Abstract:

One of the major challenges of the educational system in Bulgaria in the last two years, caused by the created pandemic situation, is the provision of adequate training for students in universities. This necessitated the introduction and implementation of new approaches and principles for presenting information through the use of electronic environments and cloud services. Despite the difficulties created, the new reality has expanded the possibilities for the application of new teaching methods in the universities, which has led to a change in the thinking of both teachers and students studying in engineering specialties from Plovdiv University "Paisiy Hilendarski", Faculty of Physics and Technology.

The creation of virtual laboratories is a highly effective method of presenting difficult-to-learn and understand theoretical material to students in the form of models that, through their virtual buttons, measuring devices, and programming environments, can be easily controlled and managed. Programming environments provide an opportunity for students to develop their primary and initial knowledge of programming, which leads to the creation of new fields of development in this field of engineering education. It is also a good opportunity to improve their skills and competencies to be better in this field.

The authors of this article draw attention to the main problems associated with the creation of a virtual bench designed for the remote measurement of airflow velocity in a duct using a pitot tube. An important point in this is the students' understanding of the fundamentals and working principles of this pitot tube. This is essential because it provides a broadening of their worldview and horizons in this area.

The pitot tube is essentially used to measure the flow rate of gases and liquids, which consists of two concentric bent tubes whose openings in communication with the fluid are arranged in a specific way. One tube opens perpendicular to the fluid flow, so students can determine and conclude that the pressure in that tube is equal to the ambient pressure or static pressure. The other pipe, i.e. the inner one is parallel to the fluid flow and is open at its end facing the flow. In this way, the students conclude that the pressure is the total pressure as a sum of static and dynamic pressure. Based on this, it is clear that students' understanding of theoretical conceptual relationships is essential in the analysis of data that can be obtained from a pressure gauge that is placed on a pitot tube.

The construction of such a stand implies an in-depth analysis of basic theoretical laws in physics, namely fluid mechanics, which leads to interdisciplinarity and interrelationship between different disciplines that students study at the Faculty of Physics and Technology of Plovdiv University "Paisiy Hilendarski".

Another important point is the creation of a methodology by which to make the necessary calculations to determine the flow rate. This practically requires the students to create interconnections between studied mathematical dependencies and new ones.

Students also acquire additional knowledge and expand their worldview both on the application of the Pitot tube in various fields of industry, industry, and others, and on the creation of a project-based approach to mastering the thematic material.

Keywords:

Pitot tube, fluids, virtual bench, pressure, air flow.