memo engineering report

TO : Pradeep Sharma

FROM : Your Name

DATE : Date of Report

SUBJECT : Lab # and Title of Experiment

· Introduction

This should be a brief and concise description of the objective or purpose of the experiment. It should set the stage of your work and report.

· Experimental Method

Describe the equipment and experimental procedures used. This should have sufficient detail but should not be excessive. Provide schematic of the experimental set-up and a table of equipment specifications if necessary. Use digital images if they can help.

These should be stated as successive, instructional steps required to conduct the experiment. Present in bullet form.

If details of the procedure or Experimental Methods need to be included, they should be added to the Attachment section and referred to in this section of the report.

· Theory

This should be very brief and should directly address the main relations and equations to be used in the performance and calculations for the experiment. Ensure that the relationships are sequential and that all the symbols and units are explained. All equations should be sequentially numbered.

If details of the Theory are to be included, they should be added to the Attachment section and a referred to in this section of the report.

· Results and Discussion

This is the most important section of your memo report. All the final results should be presented up front in the order in which they were asked. They should be easy-to-read, decipher, and available in at-a-glance views. The final results can be presented in both graphical and numerical form, as needed. Figures can be presented using software packages such as Excel, Mathcad and MATLAB. Make sure that each figure is self-explanatory and easy to read without relying on the accompanying text.

All axes should have labels and the corresponding engineering units should be identified. Each figure and table should have a caption with number and descriptive title. Symbols or legends used for different data sets should be shown.

In the Discussion section, the results presented must be discussed, analyzed and interpreted. Typically, discuss the trend observed in the data, explain the observed phenomena, and compare with analytical and theoretical results, if applicable. Discuss sources of error in data acquisition or analysis and the confidence interval of the results. If equations are presented, number all sequentially for easy reference.

· Conclusions and Recommendations

Summarize the important findings which correspond to the stated objectives of the experiment. Provide suggestions for further study or improvements in the testing or experimental process.

· References

Include a list of reference literature used to write the report. In the main text of the memo report provide reference to the items on this list.

· Attachments

This should contain:

~ Data Sheets from the laboratory note book on which actual data was taken in the lab.

~ Sample Calculations showing the step-by-step calculations and uncertainty estimation for one sample observation should be clearly shown. Include the Excel spreadsheet, if applicable. Equations used and presented should be sequentially numbered. A neat hand-written sample calculation is sufficient.

~ Any other pertinent documents that directly relate to the experiment and analysis and interpretation of the experimental results.

IMPORTANT NOTE

It is important that the memo report be carefully proof-read before submission. The grades on the report will be based on criteria such as technical content, report organization, appearance, and quality of writing. Remember “THE SCENARIO” explained in class. Always remember to write as an engineer working for a company and providing this report for a company client.

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