REAL-WORLD PROJECTS REINFORCE FUNDAMENTALS

IN THE CLASSROOM

By Blake P. Tullis1 and J. Paul Tullis2

ABSTRACT: In academia, achieving a balance between teaching fundamental principles and the application of
those principles continues to be a challenge. One of the purposes of education is to teach fundamental principles
and the thought process. Graduating engineers, however, also need experience and competence in real-world
engineering problems. All engineering courses should be based on fundamental principles, but some courses
should also demonstrate how to apply engineering concepts to practical engineering problems. This paper is
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directed primarily at courses that are more applied in nature. One of the factors complicating the implementation
of applied courses is the lack of practical engineering by some faculty. If the faculty member goes from graduate
student to assistant professor without experience in the profession, it may be difficult for the faculty member to
generate meaningful classroom examples. Quality, real-world design problems can often be gleaned from re-
search projects, consulting projects, or supplied by engineering firms. Another challenge is finding appropriate
textbooks that address practical problems encountered in real-world engineering. Engineering students should
be exposed to projects that require a meaningful analysis, allowing the students to exhibit creativity in their
design and analysis without getting bogged down with too many details. The problems should be closely co-
ordinated with the course material so the student has the proper background information. This paper discusses
one such project used by the authors in teaching hydraulic design at a senior/graduate student level and some
general suggestions for developing design projects.

INTRODUCTION sign or problem-solving experiences has been recognized as a

We feel that engineering students should be exposed to one
or more real engineering experiences before graduating. For
some, this comes with part-time employment while attending
school or summer internship. Others do not have this oppor-
tunity. Students are often faced with much theory and little
practical information on the application of basic principles.
Consequently, some students feel uncomfortable approaching
their first job, wondering if they really know how to engineer
anything.
For an engineering design course to be successful, it should
include the appropriate theoretical background information
and some practical applications of the theory. One helps re-
inforce the other. Without the theory, students will likely not
be able to apply what they have learned to new situations.
Without the practical applications, they may not be able to
apply their theory to anything. It is very important that uni-
versity professors gain sufficient practical engineering expe-
rience so that they can develop meaningful, real-world appli-
cations for their courses. One of the arguments for allowing
college professors to engage in private consulting is that it
adds real-world engineering flavor to the classroom and can
be the source of needed case studies.
It should be noted that many engineering subjects are more
theoretical in nature than others and that these subjects or
courses play an important role in the overall educational ex-
perience. Many courses taught in civil engineering, however,
present information that is very applicable with respect to cur-
rent, real-world engineering practices. Giving students the op-
portunity to apply principles learned to solving a real-world
problem can significantly increase the overall value of their
education. Senior design experiences have been implemented
at many universities where the need for hands-on student de-
1
Res. Asst. Prof., Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State Uni-
versity, Logan, UT 84322-8200.
2
Emeritus Prof., Utah Water Research Laboratory, Utah State Univer-
sity, Logan, UT 84322-8200.
Note. Discussion open until May 1, 2002. To extend the closing date
one month, a written request must be filed with the ASCE Manager of
Journals. The manuscript for this paper was submitted for review and
possible publication on May 23, 2000; revised June 25, 2001. This paper
is part of the Journal of Hydraulic Engineering, Vol. 127, No. 12, De-
cember, 2001. 䉷ASCE, ISSN 0733-9429/01/0012-0992–0995/$8.00 ⫹
$.50 per page. Paper No. 22339.
992 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / DECEMBER 2001
valuable part of a student’s education. These are design-ori-
ented experiences that attempt to simulate real-world engi-
neering. In addition to this experience, the authors feel that at
least one engineering design problem should be included in
applied design courses. Selecting a meaningful and yet man-
ageable design project can be a challenge unless the professor
has practical engineering experience.
The authors have had the opportunity of teaching a senior/
graduate-level course on applied hydraulic design. The course
is a three-credit, lecture-based course, which uses ‘‘Hydraulics
of Pipelines: Pumps, Valves, Cavitation, Transients’’ as the
textbook (Tullis 1989). In the course, we expand upon the
fundamentals taught in the basic fluid mechanics courses (en-
ergy, momentum, continuity, fluid properties, flow resistance
in pipes, minor losses, discharge coefficients, etc.); introduce
some new concepts (pump and valve characteristics, cavita-
tion, hydraulic transients, and economic analysis); and provide
a design experience.
The course differs from a typical senior design course in
that the design project is not the core part of the course. The
project is implemented as a series of extended, out-of-class
homework assignments, with one part building on another.
Some in-class time is used to address project questions and
for student presentations, however, most of the in-class time
is devoted to traditional lectures by the instructor. The design
experiences are normally adapted from a consulting or a re-
search-related project. The class project is broad enough to
allow individual creativity by providing a number of challeng-
ing, nonstandard, hydraulic problems. The students are given
support during the project, but are not ‘‘herded’’ toward a com-
mon solution.
The example discussed in this paper is one such student
design project. It involves analysis of a water supply system
for the City of San Luis Obispo, California. The example dem-
onstrates the level of analysis required of the students. The
project is designed to be challenging to the students and to
allow flexibility in finding appropriate solutions.
GUIDELINES FOR DESIGNING A STUDENT PROJECT
For a student design project to achieve its objective, the
project must be applicable, interesting, and representative of
real-world applications. The success of the design project is

