As an outcome from the subject, the students should be able to understand, design and organize the experimental activities which are usually carried out regularly in University laboratories, the Industry as well as in the Research Institutes.

The students attending this subject should be acquainted with basic knowledge of: Mathematics and Physics; Electricity and Fluid-dynamics; Mechanics, Thermodynamics and heat-transfer, along with Fluid Machinery in general, such as the Internal Combustion Engines, hydraulic pumps, air impellers, and so on.

The main subject topics of the theoretical and applied lectures are: 1. International System of Measurements (SI) (1h) 2. Measurement Methods and Experimental Errors (2h) 3. System Dynamic Models (zero, first and second order) and Fourier analysis (3h) 4. Basic Electrical Principles (Bode Plot, Input circuits, Wheatstone Bridges) (6h) and Introduction of Systems stability and control (PID) (3h) 5. Data Acquisition Systems (DAQ) (9h) 6. Analogical and Digital Filters (2h) 7. Instrument connections and Noise protection (3h) 8. Statistical Data Analysis (9h) 9. Temperature measurement (5h) 10. Pressure measurement (5h) 11. Flow measurement (3h) 12. Power measurement (2h) 13. Notes on the Measurement of displacement , stress and strain (1h)

The focus of the laboratory activities is to provide students with a personal test bench, based on the student's notebook and a original board, where they can practically observe the phenomena discussed during the theoretical lectures. The board provided was developed by the teachers and is based on a pair of Arduino Uno which simulate both the experiment and the Digital Acquisition System (DAS). Students will be provided with dedicated software, developed for Arduino platforms, and students will be guided in understanding and manipulating the code. Students will be guided in the use of numerous laboratory instruments such as oscilloscope, wave generator, spectrum analyzer, sensors, analog and digital filters.

Lectures (45h) The lecture topics that are listed in the course topics section will be discussed in front lectures. Applied lectures (9h) The student will solve practical exercises concerning the experimental data analysis, the choice of a sensor, the design of a measuring chain and the setup of a Digital Acquisition System. Laboratory Lectures (6h) The students will work with virtual laboratory based on a notebook and Arduino boards. Virtual instruments like Oscilloscope, Wave Generator, Spectrum Analyzer and Digital Filters will be simulated by means of softwares that are based on the netbook sound-card. The Arduino Boards connected to some devices (LCD, SD Card reader/recorder, …) will be used like a DAQ in order to perform simple experiments. The breadboard allows the realization and test of simple signal conditioning circuits and transducers. In addition, the Laboratory work will be focused on three activities where the students must define their acquisition chain, acquire the experimental data end analyze them.

Reference Books Experimental Methods for Engineers - J. P. Holman - McGraw-Hill Inc. Didactic material regarding all the lectures and applied lectures is provided by the lecturer in the web page of the subject. In-depth books: Measurement, Instrumentation and Sensors Handbook - J.G Webster - CRC Press The lectures and applied lectures are recorded by the teacher. The videos are uploaded in the course web-page.

Lecture slides; Exercises; Lab exercises; Video lectures (current year);

Exam: Written test; Compulsory oral exam;

Attended results. The exam want to check the capability of the student to design a measuring chain by selecting suitable transducers and properly setting a DAQ, and to post-process the measured quantities. Therefore, it checks the student knowledges about the following topics: - capability to select of a proper transducer in accordance to the characteristics of the physical quantity under investigation; - capability to configure the acquisition chain and set the acquisition parameters (sampling frequency, trigger type, Anti-aliasing filter); - capability to critically analyze and post-process the measured data (uncertainty estimation). Exam procedure. The exam consists of: written and oral exams. Written exam (140 minutes): the student has to solve three exercises, which have a value of 10/30 marks each, concerning statistical data analysis and post processing, transducer selection, DAQ setup. It provide a maximum mark of 30/30 and the student can sit to the following Oral exam if the Written exam test evaluation is higher or equal to 15/30 only. Allowed material during the exam. Students must only use pens, A4 papers and calculator. Teacher provides the required tables (Gaussian, Chi-2 distribution, ....). Oral exam: The oral exam deals with the theoretical topics covered during the lectures with particular reference to the discussion of the written test, the laboratory activities and to the transducers performances and selection. It provides a maximum mark of 30/30. Exam final evaluation. The final mark is the weighted mean between the Written and the Oral Exam.

In addition to the message sent by the online system, students with disabilities or Specific Learning Disorders (SLD) are invited to directly inform the professor in charge of the course about the special arrangements for the exam that have been agreed with the Special Needs Unit. The professor has to be informed at least one week before the beginning of the examination session in order to provide students with the most suitable arrangements for each specific type of exam.