Brad Stappenbelt

The Influence of Action Learning on Student Perception and Performance

Summary To more closely align engineering graduate attributes with the demands of industry and governing bodies, there needs to be more explicit educational focus on nurturing abilities related to solving complex, ill-defined engineering problems; communication; teamwork and leadership; and the capacity to undertake life-long learning. A deeper student approach to learning in a problem environment more closely resembling that encountered in engineering practise needs to be encouraged. Action learning fundamentally supports such a deep approach to learning, and is designed to operate within the context of a real and complex project. Action learning facilitates the development of autonomous learners, particularly when the set is gradually allowed to move from a hierarchical to cooperative and eventually a self-directed mode of operation. In the present action learning implementation, four action learning sets were conducted over three years. The sets consisted of students involved in undergraduate engineering research project work. The concurrent study investigated the influence of the action learning environment on student approaches to learning, and any accompanying academic, learning and personal benefits realised. The influence of preferred learning styles on set function and student adoption of the action learning process were also examined. The action learning environment implemented had a positive effect on student academic performance, their ability to cope with the stresses associated with conducting a research project, the depth of learning, the development of autonomous learners and student perception of the research project experience.

Teaching smarter to improve the English communication proficiency of international engineering students - collaborations between content and language specialists at The University of Western Australia

Summary The current controversy surrounding recently released immigration statistics on international student graduates of Australian universities and the ongoing debate on literacy standards in our schools form the context for this paper. A variety of explanations have been offered on how it can be that a large portion of international students graduating from Australian universities are being granted permanent residency in Australia with lower International English Language Testing System scores than those required for university entry and professional employment. An equally wide variety of explanations has been offered on the purported slippage of English literacy standards in schools. While the focus of this paper is on academic English literacy skills, and while it certainly turns a spotlight on international students, it is not, however, the intention in this paper to enter fully into either the first controversy or the second debate. The purpose of this paper is rather to examine disparities that seem to exist between international and Australian student performance in the professional development component of their engineering programs at the University of Western Australia (UWA). These disparities are evident in data of students enrolled in Introduction to Professional Engineering (IPE), the foundation unit for the professional development of engineering students at UWA. In contrast to the technical component of the degree, this unit depends heavily on English communication skills. Collaboration between content and language experts in 2006 and 2007 seems to hold promise of achieving more equitable outcomes for international students. This collaboration has reversed the widening gap in the pass rates of international and Australian students in the unit. It is hoped that this will, in turn, lead to improved international student retention rates in the degree.

The effectiveness of the teaching–research nexus in facilitating student learning

Abstract The modern university may arguably be characterised by a steadfast belief in the mutually beneficial relationship between the teaching and research activities of its academics. Quantitative studies however have repeatedly demonstrated negative or zero correlation between the various teaching and research measures employed at the individual academic level. Very few investigations contributing to the teaching–research nexus debate have examined the student perspective. The present study therefore looked at the influence of the teaching–research nexus in facilitating student learning. The results of a survey and follow-up discussion groups conducted as part of the present investigation appear to indicate that there is limited benefit to the student at the tangible, tacit or global level of the teaching and research relationship. There is also no support for the premise that active research involvement of an academic is a requirement for good teaching. The central conclusion of the study is in fact that the teaching and research activities of academics should be treated as unrelated entities. Although it is necessary and beneficial to retain an effective teaching–research nexus at the institutional and departmental levels, students do not appear to benefit greatly from individual teaching staff involvement in research activities. At an individual level, research and teaching activities compete for limited time and resources with little benefit of the transference between these reported as evident by students.

A finite element model for efficiency of a moored floating OWC device in regular waves

Hydrodynamic characteristics of floating OWC can be quite difficult to predict especially when a strong coupling is present between the chamber pressure and the device movements. Mooring properties, and air pressure inside the chamber can also considerably influence the motion of the device and therefore the energy output. A newly developed 3D finite element model based on the linear wave theory has been applied to a cylindrical type OWC device. The study focused principally on the effects of the mooring restoring force and pressure pneumatic damping in the chamber total volume flux and energy conversion of the device. Results show that properly chosen parameters could effectively increase the efficiency band width of such devices. Copyright

System identification of a floating oscillating water column wave energy converter

