Mechanical Enginering
Mauritius Auditorium Design Case Study
This multimedia courseware focuses on an acoustical design of the polyvalent hall at the Swami Vivekananda International Convention Center on the island of Mauritius. The multi-use hall was praised as a “fabulous building and quite and achievement” after successfully hosting a United Nations conference without any acoustical problems. Later, as a band rehearsed for the building’s first rock concert, the sound quality fell severely short of expectations. A problem arose with the loud music, requiring a reconsideration of the hall’s design before it could provide satisfactory acoustics for any similar events.
The materials provided here will introduce students to the following concepts:
- Solving a design problem using global engineering standards
- Applying the mechanics of acoustical design and acoustics engineering
- Evaluating multiple alternative solutions to a design problem using a Decision Support System
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Solar Power from Rural India
The Gandhi Rural Rehabilitation Centre, a multi-purpose center in rural India that provides employment for physically and mentally challenged individuals living in surrounding villages. Daily activities include weaving, tailoring, and embroidery, among others. The center’s power grid is unstable and experiences daily power outages, which can last for hours at a time. In an attempt to remedy this, National Institute of Technology, Trichy and Auburn University partnered together to bring solar power to the GRRC to provide a more stable and environmentally-friendly source of power.
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STS-51 L Case Study
The historical details leading to Challenger accident (from 1971 to 1986) are brought alive using textual materials, photos, and videos.
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Thermal Comfort Case Study
The Patels are looking for a new home in Chennai, a large city in India. Many homes there are not equipped with air conditioning, so they want to learn about which building materials provide the highest level of thermal comfort for their money. You are a project manager with Larsen and Toubro, India’s largest construction conglomerate, and it will be your job to analyze the materials and report back to the Patels.
This case study helps students achieve the following:
- Be introduced to the concept of thermal comfort and its importance
- Have a general understanding of how thermal comfort analysis is performed at a residential site
- Be able to analyze the cost and benefits of many different materials and decide whether they should be used on specific problems
- Present their findings in a short, specific, and relevant manner and defend them against other alternatives
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Yuguiyu Motors Case Study
Yuquiyu Motors planned to phase out its popular Y08 engine by 2002 in compliance with emissions standards and to introduce a new engine, the Y11, to fill its place in the market. However, the Y11 failed emission tests in 1998, so it had to be fully redesigned and retested. The project manager of the Y11 engine faced a difficult assignment and had to determine the next course of action.
There are three specific educational objectives of using this case study in a classroom:
- First, this case study showcases how a two-stroke engine is built and the issues in bringing an engine to the market. The problem with the engine was that it failed the emission test because the engine released more than the permissible amount of HC+NOx in the atmosphere. Students are provided an opportunity to come up with solutions to this design problem.
- Second, the case provides an example of the use of the “house of quality” framework. This framework enhances the understanding of tradeoffs and synergies that exist among various technical and market requirements and help the students visualize how a firm balances multiple criteria in choosing a design option.
- Third, the case underlines the importance of better communication between engineering design, manufacturing, MIS, and other divisions of a company. It shows that in this company, there was very little linkage between the information systems used by designers and the manufacturing employees. Improved linkages could lead to more efficient systems and higher profitability for the company.
- Fourth, students get an opportunity to analyze managerial decisions that consider both engineering and business aspects associated with product development. The case provides a context to illustrate the benefits of using an Enterprise information system (for example, SAP R/3) in a company. SAP R/3 is a complex system and many students have difficulty understanding its use by a large organization. The case shows how Yuquiyu Motors (YM) used SAP R/3 during many stages of its product life cycle.
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