(78f) Using Virtual Reality to Gain Deeper Insights into Transport Phenomena in Process Engineering

Students usually encounter transport phenomena in university teaching in the form of dimensionless numbers, e.g. to be read from diagrams. However, in process engineering apparatuses and reactors they are very complex, three-dimensional and under certain conditions transient. Furthermore, they depend strongly on the underlying design. With the help of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the occurring flow and associated transport phenomena can be modeled and simulated in great detail. In the master course "CFD for Process Engineering" at Clausthal University of Technology, students apply this modeling approach to investigate a current and practical problem from process engineering and to carry out their own digital design studies.

We set the aim is to apply, test and, if necessary, further develop new teaching and examination formats for this course. The focus here is on the integration of virtual reality (VR), see Fig. 1, into research-based learning. This technique enables students to achieve a previously unattained depth of immersion in their group work phase. Trained VR tutors also support the students with video tutorials, presentation techniques and individual supervision. In this contribution, we share recent experiences applying VR in this master course and discuss pros and cons of this new approach to active learning.

Fig. 1: Application of virtual reality in the master course CFD for Process Engineering