Mechanical Engineering
Mechanical Engineering - Undergraduate Courses
Design elective/required choices are indicated by (D) following course title.
ME 001 Mechanical Engineering Workshop (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: freshman status. This one-hour per week workshop familiarizes mechanical engineering students with basic practices in a laboratory environment including safety considerations, design planning, layout, fabrication, and tolerances. Demonstrations and actual fabrication as time permits. Spring semester only. No credit.
ME 101 Engineering Graphics (back to previous page)
Orthographic/Multiview projections; isometric, auxiliary, and sectional views; dimensioning and tolerancing practices; working drawings; computer-aided drafting and solid modeling using contemporary software. 2 credit hours.
ME 200 Engineering Materials (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: CH 103. A study of the properties of the principal engineering materials of modern technology: steels and nonferrous alloys and their heat treatment, concrete, wood, ceramics, and plastics. Gives engineers sufficient background to aid them in selecting materials and setting specifications. 3 credit hours.
ME 215 Instrumentation Laboratory (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: EAS 109, ME 001. Laboratory experiments introducing equipment and techniques used to measure force, static displacement, dynamic motion, stress, strain, fluid flow, pressure, and temperature. Computerized data acquisition, calibration, and statistical analysis of data uncertainty. 2 credit hours.
ME 300 Dynamics (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: EAS 222. Free-body diagrams, equilibrium of forces, friction. Kinematics and dynamics of particles and rigid bodies with emphasis on two-dimensional problems. Vector representation of motion in rectangular, polar, and natural coordinates. Impulse momentum and work-energy theorems. Rigid bodies in translation, rotation, and general plane motion. 3 credit hours.
ME 304 Mechanical Behavior of Materials (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 200. Detailed study of elastic and plastic deformation of materials at room temperature and elevated temperatures. Dislocation theory and microplasticity models considered. 3 credit hours.
ME 305 Engineering Thermodynamics (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: EAS 224. Corequisite: M 203. Use of 1st and 2nd Laws of Thermodynamics to investigate processes involving vapors and gases in closed and open systems. Analysis of vapor and gas power and refrigeration cycles. Exergy analysis. Psychromertics. Combustion processes. 4 credit hours.
ME 308 Applied Elasticity (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: EAS 222, M 203. Stress and strain tensors. Equilibrium equations. Transformation equations for stress and strain. Principal stresses and maximum shear stress. Stress-strain relations. Measurement of strain. Theories of yielding and fracture. Introduction to matrix methods of structural analysis, the finite element method, and computer-aided engineering. 4 credit hours.
ME 315 Mechanics Laboratory (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: EAS 222, ME 215. Laboratory experiments in mechanics of materials, vibrational analysis, computer-aided data acquisition and analysis. Emphasis placed on measurement techniques, report writing, and error/statistical analysis. 2 credit hours.
ME 321 Incompressible Fluid Flow (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: EAS 224, M 204 or consent of instructor. Fluid kinematics, continuity equation, vector operations. Momen-tum equation for frictionless flow, Bernoulli equation with applications. Irrotational flow, velocity potential, Laplace’s equation, dynamic pressure and lift. Stream function for incompressible flows. Rotational flows, vorticity, circulation, lift and drag. Integral momentum analysis. Navier-Stokes equation, stress tensor. Newtonian fluid. Boundary layer approximations. 3 credit hours.
ME 330 Fundamentals of Mechanical Design (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: EAS 222 or consent of instructor. Review of methods of mechanical design. Development of fundamental engineering analysis involving static and fatigue failure. Topics include the maximum shear and Von Mises theories of static design, safety factor, Soderberg and Goodman diagrams for fatigue design, modified endurance limit, reliability analysis, statistical considerations, and stress concentration. Introduction to codes and standards. Practical applications. 3 credit hours.
ME 343 Mechanisms (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 300. Graphic and analytic methods for determining displacements, velocities, and accelerations of machine components. Applications to simple mechanisms such as linkages, cams, gears. Design project. 3 credit hours.
ME 344 Mechanics of Vibration (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: M 204 , ME 300. The mathematical relationships necessary for the solution of problems involving the vibration of lumped and continuous systems. Damping, free and forced motions, resonance, isolation, energy methods, balancing. Single, two, and multiple degrees of freedom. Vibration measurement. 3 credit hours.
