ME 421: Mechanical Engineering Fundamentals

What is Engineering? Or, Who is an Engineer?

Engineering is a profession in which the
knowledge of mathematics and natural
sciences gained by study, experience, and
practice is applied with judgment to develop ways
and means to utilize, economically, the material
and forces of nature for the benefit of mankind
(ABET).
Engineering and Science
Science is concerned with quest of basic
knowledge. Engineering is concerned with the
application of scientific knowledge to the solutions
of problems and to the quest for better life.

Basic science is known as “knowing science”,

whereas engineering is known as “doing science”.
However, the development of science and
engineering often occur hand-in-hand. In some
cases, a scientist and an engineer might be the
same person.

Engineers and other professionals

  Engineers solve problems and use
mathematics
 Engineers analyze data
 Engineer design systems. Design = analysis +
synthesis

Engineers use resources (materials, machines,

men, money). They need to analyze lots of data
and come up with (mostly) tangible solutions.
Engineer comes from old French word in the form
of verb (’ingenier)
An engineer is one who seeks in his mind, who
sets his mental power in action, in order to
discover or devise some means of succeeding in a
difficult task he may have to perform. To be
human is to be an engineer.
Engineer => Art + Artifacts => Design + how it
goes about
Key words for an engineer: change, resources,
best, and uncertainty.

Engineering method
Strategy for causing the best change in a poorly
understood situation within the available
resources.
Engineering process
The basic steps are as below:

1) Problem symptom (need expression)

2) Problem definition
3) Statement of the desired outcome
4) Analysis/experimentation
5) Synthesis of alternative solution
6) Decision (one alternative solution)
7) Solution (system or method)

What is Mechanical Engineering?

Mechanical Engineering is If it needs engineering
but it doesn’t involve electrons, chemical reactions,
arrangement of molecules, life forms, isn’t a
structure (building/bridge/dam) and doesn’t fly, a
mechanical engineer will take care of it… but if it
does involve electrons, chemical reactions,
arrangement of molecules, life forms, is a structure
or does fly, mechanical engineers may handle it
anyway Although every engineering faculty
member in every engineering department will
claim that his/her field is the broadest engineering
discipline, in the case of Mechanical Engineering
that’s actually true because the core material
permeates all engineering systems (fluid
mechanics, solid mechanics, heat transfer, control
systems, etc.) Mechanical engineering is one of
the oldest engineering fields but in the past 20
years has undergone a rather remarkable
transformation as a result of a number of new
technological developments.

Define manufacturing engineering. Why is it

important today?
Manufacturing Engineering is the process of
designing a product(s) and production process(es)
to produce the product(s). Manufacturing is an
industrial activity to transform (raw) materials and
information into goods/products, mainly by
machinery, normally on large scale and with
division of labor, for the welfare and satisfaction of
human needs.
Manufacturing is now the primary wealth-
generating activity for a nation. It is the backbone
of an industrial nation. Level of manufacturing is
related to economic health and standard of living
of the people. It has significant role in national
development – economic development and
employment. Service sector is enhanced by
increasing manufacturing activity.

Mechanical Engineering curriculum

In almost any accredited Mechanical Engineering
program, the following courses are required:
• Basic sciences - math, chemistry, physics
• Computer graphics and computer aided design
(CAD)
• Experimental engineering & instrumentation
• Mechanical design - nuts, bolts, gears, welds
• Computational methods - converting continuous
mathematical equations into discrete equations
solved by a computer
• Core “engineering science” o Dynamics –
essentially F = ma applied to many types of
systems o Strength and properties of materials o
Fluid mechanics o Thermodynamics o Heat
transfer o Control systems
• Senior “capstone” design project
Industries employing MEs
Many industries employ mechanical engineers; a
few industries and the type of systems MEs design
are listed below.
o Automotive
• Combustion
• Engines, transmissions
• Suspensions
o Aerospace (w/ aerospace engineers)
• Control systems
• Heat transfer in turbines
• Fluid mechanics (internal & external)
o Biomedical (w/ physicians)
• Biomechanics – prosthesis
• Flow and transport in vivo o Computers (w/
computer engineers)
• Heat transfer
• Packaging of components & systems o
Construction (w/ civil engineers)
• Heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC)
 • Stress analysis o Electrical power generation
(w/ electrical engineers)
• Steam power cycles - heat and work
• Mechanical design of turbines, generators, ...
o Petrochemicals (w/ chemical, petroleum
engineers)
refineries - piping, pressure vessels
o Robotics (w/ electrical engineers)
• Mechanical design of actuators, sensors
• Stress analysis

