Course Demos: Mechanical Engineering

The following lecture examples will give you a chance to see the format of the Mechanical Science and Engineering and Theoretical and Applied Mechanics courses offered online by the University of Illinois. Most of these courses contain streaming video lectures with synchronized slides.

The course demos use Windows Media Technology and must be viewed with Internet Explorer along with Windows Media Player using a Windows operating system.

ME 431: Failure Analysis of Mechanical Components

• View ME 431 Lecture
• Instructor: Stephen Downing
• Course Description: This course examines the relationship of materials and mechanics concepts to the design of structures and components; topics include a brief introduction to elasticity, plasticity, theories, thermal loading, creep, fatigue, fracture, and residual life assessments as they relate to materials selection and design.
• Prerequisites: Basic materials courses.

TAM 498 IND: Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamics

• View TAM 498 IND Lecture
• Instructor: Alexander F. Vakakis
• Course Description: This course provides an introduction to the basic concepts and methods of the qualitative and quantitative theory of nonlinear dynamics. After discussing theorems on the existence and uniqueness of solutions for general classes of nonlinear oscillators, the course will proceed with an analysis of nonlinear motions in phase space. There will be an introduction of definitions of dynamical flow, equilibrium points, periodic and quasiperiodic orbits, followed by an examination of basic asymptotic methods for analyzing the free and forced responses of single- and multi-degree-of-freedom nonlinear oscillators, including the methods of Lindsted-Poincare’, averaging and multiple-scales. A systematic examination of forced (fundamental, subharmonic and superharmonic), internal and combination resonances in dynamical systems follows, along with a discussion of linearized stability analysis. This leads to a study of the theory of parametrically excited systems, parametric resonance, and Floquet theory. Examples with the Mathieu, Hill and Mathieu-Hill equations are analyzed, and their stability diagrams in parameter plane are derived. A detailed discussion of discrete dynamical systems (maps) will be provided and the student will be shown how such systems can be used to study the global dynamics of low dimensional nonlinear oscillators. The concept of Poincare’ map is discussed and systematic techniques for its numerical computation, when possible, are outlined. An introduction is given to the concepts of nonlinear normal mode, and nonlinear localization - motion confinement in nonlinear coupled oscillators, as well as to various applications of these concepts to problems in mechanics. The course will conclude with an introduction to nonlinear vibrations of elastic continua.
• Prerequisites: A course in linear dynamics and vibrations; working knowledge of linear ordinary differential equations and linear algebra.