Have you ever seen Scientists using “Mockups” of larger things? Why do they do that?

Well, first of all we need to know what a “Mockup” is. A Mockup is a model of something. That is to say it represents all of the characteristics of the item that the scientists want to study. –Right down to the dimensions of the smallest part. Sometimes this is referred to as a “Scale Model.” –The only difference is in the fact that the model is a smaller representation of the thing that is being tested. Why do scientists want to have a smaller version of the item? –First of all it is easier to manipulate and work with. You want to see how things react when exposed to other items. –And secondly it is a lot less expensive. You don’t want to pour a lot of money into something that may not work. After all you are testing this thing and you don’t know if it is going to work and spending a lot of money on something that is going to be useless will put you out of business in a hurry! –And finally we and most importantly we want to see how things will react when placed together. This is the basis of the tests that are run with these scale mockups.

Another name for this is “Simulate” When you simulate something you are creating a situation which will mimic, or mirror those that are expected to happen. –Ever see a pilot in-training? They have to be exposed to the same amount of “G” forces that are found in the planes that they will be flying. Grayout 4.1 G ± 0.7 G 2.2 to 7.1 G Blackout 4.7 G ± 0.8 G 2.7 to 7.8 G Unconsciousness 5.4 G ± 0.9 G 3.0 to 8.4 G Inside the Cockpit/G-Force Face

Making these models is an important part of Science and Engineering. For a given situation, models tell us how all of the variables, like speed, distance, and time, fit together. If we have a model, se can predict what will happen because we will know how changes in one variable will effect the others! As a matter of fact there are very few branches of the scientific community that don’t use models in finding out the solutions to problems.

Those models that you can actually touch are called, “Physical Models.” You can look, touch, and take measurements from these types of models. –Engineers often construct “Scale” models of bridges, upon which they place differing amounts of weight, which represents the loads that the bridge is expected to carry. A scale model means that the dimensions used are proportional to those to be found on the real object when it is built. –You can represent scales such as “1 inch = 10 feet” Meaning that a model with a dimension of 10 inches will represent 100 feet in real life! Or you can do it as a ratio or fraction such as 1:6 or 1/6 th scale, which means all of the dimensions should be multiplied by 6 to get the real life measurements. If you have ever built a model car, plane, train, or ship, they will tell you the scale that you are using.

Here is what we can do here at Northview with scale mockups and models. This is a ¾ scale working model of an “H 2 ” that the Engineering department is making. You’ll see this and some other working models at the Football games!

Engineers mainly use the Physical models to see how objects behave under certain conditions. One of the more obvious ways for this to happen is in a “Wind Tunnel.” –In a wind tunnel a scale model is subjected to the stress and strain of air currents. –The engineers can then see how the materials will behave.

Let’s take a look at the branch of the government called the “Corps of Engineers” and see how they use models to help them solve problems. What you are about to see is a scale model of the Mississippi River. –The “Corps of Engineers” uses this model to decide where to put flood control devices. Things like dams, levees, and locks. They can see how these devices will effect the rest of the river and can also locate potential problems before they implement the idea in real time and size. –Such as where will the water backup to and how will it effect that area. –Or what would happen if one of these structures failed.

Here are some of those same structures at work.

Sometimes the models that are set up cannot duplicate the forces that Mother Nature can throw at them. That and the fact that those structures can be weakened thru age, mismanagement, and other factors. This can lead to some pretty serious problems as we all saw in New Orleans.

Here are some pretty powerful images of the failed levees in New Orleans. New Orleans / 2005 Hurricane Katrina New Orleans / 2005 Hurricane Katrina

So as you can see you can test your models all you want in a lab, but real life can through things at you that you never would’ve thought of! Nowadays although we still make these models and test them in lab situations, we can also use computers to test these ideas. –You may have heard about “CAD/CAM.” Which stands for, “Computer Aided Design/ Computer Aided Manufacturing.” We can now build those things that we want to use on a computer and then simulate the conditions under which they will be used. –These computer simulations are an integral part of an engineers life. They can now perform these experiments from the safety, comfort, and relative ease of the lab.

Every time you play a video game you are using computer simulations. Simulations are important due to the fact that they allow the scientist or engineer to duplicate conditions at that moment that may or may or ever happen. –Basically you can speed up or control “Mother Nature!” This allows the individual to create extreme conditions that will allow them to create an extremely safe product. –Pilots use computer simulations to train for any eventuality that they may face as they transport us from city to city.

Weather Forecasters also use simulations to explain certain events.

In this animation we see how different densities come into play when faced with tornadic winds.

We can even simulate Earthquakes!