TURBINE (vortex/turbulence)
Introduction and Classification:
A turbine is a mechanical device that extracts
energy from a flowing fluid and converts that into
work.
Turbomachine with at least one moving part called
rotor assembly (a shaft or drum with blades
attached), moving fluid acts on blades so that they
move and impart rotational energy to the rotor.
PE (pressure head) and KE (velocity head).

Moving fluid acts on the blades so that they move

and impart rotational energy to the rotor.
Early turbine examples are windmills and
waterwheels. Gas, steam, and
water turbines have a casing around the blades
that contains and controls the working fluid.

Classification
Windmills or wind turbine
Water wheels/water turbine
Steam turbine
Gas turbine

Turbine classification depends on several things.

Steam Turbine Classification
Steam turbines can be classified in several
different ways:
1.By details of stage design
• Impulse or reaction.
2.By steam supply and exhaust conditions
• Condensing, or Non-condensing (back
pressure),
• Automatic or controlled extraction,
• Mixed pressure Mixed pressure
• Reheat
3.By casing or shaft arrangement
• Single casing Tandem compound or Cross
compound Single casing, Tandem compound
or Cross compound
4.By number of exhaust stages in parallel:
• Two flow, Four flow or Six flow.
5.By direction of steam flow:
• Axial flow, Radial flow or Tangential flow
6. Single or multi-stage
7. By steam supply
• Superheat or Saturated

