Design of mobile hdpe water tanks - A practical design exercise for senior students in mechanical engineering

Engineering design is becoming an integral part of any engineering program seeking international recognition and accreditation. Design practices are becoming a necessary experience to senior students nowadays in all engineering programs. The final year design project offered at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman gives senior students the chance to integrate their knowledge accumulated through already taken courses in the Mechanical Engineering Department to design particular products, experiments, and/or mechanical systems. In addition to gaining hands on experience of the design process, students were able to develop their communication skills and team work spirit. Throughout the whole year, students knowledge and expertise are enhanced through direct contact with their project advisor (s), project related memos, oral presentations, memos, posters, and written progress and final reports. The present paper describes the design process followed by a group of three senior students starting from understanding the problem and developing conceptual designs to the end product. CAD tools such as AutoCAD and ABAQUS were used to complete the design, build a prototype, and test it.