Developing an Interactive Digital Reality Module for Simulating Physical Laboratories in Fluid Mechanics

ABSTRACT

Fundamental engineering units such as fluid mechanics are usually challenging for students to learn since they are practical and linked with mathematics. Traditional physical laboratories are useful for enhancing students’ learning; however, they are expensive and require large space. New technologies such as virtual reality (VR) could benefit students without limiting enrolment capacity or laboratory availability. This paper presents a case study focusing on the development of VR experience for the Fluid Mechanics unit at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University. The VR module is an extension of the physical laboratory session where students use wind tunnel facilities to understand the flow features around an object. 3D computational fluid dynamics simulation datasets for a wing are incorporated into the VR platform that uses SteamVR, Oculus and Ansys/EnSight. A survey is conducted to assess students’ opinions about the VR experience. Preliminary feedback was highly positive, as most students (>86%) indicated that the VR module was enjoyable, engaging, and interactive. 37% of students agreed that the VR session directly helps them to improve their performance in the Fluid Mechanics unit, while most students (>93%) like to see more VR sessions in Fluid Mechanics.

KEYWORDS:

• Engineering education
• fluid mechanics
• virtual reality (VR)
• immersive learning
• computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Fatemeh Salehi

Fatemeh Salehi is an Associate Professor at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University. She is an expert in computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations to develop sustainable engineering solutions. She has extensive teaching experience across a wide range of thermo-fluid subjects. She is particularly interested in the use of new technologies and high-fidelity data to enhance engineering students’ learning experiences.

Javad Mohammadpour

Javad Mohammadpour is a researcher and sessional academic at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University. His research focuses on thermal efficiency. He has been part of the teaching team for different Mechanical Engineering subjects including Fluid Mechanics, Applied Numerical Engineering and Professional Practice.

Rouzbeh Abbassi

Rouzbeh Abbassi is an Associate Professor and Director of Research at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University. He is the former Program Director of the Civil Engineering undergraduate program at Macquarie University. His primary research interests include risk and reliability analysis and engineering education.

Shaokoon Cheng

Shaokoon Cheng is an Associate Professor and the Program Director of the Mechanical Engineering undergraduate program at Macquarie University. He has extensive experience in mechanical engineering across both learning and teaching and technical research.

Sammy Diasinos

Sammy Diasinos is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University. As an academic at Macquarie University, he has taught subjects in mechanical design and fluid mechanics. He is also the academic advisor for the MQ Speed Team, aiming to break the human-powered vehicle land speed record.

Ray Eaton

Ray Eaton is Deputy Dean of Learning and Teaching and is currently Acting Head of School at the School of Engineering, Macquarie University. He is interested in engineering curriculum design, employability development and transformative skill development.