2014-15 Academic Catalog

Mechanical Engineering

This is an archived copy of the 2014-15 catalog. To access the most recent version of the catalog, please visit http://catalog.msstate.edu.

Department Head: Dr. Pedro Mago
Graduate Coordinator: Dr. Mark Horstemeyer

210 Carpenter Engineering Building
Box ME
Mississippi State, MS 39762
Telephone: (662) 325-3260
Fax: (662) 325-7223
E-mail: graduate@me.msstate.edu
Website: http://www.me.msstate.edu

The Mechanical Engineering program offers graduate study leading to the degrees of Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering and Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with a Mechanical Engineering concentration. Both degrees are available via BCoE Learning (online). The major areas of study are

  • fluid mechanics,
  • solid mechanics,
  • thermal sciences,
  • materials and manufacturing,
  • mechanical design, and 
  • system dynamics.

Specific programs of graduate study are established by consultation between students and their advisors. Graduate assistantships and fellowships are available in the department. For further information contact the Graduate Coordinator.

Admission Criteria

A minimum GPA of 2.75 is required for admission. An entering graduate student with a bachelor’s degree from a program that is not accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (EAC/ABET) must submit GRE general-test scores.  An international student must have a minimum TOEFL score of 550 PBT (213 CBT or 79 iBT) or IELTS score of 6.5.

Provisional Admission

A provisional student must receive a 3.00 GPA on the first 9 hours of graduate level courses on his or her program of study taken at Mississippi State University (courses with an S grade, transfer credits, or credits earned while in Unclassified status cannot be used to satisfy this requirement) in order to achieve regular status.  If a 3.00 is not attained, the provisional student may be dismissed from graduate study.  While in the provisional status, a student is not eligible to hold a graduate assistantship.

Academic Performance

Unacceptable academic performance includes:

  • failure to maintain an overall GPA of at least 3.00 on all work after admission to the program;
  • a single grade of U, D, or F in any course;
  • more than two grades below a B in any semester;
  • more than two grades below a B in courses taken for graduate credit; or
  • unsatisfactory research progress as determined by the student’s major advisor. 

Any one of these is grounds for academic dismissal.

The academic dismissal process is

  • deficiency recognition by student’s major advisor or the graduate program coordinator;
  • case consideration and findings by the faculty;
  • concurrence by department head, and
  • recommendation of dismissal to the Dean of Engineering.

Appeals Process

A student who is dismissed on the basis of academic performance may appeal the decision. To appeal, the student must submit a letter of appeal to the graduate coordinator with a detailed explanation of the circumstances leading to the dismissal and should explain any extenuating circumstances leading to failure to maintain satisfactory academic progress. The graduate coordinator will review the provided documentation and reach a decision on whether to uphold or overturn the dismissal.  If the appeal at the program level is unsuccessful, the student may then appeal to the college dean.  If the appeal at the college level is unsuccessful, the student may then appeal to the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering - Thesis

ME 8XXXGraduate-level coursework12
Additional graduate-level coursework12
ME 8000Thesis Research/ Thesis in Mechanical Engineering1-13
Total Hours25-37

A thesis and a final oral exam are required.

Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering - Non-Thesis

ME 8XXXGraduate-level coursework15
Additional graduate-level coursework18
Total Hours33

Doctor of Philosophy in Engineering with Mechanical Engineering Concentration

ME 7000Directed Individual Study in Mechanical Engineering6
Graduate-level coursework36
ME 9000Dissertation Research /Dissertation in Mechanical Engineering20
Total Hours62

A written and oral qualifying examination is required during the first 24 months of graduate coursework. An oral preliminary examination is required to be taken upon completion or coursework or when the student is within 6 hours of completing coursework. A final oral dissertation defense is required.

For the Ph.D., 42 hours of coursework beyond the B.S. degree are required.

