Parhum Delgoshaei Chelsea Green Vinod K. Lohani

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Virginia Tech

Abstract Assessment

Applications of Dataflow Programming in Sustainability Education

NSF Engineering Education Awardees, Jan. 31st- Feb. 2nd 2010- National Science Foundation DLR Grant 0431779 and NSF-REU Site Grant 0649070

Data from impaired stream: outdoor Lab

Ongoing Work

Applications in Environmental Monitoring LabVIEW dataflow is well suited for collection, processing and communication of

environmental data and can be used to teach sustainability concepts.A new module for EngE 1024 focusing on water quality monitoring of an impaired

on-campus stream and its applications in environmental sustainability was introduced in fall ‘09

Water quality monitoring will enable us to explore answers for questions such as: What are the natural ranges and the storm, seasonal and annual variability in

water quality parameters? What locations do parameters fall outside the natural range and to what

duration and extent? What are the pollutant loadings from controllable and uncontrollable sources

and in the watershed?

Contact: pd1352@vt.edu, seagreen@vt.edu, vlohani@vt.edu

Conclusions

Adding additional water monitoring sensors (wireless sensor network) Introducing module on analysis of solar energy conversion in EngE 1024 to complement Sustainable Energy Design Project (SEDP) that students complete in the course

LabVIEW programming language gradually integrated in a freshman engineering course, EngE 1024, Fall ’07 – Spring ’10Students develop LV programs and are provided with data acquisition codeLabVIEW Enabled Watershed Assessment System (LEWAS) developed Collected data used to raise awareness of environmental sustainabilityLEWAS was transformed from a desktop version in to a system capable of real-time monitoring using a field deployable, power efficient embedded computer System indoor function verified: real-time streaming to EngE 1024 students (Fall ‘09) and outdoor deployment to impaired stream (to be completed S’10)

Virginia Tech’s campus; site indicated by star

Future site of deployment (planned completion, May ‘09). Mounting

poles in place, solar panel, batteries and wireless to be installed

Access to real-time environmental data can enhance my awareness and curiosity about environmental issues such as the state of an impaired stream that runs through campus.

LabVIEW can be used to provide students with real-time environmental data from an impaired on-campus stream and enhance their

environmental awarenessThemes extracted from qualitative analysis of in-class survey data:• An appreciation for real world LabVIEW applications and its real-time

benefit.• An understanding of Virginia Tech's watershed and where local water

flows.

Live Demonstration in EngE 1024: Virtual Instrument front panel shows real-time data from a multi-probe sonde in an indoor laboratory

LabVIEW Web Publishing

Internet

ENGE 1024 Lecture

Real-Time Water Quality Data in Classroom

compactRio embedded computer: processing, storing, transmitting data (wireless)

Water Quality Sonde

LabVIEW program loaded on compactRio

LabVIEW Dataflow Programming

Equipment Setup for DAQ Activity

LabVIEW output of temperature probe readings

Data flow programming approach is suitable for many engineering applications

Data Acquisition (DAQ) activities demonstrate how data can be collected from physical phenomena such as temperature and processed in dataflow

In-Class activity allows students to derive Newton’s law of cooling by applying regression on collected data to arrive at equation relating temperature and time

DAQ extended to processing environmental data

Proposed system to allow students to perform remote solar tracking and measure generated solar power in real-time

Temperature, Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Specific Conductivity