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Mechanical Engineering

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The undergraduate program in Mechanical Engineering is accredited
by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc.

Faculty

Emeritus: Bauer, Bedore, Bilterman, Fitz, Hoyt, Lybarger, Mansfield, Morgan, Murphy, Ohnysty, Rao, Stone

Chair: Kline

Professors: Craig, Güven, Hussain, Kline, Pinto

Associate Professors: Bailey, Bhattacharjee,Thompson

Assistant Professor: Burns

Offered by the Department

Doctor of Philosophy degree in applied mechanics.

Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering.

Major in mechanical engineering with the B.S. degree.

Transfer Credit

No credit will be given for upper division engineering coursework taken at an institution having an engineering program which has not been accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc., unless the student successfully completes the first 12 units of engineering work attempted at this university. At that time, and upon recommendation of the department, credit will be given for the unaccredited work.

General Education

Students will complete a minimum of 50 units in General Education, to include a minimum of nine upper division units taken after attaining junior class standing. No more than twelve units may be used for General Education credit from any one department or academic unit.

1. Oral Communication (3 units)

2. Composition (3 units)

3. Intermediate Composition and Critical Thinking (3 units)

A. Natural Sciences and Quantitative Reasoning (17 units):

1. Physical Sciences (11 units)

Engineering students will take Chemistry 200 which includes a laboratory (5 units).

Physics 195 (3 units)

Physics 196 (3 units)

2. Life Sciences (3 units)

3. Laboratory (satisfied under A.1. above)

4. Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning

Engineering students will take Mathematics 150, 3 units applicable to General Education.

B. Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 units)

C. Humanities (9 units)
Complete three courses in three different areas. One of these courses and the one under IV.A. below must be taken in the same department.

A. Upper division Humanities (3 units)
Three units must be taken from the same department as one of the Humanities courses selected in Foundations.

B. Upper division Humanities (3 units from a department not selected in A above.)

C. Upper division Social and Behavioral Sciences (3 units)

The Major

Mechanical engineers invent solutions to problems involving a broad spectrum of mechanical/electromechanical devices. They create new devices for solving problems in new and different ways. A newer focus for mechanical engineers is in the area of biomedical engineering, which is the application of quantitative engineering methods to the understanding and solution of biological and physiological problems. Another focus is the design of manufacturing systems. This involves improving quality and speed of manufacture through implementation of computer technology via robots and other automation equipment. Thus, Computer Aided Design (CAD), Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM), and Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM) are all newer aspects of mechanical engineering education.

Jobs in mechanical engineering include developing products to improve air and water quality, inventing more efficient energy sources, designing farm equipment to improve crop yield throughout the world, and developing systems for biological research as well as lifesaving medical equipment. A mechanical engineer, now more than ever, is someone who can translate scientific theories into the real products and processes to improve the quality of life.

Mechanical engineers are designers, and the program is dedicated to teaching engineering through the process of design. Design methodology and design projects are integrated throughout the curriculum, culminating in a capstone, design experience in the senior year where students are members of a design team.

The future depends on solving the worldwide problems of energy shortages, environmental pollution, world health, and inadequate food production. Mechanical engineers are heavily involved in finding solutions for these problems.

Mechanical Engineering Major

All students in mechanical engineering pursue a common program of basic sciences, engineering, and mechanical engineering fundamentals. The major consists of 50 upper division units. Students are provided with the opportunity to select a pattern of study to satisfy their areas of interest. This pattern of study is indicated in the sequence below as "professional electives" and may be selected from available courses in controls, energy conversion, gas dynamics, heat transfer, machine design, materials, thermodynamics, vibrations, and other areas. The students' choice of elective courses must be made in consultation with their adviser and documented by the filing of an approved master plan during the second semester of their freshman year.

All mechanical engineering students are required to file a master plan. The purpose of the plan is to facilitate proper academic advice. The plan is to be filed after consultation with a faculty member of the department. Once filed, the plan must be reviewed each semester with the assigned adviser before advanced registration. Filing the master plan will normally occur in Mechanical Engineering 195. Transfer students must comply with this requirement prior to enrollment in Mechanical Engineering 310.

Students must complete all upper division courses in the major within seven years prior to graduation. Students who will have completed any of those courses more than seven years before the projected date of graduation must contact the department chair for information about ways to certify knowledge of current course content.

Courses

LOWER DIVISION COURSES

Development of drawing skills and techniques for engineers. Elementary orthographic and pictorial drawing, sections, dimensioning. Instrument and freehand drawing. Drawing as an aid to visualization and design.

Prerequisite: One year of high school drafting or Mechanical Engineering 190. Proof of completion of prerequisite required: High school grade records or copy of transcript.

Graphic communication for engineers. Presentation and interpretation of engineering drawings using software such as AUTOCAD or CADKEY. Introduction to manufacturing processes and safety. Hands-on manufacturing projects to provide understanding of influence of manufacturing processes on design decisions.

Atomic and molecular structure of materials utilized in engineering. Analysis of the relationships between structure of materials and their mechanical, thermal, electrical, corrosion, and radiation properties. Examples of material structure relevant to civil, electrical, aerospace, and mechanical engineering applications.

Fundamental principles of thermal science and mechanical design; concepts of engineering systems and subsystems; problem-solving techniques. Steam tables, ideal gas law, and first law of thermodynamics. Engineering ethics and case studies from engineering practice.

UPPER DIVISION COURSES
(Intended for Undergraduates)

Prerequisites: Mechanical Engineering majors - Rhetoric and Writing Studies 200 or Linguistics 200 with a grade of C or better, Engineering 120, Mechanical Engineering 195, 275, and Engineering Mechanics 220. To be eligible for the departmental upper division writing test in this class, students must have completed 60 units, fulfilled the Writing Competency requirement, and completed the General Education requirement in Written Communication. Every mechanical engineering student must have a master plan on file before enrolling in Mechanical Engineering 310.