J. Hydraul. Eng., 2001, 127(12): 992-995

 also dependent upon the manner in which the project is inte-
grated into the course and how the project is administered.
The following is a list of suggestions to assist in developing
and administering a student design project:
1. Divide the problem into small, manageable parts, each
focusing on a specific principle. Each part should fit log-
ically into the total design project and be coordinated
with course material so that the students have the proper
background and tools for each phase of the project.
2. The primary goal of the project is to take the student
beyond the basic ‘‘canned’’ problem typically assigned
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for homework. Be sure to have some open-ended com-
ponents of the project to challenge the students and allow
creativity.
3. Have the project broad enough to represent a real-life
engineering experience, but do not allow it to consume
excessive amounts of time or create frustration. Quality,
not quantity, should be emphasized.
4. Require progress reports to keep the students on-track
and have students discuss parts of their analyses with the
class to evaluate their approach and share ideas. These
can be either formal or informal class presentations.
5. Require a comprehensive final report that includes the
key parts of the analysis/design but does not require un-
necessary details. The report should be sufficiently com-
plete so that it can serve as a useful resource or reference
for the students when they encounter related applications
in the workplace.
TYPICAL DESIGN PROJECT
The following discussion is presented to demonstrate our
approach to student design projects. The information for this
project includes a general description of the system, a discus-
sion of each component of the system, the given information
and problem statements for a typical course assignment, and
general comments. The students are not required to produce
project specifications and plans.
Hydraulic System Description
Water is supplied to the City of San Luis Obispo, California,
from a reservoir via a pipeline conveyance system originating
from a small dam. The system includes:
• A reservoir formed by a concrete arch dam.
• An overflow spillway.
• Four low-level outlet valves for maintaining minimum
stream flows and sediment flushing.
• Multiple connections to the reservoir with trash racks.
• A several mile-long pipeline with control valves, a surge
tank, numerous high points, and multiple air release
valves.
• A pump station at the reservoir for use at low reservoir
levels.
• An intermediate reservoir and second booster pump sta-
tion to lift the water over a mountain.
A schematic of the system is shown in Fig. 1.
System Components
The following discussion describes the types of problems
the students have been asked to consider in their designs. Note
that not all of the components are assigned for each course.
Reservoir Operation
The role of the service spillway, low-level outlet valves, the
multiple-level outlets, the trash racks, the transmission pipe-
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2001, 127(12): 992-995
line, the booster pumps, and the intermediate reservoir are
each discussed to give the students background information on
the purpose and operation of the reservoir. For example, the
low-level valves are required for sediment flushing, flood con-
trol, and to maintain flow in the stream. Flow in the transmis-
sion lines is to be provided at one of three specified flow rates,
regardless of the elevation of the reservoir. The three flow rates
are set by how many pumps are in operation at the interme-
diate reservoir. The pump station at the reservoir is needed
when the reservoir level is too low to provide the required
flow to the transmission line by gravity flow.
Outlet Valves
The students are required to consider the different types of
free discharge valves currently available for this type of use
and select the one most appropriate for this installation. The
flow range varies considerably, requiring multiple valves of
different sizes (two 24-in. and one 12-in. valve is a typical
selection for the design). A redundant valve (one of the 24-in.
valves) is required for reliability. The limitations and advan-
tages of each valve type are discussed, including: cavitation
potential, plugging problems, and relative cost. They are
guided in their selection towards using multiple butterfly
valves with specially designed aeration hoods to prevent cav-
itation and control the discharge jets. The reasons for selecting
the butterfly valves for this installation are discussed. The
valves need to be oversized and the maximum valve opening
limited to prevent excessive velocities through the valve and
piping and allow efficient aeration to prevent cavitation. The
outlet valves also require remote operation and flow meters
with remote reading capability.
Pipeline Control Valves
The flow in the transmission line was controlled, in the past,
with a single butterfly valve. It experienced cavitation. We
