Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• Introduction to 2nd law analysis.
• Show how irreversibilities affect the performance of gas power cycles.
• Introduce the properties of working substances other than ideal gases.
• Describe and analyse simple steam power plant, including the effect of irreversibilities.
• Introduce and analyse refrigeration and heat pump cycles.
• Describe how to evaluate the properties of gas and gas/vapour mixtures.
• Show how the First Law may be applied to Combustion.
• Explore the issues associated with scaling fluid flows and conducting model tests.
• Review inviscid flow in three dimensions and derive the Euler equation.
• Examine the effects of viscosity on fluid flow.
• Introduce the phenomena of laminar and turbulent flow and of boundary layers.
• Develop analysis tools for 1D heat condition, and simple transient conduction problems.
• Examine heat transfer by convection.
• Introduce heat transfer by thermal radiation, including radiation in the environment.
• Describe common types of heat exchanger, and perform an elementary analysis of performance

Objectives

As specific objectives, by the end of the course students should be able to:

• Understand the effects of irreversibilities in gas, steam power cycles, and heat pump/refrigeration cycles.
• Understand and be able to use tables of properties for common working substances.
• Understand how to evaluate the properties of arbitrary mixtures of perfect gases, and gas/vapour mixtures, and apply this understanding to problems in psychrometry and combustion.
• Understand the relevance of non-dimensional groups in determining the qualitative nature of fluid flow and how to apply this to model testing.
• Be able to set up the equations governing laminar viscous flow, and solve them for simple problems.
• Understand how irreversibilities arise in fluid flow and be able to make estimates of loss, drag, etc.
• Describe qualitatively the basic characteristics of boundary layers in internal and external flows.
• Be able to analyse simple problems in conduction, convection and radiation heat exchange.
• Understand the physical principles underlying heat transfer correlations and be able to use these to estimate heat transfer coefficients.

Content

Thermodynamics: lectures 1-10

Analysis of steady flow processes - Revision (1L)

• 1st & 2nd laws applied to steady flow device
• The ‘quantity’ and ‘quality’ of energy
• Irreversible entropy creation
• Examples of steady-flow devices

2nd law analysis (1L)

• The different value of work and heat
• The maximum available power in a steady flow device
• The dead state
• How to apply availability to a steady flow device
• Lost power potential due to irreversible

Gas turbines(1L)

• Compressor and turbine irreversibilities
• Combustion changes in gas composition
• First law analysis of gas turbines
• Land based gas turbines and aeroengines
• Second law analysis of gas turbines:Availability

Working fluids(2L)

• p-v-T data for water and normal fluids
• Saturation lines, the triple point, the critical point
• Evaluating properties, dryness fraction
• Working with tabulated data

Power Generation (2L)

• Vapour power plant
• The Rankine cycle
• Reheating and superheating
• Isentropic efficiency
• Combined gas-vapour power cycles
• 1st law analysis of Rankine cycles
• 2nd law analysis of Rankine cycles
• HRSG analysis

Refrigeration cycles (1L)

• Refrigerators and heat pumps
• Coefficient of performance
• Real refrigeration cycles
• The T-s and p-h diagram
• Choice of refrigerants
• Practical cycles

Properties of Mixtures (1L)

• Describing mixture composition
• Dalton's law
• Amagat's law
• p,v,T relations for a mixture of ideal gases
• Evaluations of U,H & S for a mixture of ideal gases
• Analysis of gas,vapour mixtures
• Saturated mixtures
• Specific humidity & relative humidity
• Dew point
• Air conditioning

Combustion (1L)

• Chemical equations
• Lambda and equivalence ratio
• First law applied to combustion
• Phase change of reactants

Fluid Mechanics: lectures 11-20

Incompressible inviscid flow (2L)

• Law of conservation of mass
• Incompressible flow
• The material derivative, D/Dt
• Euler's equation
• Bernoulli's equation
• Streamline curvature
• Determination of the pressure field from the streamlines of a flow

Incompressible viscous flow (1L)

• Viscosity: momentum transfer through molecular motion
• Couette flow and Poiseuille flow
• Navier-Stokes equations

Dimensional analysis and scaling (1L)

• The Pi theorem
• The dimensionless form of Navier-Stokes equations
• Order-of-magnitude analysis
• Orifice plate example
• Aeroplane example
• Ship example

Turbulence and the Pipe Flow Experiment (1L)

• Laminar flow in a circular pipe
• Turbulent flow in a circular pipe
• Turbulence, mixing and momentum transport
• Roughness

Network analysis (1L)

