(550h) Let’s Get Pumped: A Student Hand-Pump Project Intcorporated into Fluid Mechanics

The design component of chemical engineering curricula commonly entails a one or two-semester senior capstone project where students simulate a chemical plant. Although this design course enables students to think in terms of sizing equipment and industrial reactions for chemical plants, students often lack the ability to physically design and build equipment.

Here we have integrated a hand-pump design project for students in the fluid mechanics (transport phenomena I) course. Students were broken into teams of three to five and tasked with building a light-weight, cheap and effective hand pump that includes household materials. Students were encouraged to do their own research and learn how pumps operate outside of class. At the conclusion of the project, student teams demonstrated the capabilities of their pump and were tasked with giving a shark tank style pitch to convince the audience why their company should receive an investment. This project provides students with an opportunity to be innovative by building a physical product and to think from an entrepreneurial perspective.