Peruse the listing of all graduate MECH courses. For more details, please visit the LMU Bulletin.

  • MECH 509  Failure Analysis  (3 semester hours)  
An overview of how failures occur in systems. Failure modes like brittle fracture, creep, fatigue, and environmentally assisted cracking for metals, polymers, composites, and ceramics are described and discussed. A brief introduction to fracture mechanics is included. The nondestructive and destructive analytical tools to study failures, such as optical and scanning electron microscopy, metallography, hardness testing, and conductivity testing are described. The steps to conduct a failure analysis are discussed. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 510  Computer-Aided Manufacturing  (3 semester hours)  
A comprehensive study of manufacturing with a focus on automation, flexible automation, group technology, process planning, and design for manufacturability. Principles and applications of computer numerical control (CNC) and NC programming, rapid prototyping, robotics, and quality engineering are introduced through lecture and lab work. Lecture/Laboratory, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 511  Materials Selection in Design  (3 semester hours)  
Application of principles of materials engineering to selection of materials for optimized engineering design, case studies in failure analysis, and process optimization. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 515  Composites  (3 semester hours)  
Forms and properties of resins, fibers and composites; material and structural design and analysis; manufacturing, machining and assembly; quality assurance and testing; metal and ceramic based materials; information resources. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 516  Finite Elements Methods  (3 semester hours)  
Introduction to the theory and application of finite element methods. Review of the fundamentals of analytical models, elasticity, and structural mechanics. Review of matrix theory and calculation of variations. General process for the development of a finite element solution. Derivations of basic elements, including those for trusses, plane stress and plane strain, beams, plates, and solids. Discussion of the issues of conformity and completeness. Higher order interpolation functions and isoparametric elements. Solutions and applications to problems in structural mechanics, heat transfer, structural dynamics, and elastic stability. Practical examples. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 517  Fracture Mechanics  (3 semester hours)  
Introduction to concepts of fracture mechanics of engineering materials. These include stress analysis of cracks, fracture toughness, transition temperature, micro-structural aspects, and fatigue crack propagation behavior. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 518  Design for Manufacturing  (3 semester hours)  
Fundamentals of designing machine, sheet metal, and plastic parts and deciding which type of part should be used for a given application. Design of subsystems and assemblies using the rules of datum features, design intent, and geometric dimensioning and tolerancing. Design for manufacturing, assembly, serviceability, and the environment. Hands-on design projects. Lecture/Laboratory, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 519  Advanced Vibrations  (3 semester hours)  
Vibration of discrete and continuous systems, including single and multiple degree-of-freedom systems as well as strings, rods, beams, and membranes. Theoretical and experimental methods for the determination of natural frequencies and mode shapes, as well as solving forced vibration problems. Discussion of applications, such as vibration measurements, signal processing, and vibration control. Introduction to nonlinear vibrations. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 520  Computational Fluid Dynamics  (3 semester hours)  
In-depth study of applied computational methods for solving problems involving fluid and heat transport. Course will include both commercially available codes as well as self-generated solving routines. Topics include: numerical solutions to PDEs, steady flow solutions, unsteady flow solutions, flows involving heat transfer. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only. Prerequisite: CIVL 310 or MECH 322.
  • MECH 524  Alternative Energy Systems  (3 semester hours)  
A detailed study of alternative energy technologies including: solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, wind, fuel cells, and geothermal systems will be covered. In-depth analysis of the technical aspects of these systems will be covered while considering economic and environmental constraints. Energy storage and grid integration will also be considered. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 526  Energy Systems  (3 semester hours)  
Review of energy equation and principles of thermodynamics; entropy and exergy. The fundamentals of conventional and renewable energy resources including the basics of conventional energy conversion. Additional topics will include the environmental impacts of energy consumption and economic considerations. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 528  Advanced Dynamics  (3 semester hours)  
An overview of how failures occur in systems. Failure modes like brittle fracture, creep, fatigue, and environmentally assisted cracking for metals, polymers, composites, and ceramics are described and discussed. A brief introduction to fracture mechanics is included. The nondestructive and destructive analytical tools to study failures, such as optical and scanning electron microscopy, metallography, hardness testing, and conductivity testing are described. The steps to conduct a failure analysis are discussed. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 529  Advanced Control Systems  (3 semester hours)  
Modern methods for controller design, including state-space modeling of dynamical systems, state feedback controller design, and state observer design. Linearization on nonlinear systems. Characteristics of linear systems including controllability, observability, and stability. Prerequisite: Senior standing or Graduate student. Majors only.
  • MECH 532  Robotics  (3 semester hours)  
This is a fundamental interdisciplinary robotics course containing both introductory as well as more advanced concepts. The course presents a broad overview of technology, kinematics and control, vision systems, robot languages and programming, applications, economics and social issues. A FANUC CERT LR Mate 200i robot will be used for lecture and class projects. Lecture/Laboratory, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 533  Additive Manufacturing  (3 semester hours)  
In this course, current state-of-the-art AM technologies for polymers, metals, ceramics, and composites will be covered in detail. Design, materials selection, innovations and implementations of AM will also be discussed. Upon successful completion of the course, students will understand the operation principles, advantages, and limitations of current state-of-the-art AM techniques alongside AM product development, technology development, and innovation. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 534  Metallurgical and Materials Engineering  (3 semester hours)  
Advanced topics in the relationship of the microstructure and processing of metallic, ceramic, and polymeric materials and their relation to the properties required in engineering design. Phase transformations in ferrous and non-ferrous materials. All topics will be discussed in relation to Additive Manufacturing. Senior standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 537  Rapid Prototyping  (3 semester hours)  
The course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design, and implement a product using rapid prototyping technologies and computer-aided tools. Topics such as principles of rapid prototyping, rapid prototyping materials, reverse engineering, rapid tooling, medical applications, industry perspectives, and current research and developments will be introduced to students through lecture and laboratory works. Several rapid prototyping machines will be used for lecture and class projects. Lecture/Laboratory, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 539  Design for Additive Manufactur  (3 semester hours)  
what the additive manufacturing can offer. The course starts with discussions on part complexity, instant assemblies, part consolidation, mass customization, freedom from design, light weighting. It will discuss Design for AM guidelines for design parts, AM tooling design, polymer design, metal AM design. It will also discuss the post-processing and the future of additive manufacturing. The students will learn principles for successful engineering design for components for Additive Manufacturing through lecture and projects. Prerequisite: Senior Standing required Majors only.
  • MECH 541  Compressible Flow  (3 semester hours)  
Fundamentals of compressible fluid dynamics and application to external and internal flows. Topics covered will include: speed of sound and Mach number, isentropic 1-D flow in variable area ducts, converging nozzles, choking, converging-diverging nozzles, Rayleigh flow (duct flow with heat transfer), Fanno flow (duct flow with friction), normal and oblique shocks, and expansion fans. Prerequisite: Senior level or graduate standing. Majors only.
  • MECH 542  Turbomachinery  (3 semester hours)  
Compressor, pump, fan selection and applied theory. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 544  Propulsion  (3 semester hours)  
This course combines fundamental fluid mechanical and thermodynamic concepts to characterize the components, operation, and performance of internal combustion propulsion devices for aircraft and space vehicles. A practical approach to understanding these devices is also given, supplementing and enhancing the analytical application. The fundamentals of alternative, advanced air breathing and space propulsion concepts are also introduced. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 545  Fundamentals of Biomedical Engineering  (3 semester hours)  
Introduction to human physiology and engineering applications foundational to Biomedical Engineering, including neuromuscular and aural physiology; biomechanics; prosthetics; assistive devices; brain-computer interface; stroke and rehabilitation engineering; medical devices; biomaterials; bioMEMS; microfluidics; biomedical imagining; synthetic biology; cellular and tissue engineering. Short Individual and team-based projects involve physiological simulations and literature review. Lecture, 3 hours. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 546  Aerodynamics  (3 semester hours)  
This course will cover materials relevant to external and internal aerodynamics. Students will learn how to formulate and apply appropriate aerodynamic models to predict the forces on and performance of realistic three-dimensional configurations. Flow over lifting bodies will be analyzed especially with regard to flying bodies and ground vehicles. Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only
  • MECH 598  Special Studies  (1-3 semester hours)  
Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 599  Independent Studies  (1-3 semester hours)  
Senior or graduate standing required. Majors only. May not be taken as a required course.
