Writing Engineering Theses and Reports

7/29/2019 Writing Engineering Theses and Reports

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Engineering Thesesand ReportsW. Hallett

Dept of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ottawa


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1. Outline of Typical Thesis - I

Abstract (1-2 paragraph summary)

Table of ContentsList of Figures*

List of Tables*

Nomenclature (if you have many symbols oracronyms, otherwise define them in the text)

Title page

*not needed for short reports or reports with fewfigures and/or tables


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1. Outline of Typical Thesis - II

3. Methods and Procedures- experiments, analysis, design work as

appropriate- can be several chapters if needed (e.g.

experiments, computational model)

1. Introduction- motivation for work, general background,context 6objectives

2. Literature Survey- review relevant literature, identify state ofknowledge 6 justify your topic


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1. Outline of Typical Thesis - III

4. Results and Discussion

5. Conclusions and Recommendations- identify main accomplishments

- identify areas for future work- conclusions are NOT a summary of the thesis(thats what abstract is for)

6. List of References

- details later


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1. Outline of Typical Thesis - IV

Appendices- use for - tables of data

- construction drawings- detailed mathematical derivations

- computer codes- details of instrumentation- calibrations

- identify as Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.- each must have a title

(e.g. Appendix A: Instrument Calibration)


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1. Outline of Typical Thesis - V

Section numbering (example):2. Pyrolysis(chapter)

2.1 Thermal Decomposition of Lab Reports(section)

2.1.1 Role of Moisture and Alcohol Content (sub-section)2.1.2 Contribution of BS to Enthalpy of Pyrolysis

(a) Pure BS (sub-sub-section)(b) Artificial BS

2.2 Products of Lab Report Pyrolysis2.2.1 Chemical Reactions2.2.2 Role of Heat Transfer


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2. Presenting Data in Graphs

General principles - I:- measured data are presented as points (use symbolssuch as Q, O, L, , , etc., not dots)

- exception: trace produced by continuously

recording instrument (e.g. tensile test)

- theory or calculations are presented as lines orcurves (unless they are really only single points)

- measured points should not be connected by lines- if curves are drawn to show trends (use only ifnecessary) they should notjoin all the points


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2. Graph Examples

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

0 10 20 30 40 50radius (mm)

As plotted by Quattro or Excel:

theory - take

out points

expt - takeout lines


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2. Graph Examples

0

20

40

60

0 10 20 30 40 50radius (mm)

Cleaned uptheory

measurementstake out gridlines -but leave tickson axes

measurements -points only

line only

vertical title is OK for report (but notfor oral presentation)

always give UNITS


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2. Graph Examples

0

20

40

60

0 10 20 30 40 50

radius (mm)

theory

measurements

can sketch in a light curve ifnecessary to show thatpoints belong to same series-but tell readers in caption

that this is NOT a fittedcurve, and do NOT join allthe points

Cleaned up, with trend line for experimental data:


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2. Graph Examples

0 80 160 240100

200

300

T (EC)

time (s)

Exception: continuous trace produced by instrument

Solder A

Solder B

Solder C

label curves or pointsdirectly - avoid legends

(user-unfriendly)


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0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

0 1 2 3 4 5voltage (V)

2. Graph Examples

line fitted by linear

regression (givefitted equation)

P (Pa) = 240 V

Calibration data with line fitted by regression:


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2. Graph Examples

0

20

40

0

1200

2400

5 10 15

height above grate (cm)

TG

TS

CO2

CO

O2

T

15A220S

T

arrow indicatesaxis for this curve

Presentation of theory and measurements together:label curves, points

directly - avoid legends


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2. Graph Examples

0

0.5

1

1 2 3 4 5height above grate (cm)

A = 1600 kg/m3

dPA = 0.5 mm

SA = 0.5

baseline (05A520L)

A = 0.6

Presentation of several different theoretical results:


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2. Graph Examples

1

2

3

9 10 11

1/T (K

-1

x 10

4

)

each point is mean ofseveral measurements atsame conditions

- error bars show onestandard deviation frommean

Use of error bars for replicate measurements:

numerical model


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Logarithmic scales

1 10 100 1000x:(log10(x) 0 1 2 3)

- principle: - powers of 10 evenly spaced on scale- logof numbers on scale progress linearly- plot actual numbers - do not show logof numbers

- no. of cycles = no. of powers of 10- example: 3 cycle log scale


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Logarithmic scalesOne Cycle:

1 102 5

Logarithmic Scales - Uses:(a) for data that cover a large range of values

- log scale expands region of small values andcompresses region of large values

N.B. A log scale does not have a 0 (because log(0) isundefined) - do not use for data that go to 0 or < 0.


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2. Graph Examples

0

20

40

60

80

100

0 20 40 60 80 100 120

T (E

C)

Boiling Curve - linear plot


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2. Graph Examples

1

10

100

10 100 1000T (EC)

can add connecting curve toshow relation of two groupsof points (in this casenucleate and film boiling

regions)

Boiling Curve - log-log plot (i.e. both axes logarithmic)


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Logarithmic scales - Uses:(b) to show particular relationships:

e.g. Arrhenius reaction rate

becomes straight line if plotted as r on log scaleversus 1/T on linear scale (semi-log plot), because

ln ( r)'

ln (AyO2 )&

E

R T(CONSTANT)

ln ( r) ' A -B (1 / T)


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2. Graph Examples

1

2

3

9 10 111/T (K -1 x 104)

Linear graph - gives a curve


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2. Graph Examples

0.1

1

10

9 10 11

1/T (K-1

x 104

)

Semi-log graph - straight line


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e.g.power law relationships in log-log graph:

take log of both sides:

thereforey = axb will plot as straight line with slopeb on log-log paper

(Note again: you do nothave to take logarithms ofdata - just use logscale)

(CONSTANT)


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0

200

400

600

800

1000

0

1

2

3

4

0 2 4 6 8 10

%x

x3

2. Graph Examples

%xx3

x

Power law relationships on a linear graph:


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1

10

100

1000

1 10

x3

%x

2. Graph Examples

x

y

Power law relationships on a log-log graph:(note again that graph cannot go to 0)


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General principles - II:- each graph or figure must have a detailed caption,

which should:- state what graph shows (e.g. velocity vs radius)

- give conditions or values of variables (e.g. T, P,etc.) for results shown

- identify parts, special features

Caption and graph together should containenough information that they can be

understood withoutlooking at the report text.


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3. Errors and Precision

accuracy = how close measurements are to true value- established by calibration against known standard

precision = how reproducible measurements are- high precision = small degree of scatter

You must state honestly the precision and/oraccuracy of each instrument/measurement.

For computational models, you should give an

assessment of the numerical accuracy.


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Significant Figures- all numbers without exception must be givenwith a number of significant figures representingthe true accuracy or precision of the quantity- round off all numbers presented to reflect this

- do rounding only on numbers reported in thesis- dont round intermediate steps when makingcalculations, as this will introduce calculationerrors



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Significant Figures in Arithmetic Operations- general rule:

- addition or subtraction - result has same no. of

decimal places as least precise input - round up ordown as appropriate

25.1 + 22.43 + 1.235 + 1.90 = 50.665 50.7

- note that 1.90 (not 1.9) has two decimal places -final 0 included if the number is precise to 0.01



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Significant Figures in Arithmetic Operations- general rule:- multiplication or division - result has same no.ofsig. figures as least precise input:

1.2 25.4 / 745 = 0.040913 0.041

You cannot make numbers more precise bydoing arithmetic operations on them!

