MECE 3360 Experimental Methods Syllabus (Summer 2015)

Month Week of
Jun.
1
8
15
22

Jul.

Aug.

29
6
13
20
27
3
10
11

Topic
Course introduction
Statistics
Uncertainty, Instrumentation
Length and volume*
Proximity Probe Calibration
Regression Analysis
Displacement, strain*
First Exam
Signal Conditioning, Pressure
Temperature *
Fluid velocity
Frequency Response-Filters
Vibrations of a beam *
Second Exam
turn in lab materials by Tuesday 5PM

Reading
Chapter 1, 12
6 (1-5)
2 (1-4), 3. 3,
7 (1-9), 12.1
4(1-4), 8.2
6.6
8.1, 8.6
3.2, 9.1
9.2
10.1, 10.2
5 (1-4), 3.2, 11.3
8.5, 11.4

Instructor: Xuemei Chen, N238, 713-743-4852, xchen46@central.uh.edu,

Office hours: Monday, Wednesday 3:00-4:00pm
TA:
Course description: Sensors, transducers, signal conditioning and analysis, data acquisition and analysis.
Measurement of length, strain, force, temperature, pressure and fluid velocity. (prerequisites: MECE 2334,
MECE 3336, MECE 1331, ECE 3336).
Course objectives: a) apply knowledge of mathematics, science and engineering to experiments, b) conduct
and document experiments, c) acquire, analyze and interpret data, d) communicate results orally and through
lab reports, e) learn to use standard software for data acquisition and analysis.
Text: Wheeler, A. J. and A. R. Ganji, Introduction to Engineering Experimentation, Prentice Hall, 3rd ed,
2009. (This text is used as a reference for all the MECE lab courses; equivalent books may be used instead.)
Supplies: lab notebook (hardbound with pages numbered preferred, at least 50 pages).
Grading: 40% exams, 25% lab reports, 20% homework problems, 15% lab notebook.
Laboratory exercises: Reports on topics marked with an asterisk (*) are to be written independently by each
student. All parts of the reports, including text, tables, calculations and plots, must be the result of individual
effort. These reports will be used to assess the students ability to acquire, analyze and interpret data, to
communicate effectively and to use software for data acquisition and analysis.
Reports are due at the
beginning of the laboratory period that follows the one in which the experiment was conducted. For each day
or part of a day that a report is late, 10 percent of the maximum score will be deducted (this includes weekends
and, no, we will not be here on the weekends). No student will be allowed to submit more than two late
reports. See the separate write-up Formats for Laboratory Reports.
Other Lab Exercises: The laboratory assignments not marked with an asterisk (*) are to be completed by the
beginning of the lab session following the one in which they were performed. The results will go in your lab
notebook. The questions will focus on specific aspects of the lab and will be graded each week. The format

for these assignments will be that of individual homework problems (present the result and discuss it to
answer the question).
Problems: The assigned problems are to be completed and turned in for grading at the beginning of the lecture
period of the next week. They are to be treated as homework problems, separate from the lab reports.
Examinations: All examinations will be open book and notes. You will be allowed to use your lab reports,
lecture notes, notebook, and text book.
Lab Notebooks: The lab notebook is your log of what you do in the laboratory. It contains all important
information about the experiment. Information is entered while you are conducting the lab exercise, thus you
must have it with you during each lab session. Each week should be a new entry with the lab title, date, and
statement of objectives. All relevant information should be recorded, such as lab conditions, equipment used,
procedures, data file names, all measurements made by hand, etc. You will use this information when writing
reports and for reference on procedures for subsequent labs. This notebook is turned in at the end of the
semester and no data manipulation is allowed outside of the lab session.

