Ogden Calendar

Connecting the Dots – Linking Theory to Practice How to Apply Physics to Real-world Applications

The purpose of education is application. In this presentation, the simple laws of physics are used to estimate, without extra sensors, the clothing load in a washing machine, allowing for the minimization of the total consumed energy to run a cycle.
Two case studies will be presented which illustrate how students can create new information by running machine at different modes of operation from which the required equations can be derived. These equations can then be solved, in real-time, for the desired unknowns. It will also be shown how the first principles of physics can guide them to select design parameters in a closed loop drive system to minimize the adverse effects of both disturbance and system variations.
These case studies, which have been patented, highlight that even quantitative physics, as opposed to simulation, can provide significant insight for students that can be used in their engineering design projects, making them better system-level engineers – a skill highly sought after in industry. 

Farhad Ashrafzadeh

BS University of Science & Technology, Tehran ’87
MS University of Science & Technology, Tehran ’90
PH.D. University of Calgary ’96