Mechanical Engineering

Additional advanced courses in the field of mechanical engineering may be found listed in other engineering options such as aeronautics, applied mechanics, applied physics, control and dynamical systems, and materials science.

ME 18 ab. Thermodynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); second, third terms. An introduction to classical thermodynamics with engineering applications. First term includes the first and second laws; closed and open systems; properties of a pure substance; availability and irreversibility; generalized thermodynamic relations. Second term emphasizes applications: gas and vapor power cycles; propulsion; mixtures; combustion and thermochemistry; chemical equilibrium. Instructor: Hunt.

ME 19 ab. Fluid Mechanics. 9 units (3-0-6); first, second terms. Prerequisites: Ma 2, Ph 1 abc. Properties of fluids, basic equations of fluid mechanics, theorems of energy, linear and angular momentum. Euler’s equations, inviscid potential flow, surface waves, airfoil theory. Navier-Stokes equations, vorticity and vorticity transport. Flow of real fluids, similarity parameters, flow in ducts. Boundary layer theory for laminar and turbulent flow, transition to turbulence. Drag, lift, and propulsion. Instructor: Brennen.

ME 20. Heat Transfer. 9 units (3-0-6); third term. Prerequisites: ME 18 ab, ME 19 ab. An introduction to heat transfer. Steady-state and transient conduction, including numerical solutions. Forced and natural convective-heat transfer. Heat exchangers. Radiative heat transfer and solar energy. Not offered 2006–07.

ME 35 abc. Statics and Dynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); first, second, third terms. Prerequisites: Ma 1 abc, Ph 1 abc. Introduction to statics and dynamics of rigid and deformable bodies. Equilibrium of force systems, principle of virtual work, distributed force systems, friction, static analysis of rigid and deformable structures, kinematics, particle dynamics, rigid-body dynamics, dynamics of deformable systems, and vibrating systems. Instructor: Staff.

ME 65. Mechanics of Materials. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. Prerequisites: ME 35 abc, Ma 2 ab. Introduction to continuum mechanics, principles of elasticity, plane stress, plane strain, axisymmetric problems, stress concentrations, thin films, fracture mechanics, variational principles, frame structures, finite element methods, composites, and plasticity. Taught concurrently with Ae/AM/CE/ME 102. Instructor: Ravichandran.

ME 66. Vibration. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ME 35 abc, Ma 2 ab. Introduction to vibration and wave propagation in continuous and discrete multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Strings, mass-spring systems, mechanical devices, elastic continua. Equations of motion, Lagrange’s equations, Hamilton’s principle, and time-integration schemes. Instructor: Heaton.

ME 71. Introduction to Engineering Design. 9 units (3-5-1); third term. Prerequisite: ME 35 ab recommended. Enrollment is limited and will be based on responses to a questionnaire available in the Registrar’s Office during registration. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. Introduction to mechanical engineering design, fabrication, and visual communication. Concepts are taught through a series of short design projects and design competitions emphasizing physical concepts. Many class projects will involve substantial use of the shop facilities, and construction of working prototypes. Instructor: Staff.

ME 72 ab. Engineering Design Laboratory. 9 units (3-4-2), first term; (1-8-0), second term. Prerequisites: ME 35 abc, ME 71, Me 18 ab, CS 1 or equivalent, and instructor’s permission. Enrollment is limited. A project-based course in which teams of students design, fabricate, analyze, test, and operate an electromechanical device to compete against devices designed by other student teams. The class lectures and the projects stress the integration of mechanical design, sensing, engineering analysis, and computation to solve problems in engineering system design. The laboratory units of ME 72 can be used to fulfill a portion of the laboratory requirement for the ME or EAS option. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. Instructor: Antonsson.

ME 73. Machine Component Design. 9 units (3-4-2); second term. Prerequisites: ME 35 abc, ME 72, or instructor’s permission. Basic machine components, including bearings, seals, shafts, gears, belts, chains, couplings, linkages, and cams. Analysis and synthesis of these devices, as well as their use in the design of larger engineering systems, will be examined. The laboratory section makes use of contemporary mechanical hardware to provide students with “hands-on’’ experience with the components discussed in class. Not offered 2006–07.