• Static pressure and stagnation pressure
• Stagnation pressure losses across pipe components
• Stagnation pressure changes across pumps and compressors
• Network analysis

Laminar boundary layers (1L)

• Boundary layers
• Pressure gradients in boundary layers
• Boundary layer separation

Turbulent Boundary Layers (1L)

• Reynolds number in a boundary layer
• Transition to turbulence in a boundary layer
• Effect of turbulence on a boundary layer
• Comparison of transition and separation
• Boundary layer re-attachment

External Flows and Drag (1L)

• Lift and drag
• External flows at different Reynolds numbers
• Delayed separation and drag reduction
• Vortex shedding

Heat transfer: lectures 21 – 26

Properties of a fluid (1L) Heat Transfer by Conduction (2L)

• Molecular picture vs. continuum picture
• Macroscopic properties of a fluid
• Partial derivatives
• Conduction in solids - Fourier's law
• Energy balance in 1D
• Overall resistance to heat transfer
• Dimensional analysis
• Lumped heat capacity model

Heat Exchangers (0.5L)

• Description of major types
• Analysis, effectiveness, LMTD

Heat Transfer by convection (2L)

• Energy considerations for flows with heat transfer
• Forced convection, Reynolds and Prandtl, Nusselt and Stanton numbers
• Reynolds analogy
• Natural convection. Grashoff and Rayleigh numbers

Heat Transfer by Radiation (1.5L)

• Radiation from black bodies
• Emissivity and radiation from grey bodies
• View factors
• Radiation networks

This syllabus contributes to the following areas of the UK-SPEC standard:

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Last modified: 05/06/2025 11:17

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• Show how the concepts of kinematics are applied to rigid bodies.
• Explain how Newton's laws of motion and the equations of energy and momentum are applied to rigid bodies.
• Develop an appreciation of the function, design and schematic representation of mechanical systems.
• Develop skills in modelling and analysis of mechanical systems, including graphical, algebraic and vector methods.
• Show how to model complex mechanics problems with constraints and multiple degrees of freedom.
• Develop skills for analyzing these complex mechanical systems, including stability, vibrations and numerical integration.

Objectives

As specific objectives, by the end of the course students should be able to:

• Specify the position, velocity and acceleration of a rigid body using > graphical, algebraic and vector methods.
• Understand the concepts of relative velocity, relative acceleration and instantaneous centres of rigid bodies.
• Apply Newton's laws and d'Alembert's principle to determine the acceleration of a rigid body subject to applied forces and couples, including impact in planar motion.
• Determine the forces and stresses in a rigid body caused by its motion.
• Apply Lagrange's equation to the motion of particles and rigid bodies under the action of conservative forces
• Identification of equilibrium points, and linearization around equilibrium points
• Linearization around equilibrium points to extract stability information, vibrational frequencies and growth rates.
• Use of the "Effective potential'' when J_z is conserved.
• Understand chaotic motion as observed in simple non-linear dynamics systems
• Understand simple gyroscopic motion.

Content

Introduction and Terminology

Kinematics

• Differentiation of vectors (4: pp 490-492)
• Motion of a rigid body in space (3: ch 20)
• Velocity and acceleration images (1: p 124)
• Acceleration of a particle moving relative to a body in motion (2: pp 386-389)

Rigid Body Dynamics

• D'Alembert force and torque for a rigid body in plane motion (4: pp 787-788)
• Inertia forces in plane mechanisms (1: pp 200-206)
• Method of virtual power (4: pp 429-432)
• Inertia stress and bending (1) Ch 5

Lagrange's Equation

• Introduction to  Lagrange's Equation (without derivation)
• Concept of conservative forces
• Application to the motion of particles and rigid bodies under the action of conservative forces

Non-linear dynamics

• Solution of equations of motion for a double pendulum
• Illustration of motion on a phase plane
• Concept of chaos and the sensitivity to initial conditions

Gyroscopic Effect

• Introduction to gyroscopic motion (2: pp 564-571)

REFERENCES

(1) BEER, F.P. & JOHNSTON, E.R. VECTOR MECHANICS FOR ENGINEERS: STATICS AND DYNAMICS
(2) HIBBELER, R.C. ENGINEERING MECHANICS – DYNAMICS (SI UNITS)
(3) MERIAM, J.L. & KRAIGE, L.G. ENGINEERING MECHANICS. VOL.2: DYNAMICS
(4) PRENTIS, J.M. ENGINEERING MECHANICS

This syllabus contributes to the following areas of the UK-SPEC standard:

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Last modified: 05/06/2025 11:16

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• Familiarise students with combinational and sequential digital logic circuits, and the analogue-digital interface,
• Familiarise students with the hardware and basic operation of microprocessors, memory and the associated electronic circuits which are required to build microprocessor-based systems.
• Teach the engineering relevance and application of digital and microprocessor-based systems, give students the ability to design simple systems of this kind, and understand microprocessor operation at the assembly-code level.

