I. The department of Mechanical Engineering offers a graduate program leading to the Master of Science degree with a major in Mechanical Engineering. Concentrations are available in design and manufacturing, energy systems, mechanical systems, and power systems.

Program objectives are: (1) ability to apply advanced knowledge of mathematics, physical sciences, and engineering principles to the solution of practical engineering problems; (2) meet or exceed the needs and expectations of public and private sector employers for M.S. graduates; and (3) preparation to pursue additional advanced studies if so desired.

II. MS Degree Program

A. Program Admission

The Herff College of Engineering has established uniform admission criteria that identify the pool of master’s level applicants from which the department evaluates and recommends qualified applicants to be admitted.

B. Program Requirements

A more detailed description of the information listed below will be given by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies to students admitted into the Mechanical Engineering MS program.

1. Thesis Option: A minimum of 30 semester hours total with a minimum of 18 hours in 7000 level MECH courses consisting of 6 hours in MECH 7341 and 7342 as required core courses, and 6 hours in MECH 7996 for a thesis. A maximum of 9 hours in 6000 level MECH or collateral courses and a maximum of 3 hours in a 7000 level collateral course. Collateral courses must be in mathematics or physical science, or another engineering area, or a combination.
2. Non-Thesis Option: A minimum of 33 semester hours total with a minimum of 21 hours in 7000 level MECH courses, including 6 hours in MECH 7341 and 7342 as required core courses, and 6 hours in MECH 7992 for an independent research project. A maximum of 9 hours in 6000 level MECH or collateral courses and a maximum of 3 hours in a 7000 level collateral course. Collateral courses must be in mathematics or physical science, or another engineering area, or a combination.
3. Transfer credit is limited to 6 credit hours. Credit previously earned at another university must be presented for evaluation not later than the end of the student’s second semester of enrollment.
4. Course Load Maximums:
1. 15 credit hours per semester for full-time student
2. 9 credit hours per semester for full-time conditional student
3. 12 credit hours per semester for graduate assistants. There are a limited number of graduate assistantships available; contact the chair of Mechanical Engineering for applications.
5. Students selecting the thesis option will be required to complete an independent research project culminating in a masters thesis. Upon completion of the thesis, the student must successfully pass an oral examination to assess mastery of the thesis topic and to evaluate the student’s knowledge in mechanical engineering.
6. Students selecting the non-thesis option will be required to complete a 3-hour independent research project (MECH 7992) culminating in both written and oral reports and are required to pass an oral comprehensive examination during the final semester of study.
7. Students who wish to take mechanical engineering courses must have prior consultation and approval by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies or by an advisory committee in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

1. Students who have been admitted to the program on a conditional basis must satisfy all requirements of their admission by the end of the first semester of enrollment.
2. A student must maintain a GPA of 3.00 or higher throughout the program. A student will be permitted two grades of 2.00 in courses approved for the degree. A student will be dismissed at the end of the semester in which a third grade of 2.00 or lower is earned.

1. A minimum of 70% of the total required hours must be 7000 level courses.
2. All coursework must be completed within 6 years.
3. No more than 7 hours of 2.00 can qualify for degree requirements.
4. A 3.00 average in combined graduate coursework.
5. Successful completion of comprehensive examination and thesis or non-thesis option requirement.
6. File "Application for Admission to Candidacy for Master’s Degree" form and "Intent to Graduate" card by the deadline published in the Graduate Catalog and online calendars. The deadline is also displayed on the department bulletin board.

See the beginning of this College section for admission, retention, program objectives, and graduation requirements. A more detailed description of the information will be given by the Coordinator of Graduate Studies to students admitted into the Mechanical Engineering concentration.

6305. Intermediate Fluid Mechanics. (3). Continuation of MECH 3331. Introduction to various topics in advanced fluid mechanics, including flow over immersed bodies; open channel hydraulics; compressible fluid flow; turbomachinery; measurements in fluid mechanics; and inviscid flow. PREREQUISITE: MECH 3331.

6309. Gas Dynamics (3). Concepts in compressible flow; emphasis on real and ideal gas dynamic effects and non-equilibrium flow; application of numerical methods. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3312, 3331.

6313. Heat Transfer II. (3). Principles of boiling, condensing, and radiation heat transfer; fundamentals of heat exchanger design. PREREQUISITE: MECH 4311.

6315. Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. (3). Psychometric analyses, heating and cooling loads of buildings, and analyses of air conditioning systems. PREREQUISITE: MECH 4311.