CS/EE/ME 75 abc. Introduction to Multidisciplinary Systems Engineering. 3 units (2-0-1) first term; 3–6 units second term; 12 units (2-9-1) or 18 units (2-15-1) third term. For course description, see Computer Science.

ME 90 abc. Senior Thesis, Experimental. 9 units; (0-0-9) first term; (0-9-0) second, third terms. Prerequisite: senior status; instructor’s permission. Experimental research supervised by an engineering faculty member. The topic selection is determined by the adviser and the student and is subject to approval by the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Committee. First and second terms: midterm progress report and oral presentation during finals week. Third term: completion of thesis and final presentation. The second and third terms may be used to fulfill laboratory credit for EAS. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. Instructor: Hunt.

ME 91 abc. Senior Thesis, Analytical. 9 units (0-0-9); first, second, third terms. Prerequisite: senior status; instructor’s permission. Undergrad-uate research supervised by an engineering faculty member. The topic selection is determined by the adviser and the student and is subject to approval by the Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Committee. First and second terms: midterm progress report and oral presentation during finals week. Third term: completion of thesis and final presentation. Not offered on a pass/fail basis. Instructor: Hunt.

ME/CE 96. Mechanical Engineering Laboratory. 6 or 9 units as arranged with instructor; third term. Prerequisites: ME 18 ab, ME 19 ab, ME 35 ab. A laboratory course in the experimental techniques for heat transfer, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and dynamics. Students usually select approximately three regular experiments, but they may propose special investigations of brief research projects on their own. Instructor: Goodwin.

ME 100. Advanced Work in Mechanical Engineering. The faculty in mechanical engineering will arrange special courses on problems to meet the needs of qualified undergraduate students. Graded pass/fail for research and reading. A written report is required for each term.

Ae/APh/CE/ME 101 abc. Fluid Mechanics. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

Ae/AM/CE/ME 102 abc. Mechanics of Structures and Solids. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

E/ME 103. Management of Technology. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Engineering.

E/ME 105. Product Design for the Developing World. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Engineering.

ME 110. Special Laboratory Work in Mechanical Engineering. 3–9 units per term; maximum two terms. Special laboratory work or experimental research projects may be arranged by members of the faculty to meet the needs of individual students as appropriate. A written report is required for each term of work. Instructor: Staff.

ME 115 ab. Introduction to Kinematics and Robotics. 9 units (3-0-6); second, third terms. Prerequisites: Ma 2, ACM 95/100 ab recommended. Introduction to the study of planar, rotational, and spatial motions with applications to robotics, computers, computer graphics, and mechanics. Topics in kinematic analysis will include screw theory, rotational representations, matrix groups, and Lie algebras. Applications include robot kinematics, mobility in mechanisms, and kinematics of open and closed chain mechanisms. Additional topics in robotics include path planning for robot manipulators, dynamics and control, and assembly. Course work will include laboratory demonstrations using simple robot manipulators. Not offered 2006–07.

ME 118. Thermodynamics. 9 units (3-0-6); first term. Prerequisites: ME 18 ab, ME 19 ab. Fundamentals of classical and statistical thermodynamics. Basic postulates, thermodynamic potentials, chemical and phase equilibrium, phase transitions, and thermodynamic properties of solids, liquids, and gases. Instructor: Goodwin.

ME 119 ab. Heat and Mass Transfer. 9 units (3-0-6); second, third terms. Prerequisites: ME 18 ab, ME 19 ab, ACM 95/100 (may be taken concurrently). Transport properties, conservation equations, conduction heat transfer, convective heat and mass transport in laminar and turbulent flows, phase change processes, thermal radiation. Not offered 2006–07.

Ae/ME 120 ab. Combustion Fundamentals. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

ME 131. Advanced Robotics: Manipulation and Sensing. 9 units (3-6-0); third term. Prerequisite: ME 115 ab. The course focuses on current topics in robotics research in the area of robotic manipulation and sensing. Past topics have included advanced manipulator kinematics, grasping and dextrous manipulation using multifingered hands, and advanced obstacle avoidance and motion planning algorithms. The lectures will be divided between a review of the appropriate analytical techniques and a survey of the current research literature. Course work will focus on an independent research project chosen by the student. Not offered 2006–07.