Impulse and Reaction Turbines

Turbines work in two different ways described as
impulse and reaction—terms that are often very
confusingly described (and sometimes completely
muddled up) when people try to explain them. So,
what's the difference?
Impulse turbines
What is the impulse turbine?
a turbine that is driven by jets direct against the
blades. turbine - rotary engine in which the kinetic
energy of a moving fluid is converted into
mechanical energy by causing a bladed rotor to
rotate.
In an impulse turbine, a fast-moving fluid is fired
through a narrow nozzle at the turbine blades to
make them spin around. The blades of an impulse
turbine are usually bucket-shaped so they catch
the fluid and direct it off at an angle or sometimes
even back the way it came (because that gives the
most efficient transfer of energy from the fluid to
the turbine). In an impulse turbine, the fluid is
forced to hit the turbine at high speed.
Imagine trying to make a wheel like this turn
around by kicking soccer balls into its paddles.
You'd need the balls to hit hard and bounce back
well to get the wheel spinning—and those constant
energy impulses are the key to how it works.
The law of conservation of energy tells us that the
energy the wheel gains, each time a ball strikes it,
is equal to the energy that the ball loses—so the
balls will be traveling more slowly when they
bounce back. Also, Newton's second law of
motiontells us that the momentum gained by the
wheel when a ball hits it is equal to the momentum
lost by the ball itself; the longer a ball touches the
wheel, and the harder (more forcefully) it hits, the
more momentum it will transfer.
Water turbines are often based around an
impulse turbine (though some do work using
reaction turbines). They're simple in design, easy
to build, and cheap to maintain, not least because
they don't need to be contained inside a pipe or
housing (unlike reaction turbines).
There are 3 main types of impulse turbine in use:
the Pelton, the Turgo, and the Crossflow turbine.
The two main types of reaction turbine are the
propeller turbine(with Kaplan variant) and the
Francis turbine. The reverse Archimedes Screw
and the overshot waterwheel are both
gravity turbines.
Reaction turbines
In a reaction turbine, the blades sit in a much
larger volume of fluid and turn around as the fluid
flows past them. A reaction turbine doesn't
change the direction of the fluid flow as
drastically as an impulse turbine: it simply spins
as the fluid pushes through and past its blades.
Wind turbines are perhaps the most familiar
examples of reaction turbines.
If an impulse turbine is a bit like kicking soccer
balls, a reaction turbine is more like swimming—in
reverse. Let me explain! Think of how you do
freestyle (front crawl) by hauling your arms
through the water, starting with each hand as far in
front as you can reach and ending with a "follow
through" that throws your arm well behind you.
What you're trying to achieve is to keep your hand
and forearm pushing against the water for as long
as possible, so you transfer as much energy as
you can in each stroke. A reaction turbine is using
the same idea in reverse: imagine fast-flowing
water moving past you so it makes your arms and
legs move and supplies energy to your body! With
a reaction turbine, you want the water to touch the
blades smoothly, for as long as it can, so it gives
up as much energy as possible. The water isn't
hitting the blades and bouncing off, as it does in an
impulse turbine: instead, the blades are moving
more smoothly, "going with the flow."
What is the difference between impulse and
reaction turbines?
In the impulse turbine, first all pressure energy of
water convert into the kinetic energy through a
nozzle and generate a high-speed jet of water.
This water jet strikes the blade of turbine and
rotates it. In the reaction turbine, there is
pressure change of water when it passes through
the rotor of turbine.
What is a wind turbine?
A windmill is the simplest kind of turbine: a
machine designed to capture some of
the energy from a moving fluid (a liquid or a gas)
so it can be put to use. As the wind blows past a
windmill's sails, they rotate, removing some of the
wind's kinetic energy (energy of movement) and
converting it into mechanical energy that turns
heavy, rotating stones inside the mill. The faster
the wind blows, the more energy it contains; the
faster the sails spin, the more energy is supplied to
the mill. Adding more sails to the windmill or
changing their design so they catch the wind better
can also help to capture more of the wind's
energy. Although you may not realize it, the wind
blows just a bit more slowly after it's passed by a
windmill than before—it's given up some of its
energy to the mill!
The key parts of a turbine are a set of blades that
catch the moving fluid, a shaft or axle that rotates
as the blades move, and some sort
of machine that's driven by the axle. In a
modern wind turbine, there are typically three
propeller-like blades attached to an axle that
powers an electricity generator. In an ancient
waterwheel, there are wooden slats that turn as
the water flows under or over them, turning the
axle to which the wheel is attached and usually
powering some kind of milling machine.
How does wind turbine work?
Wind turbines operate on a simple principle. The
energy in the wind turns two or three propeller-like
blades around a rotor. The rotor is connected to
the main shaft, which spins a generator to create
electricity. Click on the image to see an animation
of wind at work.
Water turbines

Photo: A giant Francis reaction turbine (the orange

wheel at the top) being lowered into position at
the Grand Coulee Dam in Washington State,
USA. Water flows past the angled blades, pushing
them around and turning the shaft to which they're
attached. The shaft spins an electricity generator
that makes power. Photo by courtesy of US
Bureau of Reclamation.