6324. Computer Methods in Design. (3). Application of computer-aided analysis software to the design of mechanical components and systems; introduction to fundamental concepts and principles of finite element methods; design problems and project assignments using finite element analysis package.

6325. Advanced Mechanics of Materials. (3). Biaxial stresses, torsion, unsymmetrical bending of beams, shear centers, contact stresses, failure theory, and other selected topics. PREREQUISITE: MECH 3322.

6326. Biomedical Systems Analysis-Mechanical. (3). Introduction to concepts used in analyzing living systems; simulation of body functions with mechanical and computer models; familiarization with the design of mechanical bioengineering devices such as heart valves, heart-lung machines, renal analysis machines. PREREQUISITES: MECH 2332, 3322.

6330. Introduction to Composite Materials. (3). Introduction to fiber reinforced composite materials; mechanical behavior, strength, design methodology, and implementation of computer aided design. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3320, 3322.

6331. Turbomachinery. (3). Basic principles of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics with application to rotating devices; ideal and actual operating characteristics of pumps, fans, turbines, and compressors; constraints on design of real systems. PREREQUISITE: MECH 3331.

6333. Aerospace Propulsion Systems. (3). Fundamentals of air-breathing and rocket propulsion devices; principles of combustion thermodynamics, gas turbine operation, solid and liquid propellants, performance evaluation, and atmospheric and space mission propulsion requirements. PREREQUISITE: MECH 4331.

6337. Internal Combustion Engines. (3). Principles of Otto, Diesel, and Brayton cycle engines; effects of various fuels and fuel delivery systems, air induction systems, ignition systems, and pollution control techniques on engine performance. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3312, 3331.

6340. Manufacturing Processes. (3). Fundamentals of mechanical behavior of materials, manufacturing properties of materials; casting, bulk deformation, sheet metal forming; material removal processes; processing of polymers, ceramics, and glasses composite materials; powder metallurgy; fastening and joining processes; nontraditional manufacturing processes; economics of integrated design and manufacturing processes. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3320, 3322.

6345. Design of Mechanisms. (3). Graphical and analytical mechanism synthesis techniques for path generation, function generation, rigid body guidance, and optimization of force transmission characteristics. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3321, 4322.

6346. Advanced Mechanical Controls. (3). Advanced modeling of mechanical control systems; review of digital and optimal control systems, and simulation of control systems. PREREQUISITE: MECH 4344.

6350. Principles of Biomechanics. (4). (7308). Biomechanics of tissues and structures of the musculoskeletal system (bone, cartilage, tendons, ligaments, peripheral nerves, and muscle), biomechanics of all joints; applications of statics, mechanics of materials, and linear viscoelasticity. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3320, 3322.

6371. Mechanical Vibrations. (3). Kinematics of harmonic and non-harmonic vibrations; systems of one and several degrees of freedom, free and forced vibrations; self-excited vibration.

6383. Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation I. (3). Introduction and overview; visual and optical methods; radiographic methods; ultrasonic testing; acoustic emission; magnetic methods; eddy current method; penetrant testing; standards, training, and certification issues; case studies, projects. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3320, 3323, 3341.

6384. Nondestructive Testing and Evaluation II. (3). Nuclear radiographic methods; acoustic and dynamic techniques; magnetic resonance testing; volatile liquid testing; thin-layer chromatography; thermoelastic stress analysis; research techniques, case studies, projects. PREREQUISITE: MECH 6381.

6990-6998. Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering. (1-3). Topics are varied and announced in the online class listings.

7302-8302. Theory of Continuous Media. (3). (Same as BIOM 7-8103). Analysis of stress and deformation at a point; derivation of the fundamental equations in Cartesian tensor notation by application of the basic laws of conservation of mass, energy, and momentum in mechanics and thermodynamics. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3322, 7341-8341.

7303-8303. Advanced Dynamics, (3). Formulation of three-dimensional nonlinear dynamical equations of motion for particles and rigid bodies; modeling of dynamic systems; numerical integration. PREREQUISITES; MECH 3321, 7341-8341.

7304-8304. Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos. (3). Dynamics of differential equations; geometric concepts in Hamiltonian dynamics; classical perturbation theory; chaos in Hamiltonian systems and area-preserving mappings.

