Graduate Catalog

Mechanical engineering graduate students may earn either a Master of Science (MS) or a Master of Engineering (ME) degree. Research facilities include labs for materials testing rapid solidification, manufacturing and rapid prototyping, instrumentation, vibration and acoustics, solar energy testing, atomization and heat and mass transfer.

Students are expected to understand English and Spanish since textbooks are in English and the courses may be taught in either language.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering (DME) at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayagüez (UPRM) offers graduate study in Mechanical Engineering leading to a Master of Science (MS) or Master of Engineering (ME) degree.

The program’s structure is flexible enough to allow participants to specialize in one or more subject areas. Students can choose a concentration in thermal sciences, manufacturing, materials and machine sciences, or a program which combines courses from two concentration areas.

Students in the MS program are required to take a minimum of 25 credit hours in coursework, work on a research project, and write a thesis.

Students in the ME program are required to take a minimum of 28 credit hours in coursework, work on a design or development project, and write an engineering report.

Applicants to graduate study in Mechanical Engineering must have a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering or its equivalent.

Prospective students should have a general 2.75 GPA (on a scale of 4.0) and a 3.0 GPA or better in the field of specialty. A working knowledge of English and Spanish is required.

International applicants must provide evidence of available financial resources to cover educational and living expenses for at least the first year of study.

Applications for graduate study should be submitted by February 15 for admission in summer or August and by September 15 for admission in January.

Tuition fees at UPRM vary. Residents of Puerto Rico pay US $100 per graduate credit and other US citizens pay US $100 per graduate credit plus the differential amount which a resident of Puerto Rico would pay in the public university in their state of residence. For example, a Texan studying in Puerto Rico pays the same differential rate of tuition as a Puerto Rican studying in Texas. International students pay US $4,655 for a total tuition per year.

Research and teaching assistantships are funded by the university and include tuition waivers and stipends, which vary according to the recipient’s teaching load. Allowance for a full-time assistantship is between US$680 and US$920 per month.

The DME maintains well-equipped research facilities which include laboratories for material testing, rapid solidification, manufacturing and rapid prototyping, instrumentation, vibration and acoustics, solar energy testing, and atomization.

The department has several computer facilities for research purposes. Microcomputers and workstations are connected to campus mainframes and are accessible to faculty and students on a continuous basis.

The Heat and Mass Transfer Research Laboratory (HMTRL), a research facility dedicated to basic and applied theoretical and experimental research in heat and mass transfer phenomena, is also maintained by the DME. Facilities associated with this laboratory include Pentium PCS, a UNIX parallel processing server, computer workstations, a solar collector testing facility, a spray characterization research experimental facilities, infrared cameras, lasers, and instrumentation to measure flows, humidity, pressures and temperatures.

The Material Science Laboratories include a Materialographic laboratory, a mechanical testing facility and a rapid solidification facility, which uses a 35 K induction power supply. Basic equipment for materialographic preparation, hardness testers, heat treatment furnaces and a sophisticated optical imaging system are available.

The Mechanical Systems Response Research Laboratory (MSRRL) supports research efforts in various areas which focus on mechanical/material component systems in military and civil applications. areas ranging from structural vibration control, material characterization, infrastructure health monitoring and diagnostics, to even meems sensor development and applications are currently being performed. msrrl is supported through research efforts from five faculty members from different departments. msrrl performs research sponsored from various government agencies such as dod, nsf, nsf-epscor, nasa, and private industry.

The MSRRL laboratory is equipped for research in mechanical/material component systems. The laboratory has a laser vibrometer, several dynamic signal analyzers, acoustic emission equipment, transducers, conditioning amplifiers, power supplies, oscilloscopes, and a vacuum system for composite manufacture.

The Mechatronics Design Center (MDC) grew from the increasing need to prepare engineering students in the fundamentals of information-driven systems. This center involves the combination of four fundamental disciplines: mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, and information technology—which will prepare our students to face the challenges of working in today’s technically driven workforce.

