Discovery

Last modified: 12/18/2008 05:15 PM

Welcome!

Are you a teacher interested in Thermoptim ? Are you discovering this portal ? Then, you will find numerous resources related to thermodynamics applied to energy powered systems.

For over ten years, we have developed a very original and extremely simplified learning method. This new method is based on a new and radical conception of this science. This new method is also based on two innovative educational techniques. The first educational technology is specific to the considered science: it is our Thermoptim simulator. The second is more generic: it is our distance training modules, which are provided with soundtracks (called Diapason modules).

The Thermoptim simulator has a great capability to very simply model the energy powered systems. Besides, the DIAPASON modules give you access, at any moment you want, to the teacher's vocal explanations relative to questions about theory or technology, or even about the practical use of Thermoptim.

This method is a great success before students. This explains why it is used in more than one hundred educational institutes.

We recommend you should begin to read the portal basic functionalities presentation. Then you should discover Thermoptim and the Diapason modules, the pedagogy we recommend, and finally the available resources and our private web pages strictly dedicated to teachers :

Thermoptim presentation
Diapason modules presentation
Pedagogy in Thermodynamics using Thermoptim
Available resources
Web pages dedicated to teachers

Thermoptim presentation

Thermoptim is a software which allows students to learn thermodynamics without trouble: in parallel to or even before the presentation of the theorical bases, they can make very practical exercises on real machines applications, such as the study of a refrigerator or an electricity plant... As the students’ knowledge is limited, this training must be as easy as possible. To motivate them, the results obtained must be realistic.

Thanks to its thermodynamic function libraries, Thermoptim allows one to graphically model simple or complex energy technologies without writing a single equation, and to get very accurate results which can be visually displayed in different ways. It is in particular possible to get rid of the very limitative hypothesis of the perfect gas, and to use real fluid models.

If you wish to get accustomed with this software tool, please be informed that we have gathered in a single Diapason module a set of Thermoptim presentation sessions joined to some introductory exercises about this software application.

If you prefer to work with a written document , similar exercices are available in Thermoptim documentation. Written in English, they are called getting started guides:

Moreover, please note that Thermoptim is available in seven languages. This may be useful whether you have students who wish to work in a different language than the french one.

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Presentation of the DIAPASON modules

The Diapason modules are educational animated slide shows, each provided with a soundtrack. This is Information and Communication Technology (ICT) applied to education. Using this ICT application, you may realize presentation for theories, or methodologies or technologies.

Their specificity is the association of one soundtrack to the displayed window. Thus, students may get audio explanations relative to the study context ; these explanations may be about theory, or technology or even the practical use of the Thermoptim simulator. An online presentation of these modules is available.

These modules are structured in steps and sessions as well as in courses and programs. From this, results the large possibilities in the conception of rich educational environments. Hyperlinks may give you access to various documents such as spreadsheet documents or files in pdf format.

Based on double xml structure, the DIAPASON modules use as visual display a freeware Flash execution application supported by almost all the recent Web navigators, which makes it possible to synchronise varied multi-media resources (images, sound tracks, pdf documents, swf animations, spreadsheets, hyperlinks, Thermoptim...).

The principal interest of the Diapason modules is their excellent teaching effectiveness:

When using these modules, the students are more active than in course room, in the sense that they regulate themselves their rhythm of listening, but especially they choose themselves the moments when they study, and are thus available when they do it; they learn better, more especially as they have any leisure to retrogress or to supplement information which is presented to them while resorting to the written documents.
The sound tracks having an average duration of less than one minute, their attention can be constant when they study a step, and they pass to the following only after a rest period.
The students can work at their rhythm, alone or in groups, and they have access constantly at the oral explanations given by the teacher: in case of doubt or if they missed, they can refer to it without any difficulty.

To facilitate the conception of these modules, we have written a xml file builder. Written in JAVA, this xml file builder has a user-friendly interface. It is free for downloading.