  • MECH 604  Engineering Mathematics  (3 semester hours)  
Advanced topics in applied mathematics in linear algebra and analysis. Vector spaces, linear transformations, determinants, inner product spaces, solution of simultaneous linear equations, LU factorization, solution of algebraic eigenvalue problems by QR and QZ algorithms, linear least square problem and the singular value decomposition. Vector calculus, change of coordinate transformations, Stokes theorem, introduction to calculus of variation, ordinary differential equations, and numerical methods for their solution. Fourier analysis applied to discrete signals. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 610  Metallurgical and Materials Engineering  (3 semester hours)  
Advanced topics in the relationship of the microstructure and processing of metallic, ceramic, and polymeric materials and their relation to the properties required in engineering design. Phase transformations in ferrous and non-ferrous materials. All topics will be discussed in relation to Additive Manufacturing.
  • MECH 613  Advanced Mechanics of Materials  (3 semester hours)  
Combined loading, curved bars, energy methods, buckling and elastic stability; inelastic and plastic deformations; and use of computational finite element analysis (FEA) software. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 620  Nanotechnology Engineering Topics  (3 semester hours)  
Exploration of technical topics in nanotechnology to prepare the students to better understand engineering research in nanotechnology. Topics such as nano-physics, quantum mechanics, nano-fluidics, nano-heat transfer, nano materials and tools of nanotechnology will be covered. Applications in engineering and bioengineering will be emphasized. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 623  Advanced Thermodynamics  (3 semester hours)  
Review of advanced topics in classical thermodynamics; topics from statistical thermodynamics including: kinetic theory of gases, distribution of molecular velocity, transport phenomena, quantum mechanics, Bose-Einstein quantum statistics, Fermi-Derac quantum statistics, and thermodynamics properties. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 625  Advanced Heat Transfer  (3 semester hours)  
This course will cover fundamentals of conduction, convection, radiation, and basics of heat transfer numerical methods. The focus will be on theoretical and numerical analysis of 2D conduction, conservation of mass, momentum and energy in integral and differential forms; laminar and turbulent, forced, natural convection in internal and external flows, introduction to radiation, basics of numerical methods such as finite difference and finite volume, and introduction to ANSYS Fluent software. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 631  Elasticity  (3 semester hours)  
Analysis of stress and strain, stress tensor, Mohr's circles for stress and strain, Hooke's law and stress-strain diagrams, equations of equilibrium and compatibility, two-dimensional plane problems in elasticity, Airy stress functions, failure criteria, stresses in thin-walled cylinders and spheres, stress concentration factors, stresses in thick-walled cylinders and disks, energy methods. A brief introduction to the mathematics of vector calculus and indicial notation. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 634  Fatigue  (3 semester hours)  
A study of metal fatigue in engineering describing macro/micro aspects, stress life approach, cycling deformation and strain-life approach, as well as the applications of linear elastic fracture mechanics approach to fatigue crack growth. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 635  Structural Dynamics  (3 semester hours)  
Beam vibration; boundary conditions; modes; approximate and exact solutions; general matrix formulations and interrelationships; decoupling by transformation to modal coordinates; free and forced response; experimental approaches; modal truncation; mode acceleration method; component mode synthesis; formulation of large-order system responses (time and frequency domain); load transform matrices; introduction to finite elements. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 637  Rapid Prototyping  (3 semester hours)  
The course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design, and implement a product using rapid prototyping technologies and computer-aided tools. Topics such as principles of rapid prototyping, rapid prototyping materials, reverse engineering, rapid tooling, medical applications, industry perspectives, and current research and developments will be introduced to students through lecture and laboratory works. Several rapid prototyping machines will be used for lecture and class projects. Lecture/Laboratory, 3 hours. Graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 638  Random Vibrations  (3 semester hours)  
Classification and description of random data (stationarity, ergodicity, cross-correlation, cross spectra); stationary random process theory (one or two variables, Gaussian distribution, correlation, spectral density); linear input-output relations (single and multiple inputs, ordinary, multiple and partial coherence); statistical error in random data analysis; bias; digital signal processing (FFT, spectra, coherence, aliasing, windowing, averaging); nonstationary data; specifications for testing for structural and equipment survival. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 639  Design for Additive Manufacturing  (3 semester hours)  
This course provides practical guidance to design parts to gain the maximum benefit from what the additive manufacturing can offer. The course starts with discussions on part complexity, instant assemblies, part consolidation, mass customization, freedom from design, light weighting. It will discuss Design for AM guidelines for design parts, AM tooling design, polymer design, metal AM design. It will also discuss the post-processing and the future of additive manufacturing. The students will learn principles for successful engineering design for components for Additive Manufacturing through lecture and projects. Lecture, 3 hours. Graduate standing required.