ME 355 Interfacing and Control of Mechanical Devices (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: EAS 230 or consent of instructor. A practical, hands-on approach to connecting, monitoring, and control of thermo sensors, motors, encoders, and other sensors and transducers using a PC and a multipurpose expansion board. Topics include hardware connections, voltage input and output, motor-generator and motor-encoder feedback, stepper motors, thermal control, and digital switching. 3 credit hours.
ME 361 Fundamentals of Renewable Energy Systems (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: EAS 211, M 203 or consent of instructor. A study of the technology and engineering design issues of renewable energy systems (solar, wind, geothermal, tidal); availability of renewable resources and assessment of generation capacity. Topics include active and passive solar methods tied to HVAC systems; solar, thermal, and electric power generation alternatives; wind and tidal power engineering; and current waste to energy systems. 3 credit hours.
ME 365 Introduction to Energy Efficiency (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: EAS 224, EAS 230 or equivalent. Analysis of selected engineering systems with a focus on improvements in electrical/thermal efficiency. Thermal and electrical power management and conservation in buildings with specific focus on HVAC system efficiency, energy efficient technologies (electrical motors, lighting, heat pumps). Energy audits, power management and cogeneration are discussed. 3 credit hours.
ME 398 Mechanical Engineering Internship (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: junior status. A minimum of 300 hours of practical experience in an area or technical project closely related to mechanical engineering. The requirement may be satisfied through an internship, full- or part-time employment, summer job, apprenticeship, or volunteer work. No credit.
ME 404 Heat Transfer (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 305 or consent of instructor. Steady and unsteady conduction in one and two dimensions. Heat transfer in walls and cylinders; internal generation of heat. Fins and extended surfaces. Introduction to matrix inversion; finite difference solutions using matrix inversion and time-step iteration methods. Biot, Fourier, Prandtl, Nusselt, and other dimensionless numbers. Internal and external forced convection. Heat exchangers, log-mean temperature difference, effectiveness-NTU method. Radiation. Practical examples. 3 credit hours.
ME 407 Solar Energy Thermal Processes (D) (back to previous page)
Corequisite: ME 404. Introduction to the fundamentals of solar energy thermal processes including solar radiation, flat plate and focusing collectors, energy storage, hot water heating, cooling and auxiliary system components. Emphasis on the design and evaluation of systems as they pertain to commercial and residential buildings. 3 credit hours.
ME 408 Advanced Mechanics (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: M 204, ME 300. Plane and spatial motion of particles and rigid bodies, inertia tensor, relative motion, gyroscopes, central force motion. Lagrangian and Hamiltonian methods. 3 credit hours.
ME 411 Fundamentals of Thermo/Fluid Design (D) (back to previous page)
Corequisites: ME 305, ME 330 or consent of the instructor. Introduction to the design of specific thermal, heat and fluid devices and systems as they apply to practical design problems. Review of design methodology and basic equations in thermal sciences. Group design studies in each of the three basic areas of heat exchangers, prime movers, and piping systems. 3 credit hours.
ME 415 Thermo/Fluids Laboratory (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 215, ME 321; Corequisite: ME 404. A survey of experiments and laboratory investigations covering the areas of fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, and gas dynamics. Analog and digital data acquisition and analysis. 2 credit hours.
ME 422 Compressible Fluid Flow (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 305, ME 321, ME 404 or consent of the instructor. Compressible fluid flow with emphasis on one-dimensional ducted steady flows with heat transfer, frictional effects, shock waves, and combined effects. Introductory considerations of two- and three-dimensional flows. Applications to propulsive devices. Occasional demonstrations accompany the lectures. 3 credit hours.
ME 426 Turbomachinery (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 305, ME 321 or consent of the instructor. Review of basic thermodynamics and fluid mechanics. Dimensional analysis. Specific speed. Classification of turbomachines. Cavitation. Losses. Definitions of efficiency. Theories of turbomachines. Design considerations for stator blades and rotor blades. Computer-aided design. 3 credit hours.
ME 427 Computer-Aided Engineering (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 308 or consent of the instructor. Integration of computers into the design cycle. Interactive computer modeling and analysis. Geometrical modeling with wire frame, surface, and solid models. Finite element modeling and analysis. Problems solved involving structural, dynamic, and thermal characteristics of mechanical devices. 3 credit hours.