These rules are based on the theory of errorpropagation



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4. References

Purpose:- to identify the source of any non-originalmaterial in the report- to show the reader that you are aware of literature

and other information supporting your ideasYou must give a reference for- any quotation, figure, diagram, etc. taken directly

from another work - failure to give a reference forcopied material is plagiarism


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4. References

You must give a reference for- information and ideas from other works, such as- properties data- equations or theories (unless widely known -

dont give a reference for Bernoullis eqn!)- ideas or explanations for physical phenomena

You should give a reference to- work of other people that is similar to yours - ifyour approach or results are reflected in the work ofothers, it strengthens your credibility


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4. References(a) the author-date system

- one citation, 1 or 2 authors:where () is the digamma function, tables and approximations for whichare given by Abramovitz and Stegun (1970) and other standard works.

- multiple citations:... in which the droplet composition is assumed uniform in space,

leading to evaporation as a batch distillation process (Newbold andAmundson, 1973; Law, 1978; Law and Law, 1981).

- references are listed alphabetically by first authorin the list of references at the end of the report

semicolon

- one citation, > 2 authors:....the choice for most spray computations even today (Lippert et al. 2000).et alii (Latin, = and others)


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4. References

- one citation:

The theory required for multiple distribution functions wasdeveloped recently [31]; it is here simplified by assuming .....

- multiple citations:

Advantage: compact, BUT references must be listed innumerical order in list of references - if you have to addnew references later you will have to re-number a lot ofreferences both in the list and in the text.

These fuels are typically denser and more viscous than petroleumfuels, with a specific gravity typically around 1.2 [5,6,10,22-25].

(b) the number system - references numbered in the orderthat they are first cited- if you cite the same work again, usethe same number. Number given as [21] or superscript21


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4. References

- citing specific page, etc.:Properties are given by Smith and Jones (1970, Table I)....

or

Properties are given in several standard references [4, p. 25; 17, p. 30].

(c) footnotes for references- often used in the humanities, rarely in engineering1

1 footnotes in engineering are generally used for explanatory notesONLY, not for references


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4. References

List of references- list all references cited- in alphabetical order (for author/date system);- or in numerical order (number system).

- ALL references listed must be cited in the text

Format- reference to paper in journal:

Smith, A., Jones, B., and Bloggs, W. (1993), High temperaturedecomposition of thesis papers. Canadian Journal of ChemicalEngineering 24, 36-44.

volumepages

(many minor variations in format and punctuationbetween different journals)

date


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4. References

Format- reference to paper in conference proceedings:Blow, J., and Snow, M. (1996), Toxic emissions from incineration ofMASc theses, Conference on Incineration, Toronto, p. 25-36.

- reference to manufacturers data:Standard Stoker Co. (1942), Instruction manual for firing theses in the

Standard BK stoker. New York.

tudiante, A., and Schueler, M. (2001), Handbook of Thesis Recycling,University of Ottawa Press, Ottawa, Canada.

- reference to book:

- reference to verbal or private information:Mulroney, B. (1993), personal communication.

conference name and location

publisher name and location


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4. References

FormatReferences to web material:Hallett, W.L.H., Packed bed combustion,

http://by.genie.uottawa.ca/~hallett/packedbd.html, accessed on [date]

- use as little as possible, because web postings change andgo out of date. Always give the date on which youaccessed this site!

- all web references must be to authoritative and reliablesources (e.g. university researchers, manufacturers,

government labs). Avoid Wikipedia.N.B. The use of unreliable or dubious sources reduces the

credibility of your own work!


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4. References

The bottom line for references is that readers mustbe able to easily find the material you have used.

Note: References Bibliography. A bibliography lists worksfor further reading, which may or may not have been cited inthe report. MS Word makes this error automatically.


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5. Language and Style

1. Use the passive voice (something was done), not theactive (I did something), in a thesis or formal report

I measured the pressure with a capacitive transducerThe pressure was measured

We believed that droplets of this fuel would show disruptive burning.It was believed

2. Keep your personality out of it

I feel that I did an excellent job of conducting the experimentthis is for others to decide! Stick tofacts such as % error

avoid personal reactions


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5. Language and Style3. Verb tense - past or present?

