Integration of the Design-Build-Test Concept into Undergraduate Engineering Education

ABSTRACT: One important educational outcome required of any engineering programme, as per ABET 2000 Criterion 3, is the ability of engineering graduates to design and conduct experiments, as well as the ability to analyse and interpret data and to design a system, component or process to meet desired needs. One of the tools used to achieve such an educational outcome is the Design-Build-Test approach. This article presents the use of this approach in developing an experiment for a junior-level heat transfer laboratory. In this exercise, student teams design, build and test an experimental setup in which a solar collector is used to heat water in a reservoir. This kind of experience serves to enhance the understanding of the transfer of thermal energy by undergraduate mechanical engineering students, while also facilitating their exposure to several important concepts involved in heat transfer