Florida International University
Mechanical and Materials Engineering Department
Lab Report Guide for MME Labs:
1. All the reports must be written on a computer using a word processing software program.
2. Allow for a one-inch margin on each edge of the paper.
3. The major headings in the report should be on the left-hand side and underlined.
4. Number all pages, including plots and appendices, at the bottom right-hand corner of the page.
5. Remember, laboratory report grades are unduly influenced by the quality of the presentation of the
report.
Report Sections:
All reports should contain the following sections:
Title Page:
➢
Points:05
The title page should include the lab number and the experiment’s title, laboratory session
identification (date and time of the week), group number, names of the members of your group,
the date of the experiment, and the date of submission.
➢
There should be no page number on the title page.
Table of contents, List of Tables, and List of Figures
➢
Points: 03
A table of contents should be provided for ease of locating the desired material of the report.
The table of contents gives page numbers for easy reference to the individual sections of the
report and provides an outline of the topics to be covered in the report.
➢
All tables in a report should be numbered and titled. The list of tables is the index to all tables in
the report.
➢
All figures in a report should be numbered and titled. The list of figures is the index of all figures
in the report. All graphs and sketches are to be given figure numbers and titles.
Nomenclature:
Points: 02
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A list of all mathematical symbols with their respective units and description.
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All the nomenclatures should be typed in the word processing software. Copy and pasting from
the lab manual will not be allowed.
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The nomenclature list should be in alphabetical order (capital letters first, followed by lowercase
letters), followed by any Greek symbols, with subscripts and superscripts last, identified with
headings.
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Abstract:
➢
Points: 03
The abstract is the last section that is written and the first section that is read of a technical
report. All technical reports should begin with an abstract. The abstract is a summary or synopsis
of the experiment written for the reader who wants to know whether or not he/she would be
interested in reading the full text of the report. Therefore, the abstract should be self-contained
and independent of the rest of the report.
➢ An abstract should state briefly the purpose of the experiment, principal results, and major
conclusions.
➢ The abstract should not exceed more than 150 words.
Objective(s):
➢
Points: 02
Briefly state the nature and purpose(s) of the experiment in a concise manner.
Body of the report:
➢ The body of the report will contain six (6) sub-sections:
i. Introduction:
Points: 10
An introduction should contain a few paragraphs describing the background of the project
and the reasons for undertaking it. References to previous works of similar nature are often
cited, and the differences between those projects and the current study are presented. Any
important notation or mathematical preliminaries can also be briefly given in the introduction.
ii. Procedure:
Points: 10
This section should contain a brief description of the specimen, component, or structure used
in the experiment (including its geometrical shape and significant dimensions), the material
used in the experiment (including significant material properties, if applicable), and a general
description of the equipment used. Then briefly describe the methods employed in obtaining
the experimental results.
Do not copy the procedure from the manual. Write the procedure in your language. Write in
the past tense. For example
Do not write “Connect the circuit”. Write as “We connected the circuit”.
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Points: 30
iii. Data, results, and Discussion:
Experimental data and results should be presented in this section in a suitable fashion, i.e.
tables and figures, following the outline given in the lab handout. If analytical (theoretical or
predicted) values are also being calculated tabulated, and/or plotted, it should be done in this
section (but a comparison with the experimental results should be made in the discussion
section). The original data sheet(s) and sample calculations, however, should be in the
Appendices.
A sample table will look like the below:
Table 1. Force, torque, and angular deflection data for steel rod.
Force (N)
Torque (Nm)
Angular Deflection (rad)
0
1
2
3
4
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0
0.0174
0.0349
0.0523
0.078
Table 1 shows the torque applied to the steel rod and the resulting angular deflection
observed due to the torque for the steel rod.
Each table needs a short description. The reader should clearly understand what the table is
about. The table title should be at the top of the table.
Figure 1. Comparison of deflection of steel and aluminum beam under varying load. (Option 1)
Figure 1 shows the comparison of angular deflections of circular rods of the same dimensions
of brass and steel samples under the same applied torque at room temperature (22oC). From
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the figure, it can be seen that the brass sample shows more angular deflection than steel
samples under the same torque conditions.
All tables and figures need to be described. Always calculate the error analysis by
comparing the experimental value with the theoretical. In case of multiple trials, use
standard deviation analysis and plot the figure with the error bar.