The center is divided into three areas: a teaching laboratory which is equipped with the latest tools and measuring equipment to perform basic experiments and projects; a prototyping laboratory with additional equipment required to conduct independent research projects; and a design center where students share ideas and work in teams in the development of their projects. Facilities include a full-time technician to support the center’s activities.

The MDC currently supports interdisciplinary research projects such as the RumbleBot Competition, Boeing sponsored mechatronics design projects, and biotechnology control and instrumentation projects.

The International Students Office (ISO) acquaints international students with registration procedures, educational facilities, economic assistance, programs sponsored by international agencies, housing and other matters of concern.

ISO also sponsors visits to various places of interest on the Island to familiarize students with Puerto Rican customs and culture. International students sponsor special events throughout the year to promote cultural exchange and familiarize the UPRM community with their countries of origin.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering has a diverse faculty performing research in various areas including: Thermodynamics; Heat transfer; Air conditioning; Manufacturing processes; Fluid mechanics; Mechanical metallurgy; Fracture mechanics; Transport phenomena; Gas dynamics; Mechanics of composite materials; Conservation and alternative energy systems; Control system design; Finite element analysis; Vibrations; Damage Detection; MEMS; Kinematics; Automatic assembly systems; Biosensors; Biomateriales; Energy.

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING (INME)

Advanced Undergraduate Courses

INME 5005. LUBRICATION (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Fundamental principles and concepts of lubrication theory; hydrostatic and hydrodynamic lubrication; examples of journal and thrust bearing design, using both the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic principles; considerations in boundary lubrication.

INME 5007. SOLAR ENERGY APPLICATIONS (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 4015 or INQU 4001 or authorization of the Director of the Department.

Fundamentals of solar radiation, its measurement, and methods of estimation. Selected topics on heat transfer relevant to systems design applications of solar energy such as flat plate and focusing collectors, energy storage systems, heating and cooling systems, power systems, and distillation processes.

INME 5008. CORROSION (I). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 4007.

Electrochemical principles and corrosion mechanisms; protection and prevention of corrosion in metals; the effects of temperature, environment, and metallurgical factors.

INME 5015. SELECTED TOPICS IN MECHANICAL ENGINEERING. One to six credit hours. One to six hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

A study of certain selected topics in Mechanical Engineering not covered by other existing courses.

INME 5018. MATERIALS FAILURE ANALYSIS (II) (Even numbered years). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisites: INME 4012 and INME 4007.

Materials science concepts used to identify, correct and prevent failures due to the improper use of materials or to problems in manufacturing processes. In depth study of failure mechanisms such as fatigue, wear, creep, and corrosion.

INME 5025. METALS FATIGUE (II) (Odd numbered years). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 4007.

Nature of metal fatigue; modern approaches to design of mechanical components for repeated loadings; importance of residual stresses and stress concentrations; analysis of cumulative damage and life prediction; cycle counting and sequence of events.

INME 5711. AEROSPACE STRUCTURAL DESIGN I. Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 4011 or authorization of the Director of the Department.

Study and application of the principles of machine design and steady load failure theory toaerospace structures. Design of thin-walled fatigue resistant aerospace structures; analysis of the state of stress and strain in stiffened Shell beams including thermal effects; deformation analysis by the Principle of Virtual Work and Complementary Principle of Virtual Work; and structural dynamics analysis.

INME 5712. AEROSPACE STRUCTURAL DESIGN II. Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 5711 or authorization of the Director of the Department.

Study of aspects of structural analysis pertinent to the design of flight vehicles. Wing design based on aeroelasticity (wing flutter), wing divergence, vibrational analysis, environmental loads, aerospace materials, bucking of thin-walled compression members. Finite element analysis of elastic structures using the Principle of Virtual Work.

INME 5995. SPECIAL PROBLEMS. One to six credit hours. One to six hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Researches and special problems in Mechanical Engineering and related fields.

Graduate Courses

INME 6001. ADVANCED THERMODYNAMICS I (I) (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Critical study of thermodynamics laws; property relationships; statistical thermodynamics; thermodynamics design of power plants and refrigeration plants.

INME 6002. ADVANCED THERMODYNAMICS II (II) (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 6001 or authorization of the Director of the Department.

