Courses of Instruction

Mechanical Engineering (ME)

The terms indicated are expected but are not guaranteed. For the courses offered during any given term, consult the Schedule of Classes.

101L Introduction to Mechanical Engineering and Graphics (3, Fa) Introduction to mechanical engineering disciplines and practice; graphical communication and layout of machine parts; introduction to computer-aided drafting and drawing.

150L Introduction to Computational Methods in Mechanical Engineering (4, Sp) Computer programming; organization of problems for computational solution; introduction to software for computation and graphics; applications to mechanical engineering problems. Corequisite: MATH 125.

201 Statics (3, Fa) Analysis of forces acting on particles and rigid bodies in static equilibrium; equivalent systems of forces, friction, centroids and moments of inertia; introduction to energy methods. Prerequisite: PHYS 151L, MATH 125.

204 Strength of Materials (3, Sp) Stress, strain and deflection of torsion members, beams in shear and bending, column and combined loads; energy methods, statically indeterminate structures; design of mechanical elements. Prerequisite: ME 201.

231 Properties and Selection of Materials (3, Fa) Mechanical properties of engineering materials, including metals, alloys, polymers, ceramics and composites. Material selection in product design. Prerequisite: CHEM 105aL or CHEM 115aL or MASC 110L.

232 Manufacturing Processes (3, Sp) Manufacturing processes including casting, forming, fabrication, and metal cutting; introduction to product design for manufacture and process selection criteria, introduction to computer integrated manufacturing. Prerequisite: ME 231.

301 Dynamics (3, Fa) Particle and rigid body dynamics in two and three dimensions; concept of dynamic equilibrium and techniques of solution, including energy methods; introduction to vibrations. Prerequisite: ME 201.

303 Dynamics of Machinery (3, Sp) Kinematics, inertia effects, and balancing of rotating and reciprocating machine parts; gyroscopic effects; critical speeds; energy variation in machinery; design of mechanisms. Prerequisite: ME 301.

305 Mechanical Design (3, Fa) Design and analysis of mechanical elements including rotating shafts, bearings, welds, springs, screws and power transmission devices. Design of small machines considering fatigue and deflection. Prerequisite: ME 204; recommended preparation: ME 232.

310 Engineering Thermodynamics I (3, FaSpSm) Fundamental laws of thermodynamics applied to actual and perfect gases and vapors; energy concepts, processes, and applications. Prerequisite: MATH 226, PHYS 151L; recommended preparation: FORTRAN or C programming.

312 Engineering Thermodynamics II (3, Sp) Application of thermodynamic principles to fluid flow, power cycles, and refrigeration. Prerequisite: ME 310; recommended preparation: FORTRAN or C programming.

331 Heat Transfer (3, Sp) General principles underlying heat transfer by conduction, convection, and radiation; steady flow and transient flow. Prerequisite: ME 310; corequisite: AE 309 or CE 309.

341L Electro-Mechanical Instrumentation (3, Sp) Introduction to instrumentation and experimental methods of use in mechanical engineering; statistical and error analysis of experimental data. Recommended preparation: EE 326Lx.

390 Special Problems (1-4) Supervised, individual studies. No more than one registration permitted. Enrollment by petition only.

401 Senior Seminar (1, Fa) Discussion of topics related to professional and industrial practice in mechanical engineering. Student reports emphasizing technical communication skills. Prerequisite: senior standing.

402 Thermal Stresses and Deformation (3, Irregular) Determination of stresses and deformations in structures and mechanical components subjected to temperature gradients. Prerequisite: ME 204, ME 331.

403 Stress Analysis (3, Sp) Theories of failure, shear center, unsymmetrical bending, curved beams, torsion of non-circular sections; cylinders, rotating discs, thermal stresses, inelastic strains, energy methods. Prerequisite: ME 204.

404 Mechanical Engineering Problems (3, Fa) Mathematical aspects of the solutions to typical advanced mechanical engineering problems. Modeling, simulation, computational aspects, computer solutions, and computational tools. Prerequisite: FORTRAN.

406 Automotive Engines (3, Irregular) Analysis of performance and operating characteristics of automotive engines; discussion of carburetion, ignition, fuels, lubrication, and emissions. Prerequisite: ME 312.

407 Computer Graphics for Mechanical Engineers (3) Point plotting techniques and line drawing displays; two- dimensional transformations; clipping and windowing; graphics and interactive graphics; two- and three-dimensional geometric modeling. Prerequisite: ME 303 and ME 305; recommended preparation: FORTRAN or C programming.

408 Computer-Aided Design of Mechanical Systems (3, Fa) Design of mechanical systems using advanced graphics techniques; computer-aided drafting, design optimization, elements of computer graphics, solids modeling; introduction to computer-aided manufacturing. Recommended preparation: ME 303 and ME 305.

