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energy education - Mechanical Engineering

ME 401 - Engineering Statistics for Manufacturing Systems

Fundamentals of statistics. Independent t-test and paired t-test. Two-level factorial design. Fractional factorial designs. Matrix algebra and canonical analysis. Regression analysis (Least Squares Method). Response Surface methodology. Probability. Binomial and Poisson distributionss. Single sampling plan. Statistical process control (SPC). Taguchi methods. Introductory time series analysis and Defect Preventive Quality Control.

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ME 432 - Introduction to Combustion

Introduction to combustion processes; combustion thermodynamics, reaction kinetics and combustion transport. Chain reactions, ignition, quenching, and flammability limits, detonations, deflagrations, and flame stability. Introduction to turbulent premixed combustion. Applications in IC engines, furnaces, gas turbines, and rocket engines.

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ME 437 - Applied Energy Conversion

Quantitative treatment of energy resources, conversion processes, and energy economics. Consideration of fuel supplies, thermodynamics, environmental impact, capital and operating costs. Emphasis is placed on issues of climate change and the role of energy usage. In-depth analysis of automobiles to examine the potential of efficiency improvement and fuel change.

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ME 438 - Internal Combustion Engines

Analytical approach to the engineering problem and performance analysis of internal combustion engines. Study of thermodynamics, combustion, heat transfer, friction and other factors affecting engine power, efficiency, and emissions. Design and operating characteristics of different types of engines. Computer assignments. Engine laboratories.

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ME 452 - Design for Manufacturability

Conceptual design. Design for economical production, Taguchi methods, design for assembly; case studies. Product design using advanced polymeric materials and composites; part consolidation, snap fit assemblies; novel applications.

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ME 499 - Advanced Energy Solutions

This course provides an introduction to the challenges of power generation for a global society.  The course starts with an overview of the current and future demands for energy; the various methods of power generation including solar, thermal, wind, nuclear and fossil fuel; and the detrimental byproducts associated with these methods. 

Advanced strategies to improve power densities, reduce pollutant emissions and improve thermal efficiencies, such as fuel cells for stationary and mobile power generation; synthetic and bio-renewable fuels; and reconfiguring coal-fired power plants to utilize integrated-gasification combined cycle approaches are the primary focus of the course.  The material includes the advantages and technical difficulties associated with a hydrogen economy including production, transport, storage and application.  Emphasis is on the application of thermodynamic analysis to understand the basic operating principles and the inherent limitations of the technologies considered. 

The course material is targeted for upper-level undergraduate students and new graduate students.  Course progress is monitored using weekly homework assignments, a midterm and a final project.  A prerequisite of undergraduate thermodynamics is required.  

Instructor: Prof. Margaret S. Wooldridge
Departments of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
2156 G.G. Brown Bldg.
phone: 936-0349
e-mail: mswool@umich.edu

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ME 537 - Advanced Combustion

Advanced treatment of fundamental combustion processes. Conservation equations for reacting gas mixtures. The structure of one-dimensional diffusion and premixed flames; introduction to activation energy asymptotics. Two-dimensional Burke-Schumann flames and boundary layer combustion. Flame instabilities and flame stretch; turbulent combustion.

 Prof. Hong Im

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ME 559 - Smart Materials and Structures

This course will cover theoretical aspects of smart materials, sensors and actuator technologies. It will also cover design, modeling and manufacturing issues involved in integrating smart materials and components with control capabilities to engineering smart structures.

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ME 589 - Ecological Sustainability in Design and Manufacturing

A scientific basis for understanding and reducing the environmental impact of engineering design and manufacturing decision for a life cycle perspective. Environmental impact principles: air/water pollution, ozone depetion, global warming, resource sustainability. Life cycle assessment and environmentally conscious manufacturing of metals, plastics, and electronics products. Systems design metrics, disassembly, remanufacturing, recycling, policy considerations. Case studies include sustainable mobility, alternative energy sources, tooling and machining, refrigeration, electronics remanufacturing.

Prof. Skerlos

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ME 599–001 Energy Processes for Novel Fuels

This class deals with the energy processes for the production of fuels. After an overview of the broader aspects of energy use from viewpoints of sustainability resource availability, environmental effects and economics, a review of the fundamentals for the combustion chemistry of novel fuels will be presented. The material covered in this class is intended to provide the students with the tools and understanding to handle basic problems involving chemical systems and rates of simple chemical reactions. This course deals with the theoretical aspects of chemical reaction kinetics, including transitionstate theories, estimation of rate constants, modeling complex reacting mixtures, and uncertainty/sensitivity analyses. Reactions in the gas phase are discussed with examples drawn from combustion chemistry. The students will be introduced to the CHEMKIN software and if time allows, to the Gaussian package to compute the energetics of reactions. Various fuels will be considered, including oxygenated. Kinetic mechanisms for fossil fuels and biodiesels will be studied. This course will also examine state of the art technologies aiming at cost effective biomass conversion along with economics, environmental impact, and policy issues.

Guest lectures are brought in to cover environmental and societal issues.
Grading will be largely based on a term‐long project, proposed by the students themselves.

Prerequisites: Thermodynamics I

For a pdf of the syllabus

Instructor: Prof. Angela Violi
Mechanical Engineering
3112 G G Brown Laboratory
phone: 615-6448
e-mail: avioli@umich.edu

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ME 599–004 Seminars on Energy Systems Technology and Policy

Leaders in policy and energy systems engineering discuss cutting-edge technologies, and critical barriers in their disciplines. Speakers range from research leaders, to business leaders, to policy makers. The aim of the seminar series is to provide a view at multiple scales, of challenges in developing and implementing new energy technologies. Industrial, governmental, and research perspectives will be given, on the most promising technologies and policies which will shape our energy portfolio and its environmental consequences, in the decades to come. The need to create sustainable energy systems is a common theme, and the speakers will offer their own perspectives on how policy and technology can be effective in doing so.

The course will be offered both in person, and via distance learning. A portion of each lecture will be devoted to discussion.

Topics
The topic areas are as follows, with approximate numbers of lectures devoted to each subject:

  1. The energy landscape: policy, technology and economic drivers for sustainable, global energy systems. (3 lectures)
  2. Key technologies: novel fuels, storage, generation and device technologies, from portables, to automobiles, to grid sources. (6 lectures)
  3. Creating successful businesses in energy technologies: lessons learned, and future directions, in mature and new industries. (3 lectures)
  4. Changing the way we think: sustainable systems, flexible grids, and the path ahead in energy systems. (3 lectures)

Instructor: Prof. Ann Marie Sastry
Mechanical Engineering
2140 G G Brown Laboratory
phone: 764-3061
e-mail: amsastry@umich.edu

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ME 631 - Statistical Thermodynamics

Introduction to statistical methods for evaluating thermodynamic and transport properties. Elements of quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and kinetic theory, as applied to engineering thermodynamics.

Prof. Kevin Pipe

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