- use present for things that still exist now, or exist in adiagram in the report:

The combustor is connected to the fuel supply by a " pipe[a piece ofequipment that still exists, or referring to a figure which is being

discussed. Use was if combustor no longer exists.].

The velocity rises steadily with distance from the wall (Fig. 6).[Fig.6 exists in the thesis now.]

- use past for completed actions:

The temperature was measured at several points in the combustor, andthe measurements showed a continual rise downstream from the burner.[BUT it would also be correct to write:Fig. 5 shows that thetemperature rises continually....if one was discussing a graph.]

- be consistent - dont keep changing tense


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4. Avoid excessive use of acronyms (unless veryfamiliar) and jargon. Define all acronyms in the

Nomenclature at the beginning of the thesis.

The output from the linear displacement transducer (LDT) went

through a low-pass filter (LPF) and a high frequency amplifier (HFA)

before being transmitted by coaxial shielded cable (CSC) to the data

acquisition system (DAQ). The LDT, LPF and HFA were designed

and built in-house, while the CSC and the DAQ were purchased from

Acme Circuits.

transducer, filter and amplifier

cable


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5. As such does not mean therefore.The transducer was calibrated against a water manometer. As such, itwas very accurate.

Therefore

The transducer was a high-grade capacitive instrument with astandardized calibration; as such, it was very accurate.

- the correct use of as such (if you mustuse this silly

expression) must answer the question as what?:

6. Data is plural (singular is datum - rarely used)

The experimental data was plotted on a log-log graph.were

She was the senior engineer; as such, she was responsible for the runningof the plant.



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7. Change of subject - be carefulThe software is used to plot the data collected and can be viewed on athree-dimensional graph.

the data


8. Avoid vague statementsThe instrument used was accurate. (give numbers, or state howinstrument was tested)

It was believed that.... (give reasons for your belief)

The theory fits the data well. (how well? to within howmuch error?)


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10. Equations- use proper mathematical notation / equation editor,

NOT spreadsheet or computer coding style:

- e.g. y = a x2 , not y = a*x^2

9. Incorrect use of likeIt looks like the transducer is defective.

as if (like is not a conjunction, cannot be used to start a clause)

He was like ...He said...

It looks like a defective transducer.

but this is OK (used as a preposition):


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The fuel composition is described by the distributionf(I), which isdefined by

where , , and are the parameters of the distribution.

10. Equations - placement in text

do NOT capitalize (MSWord always makes thismistake)

define all variables, either hereor in Nomenclature at beginning

number if you want torefer to equation later



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6. Final Thoughts

Audience:You are writing in the first instance for yourexaminers - if they are not specialists in your thesistopic, provide enough general information so that

they can understand the thesis.

The thesis as an archival document:The main purpose of the thesis is to document your

work in such detail that the reader would be able toreproduce your work. The thesis must be the primaryrecord of your research.


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6. Final Thoughts

Honesty:All research literature - papers, theses, reports - mustbe the truth - the whole truth and nothing but thetruth. You must be honest about reporting failures aswell as successes, because your failures may helpguide someone elses work. Your work must be asdependable as you would expect others work to be.


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3. Experimental Errors

Error Propagation- basic principle: if P = P(x, y, z ...), then errorPis related to errors X, Y, Z ... in x, y, z... as

P ' MP

Mx

2

2

X %MP

My

2

2Y %

MP

Mz

2

2

Z % ....

- relative errors (i.e. % error) are then X/x, Y/y, ...and P/P


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3. Experimental Errors

Error PropagationExamples:- when adding or subtracting quantities, squares of

absolute errors are added. E.g. for P = x + y,

- when multiplying or dividing quantities, squares ofrelative errors are added. E.g. for P = xy,

P ' 2X % 2Y

P

P' X

x

2%

Y

y

2

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Writing Engineering Theses and Reports