X. Chen, Summer 2015

MECE 3360
FORMATS FOR LABORATORY REPORTS
This is an outline of the recommended format for undergraduate laboratory reports
in MECE 3360 at the University of Houston, modeled on the accepted format for most
technical reports and journal articles written today. This format has been developed
keeping in mind the convenience of the reader and ease of access to the information
reported. A reader should be able to read the report with a minimum of turning back and
forth between different parts. He should be able to read the report selectively: he should
be able to find all the results in the Results section, instead of finding them scattered
through the Procedure, Results and Conclusion sections. Be concise, but do not sacrifice
completeness for conciseness. Note that your writing should be aimed at your peers, not
the instructor. Whether typeset or handwritten, reports should be neat and readable. The
main principle that should guide you: the report, in terms of writing, typography and
graphics, should convey the intended message clearly, precisely and logically.
Correct use of English in an appropriate formal style is expected but will not be
addressed here.
Title Page
The title should be concise but descriptive. Titles which are too short may not be
descriptive enough. Titles which are too long obscure the important points of the work.
For example, if a report on ``The Buckling of Slender Columns'' were titled ``Columns,''
this is certainly concise but fails to describe the scope of the work. On the other hand,
``The Buckling of Long, Slender Columns of Aluminum, Steel, Wood, Copper and Brass
under Uniform Axial Compressive Loading to Determine Critical Buckling Loads with
and without Notches'' is not only redundant, but tells the reader more than he expects
from a title. Other information on the title page: name of author (in bold), name(s) of lab
partner(s), course number, the date on which the experiment was conducted, the date the
report was due, and the actual date of submission of the report. (The teaching assistants
will verify the date of submission.)
In this course, the abstract may be placed on the title page
Abstract
The abstract is often the only part of the report that is read (or published) by a large
audience. A decision to attend an oral presentation of a technical report/paper or to order
a copy of the full report is usually based on the clarity and completeness of the abstract.
Therefore, the abstract should contain all the important points in the report but still be
concise and self-contained. The abstract usually contains no background on the problem,
but begins with a one or two sentence statement on the objective and procedure. Next
should be a concise statement of the major results. Be quantitative where possible, but
studiously avoid listing minor facts and uninteresting numerical values, and do not refer
to minor equations, tables, figures and other items that are in the main body of the report.
Summarize the main points of the discussion and conclusion. Since the abstract must
often stand alone, no reference should be made to something contained in the body of the
report (For example, do not write in the abstract: ``See Figure 4 on page 10.'').

Table of Contents
This is useful in very long reports, but is unnecessary for reports in this course.
Objectives
This section is usually less than half a dozen lines. After finishing the report, come
back to this section and ask yourself if the objectives as stated agree with the
accomplishments reported. State the objectives in your own words, and do not merely
paraphrase the sentences from the instruction sheet.
It is quite important that you understand the objectives before conducting the
experiment, therefore, it is a requirement that the objectives be written down, in the
student's words, in the laboratory notebook prior to entering the laboratory.
Introduction
There might be several subsections to the Introduction. A paragraph on the
background of the problem is helpful to most readers - Why is this experiment important?
What are some of applications of this work? What has been done by others? (this
question, though of less importance to laboratory reports in this course, is often central to
the introduction of published technical reports) A second subsection, which may be a
separate section by itself, is the theoretical development behind the problem.
In
experiments in which the theory is well known, it is only necessary to present the results
of the theory and to quote standard references; for example, you may just list the
equations that will be used.
When appropriate, a more complete development of the
theory or experimental model may be put in an appendix.
Procedures
The procedures should be stated in enough detail to allow another person with
reasonable competence to repeat the experiment. To write ``masses were added to the
cantilever beam'' is not sufficient.
Where were they added; what were the sizes,
increments and ranges of the masses; in what order were they added; how many times
was this done? Do not put anything (for example, results) in the Procedure section
besides the method. The Procedure is often skimmed by persons on a first reading,
especially if they are familiar with this type of work. In this course, however, it is
important to document the procedure exactly. Do not copy the procedure from the
instruction sheets given to you, but see to it that it is a report of what you did in the lab.
The Procedure may be arranged as narrative text or as numbered steps. Use passive voice,
but feel free to use first person in describing deviations from the procedure given to you.

