Student-led special topic courses which vary by semester.
Overview of the mechanical engineer's role as analyst and designer. Introduction to manufacturing tools, equipment, and processes; properties of materials relative to manufacture and design. Pre-requisite: PHYS 1425 or PHYS …
Historical introduction, standard atmosphere, basic aerodynamics, airfoils and wings, flight mechanics, stability and control, propulsion (airbreathing, rocket and space), orbital mechanics.
Communication through engineering graphics; engineering drawing interpretation, sectioning, auxiliary views; and analysis and design of mechanical devices. Workshop includes CAD and solid modeling.
Includes the formulation of the first and second laws of thermodynamics; energy conservation; concepts of equilibrium, temperature, energy, and entropy; equations of state; processes involving energy transfer as work and …
Basic concepts of mechanics, systems of forces and couples: equilibrium of particles and rigid bodies; analysis of structures: trusses, frames, machines; internal forces, shear and bending moment diagrams; distributed forces; …
Normal stress and strain, thermal strain, shear stress, shear strain; stress and strain transformations; Mohr's circle for plane stress and strain; stresses due to combined loading; axially loaded members; torsion …
Kinematic and kinetic aspects of motion modeling applied to rigid bodies and mechanisms. Focus on free-body-analysis. Use of work-energy and impulse-momentum motion prediction methods. Use of Cartesian and simple non-Cartesian …
Application of experimental methods for the mechanical behavior of components and materials. Topics include mechanical measurement systems (load cells, accelerometers, extensometers, rotary sensors, etc.), truss design, destructive material testing methods …
Special topics in mechanical engineering
Discussion of the Keplerian two-body problem; elliptic, parabolic, and hyperbolic orbits; solution of Kepler's equation and analogs; the classical orbital elements; orbit determination; prediction of future position and velocity; orbital …
Analysis of thermodynamic cycles and energy conversion systems. Topics include multi-component system analysis, real fluids, chemical equilibrium, and renewable energy systems. Applications include power generation, internal combustion engines, refrigeration/heat pump …
Development of fundamentals of heat transfer from a nanoscale or atomic perspective, as applied to nanotechnology and energy applications; topics include selected relevant concepts from Kinetic Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Solid …
Analysis of steady state and transient heat conduction in solids with elementary analytical and numerical solution techniques; fundamentals of radiation heat transfer, including exchange among black and diffuse gray surfaces; …
Introduction to fluid flow concepts and equations; characteristics of a fluid; mass and momentum conservation equations; fluid statics including buoyancy; Reynolds¿ Transport Theorem; Bernoulli's equation; viscous effects; Couette and Poiseuille …
Introduction to aerodynamic concepts and equations; integral and differential forms of mass, momentum, and energy conservation; fluid statics and buoyancy; Bernoulli's equation; potential flow; circulation and lift; thin airfoil theory; …
Boundary layers: similarity, Blasius and momentum integral methods. Ideal Flows: Kelvin's circulation theorem; complex potential; superposition; Kutta-Joukowski; thin airfoils; finite wings; lifting lines. Gas dynamics: sound waves; normal and oblique …
Application of experimental methods for thermal-fluid behavior. Topics include fluid properties, pressure and buoyancy, jet momentum, dimensional analysis, pipe flow, data analysis, particle image velocimetry, and measurement uncertainty. The laboratory …
Analyzes the design of elements under combined stresses; bending and torsional stresses in thin-walled beams; energy and other methods applied to statically determinate and indeterminate aerospace structural elements; buckling of …
Introduces numerical modeling concepts used in engineering simulation tools like computational fluid dynamics and structural mechanics analysis software. Topics covered include discretization methods of partial differential equations, numerical solutions of …