ME 314 - Heat and Mass Transfer Laboratory

Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI ME 314 Heat and Mass Transfer Laboratory
Department of Mechanical Engineering, IUPUI

Experiments and Pre-Labs
General Lab Safety Instructions (displayed in the laboratory)
Laboratory Report Template

Lab Outcomes

Laboratory Policy

1. Philosophy: The laboratory, an integral part of ME 314, places major emphasis on gaining information to illustrate and reinforce concepts covered in the lecture. The experiments are intended to supply the students with a realistic and practical experience in heat and mass transfer. A secondary but still important objective is the development of sound attitudes and procedures in conducting and reporting experimental work. Lastly, the lab is structured to encourage students to think critically about engineering problems and develop data analysis skills.

You are encouraged to make your best effort to solve problems and find and correct any errors in your work on your own. However, should you be unable to do so, the lab instructor will be happy to assist you in working through your calculations.

2. Reports: Reports are a vital part of good engineering practice. They permit the organization, condensation, analysis, interpretation, and transmission of meaningful results.

Passing the lab requires submission of an acceptable lab report for all nine (9) experiments in a timely manner. A template for lab reports is provided on OnCourse; to streamline the grading process, use of this template is required. The lab reports will be graded primarily on the basis of the content outlined in the template; additional requirements may be assigned on a per-experiment basis by verbal notification during the lab.

In addition to the template provided for lab reporting, templates for raw data tables will be provided in the experimental lab manuals. These data tables are in the form of Excel spreadsheets embedded into a Word document. Additional data tables for calculated quantities are also provided, which initially blank, will need to be completed by the group. Once again, for the sake of streamlining the grading process, use of the provided data tables is required.

The nine (9) lab reports will be assigned in some combination of individual reports and group reports, according to the schedule provided on OnCourse. In either case, reports are due by 11:59 PM exactly 14 days following the date the experiment is performed, unless otherwise noted in the Lab Schedule. The reports must be submitted electronically through the “Assignment” feature of OnCourse specifically using the following naming convention:

Group reports: group#_exp##.doc

For example, if you belong to group 1 and are submitting the report for experiment no. 2, your group report should be named ‘group1_exp02.doc’

Reports which are not submitted by the original due date will be subject to a 10% per day - late penalty and will not be accepted one (1) week after the due date without exceptions. Regardless, you must submit reports for all nine (9) experiments in order to pass the lab.

3. Preparation and Procedures: The experiments are conducted by groups of students under the guidance of the instructor. Students are expected to come to lab on time and to prepare for the lab session by reading the laboratory manual for the experiments and completing the pre-lab assignments before entering the lab. Failure to meet these requirements will result in the deduction of points from either the Pre-Lab assignment or from the Lab Report.

Each experiment will have a pre-lab assignment, which is to be completed before coming to lab to perform the experiment. The primary goal of the pre-lab work will be to familiarize you with the equipment and procedure and to give you a better understanding of why we choose to conduct the experiment in a certain manner. Some elementary calculations may be involved, but the majority of the work will be conceptually-based.

4. Grading: In order to obtain credit for each laboratory period, a student must: (a) Work effectively as part of a team to obtain accurate data and (b) Submit an acceptable report as given by the guidelines in the Lab Report Template. These two requirements imply that each student must come to the lab meeting on time and fully prepared. Students who are tardy or who do not do their best in being efficient and careful in conducting the experiment will receive a zero, failing, or incomplete grade for that experiment. There will be no opportunity to make up work which has been missed because of an unexcused absence or tardiness. Exceptions will be made in cases where acceptable excuses are received in writing no less than one hour before the scheduled lab period. If conditions develop which cause you to miss laboratory work please contact your lab instructor as soon as possible in advance of the scheduled lab.

5. Laboratory Grades: The laboratory grade will be based on the grades received for of all the lab reports, pre-lab assignments, quizzes, and homework assignments. The assignments are distributed as follows:

· 9 full-length lab reports (100 points each)

· 9 pre-lab assignments (10 points each)

· 2 lab quizzes (150 points each)

· 2 video quizzes (25 points each)

· 1 homework assignment (50 points)

Your overall lab grade will be calculated using the following distribution:

· Lab reports 60%

· Lab quizzes 15%

· Pre-lab quizzes 15%

· Video quizzes/homework 10%

6. Satisfactory Laboratory Performance: A laboratory grade in excess of 60 % ("D") or better will be considered satisfactory performance, while a lab grade below 60 % ("F") will be considered to be unsatisfactory. Any student scoring below 60% will be required to repeat the lab; in addition, any student scoring above 60% who does not submit an acceptable lab report for each experiment will also be required to repeat the lab.