Max 8 aircraft?
- How does your home’s HVAC system work? What is the name of that cycle, and which direction does heat flow?
- How is electricity generated using natural gas?
- What was the most interesting part of the tour?