Mechanical Engineering

  • ENG ME 420: Supply Chain Engineering
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EK 381.
    Emphasizes the integration of product design with the process of delivering products to customers. Review of manufacturing processes for process automation. Supply chain configuration and flow balancing. Seamless introduction of new products. Process reengineering and lean manufacturing techniques in established supply chains. Design of decision support systems.
  • ENG ME 421: Aerodynamics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 303.
    Flow kinematics. Aerodynamic forces. Potential flow theory. Streamfunction and velocity potential in two-dimensional flows. 2D and 3D wing theory: thin airfoil theory and lifting line theory. Computational methods for potential flow. Linearized compressible flow. Laminar and turbulent boundary layers. Includes labs and computer projects.
  • ENG ME 425: Compressible Flow and Propulsion
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 303 and ENG ME 304.
    Fluid mechanics and thermodynamics of compressible fluid flow with application to external and internal flows as found in propulsion systems. Fluid/thermal related topics include: normal and oblique shocks, Prandtl-Meyer expansion waves, variable area duct flow, and wave drag. Propulsion applications include rocket nozzles, supersonic inlets, and exhaust nozzles for airbreathing propulsion systems. Parametric cycle analysis for ramjet, turbojet, and turbofan engines.
  • ENG ME 441: Mechanical Vibration
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 302.
    One- and multi-degree-of-freedom systems. Natural frequencies and modes of vibrations, resonance, beat phenomenon. Stability analysis. Energy methods. Applications to rotating machinery. Methods for vibration reduction.
  • ENG ME 452: Directed Study in Mechanical Engineering
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (By petition only.)
    Under faculty supervision, students may study a subject that is relevant to mechanical engineering and is not covered in a regularly offered course. Term paper and/or written examination required at end of semester.
  • ENG ME 457: Engineering Projects in Mechanical Engineering
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (By petition only.)
    Project for seniors in mechanical engineering. Students select, develop, and complete a project and prepare a report.
  • ENG ME 460: Senior Design I
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 302 ; ENG ME 305 ; ENG ME 360; CAS WR 150/1/2/3 required.
    The course develops skills that are crucial to the successful completion of the Senior Capstone Design project. The core technical framework is electro- mechanical systems. Through lectures, workshops, and online materials, students gain practical experience in component and system design, project planning, and engineering communications. The course guides students through execution and documentation of the conceptual design stage of their Capstone projects. Cannot be taken for credit in addition to ENG ME 560. When taken with ENG ME 461, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Part of a Hub sequence
  • ENG ME 461: Senior Design II
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 460; Senior standing; First Year Writing Seminar (e.g., WR 100 or WR 120).
    The main activity in this course is the planning, and execution of a capstone project that represents a culmination of the Mechanical Engineering program. Students work in teams on either a research or design problem in some area of Mechanical Engineering that builds upon previous coursework. Class time will be focused on weekly project meetings with faculty. The course includes lectures on ethics, entrepreneurship, project management and other professional topics. Oral and written communications will be emphasized. When taken with ENG ME 460, this course fulfills a single unit in the following BU Hub areas: Digital/Multimedia Expression, Oral and/or Signed Communication, Writing-Intensive Course, Research and Information Literacy.
    • Oral and/or Signed Communication
    • Digital/Multimedia Expression
    • Research and Information Literacy
    • Writing-Intensive Course
  • ENG ME 500: Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering
    Seminar course on a topic of current interest in aerospace and mechanical engineering.
  • ENG ME 501: Dynamic System Theory
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Familiarity with differential equations and matrices at the level of ENG ME 404 or CAS MA 242, or consent of instructor.
    Introduction to analytical concepts and examples of dynamic systems and control. Mathematical description and state space formation of dynamic systems; modeling, controllability, and observability. Eigenvector and transform analysis of linear systems including canonical forms. Performance specifications. State feedback: pole placement and the linear quadratic regulator. Introduction to MIMO design and system identification using computer tools and laboratory experiments. Meets with ENG EC 501 and ENG SE 501; students may not receive credit for both.
  • ENG ME 502: Invention: Technology Creation, Protection, and Commercialization
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: (Senior or graduate standing in an engineering or science discipline or consent of instructor)
    This course provides students with the knowledge and tools necessary to create, protect, and commercialize engineering and scientific intellectual assets. Students will first make use of creativity tools to attack posed engineering problems, then turn to means for protecting their solutions. Rapidly growing areas that are affecting nearly all businesses (e.g., software and the internet) as well as "high-tech" areas including microelectronics, communications, and bioengineering will be emphasized. Extensive patent searches and analysis will be carried out to develop skills for quickly ascertaining the protected technical content of patents, and for recognizing what intellectual property (IP) should be and can be protected. Legal aspects for protecting creative ideas will be studied at a level appropriate for engineers to interact easily and smoothly during their technical careers with IP lawyers. Various business models for the commercialization of intellectual assets will be analyzed. Extensive class exercises and projects will explore in depth all three of these important areas of IP, with emphasis on key contributions during engineering and scientific research and development activities.
  • ENG ME 503: Kinetic Processes in Materials
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Undergraduate course in materials science and engineering.
