ME3324 Introduction to Thermal Science Course Syllabus, Page 1
ME3324 Introduction to Thermal Science
Fall 2002, 4 credits
Lecture: MTWF 12:20 – 1:10 PM, Architecture 33
Collaborative Problem Session: Th 12:20 – 1:10 PM, Architecture 33/Architecture 56
Prerequisites: Chem1021, Math2243, and Phys1301 or equivalent
Teaching Team:
Gary L. Solbrekken
office: ME451, phone: (612) 625-6634, e-mail:
office hours: Tuesday 9 – 11 in ME003, Thursday 10 – 11 in ME451
Kathleen Peters
office: ME351, phone: (612) 626-8236, e-mail:
office hours: Monday 8 – 10 AM, Tuesday 8 – 9 AM in ME351
Vinod Srinvasan
office: ME233, phone: (612) 626-4562, e-mail:
office hours: Monday 1 – 2, Wednesday 11 – 12 AM and Wednesday 1 - 2 PM in ME003
Course Website:
Course E-mail list: TBD
Textbook:
"Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences" by Y.A. Cengel and R.H. Turner
Errata website:
Grading Breakdown:
10% Collaborative Problems
15% Homework
45% 3 Midterm Exams (15% each)
30% Final Exam
Tentative Course Outline:
I.Introduction to Thermodynamics
IIHeat and Work
IIIProperty Evaluation
IV1st Law of Thermodynamics
V2nd Law of Thermodynamics
VIIntroduction to Heat Transfer
VIIConduction
VIIConvection
VIIIRadiation
IXHeat Exchangers
ME3324 Introduction to Thermal Science
Fall 2002, 4 credits
Lecture: MTWF 12:20 – 1:10 PM, Architecture 33
Collaborative problem session: Th 12:20-1:10 PM, Architecture 33/56
Prerequisites: Chem1021, Math2243, and Phys1301 or equivalent
Course Description:
This course is intended to be a broad introduction to thermal energy sciences for upper-level undergraduate students. Energy systems are present in the operation of many products and the manufacturing of products. In order to optimize those systems and processes, it is necessary to develop an analysis methodology. This course will introduce students to real world energy systems and develop analytic techniques for evaluating these systems. Good problem solving habits will be instilled by stressing a systematic problem solving process.
Course Objectives
- To use tables for finding thermo-physical properties
- To use the 1st law to find heat and work for power producing devices
- To use the 2nd law to identify realistic processes
- To be able to design insulation systems
- To be able to find heat transfer coefficients for laminar and turbulent, forced and natural convection flows
- To design heat exchangers using the -NTU method
- To design fins
- To use numeric techniques for solving thermal engineering problems
Course Outline
I.Introduction to Thermodynamics
IIHeat and Work
IIIProperty Evaluation
IV1st Law of Thermodynamics
V2nd Law of Thermodynamics
VIIntroduction to Heat Transfer
VIIConduction
VIIConvection
VIIIRadiation
IXHeat Exchangers
Instructor:
Gary L. Solbrekken
office: ME451, phone: (612) 625-6634, e-mail:
office hours: Tuesday 9 – 11 in ME003, Thursday 10 – 11 in ME451
I will be more than happy to discuss with you any issue relating to this course or any other matter of particular interest. I will do everything possible to always be available during the office hours stated above. If for some reason I am not able to make my office hours, the class will be notified at least 1 day in advance (via e-mail). If you would like to meet with me outside these office hours, please feel free to contact me at any time to schedule an appointment.
Teaching Assistants:
Kathleen Peters
office: ME351, phone: (612) 626-8236, e-mail:
office hours: Monday 8 – 10 AM, Tuesday 8 – 9 AM in ME351
Vinod Srinvasan
office: ME233, phone: (612) 626-4562, e-mail:
office hours: Monday 1 – 2, Wednesday 11 – 12 AM and Wednesday 1 - 2 PM in ME003
Email List:
An email distribution list has been created for this class. You will be held responsible for all information transmitted via this format. This email distribution list will be used for distribution of administrative announcements as well as general discussion. If you wish to ask a question via e-mail, please send it to myself and the TA’s. We will strip any identifying information from the e-mail message and answer the question, replying to the entire class. In this way, the entire class can benefit from your questions. This may serve as a starting point for further e-mail discussion if any student has any additional insight or questions on the topic.
Course Website:
Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the course website:
In addition to course logistic information, updates, and announcements, the course website also contains links to related websites. This useful resource will be updated through the semester, so check back often.
Course Textbook:
The text for the course will be "Fundamentals of Thermal-Fluid Sciences" by Y.A. Cengel and R.H. Turner. It provides an introductory overview review of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer. Even though we will not be explicitly covering fluid mechanics in this class, the fluids sections should provide a useful review for students. There is an errata for the book at the website:
Errata website:
Copies of the textbook are available for purchase at Williamson Bookstore for approximately $120 new. Note that new copies of the book come with a CDROM that contains a student version of EES and solved sample problems from the book. While it is not a requirement of this course to use EES, knowledge and use of some numeric solver will be useful later in the course when we are covering numeric methods. Also, homework solutions later in the course will be accepted if they are completed using EES.
Supplementary Readings:
The text list below is not exhaustive or required. It is merely a list of additional resources that may be of use to you now or later.
