MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (ME) COURSE DESCRIPTIONS
5013 Topics in Mechanical Engineering
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Current topics in mechanical engineering, such as advanced fracture mechanics, lean manufacturing, and advanced manufacturing engineering. May be repeated for credit with consent of Graduate Committee as topics vary.
5113 Advanced Systems Dynamics and Control
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Dynamic modeling of mechanical and multi-energy domain systems; state-space and frequency-domain analysis of dynamic systems; feedback control systems; multivariable state-feedback control; principles of controllability, observability, stability; computer-based simulation system dynamics. (Formerly titled “Advanced Controls.”)
5143 Advanced Dynamics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Review of Newtonian mechanics, 3-D particle kinematics, dynamics of a system of particles, analytical mechanics, Lagrange’s equations, kinematics and rigid-body dynamics, Eulerian angles, computational analysis using a symbolic language.
5153 Structural Dynamics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Matrix methods for analysis of dynamics of complex structures, computer solutions, systems identifications, and experimental modal analysis.
5183 Advanced Mechanical Vibration
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Free and forced vibration of single and multi-degree-of-freedom systems; response to harmonic, periodic, and nonperiodic excitations; continuous systems; computational techniques for the response.
5243 Advanced Thermodynamics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Concepts and postulates of macroscopic thermodynamics; formulation or thermodynamic principles; exergy stability of thermodynamic systems, principles of irreversible thermodynamics, chemical equilibria.
5263 Combustion
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Thermochemistry and transport theory applied to combustion; gas phase equilibrium; energy balances; reaction kinetics; flame temperatures, speed, ignition, and extinction; premixed and diffusion flames; combustion aerodynamics; mechanisms of air pollution.
5273 Alternative Energy Sources
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Solar, nuclear, wind, hydrogen, and geothermal energy sources. Resources, production, utilization, economics, sustainability, and environmental considerations.
5283 Power Plant System Design
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Application of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics to the design of vapor and gas-turbine power plant systems including boilers, condensers, turbines, pumps, compressors, cooling towers, and alternative energy power plants.
5303 Advanced Heat and Mass Transfer
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Derivation of energy and mass conservation equations with constitutive laws for conduction, convection, radiation, and mass diffusion. Dimensional analysis, heat exchangers, boiling and condensation, steady and transient solutions.
5343 Convection
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Derivation of equations of convection of mass, momentum, and energy; scale analysis; boundary layer solutions; classical, laminar convection problems; turbulent convection; natural convection.
5353 Radiation
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Thermal radiation laws, geometric factors, black bodies, gray enclosures, nongray systems, combined conduction, convection, and radiation.
5413 Advanced Solid Mechanics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Variational mechanics, energy methods, elementary viscoelastic/plastic problems, and wave propagation. (Formerly EGR 5543. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5413 and EGR 5543.)
5453 Advanced Strength of Materials
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Failure theories, energy methods, advanced topics in bending, torsion, and elastic stability. (Formerly EGR 5553. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5453 and EGR 5553.)
5463 Fracture Mechanics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Introduction to failure and fracture of engineering materials, Griffith’s energy balance, stress intensity and strain energy release rate approaches to brittle fracture, Dugdale and Irwin approaches to ductile fracture. Application to modern engineering materials. (Formerly EGR 5313. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5463 and EGR 5313.)
5473 Viscoelasticity
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Principle of fading memory, integro-differential constitutive laws, mechanical models, time and temperature superposition, and linear and nonlinear methods. Applications to polymers, composites, and adhesives. (Formerly EGR 5323. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5473 and EGR 5323.)
5483 Finite Element Methods
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Derivation and computer implementation of the finite element method for the solution of boundary value problems. (Same as CE 5023. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5483 and CE 5023.)
5503 Lean Manufacturing and Lean Enterprises
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Methodologies for transforming an enterprise into a lean enterprise. Topics include Lean Manufacturing basics and tools; Lean Implementation Guidelines; Lean Metrics and Performance Measures; Lean Extended Enterprise; Six-Sigma; and Lean Supply Chain Design and Management. Hands-on applications include lean simulation games and various Web-based applications.