Objectives

As specific objectives, by the end of the course students should be able to:

• Know the nomenclature and the representation of basic gates and digital electronic components (including shift registers, counters, latches, RAM and ROM ICs)
• Understand Boolean algebra, and be able to convert verbal descriptions of requirements into Boolean notation
• Understand the need to simplify logic functions or rearrange them to use specific gate types; be able to use Boolean algebra and Karnaugh maps (for up to 4 variables) to achieve these tasks; be able to use "don't care states" in K-maps.
• Know about logic "families", the electronic circuit implementation of logic gates, and the resulting engineering issues (voltage thresholds, noise margin, finite rise time and delay)
• Know about Schmitt inputs; understand static hazards and be able to detect them using K-maps and correct them
• Be familiar with standard number codes for representing data (two's complement notation, sign+magnitude, one's complement, Gray code, ASCII); be able to convert between binary, hex, octal and decimal.
• Understand the operation of logic circuits for addition, negation and subtraction of binary integers
• Be familiar with examples of elementary VHDL and understand why it is useful
• Understand the distinction between combinational and sequential logic and the role of sequential logic; be familiar with unclocked and clocked S-R latches, D-type and JK flip-flops.
• Understand the operation and use of synchronous and asynchronous counters and shift registers.
• Understand state diagrams and their role in sequential circuit design; be able to convert a problem statement into a state diagram; be able to convert a state diagram into a circuit design based on JK flip-flops
• Understand unused states, and be able to guard against errors due to them. Be able to carry out the complete design process, from problem statement to circuit design.
• Understand the operation of weighted resistor and R-2R ladder DAC circuits
• Understand the operation of Full Adder and Ripple Carry Circuits
• Understand ROM and RAM memory circuits, the function of their control, address and data pins, and their use in digital (including microprocessor) systems
• Understand the use of tri-state outputs and busses.
• Understand and be able to design address decoders, including partial address decoders for simple systems.
• Be familiar with the system architecture of a typical PIC microprocessor system, including the ALU, memory, I/O;understand how it can be used in practical applications.
• Be familiar with the internal architecture of a typical PIC microprocessor (the PIC12F629/675) and its instruction set, and understand how instruction execution occurs.
• Understand the features of typical instruction sets,and be able to use the full instruction set (from the tables in the electrical data book).
• Be able to write simple programs in assembler mnemonics, including conditional branches, and calculate their execution times in clock cycles; know about the relationship of higher level languages to assembly level code.
• Understand (in outline only) stacks, subroutines and the hardware reset function.

Content

Digital Fundamentals and Combinational Logic

• Introduction, revision of simple logic gates, overview of logic circuit families. [1] Ch 3, [3] 392-399, [4] 12
• Circuits for inverters and basic logic gates in NMOS and CMOS. [3] 409-410, [5] Ch 2,
• Boolean algebra and its application to combinational logic. Karnaugh maps for function minimisation. [3] 436-446, [4] 39-60, [5] Ch 3,
• Gate delays, timing diagrams, hazards. [4] 391-398
• Introduction to VHDL.

Sequential Logic and its Applications

• Number codes, for example, hexadecimal, BCD, ASCII. 2's complement. [1] Ch 2, [2] Ch 3, [3] 430-435, [4] Ch 10, [6] Ch 3,
• RS and JK flip-flops, latches and simple counters.[3] 412-419, [5] Ch 4,
• Synchronous and asynchronous circuits, counters and shift registers. Serial communication. [3] 446-452, [6] Ch 5
• State diagrams and design methods for a sequencer. [4] Ch 4, [5] Ch 6
• D to A techniques. Weighted resistor and R-2R ladder networks. Schmitt trigger inputs. [3] 522-523
• Logic circuits for arithmetic functions.[3] 442, [4] 17

Introduction to Microprocessors

• Introduction to the architecture of a simple microprocessor. [1] Ch 1,5, [2] 1-9, [4] Ch 1 and Ch 5, [7] 10-13
• Memory circuits, RAM and ROM. Address decoding, definitions of read/write and chip select signals. [2] Ch 12, [3] 455-460, [4] Ch 6, [6] Ch 2
• PIC Microprocessor programming. Programme Development, Registers. [1] Ch 7, Ch 8
• Programming examples based on PIC12F629/675 instruction set. Addressing modes. Implementation using simple machine code. Assembly code and higher level languages. [1] Ch 8,9