Advanced applications of thermodynamics to energy systems; chemical reaction kinetics; combustion; modeling of intermolecular forces and transport properties; solid phase thermodynamics.

INME 6005. HEAT CONDUCTION (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Analytical methods for the solution of heat conduction problems in Cartesian, cylindrical, and spherical geometries, separation of variables superposition., Laplace transforms, variational formulation; numerical methods to include finite differences and finite elements.

INME 6006. RADIATION HEAT TRANSFER (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

The nature of thermal radiation and radiative characteristics of surfaces. Application of fundamentals to the analysis of evacuated enclosures and of systems containing a thermal radiation absorbing and emitting media. Study of the combined effects of radiation conduction and convection of thermal energy. Applications.

INME 6007. ADVANCED AIR CONDITIONING (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 6001 or authorization of Department Director.

Advanced study of psychometrics, dynamic models for buildings, simultaneous heat and mass transfer processes. Energy efficient cooling and heating of building using annual energy consumption criterion and conventional and non-conventional air conditioning systems.

INME 6008. ADVANCED METAL CUTTING Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Mechanics of machining process including friction and temperature. Tools wear analysis, cutting fluids and surface finish. Economics of machining processes. Flexible manufacturing and group technology process design.

INME 6009. ADVANCED MANUFACTURING PROCESSES (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Developments in the removal and deforming processes of materials. Applications of these processes to hard, brittle, conducting and non-conducting materials. Use of the computer in the analysis of these processes.

INME 6010. ADVANCED CONCEPTS IN FLUID MECHANICS AND CONVECTIVE HEAT TRANSFER (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Fluid properties, equations of mass, momentum and energy for viscous flows, exact solutions, low and high Reynolds number flows, velocity and thermal boundary layers, flow in tubes, approximate methods, compressible flows, momentum and energy transfer in turbulent flows.

INME 6011. ANALYSIS OF MACHINE MEMBERS I (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 4026 or authorization of Department Director.

An extension of stress and deflection analysis, with emphasis on those topics pertinent to the design of machine members; the application of basic and advanced theory to design analysis in situations in which weight, temperature, fatigue, dynamic loads, and other modes of loading and failure are relevant.

INME 6012. ANALYSIS OF MACHINE MEMBERS II (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 6011 or authorization of Department Director.

A continuation of INME 6011.

INME 6015. DISLOCATION THEORY (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 4007 or authorization of Department Director.

Theory of dislocations in isotropic and anisotropic continua; dislocation reactions; the relation of theory to observed dislocation configurations.

INME 6016. MECHANICAL METALLURGY (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 6015 or authorization of Department Director.

Dislocation theory applied to the deformation of metals; including the mechanisms of glide; fatigue; creep, and fracture.

INME 6017. SEMINAR. One credit hour. One hour of seminar per week.

Discussion and reports on selected topics in Mechanical Engineering.

INME 6018. SEMINAR. One credit hour. One hour of seminar per week.

Discussion and reports on selected topics in Mechanical Engineering.

INME 6019. FRACTURE MECHANICS (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Application of fracture mechanics to structural integrity of engineering materials; prevention of fracture, relationship between material toughness, design stress and flaw size, microstructural and environmental effects; transition temperature; fatigue and failure analysis.

INME 6021. ENGINEERING SYSTEMS DESIGN I (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisites or Corequisites: INME 6001 and INME 6011 or authorization of the Director of the Department.

An introduction to the philosophy of problem recognition and design project formulation; practice in this activity through the actual formulation and completion of several small design projects or one large one.

INME 6022. ENGINEERING SYSTEMS DESIGN II (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: INME 6021.

A continuation of INME 6021.

INME 6024. NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF TRANSPORT PHENOMENA (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Numerical solution of governing equations stemming from heat and mass transfer and fluid flow phenomena.

INME 6025. GAS DYNAMICS (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Fluid properties, equations of mass, momentum and energy, one-dimensional gas dynamics, normal and oblique shocks, expansion fans, flows in ducts and nozzles, flow with friction and heat transfer, small perturbation theory, introduction to characteristic method.

