Yearbooks

Programme: BEngHons Mechanical Engineering

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Code Faculty
12240051 Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology
Credits Duration
Duration of study: 1 year Total credits: 128

Programme information

The curriculum is determined in consultation with the relevant heads of departments. A student is required to pass modules to the value of at least 128 credits.

The degree is awarded on the basis of examinations only.

Admission requirements

Subject to the stipulations of Reg. G.1.3 and G.54, a BEng degree or equivalent qualification is required for admission.

 

 

Other programme-specific information

A limited number of appropriate modules from other departments are allowed.

Not all modules listed are presented each year. Please consult the departmental postgraduate brochure.

Examinations and pass requirements

  1. The examination in each module for which a student is registered, takes place during the normal examination period after the conclusion of lectures (i.e. November/January or June/July).
  2. A student registered for the honours degree must complete his or her studies within two years (full-time), or within three years (part-time) after first registration for the degree: Provided that the Dean, on recommendation of the relevant head of department, may approve a stipulated limited extension of this period.
  3. A student must obtain at least 50% in an examination for each module where no semester or year mark is required. A module may only be repeated once.
  4. In modules where semester or year marks are awarded, a minimum examination mark of 40% and a final mark of 50% is required.
  5. No supplementary or special examinations are granted at postgraduate level.

Pass with distinction

A student passes with distinction if he or she obtains a weighted average of at least 75% in the first 128 credits for which he or she has registered (excluding modules which were discontinued timeously). The degree is not awarded with distinction if a student fails any one module (excluding modules which were discontinued timeously).

Minimum credits: 128

Elective modules

  • Module content:

    History of the gas turbine, cycles and engine design, gas turbine cycles types, military and civil engines, advanced cycles, review 2D design, 3D design of turbomachines, wind turbine design, secondary flows, loss mechanisms, loss mitigation methods, cooling/heat transfer, cascades, rotating machines, intrusive and un-intrusive techniques, full scale testing, standards.

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  • Module content:

    Introduction to state space methods, full state feedback design, disturbances and tracking systems, linear observers, compensator design by the separation principle, linear quadratic optimum control, Kalman filter, linear quadratic Gaussian compensator.

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  • Module content:

    Stress and the differential equilibrium equation. Isoparametric formulation. Numerical integration. Reduced integration. Convergence, stability and accuracy. The Patch test. Membrane elements: assumed stress mixed interpolations. 3-D elements. Error estimates and mesh refinement. Sensitivity analysis.

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  • Module content:

    Non-linear statics: Overview of non-linear effects: geometric, material and boundary conditions. Continuum mechanics: tensors, indicial notation, deformation gradients, stress and strain measures, transformations and rotations, stress-strain relationships, constitutive models. Principles of virtual work. Solution methods: direct iteration, Newton methods, incremental/iterative procedures. Lagrange engineering strains. Large displacement finite element analysis of continua: total Lagrangian formulation. Small strain plasticity: Additive decomposition, flow rule, hardening laws, continuum and consistent tangents.

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  • Module content:

    Theory and practical applications of condition based maintenance techniques. Pitfalls of the various condition based maintenance techniques. Acoustic emission, wear debris monitoring, oil analysis, thermography and non-destructive testing.

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  • Module content:

    Failure characteristics and analysis. Maintenance economics – Budgeting and cost control. Life cycle partnering and maintenance contracting. Legal aspects and case study. Performance measurement and benchmarking. Maintenance programming – Network analysis. Variability analysis. Maintenance strategy, plan, and protocol design – a new look at RCM. Maintenance tactic selection techniques. Introduction to condition-based maintenance. Tribology and contamination control presented with case studies. Maintenance Maturity Indexing and Variable Relationships development.

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  • Module content:

    Introduction to probabilistic distributions, computation of system reliability, building reliability models and optimisation of system reliability; Fault Tree Analysis; Failure Modes, Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA), Monte Carlo Simulation; probability-based design.