5513 Advanced Mechanism Design
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Advanced topics in kinematic synthesis of linkage, static and dynamic force analyses, and computer-aided design of mechanisms.
5533 Advanced Machine Design
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: ME 3823 or an equivalent.
Advanced problems in machine design, including bearings, brakes, clutches, gears, shafts, springs, and advanced stress analysis.
5543 Probabilistic Engineering Design
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: STA 2303 or an equivalent.
Development and application of probabilistic methods in engineering: random variable definitions, probability distributions, distribution selection, functions of random variables, numerical methods including Monte Carlo sampling, First Order Reliability Methods, and component and systems reliability.
5553 Advanced Design of Cams and Gears
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisites: ME 3513 and ME 3823, or their equivalents.
Advanced problems in design of cam follower systems, gear trains and spur, helical, bevel, and worm gears.
5563 Computer Integrated Manufacturing
(3-1) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Advanced concepts and models related to computer-aided design, computer-aided process planning, computer-aided manufacturing, production planning and scheduling, and manufacturing execution systems. Laboratory work includes computer-aided applications and programming of automated production equipment.
5573 Facilities Planning and Design
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Advanced concepts and fundamentals essential to understand, analyze, and solve problems related to manufacturing plant layout and material handling system selection. Topics include Product, Process, and Schedule Design; Flow, Space, and Activity Relationships; Material Handling; Layout Planning Models and Design Algorithms; and Warehouse Operations. The subjects included in this course are organized around integrated product, process, and manufacturing system design principles.
5583 Advanced Enterprise Process Engineering
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Theory and applications of lean manufacturing and six-sigma to enterprise functions beyond production shop floor, with focus on lean product and process development, lean costing, and integration of IT and ERP systems to sustain continuous improvement.
5593 Advanced Topics in Manufacturing and Enterprise Engineering
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Current topics in the manufacturing engineering area. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
5603 Advanced Manufacturing Systems Engineering
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Design, planning, scheduling, and control of manufacturing systems with emphasis on information flow and decision-making. After introducing students to system simulation, simulation models of manufacturing systems are developed and evaluated in terms of system performance under different production planning and control policies. Contemporary manufacturing topics and research areas are emphasized.
5613 Advanced Fluid Mechanics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Dynamics of incompressible fluid mechanics viscous flow, Navier-Stokes equations, boundary layer theory, and numerical operations for incompressible fluid flow.
5633 Gas Dynamics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Integral and differential forms of the conservation equations, one-dimensional flow, oblique shock and expansion waves, and supersonic, transonic, and hypersonic flows.
5653 Computational Fluid Dynamics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: ME 3663 or an equivalent.
The mathematical models for fluid-flow simulations at various levels of approximation, basic description techniques, and the nature of flow equations and their boundary conditions.
5713 Mechanical Behavior of Materials
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Mechanical behavior of engineering materials (metals, alloys, ceramics, and polymers) elasticity, dislocation theory, strengthening mechanism, fracture, fatigue, creep, and oxidation.
5743 Composite Materials
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Introduction to mechanics of composites, micromechanics, macromechanics, lamination theory, design, and applications of fiber-reinforced composites and particulate composites. (Formerly EGR 5413. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5743 and EGR 5413.)
5803 Principles of Microfabrication
(1-6) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: EGR 3323 or consent of instructor.
Photolithography, thin film deposition, doping, wet patterning, plasma etching, thin film characterization. Students will fabricate simple microstructures such as coplanar waveguides, micro-fluidic devices and nano-powder silica films. (Same as EE 5413. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5803 and EE 5413.)
5883 Introduction to Micro and Nanotechnology
(2-3) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing or completion of or concurrent enrollment in EE 3323.