Water wheels, which date back over 2000 years to

the time of the ancient Greeks, were the original
water turbines. Today, the same principle is used
to make electricity in hydroelectric power plants.
The basic idea of hydroelectric power is that you
dam a river to harness its energy. Instead of the
river flowing freely downhill from its hill or mountain
source toward the sea, you make it fall through a
height (called a head) so it picks up speed (in
other words, so its potential energy is converted to
kinetic energy), then channel it through a pipe
called a penstock past a turbine and generator.
Hydroelectricity is effectively a three-step energy
conversion:
 The river's original potential energy (which it
has because it starts from high ground) is
turned into kinetic energy when the water falls
through a height.
 The kinetic energy in the moving water is
converted into mechanical energy by a water
turbine.
 The spinning water turbine drives
a generator that turns the mechanical
energy into electrical energy.
Different kinds of water turbine are used
depending on the geography of the area, how
much water is available (the flow), and the
distance over which it can be made to fall (the
head). Some hydroelectric plants use bucket-like
impulse turbines (typically Pelton wheels); others
use Francis, Kaplan, or Deriaz reaction turbines.
The type of turbine is chosen carefully to extract
the maximum amount of energy from the water.
Where are water turbines used?
A water turbine is a rotary machine that converts
kinetic energy and potentialenergy of water into
mechanical work. Water turbines were developed
in the 19th century and were widely used for
industrial power prior to electrical grids. Now they
are mostly used for electric power generation.
Steam turbines

What is the steam turbine?

A steam turbine is a device that extracts thermal
energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do
mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its
modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles
Parsons in 1884.
Steam turbines evolved from the steam
engines that changed the world in the 18th and
19th centuries. A steam engine burns coal on an
open fire to release the heat it contains. The heat
is used to boil water and make steam, which
pushes a piston in a cylinder to power a machine
such as a railroad locomotive. This is quite
inefficient (it wastes energy) for a whole variety of
reasons. A much better design takes the steam
and channels it past the blades of a turbine, which
spins around like a propeller and drives the
machine as it goes.
Steam turbines were pioneered by British engineer
Charles Parsons (1854–1931), who used them to
power a famously speedy motorboat
called Turbiniain 1889. Since then, they've been
used in many different ways. Virtually all power
plants generate electricity using steam
turbines. In a coal-fired plant, coal is burned in a
furnace and used to heat water to make steam
that spins high-speed turbines connected to
electricity generators. In a nuclear power plant, the
heat that makes the steam comes from atomic
reactions.
Unlike water and wind turbines, which place a
single rotating turbine in the flow of liquid or gas,
steam turbines have a whole series of turbines
(each of which is known as a stage) arranged in a
sequence inside what is effectively a closed pipe.
As the steam enters the pipe, it's channelled past
each stage in turn so progressively more of its
energy is extracted. If you've ever watched a kettle
boiling, you'll know that steam expands and moves
very quickly if it's directed through a nozzle. For
that reason, steam turbines turn at very high
speeds—many times faster than wind or water
turbines.
What is meant by back pressure turbine?
In a backpressure steam turbine, energy from
high-pressure inlet steam is efficiently converted
into electricity, and low-pressure exhaust steam is
provided to a plant process. The turbine exhaust
steam has a lower temperature than the
superheated steam created when pressure is
reduced through a PRV.
How does a steam turbine generator work?
The steam energy spins the turbine blades. The
generator is attached to thesteam turbine by a
rotating shaft. As the steam turbine spins, the
generator spins and creates electricity.
The steam that uses it's energy to spin
the turbine passes through and is cooled using a
cooling tower.
How electricity is generated by steam turbine?
Electrical energy generation using steam turbines
involves three energy conversions, extracting
thermal energy from the fuel and using it to
raise steam, converting the thermal energy of
the steam into kinetic energy in the turbine and
using a rotarygenerator to convert
the turbine's mechanical energy
into electrical power.
Steam is a vapor used as a working substance in
the operation of steam turbine.

Is steam a perfect gas?

Steam possess properties like those of gases:
namely pressure, volume, temperature, internal
energy, enthalpy and entropy. But the pressure
volume and temperature of steam as a vapour are
not connected by any simple relationship such as
is expressed by the characteristic equation for a
perfect gas.
Sensible heat – The heat absorbed by water in
attaining its boiling point.
Latent heat – The heat absorbed to convert
boiling water into steam.
Wet steam – Steam containing some amount of
moisture.
Dry steam – Steam that has no moisture content.
Superheated steam – Dry steam, when heated at
constant pressure, attains superheat
The properties of steam are dependent on its
pressure.
Gas turbines

Airplane jet engines are a bit like steam turbines in

that they have multiple stages. Instead of steam,
they're driven by a mixture of the air sucked in at
the front of the engine and the incredibly hot gases
made by burning huge quantities of kerosene
(petroleum-based fuel). Somewhat less powerful
gas turbine engines are also used in modern
railroad locomotives and industrial machines. See
our article on jet engines for more details.

