Low-cost heat exchanger benches for remote operation

The COVID-19 pandemic created significant challenges in operating the lab component of undergraduate courses and promoting active learning, with only a short time available to implement alternative teaching methods. In this work a low-cost platform for distance operation and assessment of replaceable bench-scale heat exchangers was developed to provide students an opportunity to observe the transient and steady-state behavior of heat exchangers while unable to access lab facilities. Each workbench had a new material cost of approximately C$5 000. Operation of physical equipment provided students the opportunity to observe non-ideal behavior and compare various heat transfer correlations which may not be seen in process simulators. The developed platform implemented an Arduino microcontroller for low-cost process control. Equipment was seamlessly slotted in to the existing course upon the return to on-campus learning and provided a more stable system when compared to previously existing lab experiments. Most learning outcomes were observed in remote and in-lab experiments and challenges faced in remote operation are highlighted. No statistically significant difference was observed in student performance between students completing lab experiments remotely and students completing experiments in-lab.