Integration of Design Project and Aspen Plus Process Simulator Through 4-Year Undergraduate Chemical Engineering Curriculum

该项目的主要目标是通过i)开发一个综合的本科化学工程设计项目，在各个课程之间建立强有力的联系，以及ii)将AspenPlus模拟软件集成到整个化学工程课程-从一年级到高级课程--来加强本科工程课程。早期引入一个完整和完整的设计项目将使一年级学生接触到大的图景，帮助他们理解化学工程的本质，同时帮助他们理解为什么数学、化学和物理的基础课程是重要的。一年级学生从简单的主题开始这个项目。随着课程的推进，学生们会继续在设计的适当方面努力，不断地建立在以前课程中教授的概念上。AspenPlus过程模拟器的并行引入是对四年制本科设计项目的补充。通过早期使用这一强大的设计工具，学生将获得更多的知识和专业知识，以便在大四时能够设计和优化复杂的顶石设计项目。学生将使用AspenPlus来加强他们的综合设计工作，以及加强对他们的工程课程材料的学习和理解。这个项目的一个补充目标是鼓励和提高大学预科、新生和弱势群体对工程职业的期望。这些努力旨在扩大和加强我们以往成功的外联经验。我们的重点是为新生提供更好的学习体验。此外，还与周围的中学和部落大学进行了接触，目的是提高学生，特别是美洲原住民和妇女对工程和科学课程的认识和参与。该项目的成功实施和完成将通过期刊文章和一个活跃的万维网网站在全国范围内与其他工程和理科大学共享。

The main objective of this project is to enhance the undergraduate engineering curriculum by i) the development of an integrated undergraduate chemical engineering design project with a strong linkage between the individual courses, and ii) the integration of AspenPlus simulation software throughout the chemical engineering curriculum --- from freshman through senior level courses. The early introduction of a complete and integrated design project will expose freshman to the "big picture", aiding in their comprehension of the nature of chemical engineering while helping them to understand why the underlying foundation courses in mathematics, chemistry, and physics are important. Freshman begin the project with simple topics. As the students progress through the curriculum they continue to work on appropriate aspects of the design, continually building on the concepts taught in previous courses. Augmenting the four year undergraduate design project is the parallel introduction of the AspenPlus process simulator. With the early use of this powerful design tool, students will gain increased knowledge and expertise so that by their senior year they will be able to design and optimize complex capstone design projects. Students will use AspenPlus to enhance their integrated design efforts, as well as reinforce learning and understanding of their engineering course material. A complementary objective of this project is the encouragement and enhancement of the engineering career expectations of pre-college, freshman, and disadvantaged groups of people. These efforts are designed to extend and enhance our previous successful outreach experiences. Our focus is on enhanced learning experiences for freshman first. This is coupled with outreach to surrounding secondary schools and tribal colleges, with the goal of increasing the awareness and participation of students, especially Native Americans and women, in engineering and science programs. The successful implementation and completion of this project will be shared nationwide with other engineering and science universities, through journal articles and an active World Wide Web site.