Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Although not separately stated, the prerequisites for all courses offered by the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering may include classification as a student in good standing in aerospace engineering, engineering science and/or another engineering program for which the particular course is required.

Fundamentals of atmospheric and space flight; aerodynamic principles relating to lift and drag for two-dimensional and three-dimensional airfoils at both subsonic and supersonic speeds; aircraft performance including take-off distance, climb rates, range and landing distances; rocket trajectories and orbits; remotely-controlled aircraft design.

A course to develop a working understanding of experimental methods common to fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, dynamics and controls. Emphasis is placed on the characterization of various instrumentation systems and the operation of devices for motion, dimensional, force, torque, pressure, flow and temperature measurements. Techniques and hardware for data acquisition, data reduction and signal processing are presented. Programming is performed in LabView and Matlab.

A course on experimental planning and execution. Emphasis is placed on uncertainty analysis and statistical considerations in the planning, design, construction, debugging, execution, data analysis and reporting of experimental programs in accordance with the ANSI/ASME standards on measurement uncertainty (ANSI/ASME PTC 19.1-1985). Students are required to perform a major experimental project in one of the subject areas: biomechanics, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics or dynamics and controls. Programming is performed in LabView and Matlab. Examples of advanced experimental methods and instrumentation are presented from current departmental research.

Topics from compressible and incompressible fluid mechanics related to aircraft and rocket flight. Incompressible aerodynamics: airfoils and finite wings. Design project using vortex-lattice computer code. Compressible aerodynamics, normal and oblique shocks, Prandtl-Meyer expansion waves and supersonic airfoils.

Topics from compressible flow related to high speed flights, reacting flows and propulsion. Isentropic flow with area change, Rayleigh flow, Fanno flow, diffusers and nozzles, aerodynamic heating, mass diffusion and conduction, convective heat transfer.

One-dimensional and quasi-one-dimensional compressible fluid flows. Mach waves, normal shocks, oblique shocks, Prandtl-Meyer expansions, isentropic flow with area change, Fanno flow, Rayleigh flow.

Review of plane states of stress and strain. Analysis of thin-walled beams with open and closed section. Unsymmetrical bending of wing sections. Torsion of skin-stringer and multi-cell sections. Flexural shear in open and closed sections. Shear Center. Failure criteria. Introduction to composite materials. Demonstration of behavior of some simple structural elements.

Introduction to plate theory. Stability of structural elements. Columns and beams. Plates. Energy principles in finite element method. Stiffness, incremental stiffness and mass matrices of aerospace structural elements. Computer programming for finite element analysis. Introduction to vibration & structural dynamics. Design and testing of typical structural element.

Various types and applications of structural composites used in flight structures. Introduction to analysis of structural composites.

Basics of air-breathing and rocket engines used in flight systems.

Chemical equilibrium, explosions, premixed and diffusion flame theory, denotation and turbulent reacting flow.

Static stability and control, equations of motion, stability derivatives, stability of longitudinal and lateral motion of aircraft.

Review of current guidance and control systems. Synthesis of open and closed loop guidance and control systems using classical and modern control theory. Aerospace applications.

Introduction to the solar system. Study of two-body motion, Hohmann transfer, patched conics for interplanetary & lunar trajectories, the restricted three-body problem. Introduction to powered flights and artificial satellite orbits.

A discussion of the component systems of a spacecraft and typical missions requirements. The operation and character of different spacecraft hardware will be presented, as well as typical mission time lines from early conception to final operations. Topics include: the space environment, guidance/control/navigation systems, spacecraft sensors and actuators, propulsion systems, thermal systems, power systems, launch systems, communication systems, structural systems and mission operations. This course will be useful to engineers, scientists, computer scientists and any profession that uses data.

Applications of the principles of analysis and design to aerospace vehicles.

Second part of EAS 4700-4710 sequence.

Students work in teams under the supervision of a group of faculty members to design and implement a flight test program using a Cessna 172 aircraft. Tests are conducted to investigate aerodynamic behavior, airplane performance, static and dynamic stability. Instrumentation includes a flow-visualization system, pressure measurement system, angular position and rate gyroscopes, a global positioning system and associated hardware and software for data acquisition and analysis.

Selected problems or projects in the student’s major field of engineering study.

The first of a two-course sequence in which multidisciplinary teams of engineering and business students partner with industry sponsors to design and build authentic products and processes—on time and within budget. Working closely with industry liaison engineers and a faculty coach, students gain practical experience in teamwork and communication, problem solving and engineering design, and develop leadership, management and people skills.