INME 6026. BOILING AND CONDENSATION HEAT TRANSFER. Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Fundamentals of boiling and condensation including interface and wetting phenomena, drop and film condensation, pool and flow boiling and instabilities in two-phase flows.

INME 6030. MECHANICS OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: authorization of the Director of the Department.

Analysis of mechanical behavior of composite materials; fiber reinforced composites, and laminated beams and plates; environmental effects; prediction of properties; theories of strength, stiffness, design.

INME 6035. CONSERVATION AND ALTERNATE ENERGY SYSTEMS (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Technology of energy conservation and of systems for production of electricity which do not use fossil fuels. Case studies of conservation schemes, and of the technology of wind, ocean energy, direct solar, nuclear and biofuels. Energy sources, conversion processes, transportation and storage, supply systems, and socio-economic and ecological assessment. Individual, in depth, term papers are required on two of the topics covered.

INME 6036. CONTROL SYSTEM DESIGN AND APPLICATIONS (Every third semester, on demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Design of electromechanical products; use of electronic parts in design. Applications of logic design. Selection and construction of control loop parts such as sensors and actuators. Design, build, and test of a miniature controlled system.

INME 6037. FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS (On demand). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Fundamental concepts of finite element analysis. Method of weighted residuals, Galerkin's method, and variational equations. Linear elliptic boundary value problems with applications in static structural analysis and steady state heat conduction. Eigenvalue, parabolic, and hyperbolic problems with applications to transient heat conduction and structural vibrations. Comparison of finite element results with exact solutions. Organization and implementation of typical computer programs.

INME 6039. VIBRATIONS (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Systems with multiple degrees of freedom, principal modes and coordinates, modal analysis, influence coefficients, transfer matrix. Lagrange’s equations. Continuous system, longitudinal, torsional and lateral vibrations. Simulation of vibrational problems on analog and digital computers.

INME 6040. ADVANCED KINEMATICS (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week. Prerequisite: Graduate state.

Kinematic synthesis by analytical and computer assisted methods. Advanced topics in kinematic synthesis of linkages. Computerized design for function, path and motion generation. Spatial mechanisms and robotics.

INME 6045. AUTOMATIC ASSEMBLY SYSTEMS (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Introduction to assembly systems; mechanics of vibratory and non vibratory feeders; parts feeding and orienting devices; natural resting aspects of parts; performance and economics of automatic assembly and robotic assembly systems; product design improvement for ease of assembly.

INME 6046. DESIGN FOR MANUFACTURE (Every third semester). Three credit hours. Three hours of lecture per week.

Methods to assist in the design of products for manufacture. Guidelines and design rules for quality control and to ease the fabrication of assemblies and products with casting and molding processes, material removal, and deforming.

INME 6099. RESEARCH (I, II). Six credit hours.

Research in the field of Mechanical Engineering. The presentation and approval of a thesis is required in order to obtain the six credits.

INME 6995. SELECTED TOPICS (On demand). One to six credit hours. One to six hours of lecture per week.

Study of selected topics in Mechanical Engineering and related fields.

INME 6998. ENGINEERING PROJECT (On demand). Three to six credit hours.

Comprehensive study of a mechanical engineering problem selected to integrate the knowledge acquired in the graduate program of study. This project fulfills one of the requirements of the Master of Engineering Degree (ME) and will be governed by the norms established for the Graduate School for this purpose.

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MECHANICAL ENGINEERING FACULTY

A list of professors who engage in graduate activities in the Department follows, including the highest earned degree, date, and institution granting the degree. Research and teaching interests are also included.

JAYANTA BANERJEE, Professor, Ph.D., 1969, M.Ed., 1987, University of Waterloo, Canada. Research and Teaching interests: Manufacturing, Technology Transfer and Culture.

PABLO CÁCERES, Associate Professor, Ph.D., 1984, University College Cardiff. Research and Teaching interest: Materials characterization using surface and electron microscopy techniques, Nanostructured materials synthesis and characterization, Thermoelectric Materials, Hydrides for Hydrogen Storage.