consider different options including different types of valves
and valves in a series. Problems influencing valve selection
include potential for plugging, cavitation, controllability, re-
mote operation, and cost. The students are directed to select a
hydraulically actuated globe valve in series with a remotely
operated butterfly valve. The students are required to deter-
mine the proper distribution of pressure drop between the two
valves to minimize cavitation. The hydraulically actuated
globe valve is used to maintain a constant downstream pres-
sure. The butterfly valve is used for setting the flow rate. They
have to analyze the valve operation scheme for the full range
of reservoir operation. They have to decide on valve sizes,
which valve would be located upstream, and the spacing be-
tween them.
Reservoir Pump Station
The piping for the pumps was designed so the pumps could
be bypassed when there was adequate reservoir head available.
The piping also had to allow the pumps to be operated in a
series or parallel. Students are required to develop head-dis-
charge equations from the supplied pump curves. The students
are also required to develop a schedule for pump operation
that identifies the reservoir elevation at which the pumps
would be needed to supply the required flow, the number of
pumps required, and if they should be in a series or parallel.
Operation of Pipeline
The analysis of the pipeline hydraulics goes beyond the ba-
sics of friction calculations and selection of pipe diameter. The
pipe flows full at maximum flow but flows open channel in
parts of the pipe at the two lower flow rates. This is one of
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / DECEMBER 2001 / 993
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FIG. 1. Salinas Dam Project Overview
the reasons why this particular pipeline was selected. The to-
pography of the pipeline creates a situation where the flow
downstream from the high point runs open channel at low flow
rates for some distance. This presents a situation that students
have probably not been exposed to, yet they should possess
all of the fundamental skills required for analyzing the prob-
lem. Students must analyze hydraulic grade lines for both full
pipe and the combination of full and open channel pipe flow.
They must also determine what controls the flow rate through
the system when the pipe flows partially full (i.e., the down-
stream control point is no longer the downstream reservoir
elevation). They also derive the system equations for both
types of operation. These system equations are used with the
pump equations to determine the required valve openings for
every combination of flow and reservoir elevation. We discuss
the need and function of the automatic air release valves at all
high points for both full pipe and open channel operation. The
system is analyzed for transients, and the function and need for
a surge tank located near the reservoir pump station is dis-
cussed. They are required to determine the necessary height of
the tank to prevent spilling, or determine the range of valve
openings for which a surge tank of a given height will not spill.
Intermediate Reservoir
The transmission pipeline discharges into a 1 million gallon
reservoir. A second pump station is located at this point to lift
994 / JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / DECEMBER 2001
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2001, 127(12): 992-995
the water over a small mountain. This station has three pumps
(plus one spare) and operates with one, two, or three pumps,
depending on the demand from the city. The flow from these
pumps sets the three flows for the transmission pipeline. No
design work is done for this part of the system. We do discuss
the size of the reservoir and its role in the hydraulic analysis
and operation of the pipeline.
Representative Given Information and Problem
Statements
Given Information
1. Flow rate in the system is controlled by the pumping
capacity of the booster pump station. The pipeline can
only be operated at one of the following three flow
rates:
• 13,628 m3/day (3.6 mgd) with one booster pump op-
erating.
• 23,848 m3/day (6.3 mgd) with two booster pumps op-
erating.
• 34,826 m3/day (9.2 mgd) with three booster pumps
operating.
2. The maximum reservoir elevation is 402.3 m (1,320 ft).
 3. The downstream storage reservoir elevation, at the
booster station, is 350.5 m (1,150 ft).
4. Pump curve data are provided for the two parallel
pumps located at the dam.
• 16.76 m@0 m3/s (55 ft@0 gpm)
• 15.24 m@0.095 m3/s (50 ft@1,500 gpm)
• 12.19 m@0.19 m3/s (40 ft@3,000 gpm)
5. Energy losses through the reservoir pump station can
be ignored when the pumps are not operating because
the flow can be bypassed around the pumps.
6. The pipe centerline elevation at the reservoir pump sta-
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tion and control valve is 373.7 m (1,226 ft).
7. The pump station and control valve are located approx-
imately 61 m (200 ft) downstream from the reservoir.
8. A 0.61-m (2-ft) diameter surge tank is located 6.1 m