ME/CS 132. Advanced Robotics: Navigation and Vision. 9 units (3-6-0); second term. Prerequisite: ME 115 ab. The course focuses on current topics in robotics research in the area of autonomous navigation and vision. Topics will include mobile robots, multilegged walking machines, use of vision in navigation systems. The lectures will be divided between a review of the appropriate analytical techniques and a survey of the current research literature. Course work will focus on an independent research project chosen by the student. Instructor: Burdick.

Ae/Ge/ME 160 ab. Continuum Mechanics of Fluids and Solids. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

AM/ME 165 ab. Elasticity. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Applied Mechanics.

ME 170. Introduction to Mechanical CAD. 4 units (1-0-3); third term. An introduction to the use of one or more mechanical computer-aided design (CAD) packages via a series of weekly instructional exercises. Instructor: Staff.

ME 171. Computer-Aided Engineering Design. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ACM 95/100 abc, ME 35 abc, ME 72, CS 1, or equivalent, working knowledge of the C computer programming language. Methods and algorithms for design of engineering systems using computer techniques. Topics include the design process; interactive computer graphics; curves and surfaces (including cubic and B-splines); solid modeling (including constructive solid geometry and boundary models); kinematic and dynamic mechanism simulation; single and multivariable optimization; optimal design, and symbolic manipulation. Assessment of CAD as an aid to the design process. Not offered 2006–07.

ME 175. Fuzzy Sets in Engineering. 9 units (3-0-6); second term. Prerequisites: ACM 95/100 abc, working knowledge of the C computer programming language. The relatively new mathematics of fuzzy sets has recently been used to represent and manipulate vague and imprecise information in engineering. This course will present the basics of fuzzy sets and fuzzy mathematics and explore applications in the areas of data representation; function representation; filters and triggers; engineering design and optimization, including (fuzzy) set-based concurrent engineering. Not offered 2006–07.

ME 200. Advanced Work in Mechanical Engineering. The faculty in mechanical engineering will arrange special courses on problems to meet the needs of graduate students. Graded pass/fail; a written report is required for each term of work.

ME 202 abc. Engineering Two-Phase Flows. 9 units (3-0-6). Prerequisites: ACM 95/100 abc, Ae/APh/CE/ME 101 abc, or equivalents. Selected topics in engineering two-phase flows with emphasis on practical problems in modern hydro-systems. Fundamental fluid mechanics and heat, mass, and energy transport in multiphase flows. Liquid/vapor/gas (LVG) flows, nucleation, bubble dynamics, cavitating and boiling flows, models of LVG flows; instabilities, dynamics, and wave propagation; fluid/structure interactions. Discussion of two-phase flow problems in conventional, nuclear, and geothermal power plants, marine hydrofoils, and other hydraulic systems. Not offered 2006–07.

Ae/AM/MS/ME 213. Mechanics and Materials Aspects of Fracture. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

Ae/AM/CE/ME 214 abc. Computational Solid Mechanics. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

Ae/AM/ME 215. Dynamic Behavior of Materials. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

Ae/AM/ME 223. Plasticity. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

Ae/AM/ME 225. Special Topics in Solid Mechanics. Units to be arranged. For course description, see Aeronautics.

ME/MS 260 abc. Micromechanics. 12 units (3-0-9). Prerequisites: ACM 95/100 or equivalent, and Ae/AM/CE/ME 102 abc or Ae 160 abc or instructor’s permission. The course gives a broad overview of micromechanics, emphasizing the microstructure of materials, its connection to molecular structure, and its consequences on macroscopic properties. Topics include phase transformations in crystalline solids, including martensitic, ferroelectric, and diffusional phase transformations, twinning and domain patterns, active materials; effective properties of composites and polycrystals, linear and nonlinear homogenization; defects, including dislocations, surface steps, and domain walls; thin films, asymptotic methods, morphological instabilities, self-organization; selected applications to microactuation, thin-film processing, composite materials, mechanical properties, and materials design. Open to undergraduates with instructor’s permission. Instructor: Bhattacharya.

Ae/Ge/ME 266 ab. Dynamic Fracture and Frictional Faulting. 9 units (3-0-6). For course description, see Aeronautics.

ME 300. Research in Mechanical Engineering. Hours and units by arrangement. Research in the field of mechanical engineering. By arrangement with members of the faculty, properly qualified graduate students are directed in research.