ME 349 – Engineering Analysis (3 Credit Hours)
Course Description: An introduction to the theory and practice of numerical
analysis as applied to problems in mechanical engineering.
Course Instructors: This course is typically taught by the following instructors:
Sample Syllabus: A sample syllabus indicative of that typically used in the course
can be found here.
Pre-Requisite Skills: Students entering this course are expected to have mastered
the following skills:
- GES 132 (Foundations of Engineering II)
or GES 126 (Intro to Engineering Computing)
- Familiarity with Matlab or FORTRAN
- Programming skills
- Use of spread sheets
- MATH 238 - Applied Differential Equations
- Definition of an Ordinary Differential Equation (ODE)
- Definition of a well-posed problem
- Elementary solution techniques for well-posed ODE
Co-Requisite Skills: Students taking this course are expected to be enrolled (or to
have taken) courses that teach students the following skills:
Course Objectives: Students who successfully complete this course can be expected
to:
- Find the roots of nonlinear equations using various numerical techniques: (m)
- Bisection method
- False-position method
- Newton-Raphson method
- Secant Method
- Solve a system of linear equations using various numerical techniques: (n)
- Gauss-Elimination and Gauss-Jordon
- Gauss-Seidel
- Fit a polynomial curve to data using the least squares regression method (k)
- Interpolate using two different numerical methods (m)
- Newton’s divided-difference interpolating polynomial
- Spline interpolation
- Numerically integrate a first order ODE or data points using (m)
- Trapezoid Rule
- Simpson’s Rules
- Derive finite difference expressions to approximate mathematical derivatives up to
second order accuracy (a)
- Integrate higher order ODE’s, of one or more dependent variables using (m)
- Euler’s method and its improvements
- Runge-Kutta methods
- Definition of an Eigenvalue problem (n)
- Define a well-posed boundary value problem (BVP) (a)
- Solve a BVP with the finite difference method using EXCEL (k)
Sample Examinations: Examples of Examinations given in this course can be found
here.
Downstream Users: This course serves as a co-requisite to the following courses at
The University of Alabama: