Courses of Study--Mechanical Engineering

MECHNCHL 2630 Thermodynamics 3 credits
Basic concepts and definitions, properties of ideal gases and real substances. Conservation of mass. First law of thermodynamics for closed and open systems. Second law of thermodynamics, entropy and availability.
P: CHEMSTRY 1450 and PHYSICS 2530
C: MATH 2840

MECHNCHL 2950 & 2960 Mechanical Engineering Cooperative Education 2 credits
Work experience in industry under the direction and jurisdiction of the College of Engineering.
P: sophomorestanding and consent of the cooperative education coordinator

MECHNCHL 2970 Mechanical Engineering Internship 1 credit
Work experience in industry under the direction of the department chair and Cooperative Education Office of the College of Engineering.
P: Consent of the department chair.
Note: This program is separate and distinct from the Cooperative Education Program and is principally designed to cover the summer vacation period. At the department chair's discretion, it may be used to cover other exceptional work experiences.

MECHNCHL 3030 Dynamical Systems 3 credits
Mathematical modeling and response analysis of dynamic systems. Formulation of system governing equations by Newtonian and Lagrangian approaches. Laplace transform and numerical techniques of solution. Transfer function and state-space approaches to modeling dynamic systems. Time and frequency response of dynamic systems. Computer solutions of system responses.
P: GENENG 2230 and MATH 3630

MECHNCHL 3040 Engineering Materials 3 credits
A study of metals and polymers. Crystal structures, microstructures, molecular structures and imperfections. Relationship between structures and observed mechanical properties. Material failure.
P: CHEMSTRY 1450
C: GENENG 2340

MECHNCHL 3230 Manufacturing Processes 3 credits
Overview of materials such as metals, alloys, composites and ceramics. Primary manufacturing processes such as casting, forging, rolling and extrusion. Secondary processes such as forming, bending, drawing and swaging. Mechanics and economics of metal cutting. Economics of process planning. Special processes such as powder metallurgy. Design and manufacturing. Manufacturing systems, CAD/CAM/CNC/CIM.
P: MECHNCHL 3040

MECHNCHL 3300 Fluid Dynamics 3 credits
Fluid properties, fluid statics, fundamental equations of fluid motion, dimensional analysis, external flow and boundary layers, viscous flow in pipes, compressible flow.
P: MECHNCHL 2630 and GENENG 2230

MECHNCHL 3330 Design of Machine Elements 3 credits
Nonstandard loading, deflection analysis, failure theories for static and cyclic loading followed by safety considerations. Design and selection of a wide range of machine elements such as fasteners, springs, shafts, bearings and gears. Dimensioning, fits and tolerances and design communication. Open-ended design project.
P: MECHNCHL 3040 and “C” or better in GENENG 2340

MECHNCHL 3630 Applied Thermodynamics 2 credits
Thermodynamics of vapor and gas power cycles, air conditioning and refregeration cycles.  Ideal gas mixtures and psychrometrics.
P: MECHNCHL 2630

MECHNCHL 3640 Heat Transfer 3 credits
One and two-dimensional steady heat conduction, transient heat conduction, numerical methods in conduction transfer. Forced and free convection. Heat exchangers. Radiation heat exchange, shape factors and shielding. Introduction to mass transfer.
C: MECHNCHL 3300

MECHNCHL 3720 Mechanical Systems Lab 3 credits
Introduction to engineering laboratory equipment, experimental procedures, report writing, automated data acquisition, including computer programming and statistical analysis. Emphasis is on the experimental analysis of mechanical systems, including topics such as vibrations, strain guages, and DC motors, along with the electronics used to instrument and measure these systems.
C: MECHNCHL 3030

MECHNCHL 3730 Mechanical Systems Design 2 credits
Development of student design creativity. Generation and evaluation of design concepts considering factors such as: the environment, manufacturability, assembly, ergonomics, aesthetics, safety, societal impact, reliability and maintainability. Economic factors, fits and tolerances, design communication and ethics. Application of fundamental concepts in engineering to the design of machine systems via a project.
P: MECHNCHL 3330

