“Computer Application in Major Field” is a subject that studies the ways of using applications for the simulation and analysis of scientific and technological calculations in the field of materials engineering and hydrodynamical processes in hydrometallurgy.
In the past, teachers had some problems with stimulating students’ thinking for developing their creativity and raising their program application abilities.
Therefore, Kim Chol Nam, a researcher at the Faculty of Metal Engineering, has introduced problem-based learning (PBL) whereby students could seek discussion points and solutions to them on their own, in order to enhance their application abilities of simulating and analyzing hydrodynamic problems arising in process operations.
First, while he was explaining the principle of the process by using a virtual reality system, he led them to discovering problems and finding solutions from FLUENT library. It was helpful for students to have a full understanding of the hydrodynamic principles of hydrometallurgy.
After they studied the hydrodynamic quantities for turbulent kinetic energy in FLUENT library, he taught them the method of determining the agitation characteristics so that they could have a technical and hydrodynamic notion of hydrometallurgy. In a word, he emphasized that the agitating condition was an important factor in the chemical reactions made in a leacher with air agitation and the quantity was turbulent kinetic energy and that it could be calculated simply in FLUENT. As a result, they became more enthusiastic in their study with confidence that they could solve any hydrodynamic problems by utilizing applications.
Second, he designed his teaching plan in a way that students could be familiar with how to simulate and analyze the process through an understanding of the process, a determination of its factors, an analysis and a determination of reasonable parameters, and raise their application ability, all by introducing PBL.
It is the basic purpose of PBL to raise the ability of application and self-study by making the discovery of questions and solving them a process of inquiry and cooperation.
With a good understanding of the chemical reaction process in the leacher with air agitation through the virtual reality system, the students raised by themselves several questions like improving the agitating condition, an important factor that affects reaction rates, that is, the relative position between the circulating pipe and the air inlet and the ratio of the diameter of the inlet and the circulating pipe to the diameter of the leacher body. While finding ways to solve them, they were able to raise their ability of application and self-study.
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