Online courses directory (2511)

This course presents finite element theory and methods for general linear and nonlinear analyses. Reliable and effective finite element procedures are discussed with their applications to the solution of general problems in solid, structural, and fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer, and fluid-structure interactions. The governing continuum mechanics equations, conservation laws, virtual work, and variational principles are used to establish effective finite element discretizations and the stability, accuracy, and convergence are discussed. The homework and the student-selected term project using the general-purpose finite element analysis program ADINA are important parts of the course.

This course provides an overview of robot mechanisms, dynamics, and intelligent controls. Topics include planar and spatial kinematics, and motion planning; mechanism design for manipulators and mobile robots, multi-rigid-body dynamics, 3D graphic simulation; control design, actuators, and sensors; wireless networking, task modeling, human-machine interface, and embedded software. Weekly laboratories provide experience with servo drives, real-time control, and embedded software. Students will design and fabricate working robotic systems in a group-based term project.

This course models multi-domain engineering systems at a level of detail suitable for design and control system implementation. Topics include network representation, state-space models; multi-port energy storage and dissipation, Legendre transforms; nonlinear mechanics, transformation theory, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian forms; and control-relevant properties. Application examples may include electro-mechanical transducers, mechanisms, electronics, fluid and thermal systems, compressible flow, chemical processes, diffusion, and wave transmission.

This course is about maneuvering motions of surface and underwater vehicles. Topics covered include: derivation of equations of motion, hydrodynamic coefficients, memory effects, linear and nonlinear forms of the equations of motion, control surfaces modeling and design, engine, propulsor, and transmission systems modeling and simulation during maneuvering. The course also deals with stability of motion, principles of multivariable automatic control, optimal control, Kalman filtering, and loop transfer recovery. We will also explore applications chosen from autopilots for surface vehicles; towing in open seas; and remotely operated vehicles.

This course was originally offered in Course 13 (Department of Ocean Engineering) as 13.49. In 2005, ocean engineering subjects became part of Course 2 (Department of Mechanical Engineering), and this course was renumbered 2.154.

This course provides a broad theoretical basis for system identification, estimation, and learning. Students will study least squares estimation and its convergence properties, Kalman filters, noise dynamics and system representation, function approximation theory, neural nets, radial basis functions, wavelets, Volterra expansions, informative data sets, persistent excitation, asymptotic variance, central limit theorems, model structure selection, system order estimate, maximum likelihood, unbiased estimates, Cramer-Rao lower bound, Kullback-Leibler information distance, Akaike's information criterion, experiment design, and model validation.

This course provides a solid theoretical foundation for the analysis and processing of experimental data, and real-time experimental control methods. Topics covered include spectral analysis, filter design, system identification, and simulation in continuous and discrete-time domains. The emphasis is on practical problems with laboratory exercises.

In this course the fundamentals of fluid mechanics are developed in the context of naval architecture and ocean science and engineering. The various topics covered are: Transport theorem and conservation principles, Navier-Stokes' equation, dimensional analysis, ideal and potential flows, vorticity and Kelvin's theorem, hydrodynamic forces in potential flow, D'Alembert's paradox, added-mass, slender-body theory, viscous-fluid flow, laminar and turbulent boundary layers, model testing, scaling laws, application of potential theory to surface waves, energy transport, wave/body forces, linearized theory of lifting surfaces, and experimental project in the towing tank or propeller tunnel.

This subject was originally offered in Course 13 (Department of Ocean Engineering) as 13.021. In 2005, ocean engineering became part of Course 2 (Department of Mechanical Engineering), and this subject was renumbered 2.20.

The subject introduces the principles of ocean surface waves and their interactions with ships, offshore platforms and advanced marine vehicles. Surface wave theory is developed for linear and nonlinear deterministic and random waves excited by the environment, ships, or floating structures.

Following the development of the physics and mathematics of surface waves, several applications from the field of naval architecture and offshore engineering are addressed. They include the ship Kelvin wave pattern and wave resistance, the interaction of surface waves with floating bodies, the seakeeping of ships high-speed vessels and offshore platforms, the evaluation of the drift forces and other nonlinear wave effects responsible for the slow-drift responses of compliant offshore platforms and their mooring systems designed for hydrocarbon recovery from large water depths.

This course was originally offered in Course 13 (Department of Ocean Engineering) as 13.022. In 2005, ocean engineering subjects became part of Course 2 (Department of Mechanical Engineering), and this course was renumbered 2.24.

2.26 is a 6-unit Honors-level subject serving as the Mechanical Engineering department's sole course in compressible fluid dynamics. The prerequisites for this course are undergraduate courses in thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, and heat transfer.

The goal of this course is to lay out the fundamental concepts and results for the compressible flow of gases. Topics to be covered include: appropriate conservation laws; propagation of disturbances; isentropic flows; normal shock wave relations, oblique shock waves, weak and strong shocks, and shock wave structure; compressible flows in ducts with area changes, friction, or heat addition; heat transfer to high speed flows; unsteady compressible flows, Riemann invariants, and piston and shock tube problems; steady 2D supersonic flow, Prandtl-Meyer function; and self-similar compressible flows. The emphasis will be on physical understanding of the phenomena and basic analytical techniques.

This course is an introduction to numerical methods and MATLAB^®: Errors, condition numbers and roots of equations. Topics covered include Navier-Stokes; direct and iterative methods for linear systems; finite differences for elliptic, parabolic and hyperbolic equations; Fourier decomposition, error analysis and stability; high-order and compact finite-differences; finite volume methods; time marching methods; Navier-Stokes solvers; grid generation; finite volumes on complex geometries; finite element methods; spectral methods; boundary element and panel methods; turbulent flows; boundary layers; and Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs).

Prof. Pierre Lermusiaux is very grateful to the teaching assistants Dr. Matt Ueckermann, Dr. Tapovan Lolla, Mr. Jing Lin, and Mr. Arpit Agarwal for their contributions to the course over the years.

This class continues our study of the foundational texts of human culture, focusing on early modernity until the recent past. In many ways, this includes several questions such as: Why did these works achieve the fame and influence they achieved? How do they present what it means to be a human being? How do they describe the role of a member of a family, community, tradition, social class, gender? How do they distinguish between proper and improper behavior? How do they characterize the members of other groups? However, in several ways, these texts are also iconoclastic, breaking with centuries of established tradition to shed light on previously unexplored subjects, such as the status of women in society or the legacy of the colonial expansion of European countries. They also question well-established social beliefs like religion, monarchical rule and human nature in general.

Parallel treatments of photons, electrons, phonons, and molecules as energy carriers, aiming at fundamental understanding and descriptive tools for energy and heat transport processes from nanoscale continuously to macroscale. Topics include the energy levels, the statistical behavior and internal energy, energy transport in the forms of waves and particles, scattering and heat generation processes, Boltzmann equation and derivation of classical laws, deviation from classical laws at nanoscale and their appropriate descriptions, with applications in nano- and microtechnology.

This course covers fundamentals of thermodynamics, chemistry, flow and transport processes as applied to energy systems. Topics include analysis of energy conversion in thermomechanical, thermochemical, electrochemical, and photoelectric processes in existing and future power and transportation systems, with emphasis on efficiency, environmental impact and performance. Systems utilizing fossil fuels, hydrogen, nuclear and renewable resources, over a range of sizes and scales are discussed. Applications include fuel reforming, hydrogen and synthetic fuel production, fuel cells and batteries, combustion, hybrids, catalysis, supercritical and combined cycles, photovoltaics, etc. The course also deals with different forms of energy storage and transmission, and optimal source utilization and fuel-life cycle analysis.