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  • Module content:

    Panel methods, Green's identity, different 2-D panel methods, airfoil design and analysis, 3-D vortex systems, vortex lattice methods for 3-D potential flow, boundary layer methods, theory of boundary layers, some finite difference methods, separation, computer methods, compressible potential flow, Mach waves and shock waves, Prandtl Glauert equations, subsonic, supersonic and transonic flow on thin airfoils, finite difference methods applied to small perturbation equation.

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  • Module content:

    Comfort and indoor air quality. Psychometrics. System types and selection. Cooling and heating load calculations: conduction, radiation, convection, internal loads and thermal storage. Design of air handling unit, ducts, plant and reticulation. Control systems. Introduction to integrated system simulation.

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  • Module content:

    Review of the stress, displacement and thermal analysis of structures. Structural analysis for static and dynamic loads: aerodynamic, pressure, landing and thermal. A study of the characteristics of flight vehicle materials and the design of fuselages/wings with reference to component manufacturing techniques.

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  • Module content:

    Drag: friction, pressure, induced, interference, cooling, trim, drag estimation and reduction, piston engines, propellers, gas turbines, turbojet, turboprop and turbofan engines, propfan engines, aircraft performance, take off, climb, level flight, range, flight and manoeuvre envelopes, landing, energy methods, static stability and control: stick fixed, stick free, lateral stability and control, dihedral effect, coupling, dynamic longitudinal stability, short period oscillations, phugoid oscillations, dynamic damping, flight characteristics.

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  • Module content:

    Introduction to design and elements of computer aided design. Optimum design problem formulation. Optimum design concepts. Linear programming methods. Integer programming. Numerical methods for unconstrained and constrained optimum design. Model reduction. Interactive and practical design optimisation.

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  • Module content:

    Historical development; Linear Elastic Fracture Mechanics (LEFM): Stress concentrations and singularities, stress intensity factor, stability of crack propagation; Elasto-plastic fracture mechanics: crack tip plasticity, small scale yielding, measurement of Kic, J-integral; Fatigue crack growth: Paris Law; life prediction; combined mode fracture, strain energy density methods.

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  • Module content:

    Fluid Mechanics refresher (governing equations, boundary conditions, application of inviscid, laminar and turbulent flow). Methods of weighted residuals (finite element, finite volume and difference methods). Mesh generation and boundary conditions: Types of mesh structured and unstructured mesh generation and application (inviscid flow, heat conduction etc.). Heat conductions: Governing equations, discretisation, finite approximation, solution methods (Gauss-Seidel, Tri-diagonal matrix algorithm) etc. This module is suited to postgraduate students doing research in thermofluids and who wants to use available CFD codes or who wants to write their own codes to solve fluid mechanics, heat and mass transfer problems.

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  • Module content:

    The Efficient Solvers: Background, muligrid theory and detailed description of the algorithm. Finite Volume method: Understand the governing equations, general form of the transport equations, Gauss's theorem and the finite volume discretisation. Iterative solution algorithm: Pressure-velocity coupling, types of grids, unsteady flows, multiple phases. Finite Volume Discretisation: Diffusion term, convection term and source term for steady flows. Convection-diffusion problems: Boundary conditions, higher order discretisation, accuracy / stability. Solution Algorithm for Pressure-Velocity coupling: SIMPLE, SIMPLER, SIMPLEC and PISO. Laminar, transitional and turbulent flow: Background and theory. Turbulence modelling and examples: Definition of turbulence, turbulence modelling approaches, turbulence models ( zero-equation models, one equation, two equation, Reynolds Stress Model (RSM), Large Eddy Simulation, wall function approach), turbulence modelling guidelines. Recent CS developments: Current state of the art in turbulence modelling etc. Viscous boundary meshes: Background and objectives, internal and external flow, turbulence modelling considerations.

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  • Module content:

    This module allows a student to study a certain body of knowledge in mechanical or aeronautical engineering, as specified by a lecturer in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering, on an individual basis, under the supervision of that lecturer. The total volume of work that is to be invested in this module by an average student must be 160 hours. The body of knowledge studied must be of an advanced nature, at the level of the other postgraduate modules offered by the Department. Normal requirements for assessment that include the use of an external examiner apply to this module also.