7305-8305. Inviscid Flow Theory. (3). General equations of fluid mechanics; equations of two-dimensional inviscid flow; stream function and velocity potential definitions; irrotational flow; Laplace s equation in various flow fields and geometries; combined flows and superposition. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3312, 3331, 7341-8341.

7306-8306. Viscous Flow. (3). Advanced introduction to physical principles governing viscous fluid flow; fundamental equations developed from first principles and topic include: flow kinematics, derivation of Navier-Stokes equations, exact solutions of N-S equations for internal and external flows, dimensional analysis, creeping flows, Vorticity dynamics, flow control.

7307-8307. Advanced Viscous Flow. (3). Advanced topics in viscous flow including incompressible and compressible boundary layer theory, free shear flows, stability analysis, turbulent flow modeling, approximate N-S solutions, non-Newtonian flows.

7323-8323. Conduction Heat Transfer. (3). Fundamentals of steady-state and transient heat conduction; applications of Fourier series, Laplace transforms, finite differences, and finite elements to conduction problems. PREREQUISITES: MECH 4311, 7341-8341.

7324-8324. Radiation Heat Transfer. (3). Fundamentals of radiation properties of surfaces and radiation exchange between surfaces; black, gray, and non-gray surfaces; integral and numerical techniques employed in radiation problems. PREREQUISITES: MECH 4311, 7341-8341.

7325-8325. Convection Heat Transfer. (3). Fundamentals of free and forced convection heat transfer using differential and integral formulation of laminar and turbulent boundary layers for flow over internal and external surfaces; influence of temperature-dependent properties; convective heat transfer at high velocities. PREREQUISITES: MECH 4311, 7341-8341.

7332-8332. Principles of Propulsion. (3). Introduction to principles of rocket propulsion and space mechanics; topics include liquid, solid, and ion rocket motors, and orbital maneuvers employed in typical space missions.

7341-8341. Engineering Analysis I. (3). Analysis of engineering systems using closed form solutions; application of Fourier series and transforms, Laplace transforms, power series methods, vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations. PREREQUISITE: MATH 3391.

7342-8342. Engineering Analysis II. (3). Continuation of MECH 7341. Matrices and determinants, complex analysis, conformal mapping techniques, applications to thermal/fluid and applied mechanics problems, engineering applications of probability and statistics.

7355-8355. Engineering Optimization. (3). Practical aspects of optimization methodology with emphasis on techniques and procedures relevant to engineering applications in design, operations, and analysis; engineering case studies. PREREQUISITES: MECH 4322, 7342-8342.

7361-8361. Mechanical Behavior of Materials. (3). Performance of materials at elevated temperatures; statistical aspect of brittle fracture; advanced treatment of fatigue failure; linear elastic fracture mechanics; friction and wear; ductile failure; strengthening mechanisms; embrittlement modes; case studies in materials selection. PREREQUISITE: MECH 3320.

7363-8363. Fracture Mechanics. (3). Linear elastic analysis; elastic-plastic analysis, dynamic and time-dependent fracture; microstructural aspects of fracture; environment-assisted cracking; fatigue crack growth and propagation; analysis of engineering failures; case studies. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3320, 3322, 3323.

7365-8365. Corrosion. (3). Fundamental causes and mechanisms; corrosion control; study of specific corrosion problems. PREREQUISITE: MECH 3320.

7371-8371. Advanced Mechanical Vibrations. (3). Modeling of linear and nonlinear vibrational systems; control, measurement, and stability of vibrational systems. PREREQUISITES: MECH 6371, 7342-8342.

7378-8378. Introduction to Computational Fluid Dynamics. (3). Introduction to computational fluid mechanics and heat transfer, finite difference and finite volume methods, stability consideration, basics of numerical computation and analysis of model equations and fluid dynamics equation.

7379-8379. Advanced Computational Fluid Dynamics. (3). Advanced introduction to state-of-the-art computational fluid dynamics; advanced grid generation, numerical schemes, and numerical boundary conditions; numerical computation of compressible inviscid and viscous flows, turbulence modeling, skill of post data process.

7381-8381. Finite Element Methods. (3). General principles and modeling of engineering systems using the finite element method; applications in fracture mechanics, hydrodynamics, and thermal conduction. PREREQUISITES: MECH 3341, 7341-8341.

7382-8382. Computational Software Development. (3). (Same as CIVL 7124-8124). Systematic investigation of application of good software engineering principles applied to development of computationally intensive software; best practices and methodologies developed in last two decades applied with context of a numerical problem.

