Course syllabus
Course-PM
TME131 TME131 Project in applied mechanics lp4 VT24 (7.5 hp)
Course is offered by the department of Mechanics and Maritime Sciences
Contact details
Examiners:
Dr. Håkan Johansson, phone: 031-7728575, email: hakan.johansson@chalmers.se
Dr. Dario Maggiolo, phone: 031-7721402, email: maggiolo@chalmers.se
Lectures:
Dr. Björn Pålsson, phone 031-7721491, email: bjorn.palsson@chalmers.se
Projects
| Sensitivity study of plate-substrate contact on plate compactors | Petri Piiroinen, petri.piiroinen@chalmers.se |
| Simulation of a Parallel Continuum Manipulator for Space Docking | Shivesh Kumar, shivesh@chalmers.se |
| Material-structure design for energy absorption | Renaud Gutkin, Renaud.gutkin@volvocars.com, Ragnar Larsson, ragnar.larsson@chalmers.se |
| Practical and theoretical performance of a Stirling engine | Kaj Petersson, kajp@chalmers.se, Jonas Sjöblom jonas.sjoblom@chalmers.se |
| Development of an AI-based Control System for Hydrofoil Craft | Arash Eslamdoost, arash.eslamdoost@chalmers.se, Ola Benderius, ola.benderius@chalmers.se, Alexey Vdovin, alexey.vdovin@chalmers.se |
Course purpose
In this course, industrial type tasks in computational mechanics are solved by project teams consisting of 4-6 students. Some of the projects also utilize experimental techniques to investigate the problem at hand. The course provides an opportunity to apply previously acquired knowledge in the area of applied mechanics and to gain experience in working with large and open problems. The learning environment is organized in such a way that emphasis is put on practicing teamwork and communication skills.
The project course addresses the following goals for a master in engineering stated by the Swedish Higher Education Authority. For a Master in Engineering the student should demonstrate:
- The ability to critically and systematically integrate knowledge and to analyze, assess and deal with complex phenomena, issues and situations even with limited information
- The ability to critically, independently and creatively identify and formulate issues and to plan and carry out advanced tasks within specified time frames, thereby
- contributing to the development of knowledge and to evaluate this work
Since the projects have a significant academic value, similar to that of B.Sc. and M.Sc. theses, it is encouraged to publish the final reports on Chalmers Open Digital Repository (ODR)
Schedule
Course design
The team formations will be posted on the course webpage (see projects group tab under "People") before the course starts and will also be presented at the introductory lecture on Tuesday March 19. The teams will gather in their project groups after the introductory lecture and meet the project supervisors.
To make the team work well it is important that clear roles and procedures are established within the group from the start. Negotiate a contract (oral or written) on how you will handle meetings, responsibilities, how you will make decisions on how to proceed (majority vote or select a team leader to manage the work). Also, it is important to communicate your ambition level between the team members. If some are very ambitious and take a greater work load, this can be reflected as part of the “contribution report” section of the final report.
Every team shall select their team contact person. The name of the contact person should be notified by the team in Canvas at the latest according to D1. This will complete the establishment of the group. The contact person may change during the project if needed. It is the responsibility of the team contact person to report to the examiners if there are any extraordinary collaboration difficulties within the group, as well as external issues that hinders the work. Also, each team contact person will act as student representative in the course evaluation (mid meeting and final meeting).
Description of the course's learning activities; how they are implemented and how they are connected. This is the student's guide to navigating the course. Do not forget to give the student advice on how to learn as much as possible based on the pedagogy you have chosen. Often, you may need to emphasize concrete things like how often they should enter the learning space on the learning platform, how different issues are shared between supervisors, etc.
Changes made since the last occasion
The project grading system have been revised
Learning objectives and syllabus
Learning objectives:
After completed course, the student should
- be able to critically, independently and creatively identify and formulate issues
- be able to master problems with open solutions spaces this includes to be able to handle uncertainties and limited information.
- be able to apply previously learned theory, simulation methods and tools to handle industrial mechanical engineering problems.
- be able to create appropriate simulations models and experiments to solve a specific simulations problem
- be able to use Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) tools to simulate product or device performances
- be familiar with verification and validation in the context of applied mechanics
- be able to plan and carry out advanced tasks within specified time frames
- show insight and ability to work in teams and collaborate in equal and inclusive manner in groups with different compositions
- be able to identify ethical aspects and discuss and judge their consequences in the workings of larger investigation in applied mechanics
- be able to give written and oral presentations of a larger technical investigation
- be able to master the projects specific goals
Link to the syllabus on Studieportalen.
If the course is a joint course (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet) you should link to both syllabus (Chalmers and Göteborgs Universitet).
Examination form
The examination is based on the following deliverables (D1-D5):
D1: Select team contact person
Every team shall select a team contact person. The name of the contact person should be notified in the in Canvas. This serves as a signal for the formal establishment of the group and that work has commenced.