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  • Module content:

    Fatigue principles addressing both elasticity and plasticity; notch effects; variable amplitude loading conditions; multi-axial fatigue and weld fatigue.

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  • Module content:

    Mathematical preliminaries: historical overview, scalar, vector and tensor algebra (in context of partial differential equations), Green's lemma and the Divergence theorem, Eularian/Lagrangian representations, derivative of a function, Reynolds transport theorem. Governing equations: viscous compressible and incompressible flow, derivation of conservation of mass, derivation of conservation of momentum, boundary conditions, mathematical characteristics, non-dimensionalisation. Viscous compressible and incompressible flow: derivation of conservation of mass, derivation of conservation of momentum, boundary conditions, mathematical characteristics, non-dimensionalisation.

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  • Module content:

    Tyres: Characteristics and tyre models used in simulation of ride comfort and handling. Road inputs: Classification of roads. Road profiles. Road roughness. Suspension components: springs, dampers. Controllable suspension systems. Modelling aspects. Human reaction: Human response to vibration. Driver models. Human reaction times. Vertical vehicle dynamics (ride comfort): Vibration levels in a vehicle. Simulation of ride comfort. Effect of seat characteristics on vibration levels. Test and evaluation procedures. Lateral vehicle dynamics (handling): Simulation of steady state and dynamic handling. Rollover propensity. Test procedures. Computer applications: Application of computer codes in the analysis of vehicle dynamics.

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  • Module content:

    Solving systems of linear algebraic equations using direct and iterative methods from small to large scale systems. Numerical solutions of nonlinear systems of equations. Solving eigenvalue problems. Numerical approximation strategies. Numerical differentiation. Numerical Integration. Numerical solutions to initial-value problems for ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions to boundary-value problems for ordinary differential equations. Numerical solutions to partial-differential equations.

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  • Module content:

    The independent study of research of research methodology. The study necessary to complete and submit the literature review for an MEng dissertation.

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  • Module content:

    Convection correlations: high speed flows, boundary layers, similarity, conservation equations, scale analysis. Thermal radiation: physics, exchange between surfaces, solar, directional characteristics, spectral characteristics, radiation through gasses. Convection, evaporation and boiling: film condensation, film evaporation, pool boiling, forced-convection boiling and condensation, flow regime maps, phase change at low pressures, heatpipes. Heat exchangers: types, regenerators, heat exchanger design. Mass transfer: Fick’s Law, mass diffusion, mass convection, simultaneous heat and mass transfer, porous catalysts. High mass transfer rate theory. Mass exchangers.

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  • Module content:

    Exact solutions: potential flow, Couette flow, Poiseuille flow and combined Couette-Poiseuille flow, laminar boundary layers (similarity solutions for flat plate flow). Stability of laminar flows: introduction, linearised stability, transition to turbulence, approximate prediction of transition. Turbulent flow: Reynolds averaged equations, two-dimensional turbulent-boundary-layer equations, velocity profiles, turbulent flow in ducts, flat plate flow, turbulence modelling.

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  • Module content:

    Fundamental concepts of thermodynamics, total flow exergy, restricted dead state and unconstrained equilibrium state, heat transfer, fluid flow and chemical irreversibilities, thermodynamic optimisation, irreversibility distribution ratio, lost exergy, application of entropy generation minimisation (EGM) technique to the fundamentals of power generation, solar power, wind power, and low temperature refrigeration.

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  • Module content:

    Spatial, modal and response models of structures, frequency response functions and the relationships between spatial, modal and response models for single degree of freedom systems and multi-degree of freedom systems, modal analysis, operational modal analysis, updating finite element models.

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  • Module content:

    This module allows the Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering to arrange a short course on a specialized nature in mechanical or aeronautical engineering, typically (but not limited to) a course presented by a visiting academic. The total volume of work that is to be invested in this module by an average student must be 160 hours. The body of knowledge studied must be of a specialized and advanced nature, at the level of the other postgraduate modules offered by the Department.