  • MECH 653  New Product Design and Development  (3 semester hours)  
Student-conceived and/or corporate-sponsored team projects leading to a final prototype and business plan of a new product. Concept generation, team dynamics, customer needs analysis, product function, risk, decision theory, prototyping, manufacturing planning, specifications, quality function deployment, and cost analysis. Cross-listed with the considerations when developing the design and business plan. Final oral presentation in front of a panel of industry experts in engineering and business. Lecture/Laboratory, 3 hours. Graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 685  Research Project  (3 semester hours)  
Faculty guided mechanical engineering-related research project. Formal requirements must be obtained form the Program Director. Graduate standing in the Combined B.S./M.S. degree program and consent of the Department and project advisor required. Majors only. Credit/ No Credit grading.
  • MECH 686  Master's Thesis  (3 semester hours)  
The student electing the thesis option must obtain a thesis advisor before Departmental consent will be considered. The student must enroll in the thesis course during two semesters. Formal requirements may be obtained from the Program Director. Graduate standing and consent of the Department and thesis advisor required. Majors only. Credit/No Credit grading.
  • MECH 698  Special Studies  (1-3 semester hours)  
Graduate standing required. Majors only.
  • MECH 699  Independent Studies  (1-3 semester hours)  
  • MECH 2100  Design and Manufacturing  (3 semester hours)  
Introduction to the product design process, including design goals and requirements, and concept generation and selection. Use of computer-aided design (CAD) software for basic part modeling, assembly design, and the creation of two-dimensional (2D) manufacturing drawings. Introduction to design for manufacturing (DFM) guidelines, geometric dimensioning and tolerance (GD&T), datums, tolerance types and applications, and true position tolerancing. Laboratory exercises related to the use of manual and computer numerically controlled (CNC) manufacturing machines, including 3D printers, laser cutters, mills and lathes. Prerequisite: ENGR 1300
  • MECH 2200  Mechanical Engineering Lab I  (0 semester hours)  
Concurrent laboratory for EECE 2220, MECH 2210, and MECH 2230. Laboratory experiments in the areas of instrumentation and measurement, material science, and thermodynamics.
  • MECH 2210  Materials Science  (4 semester hours)  
Introduction to materials, including ferrous and non-ferrous alloys, ceramics, and polymers. Introduction to basic material chemistry, bonding, crystallography, imperfections, thermodynamics and diffusion, and equilibrium phase diagrams. Laboratory exercises related to optical microscopy and the measurement of mechanical properties, including hardness, strength, and electrical resistivity. Prerequisite: CHEM 114 Co-requisite: MECH 2200
  • MECH 2230  Thermodynamics  (4 semester hours)  
Thermodynamic properties, work and heat, the first and second laws of thermodynamics, entropy, irreversible processes, intro to exergy analysis, thermodynamic analysis of power cycles and refrigeration cycles, and gas vapor mixtures and air-conditioning. Laboratory exercises related to power and refrigeration cycles. Prerequisites: MATH 132 and PHYS 1100 Co-requisite: MECH 2200
  • MECH 3100  Mechanical Engineering Lab II  (0 semester hours)  
Concurrent laboratory for MECH 3110, MECH 3120 and MECH 3130. Laboratory experiments in the areas of mechanics of materials, dynamics and controls, and fluid mechanics.