(20 ft) downstream from the control valve with the top
at elevation 389.2 m (1,277 ft).
9. The pipe length from the pump station/control valve to
the booster pump station is 14,484 m (47,520 ft). The
pipe inside diameter is 0.61 m (2 ft), and the roughness
height of the pipe material, e, is 0.0102 cm (0.004 in).
The water temperature is 15.6⬚C (60⬚F).
10. The elevation of the pipe’s highest point = 381 m
(1,250 ft) and is located 1,371.6 m (4,500 ft) down-
stream of the pump station/control valve.
11. The pipe has numerous high points. Vacuum breaker
valves are installed at each high point.
12. The control valve is a butterfly valve with the following
discharge coefficient equation:
b and two pumps in parallel.
Cd = a ⫹
1 ⫹ e(x⫺c)/d
where a = ⫺0.0157, b = 0.889, c = 55.61, d = 14.77,
and x is the valve opening in degrees.
13. Cavitation information for the control valves is avail-
able from the textbook used in the class (Tullis 1989).
Problem Statements
Part A
1. Set up a spreadsheet to calculate the flow for each 5⬚ of
valve opening. Determine the maximum flow rate that
can be supplied to the downstream storage reservoir via
the pipeline with the upstream reservoir at maximum res-
ervoir elevation.
2. What controls the maximum allowable flow rate and
what is the valve opening required to produce it?
3. What will happen to flow in the pipe when the flow is
less than the maximum allowed?
4. At reservoir elevation = 402.3 m (1,320 ft), what is the
required head differential (⌬H) across the control valve
at the maximum allowable flow rate?
5. List the equations and assumptions and provide a brief
write-up.
Part B
1. At the maximum reservoir elevation, find the smallest
flow and required valve opening that keeps the pipe full.
What criteria determine this condition? Use the spread-
sheet program developed (part A) to help with your anal-
ysis.
2. For valve openings (and flows) below the full pipe flow,
use the correct approach to determine the system dis-
J. Hydraul. Eng., 2001, 127(12): 992-995
charge. Note that the calculation is different when the
pipe does not flow full.
3. Draw the hydraulic grade line for 13,627.5 m3/day (3.6
mgd) flow and explain what is going on in the pipe.
4. At 13,627.5 m3/day (3.6 mgd) and maximum reservoir,
what is the pressure differential (⌬P) across a single but-
terfly valve? What is the downstream pressure? Calculate
sigma (cavitation). Do you think the valve will cavitate?
(Look for valve cavitation data in Chapter 6 of the text-
book. Include scale effect considerations.) Incorporate
cavitation analysis into your spreadsheet.
5. Provide a brief write-up.
Part C
1. Find the required valve openings to provide 34,826 m3/
day (9.2 mgd) from 402.3 m (1,320 ft) to the minimum
possible using reservoir elevation increments of 3 m.
2. Find the lowest reservoir that can supply 34,826 m3/day
(9.2 mgd) with the valve fully open.
3. What is the lowest reservoir elevation at which the res-
ervoir can operate and maintain a full pipe? What is the
corresponding flow rate (i.e., control valve will be fully
open)?
4. What is the function of a surge tank and why was one
included in this system?
Part D
1. Write the system and pump equations. Determine the
pump head-discharge relation (H-Q equation) for one
2. Modify the spreadsheet program to solve for the flow
with two pumps operating in parallel.
3. Starting at reservoir elevation 387.1 m (1,270 ft), find
the approximate valve opening that will provide 34,826
m3/day (9.2 mgd) with the pumps operating.
4. What is the lowest reservoir elevation that can supply
34,826 m3/day (9.2 mgd) with two pumps operating.
CLOSING COMMENTS
The design project is spread over much of the course with
new components being added as new material is introduced.
Each part of the project is submitted and evaluated as com-
pleted and returned to the students. Students also have the
opportunity to compare their analysis with other students in
the class. We also talk about possible modifications that could
improve the design of the system. At the end of the project,
the students submit a concise, comprehensive report. With our
approach, the students are able to bring together many of the
hydraulic principles taught in the course into a comprehensive
project. The time required to complete the project replaces
time normally spent on typical homework problems. Conse-
quently, the students should not feel overburdened. They ac-
tually find the experience quite rewarding. Students frequently
comment that this design/analysis experience was one of the
most meaningful parts of their education, and that it gives
them confidence that they can actually apply their education
to real-world engineering problems. We encourage all engi-
neering curricula to include one or more such projects for the
senior/graduate engineering students in applied engineering
classes.
REFERENCE
Tullis, J. P. (1989). Hydraulics of pipelines: Pumps, valves, cavitation,
transients, Wiley, New York.
JOURNAL OF HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING / DECEMBER 2001 / 995