Thermodynamics
H. C. Van Ness. Understanding Thermodynamics. New York, Dover Publications Inc., 1983.
K. Wark and D. E. Richards. Thermodynamics. 6th ed. New York, McGraw Hill, 1999.
M. J. Moran and H. N. Shapiro. Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics. New York, Wiley, 1988.
S. W. Angrist. Direct Energy Conversion. 3rd ed. Boston, Allyn and Bacon Inc., 1976.
Heat Transfer
M. N. Ozisik. Heat Transfer: A Basic Approach. New York, McGraw Hill, 1985.
E. R. G. Eckert and R. M. Drake. Analysis of Heat and Mass Transfer. New York, McGraw Hill, 1972.
M. N. Ozisik. Boundary Value Problems of Heat Conduction. New York, Dover Publications Inc., 1989.
L. C. Burmeister. Convective Heat Transfer. 2nd ed. New York, Wiley, 1993.
R. Siegel and J. R. Howell. Thermal Radiation Heat Transfer. 3rd ed. Washington, D.C., Taylor and Francis, 1992.
S. V. Patankar. Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow. New York, Hemisphere, 1980.
Student Evaluation:
Expectations
Students are expected to:
- Attend class and arrive on time.
- Prepare for each class meeting and participate actively in discussion and in-class activities.
- Read and respond to course email messages in a timely fashion.
- Participate actively and equally in all group projects.
- Be respectful of the views of other students
- Ensure that audible signals from electronic devices are disabled during class (i.e., cell phones and pagers)
- Abide to the rules of student conduct as outlined at:
Expected Workload
This class will meet 5 days a week for 50 minutes a day. On 4 of the days, the class structure will be lecture and problem solving based. Students are encouraged to ask questions and actively participate. On the 5th day (Thursdays), students will be broken into small groups to work collaboratively on more open-ended problems. During the week, students can expect to read on the order of 50 pages, in addition to homework, the collaborative problems, and exams.
Grading System
Grades will be assigned based on the percentage breakdown shown below. A forced grading curve will not be adhered to (read everyone can get an ‘A’), however, significant natural breaks in the class distribution will be used to assign letter grades.
10% - Collaborative problems
15% - Homework
45% - 3 Midterm Exams (15% each)
30% - Final Exam
Weekly Homework Assignments
Each week, about 10 homework problems will be assigned. It is expected that students will follow the homework format posted on the website. Non-compliance to the format will result in point deductions. Of the 10 problems, 3 will be graded rigorously, and an additional 3 will be simply checked to see if they were completed. The graded problems will be randomly selected each week after the assignments have been handed in.
Since there is not a forced grade distribution, students are encouraged to work in groups on homework assignments. However, each person must hand in his/her own work. Homework is to be turned in at the beginning of the class period in which it is due. Late homework will not be accepted. Graded homework will be returned to students one (1) week from when it was due. Numeric solutions (not full solutions) will be posted on the website every week.
Collaborative Problems Session
Collaborative design work is paramount in the industrial work environment. In an attempt to simulate the engineering workplace, design problems will be given to students to work on in groups of 3 or 4 during 1 class period per week. Students are expected to attend and participate. The problems will generally be more open-ended (no “right” answer) than the homework problems, and will require modeling and property assumptions to be made. Collaboration with colleagues is useful for evaluating the rationale of assumptions made.
In all but 2 weeks, solutions to the problems will be collected at the end of each class session with each student signing the front page indicating that they accept the solution and that all group members participated in the solution. For the remaining 2 weeks, a slightly longer analysis is required, so additional time will be given to complete the assignment. These problems will count as 2 problems in terms of grading weight.
Exams
Three in-class midterms and a comprehensive final exam (inclusive) will be administered during the semester. Students are expected to be available on those days for the exams. As such, makeup exams will be given only in extenuating circumstances (going on vacation is not an extenuating circumstance, no matter how far in advance it is planned) that must be cleared with the instructor.
Exams will be given during the normal lecture period. They will generally consist conceptual as well as application types of problems. Partial credit will be given, so a clear, well-documented solution process will be critical for full credit. In fact, a correct numeric answer without proper documentation will result in less than full credit.
Incompletes and Makeup Work
Incompletes will be given in very limited situations. In accordance with University policy, students will not be penalized for absence due to unavoidable or legitimate circumstances. Such circumstances include, but are not necessarily limited to, verified illness, participation in athletic events or other group activities sponsored by the University, serious family emergencies, subpoenas, jury duty, military service, and religious observances. It is the responsibility of the student to notify faculty members of such circumstances as far in advance as possible. A reasonable timeframe will then be established to remove the incomplete before the ‘I’ turns into an ‘F’ on the student’s transcript.
Makeup work will not be assigned. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain homework assignments and ensure that they are submitted when due. LATE HOMEWORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
Scholastic Misconduct
University of Minnesota Policy on Scholastic Misconduct Scholastic misconduct is broadly defined as "any act that violates the rights of another student in academic work or that involves misrepresentation of your own work. "Scholastic dishonesty includes, (but is not necessarily limited to): cheating on assignments or examinations; plagiarizing, which means misrepresenting as you own work any part of work done by another; submitting the same paper, or substantially similar papers, to meet the requirements of more than one course without the approval and consent of all instructors concerned; depriving another student of necessary course materials; or interfering with another student's work”. See also:
Outside Assistance:
Students are encouraged to take advantage of the wide variety of academic/learning services available here at the University of Minnesota. Potentially helpful resources include:
The Learning and Academic Skills Center
109 Eddy Hall, East Bank; 624-3323
Offers class, workshop, and individual assistance aimed at helping students achieve academic goals.
The Student Writing Center
306 B Lind Hall; 612 625-1893
Staffed by TA's and ESL specialists, provides writing help to undergraduates, and Macintosh computers for writing and research.
Disability Statement:
It is University policy to provide, on a flexible and individualized basis, reasonable accommodations to students who have disabilities that may affect their ability to participate in course activities or to meet course requirements. Students with disabilities are encouraged to contact the instructors and Disability Services (612-624-4037) as early as possible to discuss their individual needs for accommodations. All discussions will remain confidential.
This syllabus is available in alternative formats upon request.
Gary L. Solbrekken, Fall 2002