    Kinetics of mass transport, continuum and atomistic approaches, chemical diffusion; kinetics of chemical reactions, kinetics of adsorption and evaporation; nucleation and growth; solidification; spinodal decomposition; coarsening; martensitic transformations; order-disorder reactions; point defects and their relation to transport kinetics. Meets with ENGMS503; students may not receive credit for both.
  • ENG ME 504: Polymers and Soft Materials
    An introduction to soft matter for students with background in materials science, chemistry, and physics. This course covers general aspects of structures, properties, and applications of soft materials such as polymers, colloids, liquid crystals, amphiphiles, gels, and biomaterials. Emphasis on chemistry and forces related to molecular self-assembly. Topics include forces, energies, kinetics in material synthesis, growth and transformation; methods for preparing synthetic materials; formation, assembly, phase behavior, and molecular ordering of synthetic soft materials; structure, function, and phase transition of natural materials such as nucleic acids, proteins, polysaccharides, and lipids; techniques for characterizing the structure, phase, and dynamics of soft materials; application of soft materials in nanotechnology. Meets with ENG BE and MS 504; students may not receive credit for both.
  • ENG ME 505: Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Undergraduate course in Thermodynamics.
    The laws of thermodynamics; general formulation and applications to mechanical, electromagnetic and electromechanical systems; thermodynamics of solutions, phase diagrams; thermodynamics of interfaces, adsorption; defect equilibrium in crystals; statistical thermodynamics, including ensembles, gases, crystal lattices, and phase transitions. Same as ENGMS505; students may not receive credit for both.
  • ENG ME 506: Engineering Device Applications: From Physics to Design
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: Senior or graduate standing in the Engineering, Physics, or the Chemistry disciplines, or consent of instructor.
    Senior or graduate standing in the engineering, physics, or the chemistry disciplines, or consent of instructor. Topics include many sensors and actuators, including accelerometers and piezoelectric devices, as well as many other electromechanical devices, plus lasers, quantum dots, atomic force microscope, ellipsometry, plasma etching, advanced semiconductor based devices, scanning electron microscopes, and open to other student suggested directions. Such devices are used considerably in engineering, science, and technology, as well as in commercial high "tech" products, and for instrumentation and measuring purposes. Many devices will be taken apart and analyzed in terms of the operation,physics, design, device optimization, plus considerations of possible deviations from the original design. The intent here is that a confident mastery of these devices will improve the use and application of these devices for engineers, as well as provide a guide where jobs might be obtained in the use and possible enhancements of these devices. About 20 physical demonstrations will be given during the course.
  • ENG ME 507: Process Modeling and Control
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EK 307 or CAS MA 226; or equivalent coursework and permission of the instructor. Senior or graduate standing in engineering.
    An introduction to modeling and control as applied to industrial unit processes providing the basis for process development and improvement. Major themes include an integrated treatment of modeling multi-domain physical systems (electrical, mechanical, fluid, thermal), application of classical control techniques, and system design. Topics include modeling techniques, analysis of linear dynamics, control fundamentals in the time and frequency domain, and actuator selection and control structure design. Examples drawn from a variety of manufacturing processes and case studies. Meets with ENGMS507. Students may not receive credit for both.
  • ENG ME 510: Production Systems Analysis
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 345; or consent of instructor
    Operations research and dynamic systems methods applied in modeling, analysis, and control of production systems. Inventory analysis and control for single and multi-item systems based on deterministic and stochastic demand models. Demand forecasting. Supply chain management. Machine, flow shop and job shop scheduling, project scheduling with PERT and CPM. Production control methods: MRP, MRP-II, Just-in-Time, and Kanban.
  • ENG ME 514: Simulation
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG EK127 or knowledge of general programming language; CAS MA 381
    Modeling of discrete event systems and their analysis through simulation. Systems considered include, but are not limited to, manufacturing systems, computer-communication networks and computer systems. Simulating random environments and output analysis in such contexts. A simulation language is introduced and is the main tool for simulation experimentation. Same as ENG EC 514; students may not receive credit for both.
  • ENG ME 515: Vibration of Complex Mechanical Systems
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: CAS MA 226 and ENG ME 302.
    Analysis of free and forced vibration of multidegree-of-freedom systems. Analysis of free and forced vibration of continuous systems such as strings, bars, beams, and membranes. Introduction to vibration control, vibration isolation, and vibration absorbers. Introduction to vibration sensors. Analysis of free and forced vibration of systems and structures modeled with the finite element method. Students learn computational implementation of all analyses.
  • ENG ME 516: Statistical Mechanical Concepts in Engineering
    Undergraduate Prerequisites: ENG ME 303 ; ENG ME 304 ; ENG ME 419.
    Statistical mechanics uses probability theory to establish a connection between the microscopic properties of individual molecules and macroscopic properties of matter, such as temperature, pressure, entropy, heat capacity and viscosity. Review of thermodynamics. Fundamentals of probability theory. Phase space dynamics. Ensembles and averages. Statistical formulation of photons (Light), phonons (lattice vibrations in solids), electrons in a metals and classical gases. Classical transport. Introduction to non- equilibrium phenomena.