Professional approach to engineering design problems. Problem definition, information gathering, feasibility studies, analysis, final design and communication. Several design studies and projects are completed.

Application of mechanics, physical properties of materials, and solid mechanics to the design of machine elements. Student design projects.

Fabrication and thermomechanical processing effects on properties and service behavior of engineering materials. Fracture mechanics and materials behavior under a range of design conditions. Design criteria for engineering materials including fatigue and creep. Case studies and failure analysis techniques.

Thermodynamic laws are fully developed and analyzed. Emphasis on second law analysis, utilization of computer software such as EES for steam and gas tables in problem solving. Introduction to thermodynamic cycles.

First and second laws of thermodynamics; heat conduction, convection and radiation. Not acceptable for mechanical engineering majors.

Prerequisites: Rhetoric and Writing Studies 200 or Linguistics 200, Electrical Engineering 203, Engineering 280, all with a grade of C or better; and credit or concurrent registration in Civil and Environmental Engineering 301.

Engineering experimentation. Instrumentation theory, data analysis, technical communication and experiment design. Principles taught in lecture and applied experiments selected from subdisciplines of mechanical engineering. Focus includes vibration measurement analysis, electronics and digital Programmable Logic Control (PLC).

Prerequisites: Mechanical Engineering 350 and 390.

Advanced experiment design, data acquisition theory and data analysis. Experience in designing, conducting and reporting on experiments to acquire knowledge about engineering systems. Projects include heat transfer and experiments in thermodynamics, material testing and heat treatment.

Further development of concepts from classical thermodynamics. Analysis and design of thermodynamics and gas dynamic cycles and other applications of energy conversion. Emphasis on advanced energy systems and problem solving using computers.

Heat transfer by conduction, convection, radiation, and combinations thereof. Introduction to heat exchanger analysis and design, along with other applications. Computer-assisted problem solving techniques.

Prerequisites for 490A: Mechanical Engineering 314, 395, and credit or concurrent registration in Mechanical Engineering 470, 512, and Electrical Engineering 303.

Prerequisites for 490B: Mechanical Engineering 450, 490A.

Applications of engineering principles and design techniques to the designing, building, and testing of an engineering system. A single project is completed in this two-course sequence and is judged completed upon presentation of an oral and a written report. In addition, issues related to ethics and engineering practice are discussed.

Modern developments in mechanical engineering. See Class Schedule for specific content. Maximum credit six units for any combination of Mechanical Engineering 496, 499 and 596.

Individual study. Maximum credit six units for any combination of Mechanical Engineering 496, 499 and 596.

UPPER DIVISION COURSES
(Also Acceptable for Advanced Degrees)

Application of advanced mechanics of materials to the design and analysis of mechanical elements. Introduction to probabilistic design and to finite element methods and applications. Design projects involve extensive use of finite element programs.

Prerequisites: Mechanical Engineering 314 and 395.

Modeling, simulation, analysis, and design of mechanical engineering dynamics, vibration, electromechanical systems, heat transfer, thermodynamics and control systems. Introduction to virtual instrumentation using software such as LABVIEW.

Analysis of mechanical vibration; single- and multi-degree of freedom systems; free and forced vibrations; vibration isolation; vibration absorbers. Theory of vibration measuring instruments.

Analysis of the dynamic characteristics of control components and systems. Stability and response of closed loop systems. Design of control systems.

Fundamentals of ceramics, polymers, and composite materials. Materials design and selection. Statistical methods of brittle materials design, appropriate for ceramic materials, and rheological modeling of polymeric materials. Stress and strain analysis using classical lamination theory of multi-ply composite laminates.

Engineering polymers and composites, processes, and manufacturing techniques. Polymer flow in extrusion, compression molding, RTM, and calendaring. Hands-on fabrication and test exercises included along with a capstone manufacturing project.

Technical and business aspects of contemporary and emerging manufacturing. Emphasis on ethical and sustainable engineering in a global business setting. Includes TQM, SPC, cost modeling and ergonomics. Net-shape and non-net-shape manufacturing and mechanics.

Computer controlled manufacturing and assembly techniques and devices. Databases and special languages. Agile manufacturing soft ware programs and technologies.

Analysis, design, and optimization of thermal systems using microcomputers. Modeling of thermal systems and components. Thermal system component characteristics and their effect on overall system performance. Relationship among thermal sciences in design process. Introduction to thermoeconomic optimization.

Principles of physics and chemistry applied to design and performance analysis of a broad spectrum of direct and alternative energy systems. Solar photovoltaics, passive and active solar energy conversion, thermoelectrics, thermionics, magnetohydrodynamics, nuclear fusion, wind and wave energy, and fuel cells.

Fundamentals of air conditioning processes, psychrometrics, and building cooling load calculations. Design and analysis of HVAC systems. Equipment selection. Design codes and standards. Computerized cooling load calculations.

Application of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer to the thermal design of solar energy conversion systems. Computer simulations utilized.

Application of engineering methodologies for quantitative understanding of biological/physiological phenomena. Continuum mechanics principles. The cardiovascular system and its components viewed from a mechanistic standpoint.

Modern developments in mechanical engineering. See Class Schedule for specific content. Maximum credit of six units for any combination of Mechanical Engineering 496, 499 and 596 applicable to a bachelor's degree. Maximum combined credit of six units of Mechanical Engineering 596 and 696 applicable to a 30-unit master's degree.

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