A Novel Method of Teaching Dimensional Analysis and Similitude

Dimensional Analysis and Similitude are two of the most important concepts that any Engineering student can master.However, in many Engineering programs, Dimensional Analysis and Similitude are not taught in the first year of the program, but instead are taught in the second or third year of many Engineering students' curriculum, if at all.Fluid Mechanics is usually the first course in which Mechanical Engineering students encounter the concepts of Dimensional Analysis and Similitude, learning the importance of the Reynolds Number to Flow Theory.But, many other Engineering disciplines only give their students a rudimentary understanding of Dimensional Analysis and Similitude prior to graduation.A novel method of teaching the fundamental skills involved in Dimensional Analysis and Similitude is described in this paper.This teaching methodology incorporates the fact that most Engineering students have a basic understanding of the SI System of Units.In fact, many students readily feel that they have a good understanding of the SI System of Units when they initially begin their college educations.However, it readily becomes apparent that even though they can apply the equations that they have learned in their lectures toward problem solution, that they have little understanding of the inherent interaction of the units within those equations.Many engineering students could not use dimensional analysis to determine the correct equation on a test, if they had forgotten the proper order of the variables in the equation.Having Engineering students properly learning dimensional analysis and similitude in the first year of their college education can help them to better understand the independent variables in the equations they use throughout their college education and their professional career.