2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BYOE: Hands-on and Low-Cost Fluid Mechanics Lab for Exploring Pressure Loss in Pipes

Presented at DELOS Technical Session 6 (BYOE): Circuits, Controls, and Fluid Mechanics Labs

It is well documented that hands-on experiences can aid in student learning, with educational institutions often showcasing their lab courses to demonstrate the abundance of interactive opportunities offered to their students. However, not all lab exercises are created equal, and just because it is a lab experiment does not mean that it should be categorized as ‘hands-on.’ This “Bring Your Own Experiment” (BYOE) paper explores a low-cost and interactive replacement for an aging fluid mechanics lab that explored pressure loss in pipes. The original lab only required students to click a button on a computer, initiating the automatic digital recording of thousands of differential pressure readings and limiting student involvement and engagement. In contrast, the new lab requires students to physically catch streams of water with buckets under various flow rates and piping configurations. The increase in interactivity between these experiments bolsters student engagement, and the simplicity of the replacement experiment allows students to more easily connect complex principles to real world outcomes. Altogether, the success of this simple apparatus can serve to motivate others into exploring their own low-cost yet effective lab alternatives, with the end goal of improving student learning. To showcase the merits and effectiveness of the new lab, the experiment will be set up and demonstrated at the 2026 American Society for Engineering Education conference.

Authors

Dr. Hunter Bachman University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Dr. Bachman began his teaching journey in the engineering department at Wake Forest University before transitioning to The University of North Carolina at Charlotte. He teaches undergraduate mechanical engineering courses including the Thermal Fluids Laboratory where this BYOE experiment is utilized.
Kayla Lenz University of North Carolina at Charlotte [biography]

Kayla Lenz is a Ph.D. candidate in Mechanical Engineering at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where her research focuses on nanomaterials for biomedical and health-related applications. Her broader academic background includes extensive experience in thermal fluid sciences, having served as a teaching assistant for both a Thermal Fluids Lab (TFL) and Heat Transfer course. As the lead teaching assistant for TFL, she supported the transition from the original pipe flow experiment to the redesigned hands-on system, working closely with Dr. Bachman to troubleshoot and refine the setup. She led weekly lab sessions, guiding students through experimental procedures, data analysis, and conceptual understanding of fluid mechanics principles. Her combined research and teaching experiences reflect an interest in connecting fundamental engineering concepts to real-world applications while enhancing student learning through interactive laboratory design.

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