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About pedagogy in learning thermodynamics with Thermoptim

Teaching thermodynamics in a classical way relies on a very axiomatic presentation. This results in assumptions usually caricatured. On the contrary, we prioritize a qualitative approach of the phenomena. The necessary calculations required by the numerical studies are done using the software tools in a very transparent manner for the learners i.e. without their being aware in a first time of every detail of the calculations.

In the beginning of the training, the use of equations is reduced to a minimum. Thus, the cognitive effort is mainly related to the understanding of concepts and technologies as well as their practical use. It is our opinion that the description of phenomena based on equations is possible and pertinent only when the student possesses enough mastering of this particular knowledge.

This method has been used to various degrees in a hundred of high educational establishments. This method is a great success before students and it has shown that the advancement can be split up into three main steps:

The acquisition of concepts and tools. This first step is dedicated to remind the basis of thermodynamics, to study basic cycles, to discover the used technologies and to learn the Thermoptim software. (This first step lasts about 12 h.)
The reinforcement of the concepts learnt in the first step, using theoretical complements on exergy and heat-exchangers, using studies about some variations relative to the basic cycles, as well as combined cycles and co generation (this last step lasts about 8 hours).
The in-depth analysis joined to a personal and practical use of the knowledge will result in the study of innovative and advanced cycles more complicated than the previous ones. This step will give food for thought about the technological future, especially during mini-projects managed by one student, or within a group of students. (The duration of this last step depends greatly of the selected personal activities.)

An audio presentation of this renewed educational method (in french) will show you, during a quarter of an hour, an overview of the involved problems. This presentation was proposed during the International Seminar : the University and the Numerical Technologies. A more detailed web page shows how this presentation is carried out. This web page points out the following :

The general training context for the engineers
The difficulties encountered in the teaching of Thermodynamics
The advantage of using the simulator software
How to overcome a second educational difficulty : the teaching of the technology
The pedagogic interest of the Diapason modules
The three-stepped training of a gradual approach
The detailed monitoring of the students.

In addition, this presentation will give you some references about pedagogy which could be of some interest for you.

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Available resources

The available pedagogic resources are relevant to six main different classes :

The synthetic and thematic pages
The whole set of Diapason sessions
The papers (papers, documentation & books)
The guide files related to practical work
The models for external substances and components. Using these models the Thermoptim kernel may be extended
Some notes relative to the pedagogy of the applied thermodynamics.

These resources can be combined to form complete courses or simply parts of course, according to the teaching goals pursued by the teachers and the students.

We prepared to your attention a series of self-training thematic modules, which define thematic trails browsing through the available resources. They implement a progression from the bases to personal activities, some of which can be relatively complex.

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Web pages dedicated to teachers

As a teacher, you may access web pages quite especially dedicated to you.

Be aware at first, that there are two versions of these guide files relative to practical work. The first one is the complete one, i.e. with model answers strictly reserved to identified teachers. The other version, without these model answers is in free access. If you wish to have access to the complete set of model answers, please fill out the identification form. We shall then contact you to check your identity and occupation. After checking, we shall then give you an identification name and a password. This access is not authorised for students, to avoid them to get the problems model answers that their teachers are asking. Besides, this access does not bind you to any contribution to our work. It is highly recommended that you should not let the identification code given by our server, known to anyone.

Besides, we are cooperating closely with two groups of teachers which are interested in our developments :

The UNIT-Thermoptim community, which is directly associated to the definition of the present portal. The UNIT-Thermoptim community is composed of representatives of UNIT partners
The ALET Club whose field of interest is wider because this centre is relative to all the software tools, which can be used in the teaching of thermodynamics.

Both groups have some web pages inside this portal, strictly reserved to them. These web pages are split up into two parts : the public web pages and the private web pages, whose access is limited to identified members.

The participation to the first community requires that your educational establishment is a partner of UNIT. Besides, it is quite possible to be a member of the ALET Club, if you wish it. Simply fill out the adequate form available in the ALET Club web pages.

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