D2 & D3: Planning report
The aim of the planning report is to define a clear goal of the project, structure the upcoming work and reduce the project risk. The structure of the report may be chosen freely, however, it must contain the following items:
- Project definition: goals, deliverables, boundaries (check the lecture notes of the project management lecture)
- A description of the planned simulations and, if applicable, experimental work.
- Discussion on the applicability and limitations of the methods used, and if applicable, how the project work fit in a V&V framework
- Risks and mitigations: What are the main risks in the project? How will you handle them if they come into play?
- What ethical considerations do you have for your work and implications of project results?
- Create a time budget in line with your available resources. Start this by keeping track of spent hours within the project. Try not to overspend (average will be set on 20 hours per student and week).
- Time plan (Gantt schedule)
Try to be clear and concise! Limit the planning report to maximum eight numbered pages (cover page is included in numbered pages).
A draft of the planning report should be uploaded to the course webpage (Canvas) according to D2. A few days later, each project team meets the examiners (~15 min) to discuss the draft planning report and receive feedback (schedule to be posted on course web page). After feedback, the final planning report should be uploaded to the course webpage according to D3.
D4: Submit final report
The final report is limited to 25 content pages (including Appendices and Bibliography). The structure for the report as
The final report should include the following topics (exact wording of chapter headers are up to the authors to decide):
- Background and problem statement
- Theory and methodology
- Relevant results and discussion of those
- Conclusions (check against your goal/deliverables) and future work.
- Bibliography
If the focus of your work is a simulation based assessment of a technical system, it is recommended that you comment on the assumptions made in your modelling and the accuracy and usefulness of the obtained results.
Do not neglect the value of producing a well written report with a clear structure! It is recommended that you follow the writing guidelines in the document Writing guidelines for reports, BSc theses, and MSc theses at Chalmers University of Technology (it will be posted on the course page). This document and further tips for report writing and presentation will be covered in the report writing lecture and seminar.
The final reports will be graded in the spirit of the HISS-criteria. These criteria are also used to grade BSc theses at Chalmers and will be posted on the course webpage. We will also use similar criteria to grade teamwork activities.
The report should be uploaded to the course webpage (D4).
In addition to the final technical report, the group should submit in a separate document (max 2 pages)
- A section which briefly describes who has contributed what and how the work was shared among the group members throughout the project (contribution report)
- A brief section describing your learning process. Have you benefited from the project course both technically as well as from a group dynamics point of view? How do you compare the final report with the planning report?
D5: Submit written opposition
The report of each team will be sent to opposing team(s) after D4. The opposing team should then prepare a written opposition (maximum two pages) for each report received. The opposition document should be uploaded to the course webpage, D5. The written opposition will be forwarded to the opposing group after the final presentation.
Publish report
Based on the opposition and feedback during the presentation minor revisions of the report may be done. The final project reports can be published at Chalmers library website. This publishing is encouraged (as the project reports are normally of very high standard), but optional. A signed publishing approval shall be handed in to the supervisors or examiners or directly to Carina Schmidt together with the final report to allow the electronic publishing.
Presentation and oral opposition
The presentation of the final reports and the oral opposition will take place on Thursday May 23 (13.00-17.00 - schedule to be set later). Participation is mandatory. Specific times for each team will be posted on the course webpage. Prepare 15 minutes of presentation and 10 minutes of opposition per team. Use two presenters per team. The non-presenting team members should prepare questions for the opposition based on the written opposition. All team members may respond to questions given by the opponents. Send the presentations electronically to the examiners and supervisors before the presentation.
Grading
Individual grades will be given. The grades are a weighted result based of both (a) group and (b) individual efforts, as indicated below
a) GROUP GRADE
The group efforts determine the "group grade", each aspect G1-G4 is graded 0-100 points, with the total group grade weighted with the following percentage:
G1. Quality of final report. See requirements on final report above. 50%
G2. Quality of group collaborative dynamics, teamwork skills, final presentation and opposition (both written and oral). 20%
G3. Quality of planning report (the final). 10%
G4. Overall quality of the results and of the carried project. 20%
b) INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT
The individual effort determines deviations from the "group grade" at the individual level as:
- No differences with respect to the group efforts: +/- 0 points
- Minor differences with respect to the group efforts: +/- 10 points (i.e. 1/2 grade step)
- Major difference with respect to the group efforts: +/- 20 points (i.e. 1 grade step)
- If a single student fails the individual effort, the above grade model does not apply and the student has failed the course.
The individual effort is quantified on the basis of contribution and cooperation effort as judged by supervisors, contribution report section of final report and anonymous peer-assessment within each group.
c) FINAL GRADE
The final grade is given by the group grade, measured in 0-100 points, combined with the individual assessment, measured in points.
| GROUP GRADE points, G | 0-100 | 0-100 | 0-100 | 0-100 |
| INDIVIDUAL ASSESSMENT points, I | ||||
| Sum | G+I<40 | 40 |
60 |
80 |
| FINAL GRADE | U | 3 | 4 | 5 |
Team and individual feedback
Team and individual feedback will be given during exam week. A time schedule with dedicated time for each group will be posted on the course webpage.
Course summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
|---|---|---|