†7900. Seminar. (1). Graduate students must attend seminars regularly organized by the department.

7901-7909–8901-8909. Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering. (1-3). Topics are varied and announced in the online class listings.

‡7990-8990. Engineering Practicum. (3). Studies of related practical mechanical engineering problems as an integral part of the established curriculum under the instruction and supervision of a faculty member. Written and oral reports are mandatory.

†7991-8991. Research Proposal. (1-3). Exhaustive literature search and presentation of both written and oral proposals on engineering topics under supervision of instructor.

†7992. Research Project. (1-6). Independent research investigation of engineering problem under supervision of instructor for students in non-thesis option; both written and oral reports required.

†7996. Thesis. (1-6).

†9000. Dissertation. (1-12).

† Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.
‡Grades of A-F, or IP will be given.

7601. Experimental Analysis. (3). Order statistics, moment-generating-function techniques, point estimation, maximum likelihood estimators, and sampling theory. Offered fall semester. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

7602. Engineering Experimental Design I. (3). Hypothesis test, analysis of variance, simple and multiple linear regression; introduction to ANOVA and statistical packages. Offered spring semester. PREREQUISITE: INSE 7601.

7604. Engineering Experimental Design II. (3). Applications of statistical methods in noise reducing designs, factorial designs, and fractional factorial designs; BMPD and SPSS emphasized. Offered fall semester. PREREQUISITE: INSE 7602.

7608. Modeling. (3). Principles of problem formulation, verification, and validation; emphasis on recognizing and exploiting applicability of previous course work as it relates to real-world situations. Offered fall semester. PREREQUISITE: 12 hours in INSE courses.

7610. Operations Research I. (3). Deterministic models in operations research; linear, programming; duality, sensitivity analysis, transportation, and network models. Offered fall semester.

7616. Operations Research III. (3). Modeling and optimization of non-linear integer and dynamic programming problems; applications in production, scheduling, and routing. Offered spring semester. PREREQUISITE: INSE 7610.

7620. Network Algorithms. (3). Network and graph algorithms with applications in transportation and communication design; transportation problem, minimum cost flow problem, and tree algorithms. Offered spring semester. PREREQUISITE: Equivalent of INSE 7610 or permission of instructor.

7641. Operations Research II. (3). Stochastic models in operations research; Markov chains, queuing theory, inventory systems, and discrete simulation. Offered spring semester. PREREQUISITE: INSE 7601.

7644. Advanced Engineering Economics and Decision Theory. (3). Advanced engineering economy and decision-making concepts and techniques in analysis of engineering alternatives emphasizing decision making under risk and uncertainty. Offered spring semester. PREREQUISITE: INSE 7601 or permission of instructor.

7645. Forecasting Techniques. (3). Use of forecasting techniques such as moving averages, exponential smoothing, ARIMA, and Box-Jenkins models in engineering analysis of alternatives and decision making. Design project and report required. Offered fall semester. COREQUISITE: INSE 7601.

7647. Quality Assurance and Reliability. (3). Theory of reliability and quality control. The use of probability models. Data display and reduction, sampling statistics and their distributions; implementation of quality assurance in industrial production. Offered fall semester. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

7660. Systems Simulation. (3). Principles of stochastic simulation methods for input-output analysis of complex systems; use of SIMSCRIPT simulation languages. Offered spring semester. PREREQUISITES: INSE 7601, 7602, and permission of instructor.

7671. Production Planning and Control. (3). Overview of production and operations management, simple forecasting methods, workforce planning, inventory control, materials requirements planning, supply chain management, operations scheduling, project management; recent developments in production management such as JIT, bottleneck scheduling.

7685. Seminar. (1). Presentations by faculty, members of industry, and students; material presented is representative of state-of-the-art work in field; reports may be either based on own work, or readings of appropriate journal articles. Offered spring and fall semesters.

7900-10. Special Topics in Industrial and Systems Engineering. (1-3). Topics are varied and announced in online class listings. Offered spring and fall semesters.

‡7991. Research in Industrial Systems I. (3). Independent investigation of a problem selected in consultation with instructor; report required. Offered spring and fall semesters. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

‡7992. Research in Industrial Systems II. (3). Independent investigation of problem selected with instructor; report required. Offered spring and fall semesters. PREREQUISITE: Permission of instructor.

†7996. Thesis. (1-6).

†Grades of S, U, or IP will be given.
‡Grades of A-F, or IP will be given.