One of the known definitions of engineering is the creative application of principles. Also, one of the recent trends in engineering education is a more comprehensive view of design skills, ABET, Student Outcomes 2. The design constraints have been expanded beyond the technical requirements to include public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors. Creativity and deign are two sides of one coin. In the published literature, there is a debate if creativity can be taught and grow in students or it is a personal gift for a limited number of future engineers. In this work, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is discussed as a tool that can grow the creativity kills in students. With the enhanced simulation environment of CFD tools, students can expand their design skills and grow their creativity beyond the limitations of physical modeling.In the present work, a CFD course was taught as an elective for mechanical engineering senior students. The course was also cross-listed where grad students (MS) attended with more advanced expectations/assignments. The course used a Project-Based Learning (PBL) approach to introduce the students to a commercial software while they are growing their theoretical CFD foundation. It followed the three-component model of creativity that was outlined in references [1 and 2]. The model indicates that the three main pillars of creativity training are: knowledge, creative thinking and motivation. In the course, the students complete a set of projects where the level of support and guidance are decreased gradually from one project the following one. In parallel to that, the three components of creativity training are introduced in a growing rate as the students become more and more independent.Applications included internal flow in pipes, wings, cars and heat transfer applications. In the beginning, the students are given almost-completed simulations where they focus on one skill at a time such as CAD, meshing, boundary conditions, solver, and turbulence modeling. After about 60% of the semester, the students are challenged to complete a full CFD aerodynamic of their free choice of vehicle. Time is also part of this challenge. They have to match published data for their vehicle if it exists. Beside the basic requirement, they have to work totally independent and meet the constraints. The rest of the semester focuses on the design and creative use of CFD in a variety of application.The paper will include the details of the PBL approach and the three-component creativity training supported by samples from the students’ work and assessment.&nbsp;[1] Adams, K., "The Sources of Innovation and Creativity", National Center on Education and the Economy NCEE, Sep. 2006[2] Mokhtar, W. “Mechanical Design and Students’ Creativity – “Think Outside the Box”, Journal of Mechanics Engineering and Automation, JMEA, Vol. 4, No. 3, pp: 177-186, March 2014.

Computational Fluid Dynamics and Students’ Creativity

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IMECE/IMECE2021/volume/85543

ASME 2021 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition (IMECE2021)

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