A short summary of the basics

Physical quantities, units and working with units
The value of a physical quantity Q is expressed as
the product of anumerical value Q and a unit of
measurement [Q]:
Q = Q x [Q] (1)
For example, if the temperature t of a body is
quantified (measured) as 25
degrees Celsius this is written as:
t = 25 x o C = 25oC;
where tis the symbol of the physical quantity
"temperature", 25 is the
numerical factor and oC is the unit.
By convention, physical quantities are organized in
a dimensional systembuilt upon base quantities,
each of which is regarded as having its own
dimension. The seven base quantities of the
International System of Quantities(ISQ) and their
corresponding SI units are listed in Table 1. Other
conventions may have a different number of
fundamental units (e.g. the CGS and
MKS systems of units).

Name Symbo Symbol SI Symb

l for for base ol for
 quantit dimensio unit unit
y n

Length l, x, r, L meter m
etc.
Time
Mass
Electric I i Amper A
current e
Thermodynam T _ Kelvin K
ic
temperature

Table 1: International System of Units base

quantities

All other quantities are derived quantities since

their dimensions are
derived from those of base quantities by
multiplication and division. For
example, the physical quantity velocity is derived
from base quantities length
and time and has dimension L/T. Some derived
physical quantities have
dimension 1 and are said to be dimensionless
quantities.
The International System of Units (SI) speci_es a
set of unit pre_xes
known as SI pre_xes or metric pre_xes. An SI
pre_x is a name that precedes
4
a basic unit of measure to indicate a decimal
multiple or fraction of the unit.
Each pre_x has a unique symbol that is prepended
to the unit symbol, see
Table 2.
Pre_x Symbol 10n
giga G 109
mega M 106
kilo k 103
hecto h 102
deca da 101
deci d 10􀀀1
centi c 10􀀀2
milli m 10􀀀3
micro _ 10􀀀6
nano n 10􀀀9
Table 2: International System of Units pre_xes.
A quantity is called:
extensive when its magnitude is additive for
subsystems (volume, mass,
etc.)
intensive when the magnitude is independent of
the extent of the system
(temperature, pressure, etc.)
Units can be used as numbers in the sense that
you can add, subtract,
multiply and divide them - with care. Much
confusion can be avoided if you
work with units as though they were symbols in
algebra. For example:
_ Multiply units along with numbers:
(5 m) _ (2 sec) = (5 _ 2) _ (m _ sec) = 10 m sec.
The units in this example are meters times
seconds, pronounced as
`meter seconds' and written as `m sec'.
_ Divide units along with numbers:
(10 m) / (5 sec) = (10 / 5) _ (m / sec) = 2 m/sec.
The units in this example are meters divided by
seconds, pronounced
as `meters per second' and written as `m/sec'. This
is a unit of speed.
_ Cancel when you have the same units on top
and bottom:
(15 m) / (5 m) = (15 / 5) _ (m / m) = 3.
5
In this example the units (meters) have cancelled
out, and the result
has no units of any kind! This is what we call a
`pure' number. It would
be the same regardless what system of units were
used.
_ When adding or subtracting, convert both
numbers to the same units
before doing the arithmetic:
(5 m) + (2 cm) = (5 m) + (0.02 m) = (5 + 0.02) m =
5.02 m.
Recall that a `cm', or centimeter, is one hundredth
of a meter. So 2
cm = (2 / 100) m = 0.02 m.
_ You can't add or subtract two numbers unless
you can convert them
both to the same units:
(5 m) + (2 sec) = ???
1.2 Understanding the words "steady-state" and
"unsteady"