Mechanical Engineering

Hands-on experience is a hallmark of mechanical engineering education. The ability to plan experiments, perform measurements, analyze data and interpret results is important to success in a modern technological environment. Mechanical engineers also must be able to design products, components and systems, and to realize and evaluate those designs. Preparing mechanical engineering students for success requires modern, up-to-date laboratories and design facilities. The department needs to update and upgrade existing equipment, providing new modern capabilities for our laboratories and design facilities. 

Mechanical Engineering students at USA are required to take the following three lab classes in their junior and senior years:

• ME 336 Materials Science Laboratory
• ME 412 Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Heat Transfer Laboratory
• ME 429 Controls and Instrumentation Laboratory

In their senior year, students also complete a two-semester capstone design sequence. The sequence consists of ME 410 - Principles of Design in the fall term, followed by both ME 414 - Capstone Design and ME 416 - Capstone Project in the spring term. This sequence of courses is where teams of students develop and test their design solutions for unique problems in mechanical engineering, aerospace engineering and biomedical engineering.

Materials Science Laboratory

In the ME 336 laboratory course, students learn to perform experiments and analyses to characterize materials and relate material performance to mechanical engineering design criteria. This includes performing stress/strain, impact, hardness and metallographic tests on material specimens. This lab enables students to relate material properties to characterize material performance and design criteria. Funding will allow us to update and upgrade the equipment used for these tests and to add compression and bending experiments to the course.

An important learning objective for the Materials lab course (ME 336) is the ability to analyze the microscopic structure (microstructure) of a sample and relate it to material properties. This is important, for example in analysis of material failures. The additional of an automatic polishing station would greatly increase the lab efficiency, allowing students to study many more specimens than are possible with the current manual polishing equipment.

A centerpiece of materials characterization is the use of a mechanical test system to measure stress and strain on a sample during loading and unloading of applied forces. The mechanical test system provides important information to engineers regarding a material’s behavior and strength when subjected to compressive, bending, or tensile forces. In 2019, the department acquired a new, benchtop Tinius Olsen 10ST universal test machine for the lab, replacing a 1950’s era system. As currently outfitted the new system only allows students to perform compression tests. While compression tests are extremely useful, students currently are unable to utilize the full range of test capabilities for the system. There is a need for grips and fixtures to enable students to perform compression and bending tests of samples.

A second mechanical test system (MTS 810) is available for student use for applications requiring loads exceeding the capabilities of the Tinius Olsen. This system is used for student projects requiring high compressive or tensile forces, or long-term testing such as for fatigue analysis. The operating system for this machine is outdated and no longer supported by the manufacturer, which severely limits the usability of the system. The department needs to upgrade the MTS 810 operating system and purchase additional load cells and grips to expand the range of tests that can be run on the machine. This addition will expand the machine’s use to a wider range of student projects, including Honors theses and directed study investigations.

Fluid Mechanics, Thermodynamics, and Heat Transfer Laboratory

In the ME 412 lab course, students learn to perform measurements on, and analyze performance of, a wide range of thermal and fluid systems, including pumps, fans, turbines and heat exchangers. Energy conversion is fundamental to the mechanical engineering discipline. A significant portion of the lab is devoted to thermodynamics applications, including power cycles. A mechanical engineer needs to understand the theory and application of generating power from steam turbine systems (power plants) as well as internal combustion systems. The current laboratory has a steam power plant that provides a working example of a Rankine cycle for the students to analyze, but the system is more than thirty years old and needs to be replaced with a new laboratory scale power plant (RankineCycler™, Turbine Technologies, Ltd.). This will enable us to provide hands-on experience with a laboratory-scale steam power plant and help students understanding of this important technology.

Many students study mechanical engineering because of an interest in automobiles. Students are introduced to the theory of internal combustion engines in their thermodynamics classes. However, the department currently lacks the capability for students to apply that knowledge in the laboratory. Adding a small-engine water brake dynamometer (Froude GoPower D100 or similar) would enable students to measure torque and power output from an internal combustion engine (spark ignition or diesel). This would be used in ME 412 laboratory experiments and serve as a valuable resource for various capstone project teams such as SAE Supermileage program where students design, build and test a vehicle using a 1-cylinder, 4-cycle gasoline engine.

Controls and Instrumentation Laboratory

The purpose of the ME 429 lab is for students to learn how to perform digital measurements and apply feedback control strategies. Students learn how to acquire digital signals and use them to control an electromechanical system. The lab is in need of new, modern power supplies to replace low-power, aging hardware. The more reliable, higher power equipment will enable the development of new laboratory experiments for the students, including one in which they will develop a control system for a quad copter or a drone.

Senior Capstone Design

All students complete a team-based design project, generally requiring some fabrication of a working prototype or device. Many of these projects entail competition in national or international events, sponsored by major professional organizations. There is no dedicated space for students to develop and realize their designs. The department plans to create and equip a Design Realization Center (DRC) that will provide a dedicated, secure, and safe facility for student design, fabrication, and testing.

The DRC will include a design studio with group workspaces and computer workstations for students to develop their design. There will be a conference room for team meetings and design reviews. The DRC will house 10 – 12 individual, securable project shops (180 – 200 s.f. each) for assembly of student projects. The studio will also include an additive manufacturing core facility for 3D printing using fused deposition modeling and selective laser sintering. The center also will include  a CNC (computer numerically controlled) vertical milling machine. 

Modernizing these facilities will provide a modern, safe environment for students to learn and apply modern laboratory methods, and to develop, prototype and test their design solutions. This will improve the hands-on aspect of the USA Mechanical Engineering curriculum and make our students more productive and successful in their careers.

Materials & Mechanics Lab

Instrumentation & Controls Lab

Design Realization Center for Capston Design

ME Fluids, Thermo, & Heat Transfer Lab