Many engineering departments incorporate an element of practical teaching into their syllabus, which over the years has defined a global market of engineering education equipment providers.
One of TecQuipment's core competencies is the development and manufacture of laboratory apparatus for teaching fluid mechanics. In particular, one of the most interesting products developed recently focuses on open flow channels. Peter Skinner, Principal Mechanical Engineer at TecQuipment, explained: "These are used to simulate rivers and canals as well as various features found that may affect flow and current: such as weirs and sluice gates."
TecQuipment's FC300 range of Open Channel Flumes were built to provide students and academics with the opportunity for advanced research and student study on a wide range of fluid flow topics. The large open channels that range from 5 to 15 metres long, can simulate different naturally occurring and man-made conditions with some of these requiring the functionality to incline to various gradients. This calls for an 'inclination box' that measures the tilt of the flume. This contains a printed circuit board (PCB) inclinometer, displaying the angle of the flume.
Read the full article in the February issue of DPA