Mechanical Engineering Courses

Introduction to the structure-property-processing relationship in metallic, ceramic, and polymeric materials, and to the atomic structure of materials and its influence on mechanical, electrical, and thermal properties. Introduction to materials selection to meet engineering design constraints. Students explore how alloying and manufacturing processing modifies structure, and consequently changes the properties of materials.

Introduction to mechanical engineering design, with emphasis on communication of design ideas. Graphics topics include hand sketches of concepts, CAD (computer aided design) 2-D dimensioned drawings and 3-D models, and use of perspective views in written documents. Writing topics include simple business letters, proposals, product reports, product specifications, and product descriptions. Oral presentations include structuring presentations and verbal delivery. Student design projects form a major portion of the class.

Hands-on use of CAD systems, collaborative work with peers, and individual mentoring by the instructor. Lab projects and lecture are integrated with each other both in content and class time.

Overview of the most common manufacturing processes and how they influence design decisions. Emphasizes design for manufacturability, process comparison, and process specification.

Project-based laboratories that provide Students with hand-on experiences with common machine tools, including manual and CNC machining centers. Lab emphasizes design-to-finished product approach to manufacturing.

The first and second laws of thermodynamics; thermophysical properties of matter, ideal gases and their mixtures; concept of entropy as applied to thermal systems.

Second Law analysis, power and refrigeration cycles, mixtures, combustion, and high speed flow. Applications of first and second law analysis to engineering systems.

Application of stress analysis and theories of failure to basic machine elements. Design of elements under static and fatigue loading. Design involving mechanical elements such as shafts, columns, flywheels, springs, and welds.

One and multidimensional steady conduction, transient conduction, internal and external forced convection, natural convection, radiative heat transfer, boiling and condensation, heat exchangers.

Intermediate level design course introducing the fundamentals of the engineering design process in a team environment. Topics include typical design cycles found in industry, open-ended problem solving, and teamwork fundamentals. Team design projects are a major component of the class.

Presentation of typical problems and skills found in industrial practice of engineers. All projects are completed on small engineering teams. Lab projects and lecture are integrated with each other both in content and class time.

Basic concepts of measurement and analysis of measurement uncertainties and experimental data. Study of transducers and investigation of data acquisition, signal conditioning, and data processing hardware typically utilized in performing mechanical measurements.

Laboratory exercises supporting the topics covered in MENG 411.

Study of the techniques used for measuring displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, pressure, flow, temperature, and strain. Investigation of the proper application and the associated limitations of the techniques and of the required instruments. The topics are studied within the context of obtaining experimental solutions to engineering problems in thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, mechanics, and strength of materials.

Laboratory exercises supporting the topics covered in MENG 412.

Elements of vibrating systems. Free, forced harmonic and transient vibrations of single-degree-of-freedom systems with and without damping. Vibration isolation and control. Two-degree-of-freedom systems and the dynamic vibration absorber. Application of matrix techniques to multi-degree-of-freedom systems.

Continuation of MENG 434. Practical applications of vibration theory to topics such as: Control and suppression of vibrations in machinery; vibration isolation and damping treatments; dynamic vibration absorbers; balancing of rotating and reciprocating machinery; critical speed evaluation of flexible rotors; ground vehicle response to road profile excitation and evaluation of ride performance; vibration in electronic equipment and prevention of vibration failures; aircraft vibration and flutter; and response of structures to earthquakes.

Advanced topics in conduction, contact resistance, multidimensional transients, periodic heat transfer, non-uniform heat generation, freezing and melting processes, fin heat transfer, and design of shell-and-tube heat exchangers.

Introduction to the techniques used in the analysis and design of heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Topics include the arrangement of typical air conditioning systems (i.e. all air systems, air and water systems, etc.), moist air processes, comfort and health criteria for indoor air quality, heating and cooling loads, piping system design, building air distribution, and operational principles and performance parameters of typical components (i.e., cooling towers, air washers, heating and cooling coils, etc.)

Introduction to the fundamentals of mechanical design and analysis of electronic systems. Topics will include packaging architectures, component and subcomponent design (i.e. chip packaging technologies, printed circuit boards, interconnections and connectors, etc.), thermal management techniques, thermomechanical analysis and design, design for dynamic environments, and design techniques for humid and/or corrosive environments.

Continuation of material presented in MENG 330. Design topics involving mechanical elements such as bolts, spur and helical gears, journal bearings and flexible mechanical elements.

This course presents how to balance design constraints to fit within manufacturing process capabilities. Topics include optimizing the design of single parts, the design of assemblies, and the assembly process. The course also includes designing parts to reduce tolerance stack-ups and creating cost models for parts.

Principles of feedback control. Mathematical modeling and analysis of dynamic physical elements and systems. Transient and steady-state response of first and second-order systems. Use of Laplace transforms. System response with zeros and additional poles. Transfer functions and block diagrams. Stability criteria and steady-state errors. Root locus and frequency response methods.

Conservation equations, sonic velocity, and Mach number. Variable area adiabatic flow, isentropic flow. Normal and oblique shocks. Fanno and Rayleigh flows. Prandtl-Meyer flow, combined effects.

Steps in engineering design, workable systems, economic evaluation, mathematical modeling, curve fitting, system simulation, Lagrange multipliers, search techniques, dynamic programming, linear programming, geometric programming.

Development of the stiffness matrix method applied to bar and beam elements. The plane problem is discussed and plane elements are presented. The Isoperimetric formulation is introduced. Modeling and accuracy in linear analysis is considered. Utilizes a commercial finite element program in problem solving. Two hour lecture and one hour computer lab each week.

Computer laboratory exercises supporting the topics covered in MENG 465.

Background of composites, stress-strain relations for composite materials, extension and bending of symmetric laminates, failure analysis of fiber-reinforced materials, design examples and design studies, non-symmetric laminates, micromechanics of composites.

Methods of material selection leading to the optimal material for a given an application. Systematic approaches for selection the optimum material when multiple different, often competing, criteria exist. Material selection based on variable material trade off studies, quantitative methods, and processing comparison charts. Geo-political implications of selected materials. Multiple real applications and case studies are included.

Ideal fluid flow. Laminar and turbulent boundary layer flows, conservation equations, and solution methods. Turbo machinery. Unsteady flow problems. Basic computational fluid mechanics.

A course designed to familiarize the student with manufacturing decisions required in the industrial sector. Developing manufacturing strategies, integrating process alternatives, equipment selection analysis, process costs, and total integration of manufacturing systems are assessed quantitatively and qualitatively to maximize outcomes. Project-based laboratories provide the students opportunities to integrate manufacturing processes with a perspective on automation and production systems. Two hours of lecture and three hours of laboratory per week.

Laboratory exercises supporting the topics covered in MENG 484.