A Phyphox-Based Laboratory Framework for Engineering Mechanics Using Smartphone Sensors

Engineering mechanics laboratory teaching has long been constrained by high equipment costs, limited hands-on opportunities for students, and a lack of intuitive data visualization. To address these challenges, this paper presents a practical and low-cost experimental design method based on the Phyphox software and smartphone sensors. Two representative experimental modules were developed as examples: the measurement of the rigid body moment of inertia and the determination of Young’s modulus via the bending method. The experimental principles, apparatus construction, and data acquisition and processing methods were systematically analyzed. The results demonstrate that the proposed method achieves relative errors of 3.8% for the moment of inertia and 6.83% for Young’s modulus, confirming its feasibility and close agreement with theoretical values in engineering mechanics education. On this basis, the method was integrated into a structured 5E instructional framework, and a comprehensive instructional design was established, covering teaching objectives, key points and difficulties, implementation steps, and assessment methods. This study proposes a novel teaching method that transforms traditional engineering laboratory experiments into a low-threshold, data-and-analysis-integrated learning model. Experimental validation shows that the proposed method can reduce costs and enhance data visualization, thereby promising to improve students’ engagement in engineering mechanics education.