Curtin Engineering, Curtin University if Technology

GROUP MINI-PROJECT
Fluid Mechanics 230
nd
(for 2 -year Chemical, Civil and Mechanical Engineers)

1. PURPOSE

The purpose of this exercise is to

• Generate an awareness of the ubiquity of Fluid Mechanics in the ‘real world’;

• Permit students to explore an area of Fluid Mechanics that lies within their
engineering (or general) interests;

• Apply fundamental knowledge learned in the Fluid Mechanics unit to

engineering challenges;

• Promote, and practise, skills in collecting, sifting, understanding and

summarising information and recording of its sources;

• Develop written and diagrammatic presentational skills; and

• Develop team-working skills.

2. THE EXERCISE

Working as a group with five members, you are required to address one of the topics
in the attached document, entitled ‘Group Mini-Project Topics’. The ultimate outcome
of the group’s efforts will be a report (details of which are given below) that address
the question(s) raised in the topic description.

Informed by the ‘purpose’ section above, the assignment involves,

first, the collection of existing knowledge from books, journals, internet sites,
company product information (technical) and any other appropriate source.
Second, the information so gathered (and you will find a lot of it!) will need to be
reduced to its most important elements, in doing so establishing a hierarchy of
information on the topic.
The third part is to relate your university study of Fluid Mechanics to the ‘real world’
Fluid Mechanics that you find.
The final part of the exercise requires the preparation of a cogent report that integrates
the information gathered and its synthesis.

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All of the above activities should be conducted as a group sharing effort and
individual skills/expertise. Good teamwork will be reflected by the final report.

This is not a research exercise because you are not expected to generate new
knowledge; nor are you expected to engage in detailed technical analysis/calculations.
However, if it is appropriate, you can carry out ‘orders of magnitude’ calculations
based on modelling and the fundamental principles you have learned in the unit. For
the most part, however, this is an exercise in the qualitative aspects of Engineering.

3. THE REPORT

The group will submit a single report of maximum length 10 pages

The report must include the following:

Topic Title

Summary: A maximum of half a page that describes the most important outcomes of
the investigation

Main Body of Report: This contains your description of the knowledge sourced in a
logical form so that the reader can easily assimilate the results of the investigation.
Start section numbering of headings from here.

Conclusion: (also section-numbered following from above) Provide a set of brief

conclusions that encapsulate the findings of your investigation.

References: (unnumbered section) List all the sources of information that contributed
to your report. The list should be either numbered or listed in a form that can be
referenced in the main text. Where possible, cite these references in the main body of
the report. Information about the source/reference should be sufficient for the reader
to be able to access the source independently (e.g. to obtain further, or more detailed
information).

In addition to the above that constitutes the 10-page report, you must also attach the
two completed project-record sheets, appended here, that detail the progress of the
project and the contributions made by each member of the group. (Again, only one
submission per group.)

4. ASSESSMENT

This assignment is worth 10% of the unit mark.

The assignment will be marked using the weightings given in the table of the
assignment submission sheet. Only a single mark for the report will be awarded.

Individuals in the group will be awarded a mark that is proportional to their agreed
contribution (see project-record sheet) to the group’s effort. (For example, the group

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mark is 60%. There are 5 members in the group – the standard level of contribution
would therefore be 20%. It is agreed by the group that Member A did 30% of the
work whilst Member B did 15%. This means that Member A would score
60x(30/20)=90%. Member B would score 60x(15/20)=45%. Note that any calculated
individual mark over 100% will be entered as full marks.) It is therefore essential
that, as a group, you agree, and sign off, the individual contribution section. (If
the group fails to reach an agreement, then the marker will assess the contributions on
the basis of the project-record sheets.)

5. SUBMISSION

You should submit, in one folder, the following:

• Assignment Mark Sheet

• The two pages of completed Project-Report Sheets

• The 10-page report

• Deadline: Friday 20th May 2010 (End of Tuition Week 11)

Attachments to this document:

Project Report Sheet 1

Project Report Sheet 2

Assignment Mark Sheet (attach to your report)

Group Mini-Projects Topic Titles and Descriptions

A.D.Lucey: February 2011