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Introductory Fluid Mechanics taught using a carburetor

Article · January 2017

DOI: 10.24908/pceea.v0i0.6541

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4 authors, including:

Andrew Trivett Cecile Devaud

University of Prince Edward Island University of Waterloo
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 Introductory Fluid Mechanics taught using a carburetor
Andrew Trivett, Andrew Milne, Cecile Devaud, Tyler Gallant

The typical fluid mechanics introduction in mechanical engineering covers basic fluid statics, forces on
submerged bodies, control volumes, continuity, conservation of momentum, conservation of energy,
Reynolds' transport theorem, internal and external flows. Students often struggle with the basic concepts
and how they might apply to a real system.

In the winter of 2015, a new set of open-ended labs were created for mechanical engineering students.
Teams of 3 or 4 students in a third-year class of 110 were each given a small engine, and removed the
carburetors. The series of labs had them discover some of the principles within the small carburetor from
a single-cylinder 4-stroke gasoline engine. Students were asked to explore and explain how the
carburetor worked, and then progressed through a set of hands-on labs culminating with a design
modification and performance measurement of a real carburetor. At each stage, the students applied
principles of fluid statics, control volumes, internal flow losses, and external flow drag to the physical
device.

The paper will describe the specific activities, and track the evolution of refinements to the experience
through three implementations of the same course by three different instructors. Student feedback and
measured evidence of learning will be reported to help justify the evolution of the activity. The
scalability of the activity will be discussed.

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