SANDRA COUTIN, Associate Professor, Ph.D., 1996, Kansas State University. Research and Teaching interests: Numerical Heat Transfer and Fluid Flow in Manufacturing Processes and HVAC Systems.

RUBÉN E. DÍAZ, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 2005, University of California, Berkeley. Research and Teaching interest: Micro/Nano scale bioelectronic systems, Micro-electroporation, Biosensors, Heat and Mass transfer in biological systems.

DAVID B. DOONER, Professor, Ph.D., 1991, The University of Florida. Research and Teaching interests: Optimal Design of Mechanical Systems, Integrated Cap Cam, Geometric Modeling, Analysis and Synthesis of Mechanisms, gear systems, cam systems.

JORGE E. GONZÁLEZ, Adjunt Professor, Ph.D., 1994, Georgia Institute of Technology. Research and Teaching interests: Heat Transfer and Fluid Mechanics, Spray Cooling, Solar Energy.

VIJAY K. GOYAL, Associate Professor, Ph.D., 2002, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Research and Teaching interests: Non-linear Continuum Mechanics, Vibration and Stability Analysis, and Finite Element Method.

GUSTAVO GUTIÉRREZ, Associate Professor, Ph.D., 2002, University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee. Research and Teaching interests: Heat and Mass Transfer, Fluid Flow, Computational Fluid Mechanics.

YI JIA, Professor, Ph.D., 1994, Harbin Institute of Technology. Research and Teaching interests: Micro Sensors, MicroElectronicMechanical Systems (MEMS), Tribology, and Computer-aided Engineering Design.

FREDERICK A. JUST, Associate Professor, Ph.D., 1997, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Research and Teaching interests: Damage, Detection, Vibration Control/Smart Structures, Alternative Vehicle Design.

NÉSTOR L. PÉREZ, Professor, Ph.D., 1989, University of Idaho. Research and Teaching interests: Material Characterization, Alloy Development, Rapid Solidification, Corrosion, Fracture Mechanics and Non-destructive Evaluation.

FERNANDO E. PLA-BARBY, Professor, Ph.D., 1978, University of Texas-Austin. Research and Teaching interests: Heat transfer, HVAC Systems, Design of Thermal and Energy System Sciences.

R. VIKRAM RAJ-PANDYA, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 1992, Indian Institute of Technology. Research and Teaching interest: Statistical Theory of Turbulence; Turbulence Modeling and Computing of Single-and-Two-Phase Flows, Dusty Plasma.

FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 2003, University of Dayton. Research and Teaching interest: Energy conservation, renewable energy conversion, HVAC, micro/nanofluidics, heat transfer, and applied transport phenomena modeling & simulations.

LOURDES M. ROSARIO, Professor, Ph.D., 1988, University of Rhode Island. Research and Teaching interests: Computer-aided Engineering, Design of Automatic Assembly Systems and Vibratory Bowl Feeder.

ORLANDO RUIZ, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 2000. Georgia Institute of Technology. Research and Teaching interest: Thermal Sciences, Mathematics, Numerical Analysis of the Dropwise Evaporation Process.

ALI SABZEVARI, Professor, Ph.D., 1966, Case Western Reserve University of Technology. Research and Teaching interests: Wind Engineering, Wind Flow in and around Buildings, Natural Ventilation, Wind Induced Vibrations, Design of Wind Energy Conversion System.

DAVID SERRANO, Professor, Sc.D., 1987, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Research and Teaching interests: Artificial Intelligence, CAE, Concentraint Based Systems.

PAUL A. SUNDARAM, Professor, Ph.D., 1988, Ohio State University. Research and Teaching interests: Mechanical Properties of Materials, Materials Science, Biomaterials, Metal-matrix Composites, Material-Environment Interaction, Fracture of Materials.

RICKY VALENTÍN, Assistant Professor, Ph.D., 2003, University of Maryland. Research and Teaching interest: Manufacturing Process.

NELLORE S. VENKATARAMAN, Professor, Ph.D., 1970, Purdue University. Research and Teaching interests: Analytical Modeling in Fluid and Thermal Sciences, Rarefied Gas Dynamics.

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