409 Senior Design Project (4, Sp) Modeling, analysis, integration, layout and performance analysis of a mechanical system to meet specified design requirements. Prerequisite: senior standing.

413 Fuels and Combustion Fundamentals (3, Irregular) Fuel properties related to combustion processes; fundamentals of combustion processes, standard combustion tests, and calculation of flame properties. Applications. Prerequisite: ME 312.

420 Engineering Vibrations I (3, Fa) Theory of free and forced vibrations with and without damping; systems of single and multiple degrees of freedom; iteration; methods; vibration isolation; instrumentation. Prerequisite: ME 301 and MATH 245.

430 Thermal Systems Design (3, Fa) Design methodology for thermal systems; boilers, condensers, air conditoning systems, power plants and other systems with thermal energy interaction. Prerequisite: ME 312 and ME 331.

431 Thermal Design and Analysis of Electronic Equipment (3, Irregular) Cooling problems in electronic equipment; convective cooling; extended surfaces; cold plates; phase-change methods; thermoelectric cooling; Peltier refrigeration. Application to space avionics and modern computers. Prerequisite: ME 331.

432 Solar Energy Conversion Systems (3) Solar energy and its conversion for use by society: fundamentals of solar radiation; solar collection and thermal conversion systems; components; economics of power generation. Prerequisite: ME 310.

433L Solar Energy Laboratory (3) Measurements of solar radiation inputs in various solar designs; controls; thermal efficiency; power generation of several solar thermal, photovoltaic, and hybrid systems. Prerequisite: ME 331 or ME 432.

436 Energy and Propulsion (3, FaSm) Performance and analysis of reciprocating, jet, rocket engines, and hybrid systems. Characteristics of inlets, compressors, combustors, turbines, nozzles and engine systems. Energy and environmental problems. Prerequisite: ME 310; AE 309 or CE 309.

441abL Experimental Engineering (3-3, a: Fa; b: Sp) Experiments in: a: fluid flow, heat transfer, buckling, torsion, vibration; b: control of dynamic systems, feedback controller design and implementation using analog/digital computers. Technical reports: projects. Senior standing. Prerequisite for a: AE 341L or ME 341L; for b: ME 451.

451 Linear Control Systems I (3, FaSpSm) Transform methods, block diagrams; transfer functions; stability; root-locus and frequency domain analysis and design; state space and multiloop systems. Prerequisite: MATH 245.

452 Intermediate Kinematics (3, Irregular) Analytical solutions to problems in rigid body kinematics. Complex number and matrix formulations; degrees of freedom and constraint; applications to mechanism synthesis. Prerequisite: senior or graduate standing.

453 Engineering Dynamics (3, Sp) Principles of dynamics applied to mechanical and aerospace problems. Introduction to gyroscopic motion and rigid body dynamics. Prerequisite: ME 301 and MATH 245.

457 Engineering Fluid Dynamics (3, Fa) Laminar and turbulent boundary layer flow with and without heat transfer; boundary layer separation, stability, transition and control; introduction to compressible fluid flow. Prerequisite: ME 310, AE 309 or CE 309.

461 Formation Evaluation (3) (Enroll in PTE 461)

462 Economic, Risk and Formation Productivity Analysis (4) (Enroll in PTE 462)

463L Introduction to Transport Processing in Porous Media (3) (Enroll in PTE 463L)

464L Petroleum Reservoir Engineering (3) (Enroll in PTE 464L)

465L Drilling Technology and Subsurface Methods (3) (Enroll in PTE 465L)

472 Power Plant Design (3, Irregular) Design problems covering loads, cycles, and equipment for modern power generation, including conversion to nuclear power. Lecture, 2 hours; computation, 3 hours. Prerequisite: ME 312; AE 309 or CE 309.

481 Environmental Design and Control (3) Detailed analysis of psychometric, heat-transfer, and thermodynamic parameters affecting domestic, commercial and space environmental control; selection of equipment and instrumentation. Case studies. Prerequisite: ME 312, ME 331, and either AE 309 or CE 309.

484 Principles and Techniques of Remote Sensing (3) (Enroll in AE 484)

489 Numerical Methods in Engineering (3, Sp) Numerical techniques suitable for computer solution of roots of equations, integration, simultaneous algebraic equations, ordinary and partial differential equations, polynomial approximations, eigenvalue problems. Prerequisite: MATH 245; recommended preparation: FORTRAN or C programming.

490x Directed Research (2-8, max 8) Individual research and readings. Not available for graduate credit. Prerequisite: departmental approval.

499 Special Topics (2-4, max 8) Course content to be selected each semester from recent developments in mechanical engineering and related fields.