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Course Number: ME 386M 
Credit Hours: 3  
Enrollment: Fall 
Course Format: This course is 100% online and has been tailored for distance learners.  
Course Syllabus: View full course details

Course Description 

This 3-credit course explores how to model engineering systems, including translating-, rotating-, fluid-, thermal- and electro-mechanical systems. The goal is to help students gain a deeper understanding of developing mathematical models so that they may understand how systems respond over time and at different frequencies. Plus, students learn how to specify and design system behavior.  

Topics Covered Include: 

  • Kirchoff systems 
  • Simulation concepts 
  • Bond graph methods 
  • Model formulation and evaluation 
  • Linear system analysis 
  • Transfer functions and frequency response 

Who Is This Course For?  

This course is meant to enhance the engineer’s ability to see how physical systems are put together and how they can be mathematically and computationally modeled to understand their behavior and guide design or to help describe failure. 

Learning Outcomes 

This course, along with the other courses in the mechanical engineering program, helps students achieve the following learning outcomes: 

  1. Knowledge of and ability to apply engineering and science fundamentals to real problems. 
  2. Ability to formulate and solve open-ended problems. 
  3. Ability to design mechanical components, systems and processes. 
  4. Ability to set up and conduct experiments, and to present the results in a professional manner. 
  5. Ability to use modern computer tools in mechanical engineering. 
  6. Ability to communicate in written, oral and graphical forms. 
  7. Ability to work in teams and apply interpersonal skills in engineering contexts. 
  8. Ability and desire to lay a foundation for continued learning beyond the baccalaureate degree. 
  9. Awareness of professional issues in engineering practice, including ethical responsibility, safety, the creative enterprise, and loyalty and commitment to the profession.  
  10. Awareness of contemporary issues in engineering practice, including economic, social, political, and environmental issues and global impact. 

Prerequisites 

This course requires a Bachelor of Science in Engineering or a related field. 

Students are expected to have some mechanical engineering knowledge and have studied dynamics, fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, and electrical and magnetic concepts. It is also expected that they have had a course in differential equations, have knowledge of linear algebra and are familiar with computer programming, preferably MATLAB.  

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