2021-22 Catalog

Special problems or courses arranged to meet the needs of first-year graduate students or qualified undergraduate students. Graded pass/fail.

Fundamentals of fluid mechanics. Microscopic and macroscopic properties of liquids and gases; the continuum hypothesis; review of thermodynamics; general equations of motion; kinematics; stresses; constitutive relations; vorticity, circulation; Bernoulli's equation; potential flow; thin-airfoil theory; surface gravity waves; buoyancy-driven flows; rotating flows; viscous creeping flow; viscous boundary layers; introduction to stability and turbulence; quasi one-dimensional compressible flow; shock waves; unsteady compressible flow; and acoustics.

Introduction to continuum mechanics: kinematics, balance laws, constitutive laws with an emphasis on solids. Static and dynamic stress analysis. Two- and three-dimensional theory of stressed elastic solids. Wave propagation. Analysis of rods, plates and shells with applications in a variety of fields. Variational theorems and approximate solutions. Elastic stability.

This course covers physical, mathematical and simulation aspects of single and two-phase flow and transport through porous media. Conservation equations for multiphase, multicomponent flow. Modeling of fluid mechanical instabilities such as viscous fingering, gravity fingering and gravity-driven convection. Coupling fluid flow with chemical reactions. Coupling single phase flow with poromechanics. Numerical methods for elliptic equations: finite volume methods, two-point flux approximations, finite difference, spectral method. Numerical methods for hyperbolic equations: high-order explicit methods, implicit method. Applications in hydrology, geological CO2 sequestration and induced seismicity, among others will be demonstrated.

Students attend a graduate seminar each week of each term and submit a report about the attended seminars. At least four of the attended seminars each term should be from the Mechanical and Civil Engineering seminar series. Students not registered for the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees must receive the instructor's permission. Graded pass/fail.

Equilibrium concepts, conservative and dissipative systems, Lagrange's equations, differential equations of motion for discrete single and multi degree-of-freedom systems, natural frequencies and mode shapes of these systems (Eigenvalue problem associated with the governing equations), phase plane analysis of vibrating systems, forms of damping and energy dissipated in damped systems, response to simple force pulses, harmonic and earthquake excitation, response spectrum concepts, vibration isolation, seismic instruments, dynamics of continuous systems, Hamilton's principle, axial vibration of rods and membranes, transverse vibration of strings, beams (Bernoulli-Euler and Timoshenko beam theory), and plates, traveling and standing wave solutions to motion of continuous systems, Rayleigh quotient and the Rayleigh-Ritz method to approximate natural frequencies and mode shapes of discrete and continuous systems, frequency domain solutions to dynamical systems, stability criteria for dynamical systems, and introduction to nonlinear systems and random vibration theory.

A faculty mentor will oversee a student proposed, independent research or study project to meet the needs of graduate students. Graded pass/fail. The consent of a faculty mentor and a written report is required for each term.

The faculty will prepare courses on advanced topics to meet the needs of graduate students.

This course focuses on the analysis of elastic thin shell structures in the large deformation regime. Problems of interest include softening behavior, bifurcations, loss of stability and localization. Introduction to the use of numerical methods in the solution of solid mechanics and multiscale mechanics problems. Variational principles. Finite element and isogeometric formulations for thin shells. Time integration, initial boundary value problems. Error estimation. Accuracy, stability and convergence. Iterative solution methods. Adaptive strategies.

This course examines the links between form, geometric shape, and structural performance. It deals with different ways of breaking up a continuum, and how this affects global structural properties; structural concepts and preliminary design methods that are used in tension structures and deployable structures. Geometric foundations, polyhedra and tessellations, surfaces; space frames, examples of space frames, stiffness and structural efficiency of frames with different repeating units; sandwich plates; cable and membrane structures, form-finding, wrinkle-free pneumatic domes, balloons, tension-stabilized struts, tensegrity domes; deployable and adaptive structures, coiled rods and their applications, flexible shells, membranes, structural mechanisms, actuators, concepts for adaptive trusses and manipulators.

The course will cover the basic principles of wave propagation in solid media. It will discuss the fundamental principles used to describe linear and nonlinear wave propagation in continuum and discrete media. Selected recent scientific advancements in the dynamics of periodic media will also be discussed. Students learn the basic principles governing the propagation of waves in discrete and continuum solid media. These methods can be used to engineer materials with predefined properties and to design dynamical systems for a variety of engineering applications (e.g., vibration mitigation, impact absorption and sound insulation). The course will include an experimental component, to test wave phenomena in structured media.

Research in the field of civil engineering. By arrangements with members of the staff, properly qualified graduate students are directed in research.