On the afternoon of April 24, the demonstration open class for ‘Fluid Mechanics A’ (a national-level first-class course) was brilliantly held in Room 209 of Sanshan Building. Associate Professor Huo Yuanping from the Fluid Mechanics teaching team gave a lecture titled ‘Looking at Energy Loss and Engineering Calculations in Pipe Flow through the West-to-East Gas Transmission Project,’ focusing on the main line of ‘flow regime—loss—calculation.’ He delivered a class that combined high engineering standards with classroom warmth to the 2024 power engineering students, showcasing the school’s phased achievements in promoting classroom teaching reform under the first-class course initiative.

During the class, Professor Huo used case-based, heuristic, and interactive teaching methods. He introduced the lesson with the major national project ‘West-to-East Gas Transmission,’ leading students to understand pressure drops and energy loss in fluid transport through questions like ‘Will natural gas keep flowing on its own?’ and ‘Why are pumping stations set up along long pipelines?’ In the teaching process, he combined content such as Reynolds experiments, flow regime identification, laminar velocity distribution, turbulence structure, and frictional losses, gradually helping students build a systematic understanding of pipe flow rules and their engineering applications.

To enhance classroom interaction and knowledge experience, the open class also included interactive mini-experiments. By comparing airflow in long and short pipes, students could visually feel the noticeable energy loss in long-pipe flow, making the abstract concept of ‘pressure drop’ tangible, perceivable, and easier to understand. This further improved the class’s engagement and persuasiveness. Additionally, the course naturally incorporated ideological and political education. Professor Huo combined his college classmates’ real-life experiences participating in the West-to-East Gas Transmission Phase II project, humorously and sincerely sharing ‘my story with the West-to-East Gas Transmission,’ explaining how engineers are rooted in the western regions to serve major national projects. This guided students to recognize the significance of foundational courses in serving national strategic needs and strengthened their professional identity, sense of responsibility, and patriotism.

This demonstration open class used major engineering cases, real classroom experiments, guided question chains, and heartfelt stories to make the seemingly abstract foundation course of fluid mechanics tangible, understandable, thought-provoking, and inspiring. It not only showcased the school’s active exploration in building first-class courses but also provided valuable reference for young teachers in classroom teaching reform. Moving forward, the school will continue to leverage first-class course construction as a driving force, consistently promoting classroom innovation and continuously improving the quality of talent cultivation.