Welcome to my ePortfolio! Here you will find information pertaining to myself, Jacob Schwartz, and coursework for the collegiate level Fluid Mechanics course.
Final ePortfolio Reflective Letter
In MET330, I have learned a lot about fluid mechanics and everything that goes into it like open channel flow, Bernoulli’s equation, to selecting pumps and much more! I even had to teach elementary school students the basics of engineering and create a project for the students related to fluid mechanics. Throughout the semester I not only had to learn about these topics but show that I understand them. I would say from my work throughout the semester I have met the objectives provided in the syllabus. We had started off by going over the basics of fluid mechanics, including Bernoulli’s equation, which is the basically the heart of fluid mechanics. If you understand Bernoulli’s, then you will understand fluid mechanics. We used this throughout the semester dealing with pressure in pipes, to the friction loss in different types of systems. Then using what we had learned, we moved to topics such as buoyancy, and specific industrial problems like cavitation and water hammer. With cavitation and water hammer, understanding these allowed us to understand if a system we develop will truly work, or if design changes need to be made to resist water hammer and cavitation. Then using this knowledge, we could then in the end design our own pump system for a specified problem, in which we would make sure that cavitation was not possible in the system, and specify the specific pump we are to use for it.
My learning is demonstrated in this class in the homework, tests, and project I had to complete in this class. By reviewing my work, you will see all the hard work I have put into this class, and in some cases how I may still be able to improve. I feel however I was the most successful in the areas of understanding Bernoulli’s and how to go about selecting a pump for a designed system. Over the semester I was able to improve my work with Bernoulli’s, as we had to use it with almost everything. I do see how this course will intersect with my field or career as the planning of a system could come into play very soon. I will be starting my internship with Comfort Systems of Virginia, I which I will primarily work with piping systems and HVAC. I have not been able to apply what I have learned to my work yet, but very soon I will be having flashbacks to learning all this information in class and being able to put it to use. I may use this information learned in the class in the field this summer on the site, while measuring the pressure in a pipe to ensure the system is running the way it is designed. I can already see it playing out in my head right as I type this up. I think what I have learned is extremely important for my career, as I can use this knowledge to understand what I am working on and how to possibly fix any issues. I can see myself using this information for the rest of my life, and I know that whenever I see a pump and system, my mind will go directly to this class. If I had to take this class again, I would remind myself to take my time and not stress. Just absorb the information and stay interested in what is being taught. It really is not that hard, but what makes it hard is stressing out over it.
After taking this class, I have improved as an engineer by being able to understand fluid mechanics, but also developing the skills to talk and work with those who are not engineers, about engineering. The project our group had to complete brought about these improvements by forcing me to work with education major students and be able to explain engineering to elementary school students. I feel my biggest accomplishment in this class was understanding Bernoulli’s and how it relates to fluid mechanics. I think without understanding it, then you can not do much in the class. It is the heart of everything and was used in every test in some respect. With that said, I believe I mastered Bernoulli’s equation, and this can be seen in my assignments such as homework and tests. I think my weaknesses in this course are overthinking the problems at hand, thinking they are all supposed to e long and complex in answers. However, this is not always the case, as proven in test two. The second question of test two was simple and short. However, I had overthought this question for quite some time until I realized what I was doing and eventually understood what had to be done. I thought this class was going to be the hardest I had ever taken so far in college and would keep me busy forever. However, after completing it, I understand that it really is not that bad, and is fairly simple to understand as long as you put forth the effort to pay attention and understand what is being taught. While it was very tough at times, I started to grasp the concepts and put forth my best work.