On the design of a virtual learning environment for mechanical vibrations

A Virtual Learning Environment for assisting undergraduate engineering students in understanding the concepts of mechanical vibrations by simulation experiments was recently designed at Stevens Institute of Technology. This system enables the students to explore various vibration phenomena, including free and forced vibrations, transient and steady-state response, resonance, viscous and Coulomb damping, etc. When used in conjunction with an existing set of vibration devices that can be remotely operated through the Web, this simulator provides a rich laboratory environment for students, both on and off campus. This paper will describe the design, implementation and testing of the simulation module. Special attention was placed on devising an architecture that is computer platform independent and highly scalable in order to facilitate the sharing of this resource with other educational institutions. In addition to the design and implementation, this paper will also summarize briefly the usage of this vibration simulator in a course on machine dynamics taken by juniors in mechanical engineering and highlight some results of a pilot study on the educational effectiveness conducted in that course.