REFERENCES

1) BATES, M. PIC MICROCONTROLLERS: AN INTRODUCTION TO MICROELECTRONICS
(2) DOWSING, R.D., WOODHAMS, F.W.D. & MARSHALL, I. COMPUTERS FROM LOGIC TO ARCHITECTURE
(3) FLOYD, T.L. DIGITAL FUNDAMENTALS
(4) GIBSON, J.R. ELECTRONIC LOGIC CIRCUITS
(5) SMITH, R.J. & DORF, R.C. CIRCUITS, DEVICES AND SYSTEMS
(6) TINDER, R.F. ENGINEERING DIGITAL DESIGN

This syllabus contributes to the following areas of the UK-SPEC standard:

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Last modified: 12/02/2026 17:07

Aims

The aims of the course are to:

• Develop an understanding of electromagnetic fields and their application to the solution of a range of engineering problems, building directly on the knowledge students have gained at A-level.

Objectives

As specific objectives, by the end of the course students should be able to:

• Understand the physical properties that lead to resistance, capacitance and inductance.
• Analyse simple geometries used in these components
• Understand the basic laws of electromagnetism, Gauss, Ampere, the method of images, virtual work etc.
• Calculate the electric and magnetic fields produced by simple charge and current distributions.
• Develop an understanding of the relation between field and circuit concepts
• Calculate the capacitance, inductance, and mutual inductance for simple circuits.
• Understand how energy methods can be used to estimate electromagnetic forces.
• Design simple electromagnets and permanent magnets.

Content

The emphasis during the course will be on the physical understanding of the principles involved. Only elementary mathematical methods will be used, including basic vector concepts of superposition, dot product and cross product.

The overall course will cover three main areas through the two parts:(i) electrostatics: (ii) magnetic fields: and (iii) magnetic materials. Each part will contain a theoretical description of the concepts followed by applications to a range of problems of engineering interest. Part 1 is designed to introduce the physical properties of electromagnetics leading to the resistor, the capacitor and the inductor. This is done through a purely scalar theoretical analysis of the electromagnetic concepts. Part 2 takes the concepts of Part 1 and expands them on a more general sense to gain a more fundamental understanding of electromagnetic problems and materials. Throughout the course there will be an emphasis on the way approximations must be introduced when analysing engineering problems.

Part 1 Physical principle of electronics (6 Lectures) - Prof. Wilkinson

• Physical principles - charge and charge accumulation
• Coulomb's Law - from force to an empirical derivation of electric field (and and
• Concept of electrical field (E) (with ref to point, line and surface)
• Dielectrics, idea of polarisation charges, dielectric breakdown
• The electric flux density (D) - simple geometries, point, line and surface
• Scalar definition of Gauss' law for a given surface, flux conservation
• Electrostatic potential and voltage - scalar calculation EdI
• capacitance, Q=CV, examples:(i) parallel plate capacitor (ii) coaxial line
• AC properties of capacitance (CdV/dt), simple definition of reactance (1/jwC)
• Charge flow - ohms law and current
• Simple derivation of current density (J)
• Simple description of resistance and resistivity
• Empirical definition of force between current carrying wires
• Ideas of magnetic flux density (B) from between wires
• Simple Biot Savart Law to give a circulating magnetic field
• Examples: (i) B field around a wire, (ii) B field from a loop of wire, (ii) field in a solenoid
• Scalar version of Ampere's law based on flux density circulating a wire
• Concept of Magnetic flux and flux linkage
• Faraday's Law of a electromagnetic induction
• Inductance, examples of coil and coaxial line, definition of mutual inductance
• AC properties of inductance (jwl)

Part 2- Electromagnetics (6 Lectures) - Prof. Joyce

Electrostatic systems (3 lectures)

• Further symmetries - the method of images
• Vector definition of E-field and Gauss' Law
• Energy in a capacitor and electric field. Energy storage + effect of dielectrics
• Using virtual work to estimate forces (const voltage version) + examples

Magnetic systems and materials (3 Lectures)

• Need for magnetic materials
• Ideas of magnetic field (H) and the relative permeability
• Ampere's Law with linear, MMF, Vector form of Ampere's Law.
• Non-linear materials, saturation, magnetistion curve and hysteresis, transformers?.
• Permanent magnets.
• Energy and forces in magnetics circuits - virtual work example.
• Magnetics energy as integral of HdB
• Estimating forces between magnetics materials (EM and permanent)

This syllabus contributes to the following areas of the UK-SPEC standard:

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Last modified: 12/02/2026 17:05