ME 431 Mechanical Engineering Design I (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 330 and senior status. First course of a two-semester senior capstone design sequence representing the culmination of the ME student undergraduate education experience. A minimum of two weeks review/summary of relevant engineering principles. Students are expected to apply engineering principles acquired throughout their academic and internship experiences to the design of a system, component, or process. Projects include design methodology, design problem statements and specifications, alternative solutions, feasibility and detailed system descriptions. Consideration of realistic constraints, such as economic factors, safety, reliability, maintenance, aesthetics, ethics, and social and environmental impact. Oral and written presentations. When appropriate, one team with demonstrated commitment to a major project may be selected to further develop that project with the intent of participating in a national competition as a means of satisfying the senior design sequence. Course available only in fall semester. 3 credit hours.
ME 432 Mechanical Engineering Design II (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 431. Continuation and completion of projects initiated in ME 431. Emphasis on design, documentation, and project management. Detailed drawings and prototype construction (or simulation, as appropriate), testing, and evaluation. Formal reports and presentations. Course available only in spring semester. 3 credit hours.
ME 435 Advanced Mechanical Design (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 321, ME 431. Selected advanced topics related to the design of machine elements such as hydrodynamic theory of lubrication and principles of hydraulic machines with application to hydraulic couplings. 3 credit hours.
ME 438 Systems Dynamics and Control (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 300, ME 321. Modeling, analysis, and control of dynamic systems with feedback. Response and stability analysis. Design and compensation methods. Applications in mechanical, thermal, electrical systems. Some lab applications. 3 credit hours.
ME 443 Introduction to Flight Propulsion (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 422 or consent of instructor. A senior course designed for those students who intend to work or pursue further studies in the aerospace field. Among the topics covered are detonation and deflagration, introductory one-dimensional nonsteady gas flows, basic concepts of turbomachinery, and survey of contemporary propulsive devices. Shock tube, supersonic wind tunnel, and flame propagation demonstrations accompany the lectures. 3 credit hours.
ME 450-459 Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. In-depth study of topics chosen from areas of particular and current interest to mechanical engineering students. 1-6 credit hours.
ME 512 Senior Seminar (back to previous page)
Open to seniors with coordinator’s approval. Individual oral presentations by students of material researched on topics selected by students and faculty at the beginning of the term. 3 credit hours.
ME 599 Independent Study (D) (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: Consent of faculty supervisor and approval of program coordinator. Independent study provides an opportunity for the student to explore an area of special interest under faculty supervision. 1-3 credit hours per semester, with a maximum of 12 credits.
Mechanical Engineering - Graduate Courses
ME 602 Mechanical Engineering Analysis (back to previous page)
Topics in vector calculus and complex variables. Solution of partial differential equations as applied to mechanical engineering.
ME 604 Numerical Techniques in Mechanical Engineering (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: knowledge of C programming or FORTRAN. Review of matrix algebra and simultaneous equations. Numerical integration and differentiation. Numerical methods for differential equations including techniques such as Euler, Runge-Kutta, Milne, shooting, Crank-Nicolson and FEM. Emphasis on numerical solutions to ordinary and partial differential equations relevant to mechanical engineering.
ME 605 Finite Element Methods in Engineering (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 604. Basic concepts underlying the FEM. Displacement and weighted residual formulations of the finite element approach to numerical solutions. Applications to one- and two-dimensional problems in areas such as elasticity, heat transfer and fluid mechanics.
ME 610 Advanced Dynamics (back to previous page)
Kinematics and dynamics of single particles and systems of particles. Lagrange's equations. Hamilton's principle and canonical transformation theory. The inertia tensor and rigid body motion.
ME 611 System Vibrations (back to previous page)
Advanced techniques for analysis of vibrations in mechanical systems. Multiple degrees of freedom and random noise inputs among topics covered.
ME 613 Fundamentals of Acoustics (back to previous page)
Basic theory of acoustics in stationary media; plane, cylindrical and spherical waves; reflection, transmission and absorption characteristics; sources of sound; propagation and attenuation in ducts and enclosures.
ME 615 Theory of Elasticity (back to previous page)
Index notation; Cartesian tensors and coordinate transformation; stress tensor and field equation; analysis of stress and strain in two and three dimensions; Airy stress function; applications to problems of torsion and bending; experimental methods.
ME 620 Classical Thermodynamics (back to previous page)
Phenomenological equilibrium and nonequilibrium thermodynamics. Formulation and application of fundamental laws and concepts; chemical thermodynamics.
ME 622 Topics in Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics (back to previous page)
Extensive review of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics topics including 1st and 2nd laws, energy, power and refrigeration cycles, Bernoulli equation and applications, conservation equations, losses in pipes. Design project required (hardware or other). Not intended for mechanical engineering graduates of ABET-accredited programs.
