A Capstone Acoustical Engineering Design course with industry-sponsored projects

Abstract

One of the transitions that engineering students must make as they enter the work force is the progression from theoretical concepts to applied/real world applications. At the University of Hartford, engineering design courses serve as culminating experiences devised to bridge this passage. One such course, Acoustics Capstone Design, challenges the student to apply the past three years' conceptual base of two acoustics and two vibration courses to a problem-solving opportunity replete with actual scenarios encountered in industry. Each year local firms approach our Engineering Applications Center for assistance with a variety of sound or vibration problems. After an initial training period, students make use of the laboratory's FFT/real time analyzers, anechoic/reverberation chambers, sound intensity and modal analysis software, acoustic modeling software, and vibration shaker/transducers. Using a consultant-client model, students work collaboratively in teams of two defining the problem, developing a method of approach, making appropriate measurements, devising alternate solutions, and ultimately delivering a written and oral presentation at the end of the semester. The arrangement regularly results in employment offers for the graduating seniors. The paper discusses specific projects and some experiences students have had with their first industrial assignment, as well as creative means of equipment acquisition.