Schedule of Classes

Nature of mechanical engineering as a profession and as a technological response to human needs. Emphases: design process, problem solving, and engineering experimentation.

Full-time cooperative education assignment for mechanical engineering students who alternate periods of full-time school with periods of full-time academic or career-related work in industry. Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory.

Computational techniques and programming methods for mechanical engineering problems.

Emphasis on concepts, laws, and problem solving methodology; properties of materials, especially gases and vapors; simple equations of state; 1st and 2nd laws; introduction to cycles and systems.

Continuation of ME 301 with emphasis on engineering applications: including more detailed analysis of vapor cycles, power cycles, refrigeration cycles, and heat pump cycles, enhanced second law analysis, and more complex processes that include mixtures, humidification, combustion, and equilibrium.

Theory and practice of measurements and instrumentation. Definition of a measurement system that meets specified needs: identification, selection, and specification of instrumentation components. Weekly laboratory.

Thermodynamics of fluid flow. Basic concepts of fluid mechanics; utility of the control volume approach to solving conservation equations governing the behavior of compressible and incompressible fluid flows. Design applications in thermal systems, aerodynamics, and convective heat transfer.

Engineering systems dynamics, including mechanical, electrical, fluid, and thermal elements. Concepts of modeling. Mathematical methods for understanding and creating desired response behavior of linear systems.

Application of stress analysis, deflection analysis, dynamic analysis, and materials to the design of mechanical components and machines. How available manufacturing processes influence nature of machine elements.

Kinematic and dynamic analysis and synthesis of mechanisms and machines; kinematics of linkages, cams and gearing systems; different analysis methods. Static and dynamic forces; balancing of rotating and reciprocating machines. Integration of these topics in solving open-ended design problems.

Understanding how atomic and crystalline structure influences the mechanical properties of metals, polymers, ceramics, composite, and biomedical materials. Thermal processes that influence the underlying structure of solids. Using materials in the engineering design process.

Student team investigations of thermal and mechanical systems emphasizing definition, planning, design, and execution of experiments involving system modeling and analysis. Written reports and oral presentations are required.

Special topics or projects of an experimental, analytical, or creative nature. May be repeated up to 16 credit hours.

Individual or small team investigation of open-ended engineering problems. Emphasis on problem definition, planning, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. May involve experimentation and/or construction of models. Students enrolled in this course are expected to be within 3 semesters of graduation.

Steady state and transient conduction; external and internal forced convection and free convection; radiation; heat exchanger design.

Sequencing control theory of linear feedback control systems; examples taken from applications encountered by mechanical and manufacturing engineers. Time and frequency response techniques. Analysis and design of fluid powered control systems. Microprocessors and computer control applications.

Design of mechanical systems and components enhanced by applications of computer graphics. Computer graphics hardware characteristics; transformation and projection geometry; space curves and surface presentations; solid geometric representations. User application CAD packages for finite element analysis and mechanisms and systems simulation.

Application of analytical and graphical methods to problems involving velocities, accelerations, working and inertia forces.

Introduction to nuclear reactors, the physics of nuclear radiations and interactions, the effects of radiation on people, and the issues and potentials that will govern the future use of nuclear energy.

In-depth treatment of the three modes of heat transfer; design applications. Development of analytical and specific numerical skills needed for solving design problems involving heat transfer.

Heating and cooling of moist air; solar radiation; computation of heating and cooling loads; study of heating, ventilating, and cooling systems and equipment; design project.

The energy problem. Energy consumption patterns in existing and new buildings. Analysis of energy saving strategies for existing buildings; developing designs for new, energy efficient buildings, including reliability, comfort, and economic considerations. Formal oral presentations.

Principles of vibrations in one or more degrees of freedom; application to machine members.

Definition and scope of fluid power control systems. Fluid properties. Continuity and power balance equations. Components function, operation, and dynamic performance. Use of perturbation theory for developing linearized transfer functions. Application of conventional control theory.

Principles of microprocessor hardware and software; integration of microprocessor hardware and software in mechanical systems for data acquisition and control purposes (e.g., robotics, internal combustion engine monitoring systems, and pneumatic controls). Intensive hands-on laboratory exercises and practical problem solving. Introduction of "mechatronics."

Mechanical failure caused by stresses, strains, and energy transfers in mechanical parts: conventional design concepts and relationship to occurrence of fracture; mechanics of fracture; fracture toughness; macroscopic and microscopic aspects of fracture; high and low cycle fatigue failures; creep; stress rupture; brittle fracture; wear; case studies of failure analysis. Emphasis on time-dependent failures.

Programming of industrial robotic manipulators with external inputs, tactile sensing, and vision sensing. A design project is required. Cross-listed as IME 560.

Human body as a mechanical system. Biomechanics of cells, soft issue and hard tissue Biomechanics of movement. Laboratory exercises on design and analysis of implants.

Introduction to the common methods and devices employed for medical imaging, including conventional x-ray imaging, x-ray computed tomography (CT), nuclear medicine (single photon planar imaging), single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and ultra-sound imaging. The physics and design of systems, typical clinical applications, medical image processing, and tomographic reconstruction. Cross-listed as EE 582.

Topics of special interest which may vary each time course is offered. Topic stated in current Schedule of Classes. Graduate students may repeat the course under different topic names up to a maximum of 9 credits.

Research on a project selected by student and advisor.

Individual study on a topic selected by the student with advisor approval. Integration and application of research. Student must produce a product such as a software program or journal article

Maximum of 6 semester hours total of research and/or thesis may be applied toward the master s degree.