  • MECH 3110  Mechanics of Materials  (4 semester hours)  
Normal stress, shear stress, and material properties. Stress, strain, and deflection for axial loading, torsion, and bending. Statically indeterminate axially and torsionally loaded members. Power transmission of shafts. Column buckling. Combined loading, stress transformations, and stress concentrations. Introduction to failure theories. Use of computer-aided design (CAD) and finite element analysis (FEA) software. Laboratory exercises related to tensile properties of materials, stress concentrations, bending, and column buckling. Prerequisite: EECE 2220 and ENGR 2001 Corequisite: MECH 3100
  • MECH 3120  Dynamics and Control I  (4 semester hours)  
Introduction to the dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion. Work-energy concepts. Free and forced vibration of single degree of freedom models of mechanical systems. Frequency response functions and system input/output analysis via transfer functions. Proportional–integral–derivative (PID) feedback control. Laboratory exercises related to rigid body motion, free response of oscillatory systems, PID feedback and control, and frequency response analysis. Prerequisites: EECE 2220, ENGR 2001, and MATH 246.
  • MECH 3130  Fluid Mechanics  (4 semester hours)  
Fluid statics, fluid dynamics, conservation of mass and momentum, differential analysis of fluid flow, pipe losses, lift and drag, turbulent and laminar flows. Laboratory exercises related to pipe flow, lift and drag, and conservation laws. Prerequisites: EECE 2220 Corequisites: MECH 3100 and MATH 246.
  • MECH 3200  Mechanical Engineering Lab III  (0 semester hours)  
Concurrent laboratory for MECH 3210, MECH 3220 and MECH 3230. Laboratory experiments in the areas of machine design, dynamics and controls, and heat transfer.
  • MECH 3210  Machine Design  (4 semester hours)  
The nature of mechanical design and materials. Stress and deformation analysis, combined stresses, and stress transformation. Design for different types of loading, including static and fatigue loading. Belt and chain drives, kinematics of gears, and spur gear design. Keys, couplings, seals, and shaft design. Rolling contact bearings. Fasteners, machine frames, bolted connections and welded joints. Use of computer-aided design (CAD) and finite element analysis (FEA) software. Laboratory exercises related to gear, belt, and chain drives, fatigue loading, and connections and joints. Corequisite: MECH 3200 Prerequisite: MECH 3110
  • MECH 3220  Dynamics and Control II  (4 semester hours)  
Continued analysis of dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models, including with two or more degrees of freedom (DOF) and under general forcing. Control design by frequency response and by root locus. Three-dimensional (3D) rotation of rigid bodies, general motion of rigid bodies. Laboratory exercises related to 3D rotation of rigid bodies, 2DOF systems and mode shapes, general forcing, and control design by frequency response and/or root locus. Corequisite: MECH 3200 Prerequisite: MECH 3120
  • MECH 3230  Heat Transfer  (4 semester hours)  
Fundamentals of heat transfer mechanisms, including conduction, convection, and radiation. Steady-state and transient conduction. Forced and free convection. Radiation between surfaces. Design and analysis of heat exchangers. Laboratory exercises related to conduction, convection, and heat exchangers. Prerequisites: EECE 2220, MATH 246, and MECH 2230 Corequisites: MECH 3200
  • MECH 4100  Capstone Design I  (3 semester hours)  
First half of the year-long and team-based culminating mechanical engineering design project. System requirements, specifications, and engineering standards. Design concept generation and selection. Design analysis and modeling, design for manufacturing and assembly (DFMA), and preliminary prototyping. Use of computer-aided design (CAD) and relevant analysis software. Formal project reviews and design documentation reports. Corequisite: MECH 4190 Prerequisite: Senior Standing required.
  • MECH 4190  Professional Practice  (1 semester hour)  
teamwork strategies, evaluation of design economics, and project budgeting. Ethics and professional responsibility.
  • MECH 4200  Capstone Design II  (3 semester hours)  
Continuation of the year-long and team-based culminating mechanical engineering design project. Design iteration and troubleshooting. Final design manufacturing, assembly, and testing. Validation of design performance through experimental testing of the system components and subsystems. Formal project reviews and design documentation reports.
  • MECH 31220  Dynamics and Control I  (4 semester hours)  
Introduction to the dynamics and vibrations of lumped-parameter models of mechanical systems. Force-momentum formulation for systems of particles and rigid bodies in planar motion. Work-energy concepts. Free and forced vibration of single degree of freedom models of mechanical systems. Frequency response functions and system input/output analysis via transfer functions. Proportional–integral–derivative (PID) feedback control. Laboratory exercises related to rigid body motion, free response of oscillatory systems, PID feedback and control, and frequency response analysis. Prerequisites: EECE 2220, ENGR 2001, and MATH 246 Corequisite: MECH 3100