ME 6113 Material Selection in Design: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 3403 or equivalent). Three hours lecture. Principles of materials selection related to mechanical design requirements

ME 6123 Failure of Engineering Materials: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite:EM 3213 ) Three hours lecture. The failure of constituent materials using real -world case studies is the focus. Experimental and analytical techniques for failure analysis and prevention are covered.(Same as CE 4323/6323)

ME 6133 Mechanical Metallurgy: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite:ME 3403 or equivalent). Three hours lecture. The mechanical and metallurgical funamentals of metals are discussed. Mechanical fundamentals cover the stress and strain relationships and metallurgical fundamentals cover the microstructure

ME 6193 Automotive Engineering: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Fundamentals of automotive engineering, including power units, mechanical systems, electrical system and industrial and systems engineering aspects. (Same as CHE/ECE/IE 4193/6193)

ME 6223 Mechanical Systems Analysis: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: EM 3413 or ME 3613 and senior standing). Three hours lecture. Fourier methods, shock spectra, signature analysis, relation to specific phenomena and malfunctions; acoustical aids; field measurement analysis; random functions, correlations; mobility and impedance methods

ME 6333 Energy Systems Design: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 3313 and ME 3113). Three hours lecture. Comprehensive design problems requiring engineering decisions, data acquisition, codes/standards compliance. Emphasis upon energy systems components: heat exchangers, piping networks, pumps. Fluid transients, system modeling

ME 6343 Intermediate Heat Transfer: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 3313). Three hours lecture. Condensation and boiling, analytical and numerical techniques for conduction and convection, gray-body and spectral-dependent radiation, transient and steady-state thermal modeling

ME 6353 Alternate Energy Sources: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 3313). Three hours lecture. Analysis and design of systems using energy derived from solar, hydro, geothermal, wind, ocean, waste, and biomass sources

ME 6373 Air Conditioning: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 3523 and ME 3313). Three hours lecture. Psychometrics; comfort conditions; determination of heat losses and gains; determination of sizes of elements; energy usage estimating; residential and commercial systems

ME 6413 Casting and Joining: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 3403 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Fundamentals of solidification in casting and joining processes, including design applications

ME 6423 Machining and Forming: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 3403 or consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Fundamentals of mechanical processing of joining processes, including design applications. metals, including bulk and sheet forming techniques

ME 6443 Mechanical Systems Design: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 3423 and ME 4403). Three hours lecture. Mechanical design projects involving analysis; industrial standards and considerations for safety and manufacturability; the use of computers in design and manufacturing automation (CAD/CAM)

ME 6453 Lubrication: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: Senior standing). Three hours lecture. Friction of solids and fluids. Lubricants. Theory of sliding bearings. Multi-dimensional bearings with constant forces and velocities. Film, hydrodynamic, and gas lubrication. Design of bearings

ME 6463 Engineering Design: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 3613 and Senior standing). Three hours lecture. In-depth topics in mechanical design. Design of friction devices, hydrodynamic drives, and shells of revolution. Design for thermal creep, thermal stresses, surface contact, and impact

ME 6543 Combustion Engines: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 3523 and ME 3313). Three hours lecture. Application of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and combustion in the determination of performance characteristics of various engines, e.g., internal combustion, jet, and rocket engines

ME 6623 Control Systems: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 3613 and ECE 3283). Three hours lecture. Principles of closed loop mechanical, electrical, hydraulic, pneumatic, and thermodynamic systems. Design of control systems

ME 6624 Experimental Methods in Materials Research: 4 hours.

(Prerequisites:CHE 3413 or ABE 3813 or ME 3403 or permission of instructors). Three hours lecture. Three hours laboratory . An introduction to research methodologies commonly used in the evaluation of treatments , and mechanical testing. (Same as ABE 4624/6624 and CHE 4624/6624)

ME 6643 Introduction to Vibrations and Controls: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 3613). Three hours lecture. Review of Laplace Transforms. Introduction to vibrations, Fourier analysis, linearization, system modeling and feedback controls

ME 6743 Labview: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite:ME 3701 or equivalent Labview enperience). Two hours lecture. Three hours laboratory. Labview programming for applications in laboratory data acquisition (DQA). Basic and intermediate graphical programming theory with emphasis on transducer measurements and triggering

ME 6823 Compressible Flow and Turbomachinery: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: EM 3313 and ME 3523). Three hours lecture. Fundamental principles, shock and expansion waves, generalized one-dimensional flows, simple processes, energy transfer in turbomachines, turbomachine efficiencies, multi-dimensional effects

ME 6833 Intermediate Fluid Mechanics: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: EM 3313). Three hours lecture. Differential equations of fluid mechanics, Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids, boundary-layer theory, laminar and turbulent solutions, compressible flow with applications

ME 6990 Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering: 1-9 hours.

Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)

ME 7000 Directed Individual Study in Mechanical Engineering: 1-6 hours.

Hours and credits to be arranged

ME 8000 Thesis Research/ Thesis in Mechanical Engineering: 1-13 hours.

Hours and credits to be arranged

ME 8011 Graduate Seminar: 1 hour.

Presentation and discussion of research and current mechanical engineering literature by students, faculty, and visiting lecturers. Attendance required for students in Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program

ME 8144 Transmission Electro Microscopy: 4 hours.

(Prerequisite:Consent of Instructor). One hour lecture. Six hours laboratory. Introduction to TEM including life sciences (tissue) and engineering (crystalline materials) topics. (Same as EPP 8144)

ME 8213 Engineering Analysis: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. The formulation of mathematical methods of advanced engineering problems and the use of mathematical techniques for their solution: equilibrium, eigenvalue, and propagation problems

ME 8223 Inelasticity: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite:EM 8113 and EM 8203 ) Three hours lecture. This course covers plasticity, creep, viscoelasticity, and inelastic behavior in relation to microstructure-property relations, constitutive modeling at different length scales, and computational simulations.(Same as CE 8323)

ME 8243 Finite Elements in Mechanical Engineering: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ME 4403 and EM 3213). Three hours lecture. Concepts and applications of finite element analysis in mechanical engineering problems

ME 8253 Fatigue in Engineering Design: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Prediction and prevention of fatigue failure in metallic materials

ME 8313 Conductive Heat Transfer: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Closed form analytical and approximate numerical solutions to one, two, and three dimensional steady-state and transient problems in conduction heat transfer

ME 8333 Convective Heat Transfer: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Analytical and empirical methods of solution of problems in laminar and turbulent, natural and forced convective heat transfer. Stability; thermal boundary layer techniques; multiphase systems

ME 8353 Advanced Energy Conversion: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: Graduate standing in Mechanical Engineering or consent of instructor).Three hours lecture. Physical process in advanced energy conversion technologies, with practical application to devices/energy cycles. Emphasis on fuel cells, photovoltaics, and related materials engineering issues

ME 8373 Integrated Computational Materials Engineering: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: EM 3213 and ME 3403). Three hours lecture. Survey course of various length scale computational analysis related to materials modeling. Emphasis upon projects and exercises

ME 8513 Classical Thermodynamics: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Postulational treatment of the physical laws of equilibrium, thermostatics. Equations of state, processes, equilibrium stability, reactive systems, phase transitions

ME 8613 Dynamical Systems: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Mathematical description and simulation of systems with mechanical, electrical, pneumatic, and hydraulic components; state variables; bondgraphs; stability; observability and controllability

ME 8733 Experimental Procedures: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Design of experiments; instrumentation; data acquisition; and correlation and evaluation of results

ME 8813 Viscous Flow I: 3 hours.

Three hours lecture. Fundamental laws of motion for a viscous fluid; classical solutions of the Navier-Stokes equations; inviscid flow solutions; laminar boundary layers; stability criteria

ME 8823 Viscous Flow II: 3 hours.

(Prerequisite: ME 8813 or equivalent). Three hours lecture. Numerical solution techniques for viscous flow equations. Turbulence and turbulence modeling. Current literature and topics

ME 8843 Unstructured Grid Technology: 3 hours.

(Prerequisites: ASE 8413, proficiency in computer programming, and consent of instructor). Three hours lecture. Unstructured grid generation based on Delaunay, Advancing-Front, Iterative Point Placement, and Local- Reconnection techniques. Implementation of unstructured Finite-Element/Volume methods for engineering applications

ME 8990 Special Topics in Mechanical Engineering: 1-9 hours.

Credit and title to be arranged. This course is to be used on a limited basis to offer developing subject matter areas not covered in existing courses. (Courses limited to two offerings under one title within two academic years)

ME 9000 Dissertation Research /Dissertation in Mechanical Engineering: 1-13 hours.

Hours and credits to be arranged