Results, Graph Style

The results section contains a description of all figures and tables, along with the
figures and tables themselves and other results. First prepare the plots and tables, and
examine them very carefully before writing the text that describes them. Use the text of
the Results section to introduce each figure or table and to call the reader's attention to
important or interesting points. Do not put a figure or table in the Results section without
referring to it in the text. Figures and tables should also be physically as close as possible
to their first reference in the text, not in a separate section in the back of the report (this
minimizes the need for the reader to turn back and forth between different parts of the
report). The results of the error analysis should also be presented in this section.
Whether the results are calculated using a calculator or a computer, one samplecalculation, performed and written out longhand, must be included as an appendix. For
the same case for which you show a sample calculation, show a corresponding
calculation for the error propagation and the uncertainty estimate of the final reduced
result. Check that the corresponding entries in you tabulated results agree with those from
the longhand calculations. In these sets of calculations, you should state (i) the formula
used, in appropriate symbolic form; (ii) a listing of values of the symbols, with pointers
to sources, as needed, and showing physical units; (iii) substitution of the values into the
expression, introduction of conversion factors, if required, and (iv) the final result, with
units.
Pay attention to preparing informative and correct plots. Use symbols to represent
data, and DO NOT join them with lines or curves. Data that are intended to be contrasted
should be shown with distinct symbols. Be sure to show error bars as appropriate, and
make sure that the error bar sizes agree with your error propagation analysis. On the
other hand, analytical equations should be plotted using curves; if you do not have
sufficient analytical results to obtain a smooth curve, you may use smooth curves or
cubic spline interpolation. If more than one analytical result is to be shown, use full,
dotted, dashed, and other types of curves. If two or more sets of results are to be
compared, they must be plotted on a single combined plot, whether or not the items being
compared are experimental or analytical in origin.
Pay attention to proper use of mathematical symbols. If you do not know how to
typeset a particular symbol, insert it by hand.
Discussion
This section is sometimes combined with Results or Conclusions. Its purpose is to
discuss the results: what are the important points, what reasons are responsible for the
nature of the results (for example, in what way does the theoretical model explain the
results?), what are the implications of the results, what are the limitations of the work,
what are the sources of error and how do the results compare with available results,
experimental or theoretical? This section should not just contain an error analysis, but
show how well the experimenter understands what he has done and the implications of
the work. If your experimental results deviate considerably from known results, you
should neither ignore this fact nor explain it by vague platitudes about `human error' and
`poor condition of the lab equipment'. Almost invariably, large deviations from what is
reasonable are traceable to error in calculations, confusion about units and misuse of
equations.

The error analysis should not be done mechanically, either; it should show an
understanding of which sources of error are significant, and the error estimates should be
reasonable and justified when appropriate. An error analysis is not something that can be
correctly done by just applying a mathematical recipe.
Conclusions
This is a relatively brief section at the end of the text which states, in terms of the
objectives of the work, what has been determined. What do you know about this topic
after completing the experiment?
You should confine yourself to the topic of the experiment, and not ramble on about
how good the lab course is, etc. There should be almost no duplication between the
Abstract, the Introduction and this section.
References or Literature Cited
All work cited in the text or appendices must be referenced. No references which
are not cited should be listed. Use the following formats:
Books:
1. J. H. Lienhard, A Heat Transfer Textbook, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New
Jersey, 1981, p. 149.
Journal Papers:
2. L. C. Witte and J. H. Lienhard, ``On the Existence of two `Transition' Boiling
Curves'', {\it Int. J. of Heat and Mass Transfer}, Vol. 25, No. 6, 1982, pp. 771-779.
Others:
3. Professor XYZ, personal communication to Student PQR, dated mm/dd/yy.
4. Megamicro Technology, Inc., Product Brochure xxyy12, www.mgamc.com
/xyz/pqr.html.
Appendices
In an Appendix, include (i) sample calculation of results, and (ii) sample
uncertainty analysis. Use additional appendices for information which is peripheral to
the main objective and, therefore, is not in the main text.
Examples are detailed
development of an underlying theory, data, instrument calibration procedures and results,
and inputs to computer programs. Do not mix everything into one long, hard-to-read
appendix.