MECHNCHL 3830 Mechanisms and Machines 2 credits
Design and analysis of mechanisms and machines. A study of simple machines such as linkages, geared systems, and cam-follower systems. Topics include mechanism motion and performance (position, velocity, acceleration, force transmission, etc.), actuators, and design considerations to improve machine performance.
P: GENENG 2230 or ENGRPHYS 3240

ME 3950 & 3960 Mechanical Engineering Cooperative Education 2 credits
Work experience in industry under the direction and jurisdiction of the College of Engineering.
P: junior standing and consent of cooperative education coordinator

ME 3970 Mechanical Engineering Internship 1 credit
Work experience in industry under the direction of the department chair and Cooperative Education Office of the College of Engineering.
P: consent of the department chair
Note: This program is separate and distinct from the Cooperative Education Program and is principally designed to cover the summer vacation period. At the department chair's discretion, it may be used to cover other exceptional work experiences.

MECHNCHL 4310 Automatic Controls Laboratory 1 credit
Application and experimentation utilizing concepts from Automatic Controls. Project.
Cross Offering: ELECTENG 3300
C: MECHNCHL 4320 or ELECTENG 3310

MECHNCHL 4320 Automatic Controls 2 credits
Introduction to feedback control theory. Dynamic modeling of electrical and mechanical systems. Stability analysis. Root-Locus and frequency response analysis and design methods.
P: MECHNCHL 3030 and GENENG 2930

MECHNCHL 4430 Advanced Materials 3 credits
Discussion of specialty materials in engineering design and design for manufacture. Stainless steels, light alloys, and corrosion. Composite materials. Current topics and advances.
P: MECHNCHL 3040

MECHNCHL 4440 Failure of Materials 3 credits
Fatigue and fracture of materials are covered. Included are stress-life and strain-life analysis, fracture mechanics, stress concentration influences and variable amplitude loading. The design component of the course is done using CAD, FEA simulation, and fatigue life prediction software. Using commercially available software gives the students experience designing realistic components subjected to variable fluctuating load histories. Mechanical testing principles and principles for recognition of fatigue failure from fracture surfaces are also introduced in the course.
P: MECHNCHL 3040

MECHNCHL 4500 Biomedical Engineering 3 credits
An overview of the human physical system as a context for engineering design. Introduction to the functional basis of physiologic systems. Instrumentation, biomechanics, and design of medical devices. Principles of accessibility and universal design.
P: Senior standing in engineering or consent of instructor

MECHNCHL 4520 Power Plant Design 3 credits
Analysis and design of steam power systems. Combustion turbines. Renewable energy. Environmental aspects and economics of power generation. Recent developments, future trends, and societal issues in power industry.
P: MECHNCHL 3630

MECHNCHL 4550 Heat Transfer Applications 3 credits
Review of conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer. Extension to variable properties and more complex geometries. Current heat transfer problems and applications such as electronic cooling, heat pipes, capillary pumped loops, and cryogenic heat transfer. Survey of currently used correlations and numerical techniques. Application of current state-of-the-art to design problems.
P: MECHNCHL 3630 and MECHNCHL 3640

MECHNCHL 4600 Energy Systems Design 3 credits
Design and analysis of energy conversion systems with emphasis on solar energy. Flat plate and concentrating collectors for air and liquids, storage flow and control systems requirements, solar electrical power generation. Wind energy conversion, biomass.
P: MECHNCHL 3630 and MECHNCHL 3640

MECHNCHL 4630 Internal Combustion Engine Design 3 credits
Design of internal combustion engines for various applications. Gasoline engines, diesel engines, 4 stroke cycles and 2 stroke cycles.
P: MECHNCHL 3630 and MECHNCHL 3640