Survey of micro-fabrication techniques, scaling laws, mechanical, optical and thermal transducers, micro-fluidic applications, and nanostructures. (Same as EE 5503. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 5883 and EE 5503.)
5963 Topics in Bioengineering
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Topics may include: Biomechanics, biological systems, biosolid and biofluid, transport phenomena, biomaterials, medical devices, and medical imaging. May be repeated for credit as topics vary.
5973 Special Project
3 hours credit. Prerequisites: Permission in writing (form available) from the instructor and the Graduate Advisor of Record.
The directed research course is offered only for nonthesis option students and may involve either a laboratory or a theoretical problem. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 hours, regardless of discipline, will apply to the Master’s degree.
5991 Graduate Seminar
(1-0) 1 hour credit. Prerequisites: Graduate standing and consent of instructor.
May be repeated for credit up to a limit of 2 hours.
6563 Flexible Automation and Manufacturing Systems
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
This course focuses on major integration issues related with flexible manufacturing systems and their components. Introduces mathematical models related to design, planning, scheduling, and control of flexible manufacturing systems. Contemporary manufacturing topics and research areas are emphasized.
6573 Robotics Design and Analysis
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisites: ME 5113 and ME 5143.
Serial manipulator design and controls; electromechanical issues at the actuator level; analytic modeling and synthesis techniques with emphasis on the influence of sensors, machine vision, and control at the actuator-level and robot system designs.
6813 Biomaterials
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Fundamentals in applications of biomaterial science and engineering principles and concepts to repairing, replacing, and protecting human tissues and organs. (Formerly ME 5813 and ME 6013. Same as BME 6903. Credit can be earned for only one of the following: ME 6813, ME 6013, ME 5813 or BME 6903.)
6833 Biomechanics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Graduate standing in engineering or consent of instructor.
Fundamentals in applications of engineering mechanics to modeling structures and functions of tissues, organs, joints, and human body. (Formerly ME 5833 and ME 6033. Same as BME 6803. Credit can be earned for only one of the following: ME 6833, ME 6033, ME 5833 or BME 6803.)
6893 Topics in Biomechanics
(3-0) 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: ME 6833 or BME 6803 or an equivalent.
The biomechanics of biological tissues and organs. Topics may include constitutive equations, stress, and adaptation of hard and soft tissues. (Formerly ME 6023. Same as BME 6893. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 6893 and ME 6023. Credit cannot be earned for both ME 6893 and BME 6893 when the topic is the same.)
6951-3 Independent Study
1 to 3 hours credit. Prerequisites: Graduate standing and permission in writing (form available) of the instructor, the student’s advisor, and the Graduate Advisor of Record.
Independent reading, research, discussion, and/or writing under the direction of a faculty member. For students needing specialized work not normally or not often available as part of the regular course offerings. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 hours, regardless of discipline, will apply to the Master’s degree.
6961 Comprehensive Examination
1 hour credit. Prerequisite: Approval of the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program Committee to take the Comprehensive Examination.
Independent study for the purpose of taking the Comprehensive Examination. May be repeated for credit as many times as approved by the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program Committee. Enrollment is required each term in which the Comprehensive Examination is taken if no other courses are being taken that term. The grade report for the course is either “CR” (satisfactory performance on the Comprehensive Examination) or “NC” (unsatisfactory performance on the Comprehensive Examination).
6971-3 Special Problems
(1-0, 2-0, 3-0) 1 to 3 hours credit. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
An organized course offering the opportunity for specialized studies not normally available as part of the regular course offerings. Special Problems courses may be repeated for credit when topics vary, but not more than 6 hours, regardless of discipline, may be applied to the Master’s degree.
6983 Master’s Thesis
3 hours credit. Prerequisites: Consent of the Graduate Advisor of Record and primary thesis advisor.
Thesis research and preparation. May be repeated for credit, but not more than 6 hours will apply to the Master’s degree. Credit will be awarded upon completion of the thesis. Enrollment is required each term in which the thesis is in progress.