The second part of a two-course sequence in which multidisciplinary teams of engineering and business students partner with industry sponsors to design and build authentic products and processes—on time and within budget. Working closely with industry liaison engineers and a faculty coach, students gain practical experience in teamwork and communication, problem solving and engineering design, and develop leadership, management and people skills.

Practical engineering work under industrial supervision, as set forth in the College Regulations.

The minimum subset of material covered in EGM 3511 essential for further study of EGM 3400 or EGM 3401. This course is not an acceptable prerequisite for EGM 3520.

Reduction of force systems. Equilibrium of particles and rigid bodies. Vector methods. Application to structures and mechanisms.

Solution methods for first and second order ordinary differential equations. Applications to radioactive decay, mass spring systems and electric circuits. Treatment of the Bessel and Legendre equations. Laplace transform methods applied to constant coefficient equations. Solution of simultaneous first order equations. (M)

Dynamics of particles and rigid bodies for rectilinear translation, curvilinear motion, rotation and plane motion. Principles of work and energy, also impulse and momentum.

Covers material of EGM 3400 plus extended coverage of three-dimensional rigid-body dynamics and of orbital motion.

Stress and strain at a point, stress-strain-temperature relations and mechanical properties of materials. Systems subject to axial load, torsion and bending. Design concepts, indeterminate structures, applications.

Emphasis on overall design and analysis of complex engineering systems. Materials, structural, chemical, control, nuclear, mechanical, electrical and operational problems; cost analysis.

Continuation of EGM 4000.

Definition of the optical system. Calculation of radiometric quantities. Line and gray body sources. Atmospheric transmission. Selected topics in optics. Calculation of radiant flux through an optical system.

Vector differential calculus, including the concepts of gradient, divergence and curl. Divergence and Stokes theorems. Introduction to partial differential equations and Fourier series. Equations of heat conduction, wave propagation and Laplace. Complex variables and the Cauchy-Riemann conditions. Cauchy theorem and conformal mapping.

Methods for numerical solution of mathematical problems, with emphasis on engineering applications and on computer implementation. Curve fitting and functional approximation. Nonlinear algebraic equations. Systems of linear algebraic equations. Numerical differentiation and quadrature. Ordinary differential equations and systems of ODEs. Eigenvalue problems. Finite difference calculus and solution of partial differential equations.

To develop a basic understanding of the fundamentals of the finite element (FE) method as applied to structural, solid and biomechanics. Emphasis will be place don the derivation of the stiffness matrices for truss, beam and solid elements, static analysis of FE systems with a matrix linear algebra approach, internal structure of a FE code, coding and plotting, linear stability analysis of trusses and beams, and applications to aerospace structures and biomechanics. Introduction to advanced topics such as axi-symmetric solid elements, dynamic analysis, etc.

Formulation of design objectives as optimization problems. Application of optimization techniques to design. Response surface techniques for analytical and experimental optimum engineering design. Experimental optimization applied to a design project.

Dynamic analysis of the human musculoskeletal system. Development of lumped mass, planar rigid body and three-dimensional rigid body models of human movement. Calculation of internal forces in muscles and joints. Analysis of muscle function using dynamics principles and musculoskeletal geometry.

Introduction to solid and fluid mechanics of biological systems. Rheological behavior of materials subjected to static and dynamic loading. Mechanics of cardiovascular, pulmonary and renal systems. Mathematical models and analytical techniques used in biosciences.

A study of biothermal fluid sciences. Emphasis on physiological processes occurring in human blood circulation and underlying mechanisms from an engineering prospective.

Selected problems or projects in the student’s major field of engineering study.

A two-course sequence in which multidisciplinary teams of engineering and business students partner with industry sponsors to design and build authentic products and processes—on time and within budget. Working closely with industry liaison engineers and a faculty coach, students gain practical experience in teamwork and communication, problem solving and engineering design, and develop leadership, management and people skills.

A two-course sequence in which multidisciplinary teams of engineering and business students partner with industry sponsors to design and build authentic products and processes—on time and within budget. Working closely with industry liaison engineers and a faculty coach, students gain practical experience in teamwork and communication, problem solving and engineering design, and develop leadership, management and people skills.

One term of industrial employment, including extra work according to a pre-approved outline. Practical engineering work under industrial supervision, as set forth in the College of Engineering regulations.

Comparison of political, scientific, technological and social thought and interrelationships between technological and social development. Course is introductory, exploratory and qualitative in scope. (H)

An introductory course in fluid mechanics. Statics and dynamics of application to viscous and inviscid flows. Dimensional analysis. Potential flow and airfoil theory.

