Information About

Catalog description

Modern Electronics; analog and digital circuit construction and conversion. Modern data acquisition involving temperature measurements, control of stepper motors, transient heat transfer, fluid mechanics, deformation of beams.

Prerequisites: 220, 241, ECE 270, and MECH ENG 262 or CIV ENG 216.

Who takes it

Junior and senior students interested in hands-on experience with mechanical systems, experimental measurements and data acquisition.

What it's about

This course covers instrumentation and the use of experiments to evaluate real-world systems. Basic, practical electronics, computer data acquisition, programming and signal conditioning are taught and then applied in experiments that investigate heat transfer, fluids mechanics, thermodynamics and structural dynamics. Lab sessions will be held in the Mechatronics lab, BIRL.

What will you learn in this class?

• Modern electronics
• Analog and digital circuit construction and conversion
• Modern data acquisition
  • temperature measurements
  • control of stepper motors
  • transient heat transfer fluid mechanics
  • deformation of beams
• Data analysis and presentation

Lab Projects

1. Lab Instruments: Multimeters, Oscilloscopes and Function Generators
2. Data Acquisition and LabVIEW programming
3. Signal Conditioning with OP-Amps
4. Temperature Measurement and Control
5. Thermal Diffusion in a Copper Rod
6. Viscosity Measurement of an Unknown Fluid
7. Enthalpy of a Heated Jet Group Project

   Assignments/Evaluation:

   Homework will be assigned on a regular basis. There is a mid-term exam and final project.

Contact:

Professor: Horacio D. Espinosa
e-mail: espinosa@northwestern.edu, Tel: 7-5989, Office: L286

[ Detailed syllabus | Course web site ]