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  • Module content:

    This module allows the Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering to arrange a short course on a specialized nature in mechanical or aeronautical engineering, typically (but not limited to) a course presented by a visiting academic. The total volume of work that is to be invested in this module by an average student must be 160 hours. The body of knowledge studied must be of a specialized and advanced nature, at the level of the other postgraduate modules offered by the Department.

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  • Module content:

    Vibration measurement: conventional and optical technique, digital signal processing in vibrations, vibration monitoring: diagnostics and prognostics, artificial intelligence in vibration monitoring, human vibration.

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  • Module content:

    This module allows the Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering to arrange a short course on a specialized nature in mechanical or aeronautical engineering, typically (but not limited to) a course presented by a visiting academic. The total volume of work that is to be invested in this module by an average student must be 160 hours. The body of knowledge studied must be of a specialized and advanced nature, at the level of the other postgraduate modules offered by the Department.

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  • Module content:

    This module allows the Head of the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering to arrange a short course on a specialized nature in mechanical or aeronautical engineering, typically (but not limited to) a course presented by a visiting academic. The total volume of work that is to be invested in this module by an average student must be 160 hours. The body of knowledge studied must be of a specialized and advanced nature, at the level of the other postgraduate modules offered by the Department.

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  • Module content:

    Design of structures subjected to fluid flow, i.e., high-rise buildings, chimney stacks, tube in heat exchangers, overhead power-line bundles, bridge piers, risers, pipe lines under sea, stays, masts, chemical-reaction towers, offshore platforms and aircraft components.

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  • Module content:

    Sensors: mechanical and optical limit switches, encoders, thermocouples, strain gauges, CCD cameras, IR sensors, piezo-electric sensors, capacitive sensors, torque sensors, tactile sensors, gyroscope and ultrasonic sensors. Actuators: DC motors, stepper motors, AC motors, pneumatic actuators, hydraulic actuators, memory shape alloys. Signal conditioning: component interconnection, amplifiers, analogue filters, modulators and demodulators, analogue-digital conversion, sample-and-hold circuitry, multiplexers, software and hardware implementation of digital filters and Wheatstone bridge. Control: H-Bridge motor control, PWM motor control, control of stepper motors, non-linear control of hydraulic and pneumatic actuators, PLCs, SCADA systems, industrial Fieldbus, micro-processor control.

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  • Module content:

    This module contains a comprehensive study of all mechanical systems and processes of a fossil fuel power station. The module will include the analysis of steam cycles, combined cycle power generation, fuels and combustion, combustion mechanisms, combustion equipment and firing methods, the draught group, steam generators, steam turbines, condenser, feed water and circulating water systems, coal handling, ash handling, compressor plant, water treatment, the importance of HVAC, control and instrumentation, control philosophies and environmental considerations.

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  • Module content:

    Introduction to Logistics, RAM (Reliability, Maintainability, and Availability), Measures of Logistics, Inventory Systems, Systems Engineering and Supportability Analysis: Systems Engineering Process, Supportability Analysis, Aspects of Logistical Design: Logistics in the Design and Development Phase, Just-in-Time Systems, Facility Layout, Job Design and Work Measurement, Logistics from the Development to the Retirement Phase: Logistics in the Production/Construction Phase, Logistics in the Utilisation and Support Phase, Planning and Scheduling: Forecasting, Planning, Maintenance Scheduling, Project Management, Theory of Constraints, Logistics Management: Quality Management, Supply Chain Management, Logistics Management.

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  • Module content:

    Probabilty, design and management in non-destructive testing (NDT). Fundamental theory of commonly used NDT methods: Ultrasonic testing, Electromagnetic testing (MT and ACFM). Radiographic testing, Penetrant testing, Eddy current testing. Other NDT technologies, including phased array UT, time-of flight diffraction. Digital (RT and Acoustic emission. Monitoring.

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The information published here is subject to change and may be amended after the publication of this information. The General Regulations (G Regulations) apply to all faculties of the University of Pretoria. It is expected of students to familiarise themselves well with these regulations as well as with the information contained in the General Rules section. Ignorance concerning these regulations and rules will not be accepted as an excuse for any transgression.

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