Sketching, descriptive geometry, computer graphics, computer aided drafting, and design projects.

Design process, kinematics, gear trains and standard mechanical components.

Applications of first and second laws of thermodynamics to closed and open systems. Steady one-dimensional conduction, lumped parameter analysis, convection, radiation. Intended for non-mechanical engineering students.

Application of the first and second laws of thermodynamics to closed and open systems and to cyclic heat engines. This includes the development of procedures for calculating the properties of multiphase and singlephase pure substances.

A continuation of EML 3100 with an emphasis on applications that involve imperfect gases, gas-vapor mixtures (psychrometrics), or chemically reacting gases (combustion).

The study of mechanisms used in machinery. The design of motion, the creation of dynamic models and analysis of the resulting forces.

Use of precision instruments and measurement standards in mechanical engineering. Preparation of engineering reports.

Matrix operations and properties. Techniques for solving simultaneous linear algebraic equations. Numerical formulation and solution of first and second order partial differential equations. Quadrature integration. Vector algebra and differential calculus. Emphasis on operational procedures and applications.

Geometry, kinematics and statics of robot manipulators.

Steady state and transient analysis of conduction and radiation heat transfer in stationary media. Heat transfer in fluid systems, including forced and free convection.

Experimental verification and demonstration of thermal and thermochemical phenomena.

Heat transfer in fluid systems; forced convection; free convection; phase change. Heat exchanger design and selection.

Continued experimental verification and demonstration of thermal and thermochemical phenomena.

Thermodynamics and heat transfer intergrated with design and laboratory, including heat exchange design, phase-change heat transfer, thermodynamics of mixtures, psychometry, mass transfer and sensible heat recovery.

The single degree of freedom systems, multiple degree of freedom systems. Application to mechanical systems with problems employing computer techniques.

Design and laboratories for turbomachinery, compressible flow, chemical reactions and thermodynamic cycles.

Theory, analysis and design of control systems, including mechanical, electromechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic and thermal components and systems.

Machine system experiments, including controls and vibrations. Fatigue design.

Experimental verification and demonstration of dynamic mechanical engineering systems and their control.

Study and application of design; problem formulation, conceptual design, prototype development. Study of common manufacturing processes.

Descriptive and analytical treatment of manufacturing processes and production equipment, automation, computer control, integrated systems. Applications of mechanics stress analysis, vibrations, controls, heat transfer. Discrete time simulation.

Fundamentals of combustion processes and systems; including thermochemistry, rates and mechanisms, pollutant analysis, premixed and diffusion flames and applications to engines and turbomachinery.

Nature and availability, collection and storage, solar properties of materials, conversion to heat, power and electricity for domestic and industrial consumption including transportation.

Physical basis of propulsion, gas turbines and ramjet fundamentals. Introduction to compressor and turbine design. Propulsion performance. Unconventional means of propulsion in space.

Thermomechanical and thermoelectric energy conversion. Conventional and unconventional techniques and analysis for energy systems interactions.

Stress-strain analysis and design of machine elements; finite element analysis.

Integrated design and presentation of a mechanical system.

Comprehensive introduction to human physiology for biomedical engineering students. Applications of Engineering principles to physiology will be stressed where possible.

Fundamentals of refrigeration theory, vapor compression and absorption, refrigeration components and systems, psychrometric theory, analysis of cooling and dehumidifying coils.

Heating and air conditioning systems: equipment selection, system arrangement, load calculations, advanced psychrometrics, duct and piping system design, air distribution system design, indoor air quality.

Conservation equations of dynamic fluid systems with emphasis on integral methods. Applications to flow analysis of thermal hydraulic systems.

Analysis of viscous flow systems. Dynamics and thermodynamics of compressible fluid flow. Turbo-machinery.

Selected problems or projects in the student’s major field of engineering study.

The first part of a two-course sequence in which multidisciplinary teams of engineering and business students partner with industry sponsors to design and build authentic products and processes—on time and within budget. Working closely with industry liaison engineers and a faculty coach, students gain practical experience in teamwork and communication, problem solving and engineering design, and develop leadership, management and people skills.

The second part of EML 4912-4913 sequence.

Principles of mechanical engineering practice, professional standards and ethics.

Synthesis and analysis of mechanical engineering systems, planning and execution of engineering contracts, supervision of construction and tests.

Variable Mechanical Engineering Course content not offered in other formal courses.

Practical engineering work under industrial supervision, as set forth in the College of Engineering Regulations.

Practical co-op work experience under approved industrial supervision.