An Educational Laboratory With a Remote Controlled Centrifugal Pump Test Rig

Further improving efficiency and expanding the working range of centrifugal pumps are major development targets. Therefore, theoretical education for engineering students is essential to gain knowledge about the practical performance of these machines. Based on the strong interdependency between theoretical and practical teaching content, experimental laboratories represent an excellent method to combine both. To offer such experiments, a test rig with a three stage centrifugal pump was assembled in the past. The rising number of students and time-limited access to the test rig resulted in groups of 20 students for each experimental run. A novel tele operative lab is developed to reduce the group size and thereby improve educational quality. This remote lab provides a global, time independent access to the test rig. As a consequence of the advanced flexibility, group sizes of maximum 5 could be realized. Additionally, the absence of a supervising assistant, leads to an improved self-prepared and autonomous working of the students.