This course discusses the selection and evaluation of commercial and naval ship power and propulsion systems. It will cover the analysis of propulsors, prime mover thermodynamic cycles, propeller-engine matching, propeller selection, waterjet analysis, and reviews alternative propulsors. The course also investigates thermodynamic analyses of Rankine, Brayton, Diesel, and Combined cycles, reduction gears and integrated electric drive. Battery operated vehicles and fuel cells are also discussed. The term project requires analysis of alternatives in propulsion plant design for given physical, performance, and economic constraints. Graduate students complete different assignments and exams.

This is an advanced course on modeling, design, integration and best practices for use of machine elements such as bearings, springs, gears, cams and mechanisms. Modeling and analysis of these elements is based upon extensive application of physics, mathematics and core mechanical engineering principles (solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, manufacturing, estimation, computer simulation, etc.). These principles are reinforced via (1) hands-on laboratory experiences wherein students conduct experiments and disassemble machines and (2) a substantial design project wherein students model, design, fabricate and characterize a mechanical system that is relevant to a real world application. Students master the materials via problems sets that are directly related to, and coordinated with, the deliverables of their project. Student assessment is based upon mastery of the course materials and the student's ability to synthesize, model and fabricate a mechanical device subject to engineering constraints (e.g. cost and time/schedule).

D-Lab: Design addresses problems faced by undeserved communities with a focus on design, experimentation, and prototyping processes. Particular attention is placed on constraints faced when designing for developing countries. Multidisciplinary teams work on semester-long projects in collaboration with community partners, field practitioners, and experts in relevant fields. Topics covered include design for affordability, design for manufacture, sustainability, and strategies for working effectively with community partners and customers. Students may continue projects begun in EC.701J D-Lab I: Development.

This course provides ways to analyze manufacturing systems in terms of material flow and storage, information flow, capacities, and times and durations of events. Fundamental topics include probability, inventory and queuing models, optimization, and linear and dynamic systems. Factory planning and scheduling topics include flow planning, bottleneck characterization, buffer and batch-size analysis, and dynamic behavior of production systems.

The course presents a systematic approach to design and assembly of mechanical assemblies, which should be of interest to engineering professionals, as well as post-baccalaureate students of mechanical, manufacturing and industrial engineering. It introduces mechanical and economic models of assemblies and assembly automation at two levels. "Assembly in the small" includes basic engineering models of part mating, and an explanation of the Remote Center Compliance. "Assembly in the large" takes a system view of assembly, including the notion of product architecture, feature-based design, and computer models of assemblies, analysis of mechanical constraint, assembly sequence analysis, tolerances, system-level design for assembly and JIT methods, and economics of assembly automation. Class exercises and homework include analyses of real assemblies, the mechanics of part mating, and a semester long project. Case studies and current research are included.

This course introduces principles and technologies for converting heat into electricity via solid-state devices. The first part of the course discusses thermoelectric energy conversion and thermoelectric materials, thermionic energy conversion, and photovoltaics. The second part of the course discusses solar thermal technologies. Various solar heat collection systems will be reviewed, followed by an introduction to the principles of solar thermophotovoltaics and solar thermoelectrics. Spectral control techniques, which are critical for solar thermal systems, will be discussed.

A computational camera attempts to digitally capture the essence of visual information by exploiting the synergistic combination of task-specific optics, illumination, sensors and processing. In this course we will study this emerging multi-disciplinary field at the intersection of signal processing, applied optics, computer graphics and vision, electronics, art, and online sharing through social networks. If novel cameras can be designed to sample light in radically new ways, then rich and useful forms of visual information may be recorded — beyond those present in traditional photographs. Furthermore, if computational process can be made aware of these novel imaging models, them the scene can be analyzed in higher dimensions and novel aesthetic renderings of the visual information can be synthesized.

We will discuss and play with thermal cameras, multi-spectral cameras, high-speed, and 3D range-sensing cameras and camera arrays. We will learn about opportunities in scientific and medical imaging, mobile-phone based photography, camera for HCI and sensors mimicking animal eyes. We will learn about the complete camera pipeline. In several hands-on projects we will build physical imaging prototypes and understand how each stage of the imaging process can be manipulated.