School of Engineering

Course Descriptions

Mechanical Engineering (ME) Undergraduate Courses

To view the complete schedule of courses for
each semester, go to Cardinal Station.

ME 342: Junior Design

3.00 Credits

General topics: Standards; engineering economics; manufacturing processes; and intellectual property. Fundamentals of mechanical design: stress analysis; deflection analysis; failure theories; fatigue. Design of machine elements: screws; fasteners; springs; bearing; gears; shafts. Design process and the assignment of an open-ended design problem. An introduction to solid modeling.

ME 344: System Dynamics

3.00 Credits

Major topics: Mathematical modeling of dynamic systems, Laplace transforms. Transient response analysis and frequency response analysis of mechanical, electrical and fluid systems. Computational solutions of responses of dynamic systems in state space. MATLAB used for analysis and design problems.

ME 362: Heat Transfer

3.00 Credits

This is a survey course of basic heat transfer: conduction, convection, and radiation. The approach is to present the fundamental governing equation for each mechanism and discuss the relevant simplifications for practical engineering applications. This course emphasizes the practical aspects of the student's engineering education; hence, the course seeks to develop and refine the student's ability to analyze arbitrary engineering applications.

ME 373: Fundamentals of Flight

3.00 Credits

This course presents the practical aspects of flight: basic aerodynamic principles; lift and drag calculations for airfoils and wings; airplane performance parameters (thrust, glide ratio, etc.); stability and control. Time permitting, elements of propulsion and space flight will also be introduced.

ME 392: Dynamics Laboratory

2.00 Credits

Computer simulation of dynamic mechanical systems. Experimental methods for measuring the temporal and frequency response of dynamic systems. Statistical theories of measurement (error analysis, sampling, averaging, correlation).

ME 441: Senior Design

3.00 Credits

Students will learn topics essential for the design of mechanical systems. Topics will include design, materials and manufacturing, lubrication, friction and wear, columns, and pressure vessels. Students will incorporate engineering standards, and use freehand sketching as well as PC based tools including CAD and Matlab. The course will emphasize individual and group projects. Effective communication of complex ideas through formal oral or written form and informal free hand sketching will be emphasized.

ME 442: Senior Project

3.00 Credits

Provides students with optimum design and synthesis techniques of thermal and mechanical systems. Students apply the presented methods to creative design of complex thermal and mechanical systems. Risk, reliability, and economic analyses are introduced and utilized in the design process. Group discussion, teamwork, oral presentation, and oral reports.

ME 491: Fluid Mechanics/Dynamics Lab

2.00 Credits

no description available

ME 496: Thermal Science Lab

2.00 Credits

This course includes the hands-on performance of and the analysis of results for selected experiments to support the lecture courses of thermodynamics (ENGR 211), fluid mechanics (ENGR 331), heat transfer (ME 362), and energy systems (ME 530). Also, students are taught technical writing skills and are required to submit laboratory reports of professional quality.

ME 498: Laboratory Project

1.00 Credits

Laboratory project(s) under the direction of a faculty member.