MECHNCHL 4640 Mechanical Design of Internal Combustion Engines 3 credits
Mechanical design and experimental development of internal combustion engines to meet comprehensive design criteria: marketability, thermodynamic performance, dynamic issues, efficiency, lubrication, emissions, economy, drivability, design for manufacture.
P: MECHNCHL 4630

MECHNCHL 4650 Environmental Control Design 3 credits
Theory and design of heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration units. Heating and cooling loads for air conditioning, heat pump, psychometry.
P: MECHNCHL 3630 and MECHNCHL 3640

MECHNCHL 4720 Thermal Systems Laboratory 2 credits
Instrumentation and measurement techniques in thermal systems; verification of basic principles; laboratory tests on components of thermal systems; experimental approach for solving engineering problems; application of computer to data acquisition and data processing.
C: MECHNCHL 3720
P: MECHNCHL 3630 and MECHNCHL 3640

MECHNCHL 4730 Thermo-Fluid Systems Design 2 credits
Design of energy system components. Modeling and simulation of thermal systems. Open-ended design project(s) with application of principles in thermal science.
P: MECHNCHL 3630 and MECHNCHL 3640

MECHNCHL 4750 Computational Methods in Engineering 3 credits
Use of digital computers to solve equations encountered in mechanical engineering problems. Numerical integration and differentiation, solution of linear and nonlinear equations, ordinary and partial differential equations (finite element and finite difference methods), systems of equations (matrix equations). Programming using MATLAB. How to choose the proper numerical method, and pitfalls that lead to bad solutions
P: MATH 3630

MECHNCHL 4800 Finite Element Method 3 credits
Introduction to the finite element method. Emphasis on truss, beam and frame analysis, plane stress, plane strain, axisymmetric, and three-dimensional stress analysis. Dynamic analysis and field problems, such as heat transfer. Readily available finite element computer programs utilized to solve stress analysis, heat transfer and other engineering related problems.
P: MECHNCHL 3330

MECHNCHL 4830 Mechatronics 3 credits
Study of electro-mechanical systems and their interfaces. Programming of microcontrollers, fractional-horsepower motors, sensors, programmable logic controllers (PLC’s), and control electronics. Binary number systems and logic are introduced. Application of control theory. Project.
C: MECHNCHL 4320 or ELECTENG 3310

MECHNCHL 4840 Vibration System Design 3 credits
Modeling and analysis of single and multiple-degree of freedom systems. Free and forced vibrations. Vibrations applications such as balancing, whirling, vibration instruments, vibration isolation, and suspension. Computer applications involving matrices, eigenvalues, eigenvectors, and differential equations. Design of mechanical systems involving vibrations.
P: MECHNCHL 3030

MECHNCHL 4850 Computer-Aided Engineering 3 credits
Use of current tools in the design and simulation of mechanical systems. Generation of a paperless project, including solid modeling and computer assembly of mechanical systems, system dynamic analysis, and system optimization. Interfaces between various computer software packages and the creation of computer routines to extend built in software modeling capabilities.
P: MECHNCHL 3330

MECHNCHL 4930 Senior Design Project 3 credits
Team based projects, primarily from industry. Rigorous application of design processes and methods. Consideration of real-life technical, economic, social, aesthetic, environmental and other constraints. Consideration of several related topics such as creativity, analysis, synthesis, project management, scheduling, time management, engineering ethics, communication, personality types, product safety and liability, copyrights and patents, design for manufacture, economics, and robust engineering. Integration of technical and management knowledge in an open-ended design environment. Oral and written reports. Open to graduating seniors only.
P: MECHNCHL 3230, MECHNCHL 3830, MECHNCHL 3730 and MECHNCHL 4730

ME 4980 Current Topics in Engineering 1-3 credits
In-depth study of a current topic of interest to the engineering profession. The topic to be covered will be identified in the course title.
P: variable

ME 4990 Independent Study 1-3 credits
Advanced study in the area of specialization.
P: senior standing and consent of the department chair

P:- Prerequisite course
C:- Corequisite course