One of the objectives of studies regarding the performance of floating oscillating water column (OWC) wave energy conversion devices is the prediction of the heave motion of the chamber and the water column. This paper presents a method to evaluate the parameters involved in the dynamics of partially submerged bodies in order to predict the coupled movement of the chamber and the water column in the frequency domain. System identification was performed and a lumped parameter model of the heave motions of a floating OWC was proposed. A novel approach utilising the reverse SISO method was employed to allow frequency dependent parameters for both the floating structure and the oscillating water column to be determined from several forced vibration experiments. Experimental results under forced vibration and wave excitation agree reasonably well with the dynamic model established.© 2011 ASME

Experimental analysis of a water column and structure heave velocity relationship for a floating oscillating water column wave energy device

Abstract This paper investigates the theoretical conclusions of a numerical analysis. The results are reproduced experimentally using a two-dimensional model in a wave flume. The experimental set-up is conducted by subjecting the model to waves with frequencies ranging from 0.2 to 2 Hz. The heave velocities of the structure and water column are calculated by differentiating the displacement of each with respect to time. The experimental results confirm that the extent of the parametric relationship between the structure heave velocity and oscillating water column heave velocity is linearly related to the power output potential of the system and hence, can be used as a design tool for floating offshore wave energy converters. It has also been determined that the extent of the parametric function is maximised when the forcing frequency is between 90 and 100% of the natural frequency of the water column of the system in question. This shows that the system efficiency is maximised when the waves cause resonance of the water column compared to the ocean wave.

Vortex-Induced Vibration Marine Current Energy Harvesting

Limited research examining the optimal power take-off conditions for harnessing marine current energy using vortex-induced vibrations (VIV) has been undertaken to date. The studies that have been conducted have focused on translating cylinder VIV. This paper presents the results of an investigation of the effectiveness of energy extraction from pivoted cylinder systems undergoing vortex induced vibrations. The main goal of the present study was to observe the response of cylinders with a single roll rotational degree of freedom under a range of power take-off (PTO) damping values to determine the optimal power extraction rates achievable. At PTO damping values below optimal, there appears to be little change in the lock-in point and lower response branch amplitude response. This has important consequences for low Reynolds number PTO which is one of the primary advantages in utilising vortex-induced vibration for marine current energy harvesting.

Flow-induced vibration characteristics of pivoted cylinders with splitter-plates

Abstract Experiments have been performed to investigate the characteristics of the flow-induced vibration response of pivoted rigid circular cylinders with attached wake splitter-plates. Motion of the cylinder was constrained to the plane normal to the flow direction and the response characteristics were assessed in regard to the peak angular excursion of the cylinder and the frequency of the cylinder oscillation. Across the range of splitter-plate lengths tested 0.5 < l/D ≤ 3.0, large angular excursions of a galloping-type response were observed together with reduction in the oscillation frequency of the cylinder with increased splitter-plate length.

Reducing conservatism in free spanning pipeline vortex-induced vibration fatigue analysis

Abstract This paper is concerned with the problem encountered in submarine pipeline design and maintenance where a loss of contact with the seabed has occurred. This is commonly referred to as a free span, and is where susceptibility to vortex-induced vibration (VIV) in long unsupported sections may ultimately lead to fatigue failure of the pipeline. Free span assessment has traditionally been performed in deterministic form, where uncertainties are accounted for in partial safety factors. However, traditional assessment is believed to be overly conservative (Hagen et al, 2003) due to the generalised and wide range of design conditions accounted for in the calibration of the safety factors. Excessive conservatism overestimates the threat to pipeline integrity, and leads to unnecessary capital and operating expenditure in free span control and intervention work. Probabilistic analysis of a typical free spanning pipeline, within a Norwegian deep-water development area, is presented in this paper. The computational model employed utilised a Monte Carlo approach based on recommended practice DNV-RP-F105 (DNV, 2006) to ensure a conceptually sound analysis. The deterministic treatment of a bilinear S-N fatigue curve, which retains the conservatism inherent in representation of the experimental data, differentiates this probabilistic analysis from those undertaken previously. In addition, an alternative limit state for cross-flow VIV is proposed where the focus is on the maximum response amplitude. The study produced evidence consistent with the proposition that traditional free span assessments are overly conservative. Specifically, in comparison, the probabilistic analysis allowed the free span length to increase by approximately 5–6 m. Acceptance of the methodology presented in this paper has potential benefit regarding free span intervention and the associated significant costs that can be avoided in cases that would otherwise proceed under the traditional deterministic form of assessment.