In the discussion, you should present the theoretical and practical evaluation of the results
reported in the previous section. The discussion should include the extent to which the
objectives of the experiment have been achieved. The reliability, meaning, evaluation, and
application of the results should be considered in this section. Compare the results with those
which might be expected in practice, theory, or both. An important consideration when writing
without experimenting is not an evaluation of the work done, nor it is a conclusion drawn from
the experiment.
iv. Conclusions and Recommendations:
Points: 12
In this section, the writer should summarize the findings of the report and draw attention to
the significance of these results. Any deviations from accepted theory should be noted and
their statistical significance discussed. Conclusions are to be drawn regarding the previously
stated objectives of the project. Each conclusion should be supported by reference to data
and results and should follow directly from the numerical results obtained.
Recommendations are often more important than conclusions. Recommendations should be
made in this section on changes in the procedure or instrumentation of the experiment, which
could make the experiment more accurate or effective. Few Experimental projects are an
end in themselves. Either the results are to be used for a purpose, or at least the
experimenter sees more work that could be done to adequately accomplish the original
project.
v. References:
Points: 3
List any books, reports, etc. cited in the previous sections of the report. The references should
be listed according to the order in which they were annotated in the report. References should
be formatted according to Modern Language Association (MLA) or Harvard referencing
guidelines.
Example of MLA format:
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Book:
“Cengel, Yunus. Heat and mass transfer: fundamentals and applications. McGraw-Hill
Higher Education, 2014”.
Article:
“Liu, Huijie, et al. "Tensile properties and fracture locations of friction-stir welded joints of
6061-T6 aluminum alloy." Journal of materials science letters 22.15 (2003): 1061-1063”.
Example of Harvard format:
Book:
“Cengel, Y., 2014. Heat and mass transfer: fundamentals and applications. McGraw-Hill
Higher Education”.
Article:
“Liu, H., Fujii, H., Maeda, M. and Nogi, K., 2003. Tensile properties and fracture locations of
friction-stir welded joints of 6061-T6 aluminum alloy. Journal of materials science
letters, 22(15), pp.1061-1063”.
vi. Appendices:
All information important to the completeness of the report, but either too detailed or
cumbersome to include in the smooth flow of the report should be put in an appendix. This
would include information such as original data collected, sample calculations, calibration
data, computer programs, etc. For the laboratory reports on the experiments at least the
following appendices must be present:
➢
Appendix A: Apparatus
Points: 05
A sketch or schematic of the experimental apparatus showing all instrumentation and
control stations should be provided. A schematic diagram is adequate, but it must be neat
and complete. Describe the experimental setup and instruments used including limitations
and relative accuracy. Full and accurate identification of all instrumentation should be
given, including model and serial numbers or other unique identification.
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Appendix B: Experimental Raw Data
Points: 05
Scanned images of the original data sheets from an engineering laboratory notebook or a
plot should be included along with all raw data obtained by other means (i.e. a data
acquisition device).
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Example:
Figure 2. Heating curve for 7V to 9V (Raw Data).
Or
Date of the experiment should be at the top - hand written only
Figure 2. Raw data collected for the torsion experiment for the steel rod sample.
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Appendix C: Sample Calculations
Points: 10
Examples of calculations used in the experiment should be included in this appendix
section. Mathematical developments of special equations should also be included here.
Example:
Starting height, h1 = 0.6455 m, starting angle α = 150o mass of the hammer, m = 4 kg, and
pendulum arm radius R = 0.347 m.
Potential Energy before fracture 𝐸𝑝 = 𝑚. 𝑔. ℎ1 = 4 × 9.81 × 0.6455 = 25.33 J.
Measured angle after the fracture is β = 104.4o = 1.822 rad (for Brass),
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We know, ℎ2 = ℎ1 − 𝑅(𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛽 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼) → (ℎ1 − ℎ2 ) = 𝑅(𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛽 − 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝛼) = 0.347 × (−0.248 +
0.866) = 0.2144 𝑚 .
So the amount of energy absorbed after fracture is
𝐾 = 𝑚. 𝑔. (ℎ1 − ℎ2 ) = 4 × 9.81 × 0.2144 = 8.42 J.
The impact strength 𝐼 =
𝐾
𝐴𝑠
=
8.42
0.00000575
= 146.19 𝐾𝐽/𝑚2
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