ME 625 Mechanics of Continua (back to previous page)
Tensor analysis, stress vector and stress tensor, kinematics of deformation, material derivative, fundamental law of continuum mechanics, conservation theorems, constitutive laws and representative applications.
ME 627 Computer-Aided Engineering (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: consent of instructor. Integration of computers into the design cycle. Interactive computer modeling and analysis. Geometrical modeling with wire frame, surface and solid models. Finite element modeling and analysis. Problems solved involving structural, dynamic and thermal characteristics of mechanical devices.
ME 630 Advanced Fluid Mechanics (back to previous page)
Advanced topics from among the following areas: perfect fluids, viscous fluids, turbulence, boundary layer theory, surface phenomena, shock waves and gas dynamics.
ME 631 Topics in General Heat Transfer (back to previous page)
Extensive review of heat transfer topics including conduction and convection in plates, walls, multi-layered walls and pipes. Use of empirical numbers (Nusselt, Prandtl and Reynolds) for determining the convective film coefficient, and Biot and Fourier numbers for transient conduction. Review of heat transfer in fins and in heat exchangers. Use of the log-mean temperature difference and epsilon-NTU methods. Topics in radiation heat transfer including emissive power, black and grey bodies, and shape factor. Significant design project required. Not intended for ME graduates of ABET-accredited programs.
ME 632 Conduction Heat Transfer (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 602, ME 604 co-requisite, consent of instructor. The fundamentals of conduction heat transfer presented in a level that requires a good knowledge or partial (and ordinary) differential equations and a level of proficiency iin numerical analysis.
ME 633 Convection Heat Transfer (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 602, ME 604 co-requisite, consent of instructor. The fundamentals of convection heat transfer presented in a level that requires a good knowledge of partial (and ordinary) differential equations and a level of proficiency in numerical analysis.
ME 635 Dynamic Systems and Control (back to previous page)
Introduction to the modeling of dynamic systems. Emphasis on the analysis of first and higher order continuous-time linear models. Feedback techniques with examples from various branches of mechanical engineering.
ME 638 Measurement and Instrumentation in ME (back to previous page)
Measurement principles, including error analysis. Instrument systems: sensing, transmitting and terminating devices. Typical systems and devices for measuring motion, force, stress, strain, pressure, flow and temperature.
ME 642 Combustion (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 620, ME 630, ME 632, and consent of instructor. Review of chemical kinetics. Explosive and oxidative characteristics of fuels. Premixed combustible gases. Detonations and deflagrations. Diffusion flames. Non volatile fuels. Ignition.
ME 645 Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: ME 604, ME 630. Current methods of computer solutions of the conservation equations of fluid dynamics. Viscous, incompressible, compressible and shock flows. Real gas equations of state. Computer projects.
ME 647 Two-Phase Flow (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 620, ME 630, ME 632, or consent of instructor. An introduction to the thermophysics of phase change phenomena in general with specific treatment to the dynamic behavior of interfaces and to the vaporization and condensation processes in heat transfer equipment.
ME 651 Microscale Energy Transfer (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: ME 610, ME 620, ME 630, ME 632, and consent of the instructor. Microscale Energy transport in fast transient regimes in solids. Interfaces, liquid films, etc. Melting and freezing phenomena, Microscale radiation, Interfacial forces, Micro heat pipes.
ME 655 Interfacing Mechanical Devices (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: knowledge of C programming. Interfacing the real world of mechanical devices to a stand-alone PC. How to write C programs for monitoring and control of DC motors, encoders, stepper motors, AC heaters and AC fans. Practical uses of thermal, mechanical, optical and HallEffect sensors.
ME 670 Selected Topics (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: permission of the instructor. A study of selected topics of particular interest to the students and instructor. May be taken more than once.
ME 690 Research Project (back to previous page)
Prerequisites: 15 graduate hours and written permission of program coordinator. Independent study under the guidance of a faculty adviser, such study terminating in a technical report of academic merit. Research may constitute a survey of a technical area in mechanical engineering or may involve the solution of an actual or hypothetical technical problem.
ME 695 Independent Study I (back to previous page)
A planned program of individual study under the supervision of a member of the faculty.
ME 696 Independent Study II (back to previous page)
A continuation of Independent Study I.
ME 698 Thesis I (back to previous page)
Prerequisite: 18 graduate credit hours. Periodic meetings and discussions of the individual student's progress in the preparation of a thesis.
ME 699 Thesis II (back to previous page)
A continuation of Thesis I.