Fluid Mechanics cover a broad range of physical phenomena, from how systems interact with the air around them to how they respond to various fluids, both stagnant and dynamic, which can alter their properties considerably depending on how they are utilized.  I look forward to learning how to analyze these interactions, and apply those skills to my own designs in the future.

This site will display that learning process through the homework and tests I complete, along with reflections on those assignments detailing my process and learning experience.

Course Reflection Letter

Course Objectives

              Over this brief summer semester, there was a lot of information to absorb regarding the broad and intensive subject of fluid mechanics.  By the end of the course, I felt confident in my ability to not only understand the concepts required to evaluate fluid systems, but also to design them from the ground up.  Through the various homework and lab assignments, my understanding of the physical properties of fluid like viscosity and pressure, the buoyancy of objects placed in a fluid matrix, and the intricacies of how fluid reacts to pipeline systems has grown tremendously. 

              The focus of the last five modules has been around how to evaluate and design pipeline systems.  The final exam for this course required combining all that knowledge and skill together to successfully complete a large industrial pipeline system to transfer machining coolant across a compound.  Without the previous experience gained during the rest of the semester, the final exam would have been a nearly impossible task to successfully complete.

Learning Demonstrations

              The final exam was a fantastic example of how much I have learned throughout this course.  During this test, many of the skills I was required to learn in the class were used.  Understanding how Bernoulli’s equation was used was critical to determining the physical properties of the pipeline I designed and allowed me to select the correct pipes and components for this project.  Understanding the properties of friction and energy loss was integral to using Bernoulli’s equation correctly.  Being able to evaluate how the fluid used for this project was going to interact with the environment (namely temperature and viscosity) was also an important factor in this design.  The final exam was a great test of the abilities I gained this semester.

              Going into the industry, these skills will be important for understanding how most industrial facilities function even if my work is not directly related to fluid mechanics.  All industrial facilities have dozens of pipeline systems that are crucial to their overall function, whether they are hydraulic, pneumatic, or fluid transfer systems, they are important pieces of infrastructure that every design made in that facility will need to take into account.

              Skills learned in this class have already benefitted my work in my other classes.  The fluid mechanics lab required knowledge of fluid manometers and buoyancy, as well as pipeline friction.  Without the concepts I learned in MET 330 those lab write ups would have suffered and been incredibly difficult.

              If I were starting this class again, the main piece of advice I would give myself would be to ask for more clarification about questions I had in the tests.  My lowest grade for the class occurred on Exam 2 because I failed to understand what one of the two questions was asking for.  Due to this misunderstanding, I approached the question incorrectly and failed to apply the concepts I had learned in the previous unit effectively.  If I had been more forward about asking for help, I would have been able to avoid those mistakes and improve my grade on that test.

Future Applications and Course Reflections

              My largest improvement as an engineer due to this course is attention to detail.  Using the energy loss equations in this class requires a lot of organization and careful manipulation of Bernoulli’s equation.  Reviewing homework assignments 5 and 6, the careful attention to detail when adding minor losses into Bernoulli’s equation was necessary to reach a satisfactory result.  These assignments also introduced the use of iteration when solving some fluid mechanics problems, another detail-oriented process which was made easier with programs like Excel, but would not work if any aspect of the equation was entered incorrectly.

              My biggest accomplishment from this course was the work I did for the final exam.  I was happy with how my design turned out and felt that I was able to evaluate all my choices intelligently and communicate the work effectively.  Prior to taking this class, doing that level of design would have been very daunting.  Now, I feel have the tools to build fluid systems and the ability to find tools which can help me design more complicated systems in the future with confidence.

              I have mastered the ability to understand how to use Bernoulli’s equation.  Though it is a very flexible tool with many uses, this course did an excellent job of demonstrating how to utilize it as a tool for many different applications.  Exam 2 may have been my lowest grade in the course, but it taught me the most about how to use Bernoulli’s correctly.  Misplacing my reference points on problem 2 of that exam created a much more difficult problem than it should have been.  After seeing the test solutions for this problem, I was blown away by how much difference the correct application of Bernoulli’s equation can make to the analysis of a fluid mechanics problem.

              My strength in this course was organization.  Throughout my college career, I have worked hard to maintain organized work-flow, and it benefitted me in this class as more and more aspects of fluid systems were added to the homework and test questions.  Due to a focus on organization, I was able to manage those assignments despite having many different aspects, and felt my work was easy to follow because of it.  All of my tests were typed neatly and organized in a way that will allow me to use them for references in later classes should I need to revisit these concepts.  While doing the final, I did use my previously archived work to make sure that the analysis I was doing of the pipeline I designed was following procedures that we had followed in previous assignments.  If I had not been so careful and focused on organization, I would have struggled with some of the longer equations and concepts necessary for this course.  Taking this class has helped me increase my attention to detail and reinvigorated my drive to stay as organized as possible.

              My weakness in this course was not asking for help and clarification.  Time and again, I would push through without reaching out to my professor, making assumptions about what was needed for test questions and would misunderstand what was being asked for.  If I had been more willing to ask those questions, I could have improved some of my grades. Reading through my test reflections, that was a suggestion I made to myself on every one of them. 

              Going into this course, I was intimidated by the idea of fluid mechanics.  When I began engineering school nearly 10 years ago, statics was a very difficult class for me.  When I started school again a year ago, I was concerned about classes with similar focus with fluid mechanics being one of the more difficult classes on that list.  If statics was hard, then fluid mechanics, with constantly fluctuating parameters, strange friction laws, viscosity and pressure must be incredibly difficult!  After taking this course, I feel that I understand fluid mechanics well enough that I am no longer intimidated by it.  Though my fear of complicated systems was borne out by this course, I now have the tools to approach those systems intelligently, and have ways to calculate and understand them analytically.