Major
Mechanical Systems
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What will I study?
Overview
With mechanics, engineering and mathematics underpinning this major, you will learn about the mechanical development and design processes across industries.
Your major structure
You can study this major in the Bachelor of Design or Bachelor of Science.
Bachelor of Design
The Bachelor of Design is a flexible degree that lets you explore different fields of study. The subjects you complete in your first year provide the basis for your knowledge of design that will carry through the rest of your degree.
By your second year you will deepen your understanding of your chosen discipline, in preparation for deep and specialised study in your third year, when you will complete your major requirements.
You will also be required to undertake a capstone subject, which draws together the various theoretical strands.
Throughout your degree, design elective subjects can complement your major area of study. You can choose to study one or two majors, a major and a minor, or a major and a specialisation.
Bachelor of Science
You can study engineering subjects from first your week with us, and you’ll have plenty of flexibility to explore other interests too.
In your first and second years you will complete subjects that are prerequisites for your major, including foundation engineering and mathematics subjects.
In your third year, you will complete 50 points (four subjects) of deep and specialised study in mechanical systems.
Throughout your degree you will also take science elective and breadth (non-science/non-design) subjects, in addition to your major subjects and prerequisites.
Sample course plan
View some sample course plans to help you select subjects that will meet the requirements for this major.
These sample study plans assume that students have achieved a study score of at least 29 in VCE Specialist Mathematics 3/4, or equivalent. If students have not completed this previously, they may first need to enrol in MAST10005 Calculus 1 in their first semester. Students wishing to progress to the Master of Engineering (Mechanical) are encouraged to also take COMP20005 Engineering Computation.
Year 1
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 2
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 3
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
These sample study plans assume that students have achieved a study score of at least 29 in VCE Specialist Mathematics 3/4, or equivalent. If students have not completed this previously, they may first need to enrol in MAST10005 Calculus 1 in their first semester. Students wishing to progress to the Master of Engineering (Mechanical) are encouraged to also take COMP20005 Engineering Computation.
Year 1
100 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
Year 2
100 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
Year 3
100 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
These sample study plans assume that students have achieved a study score of at least 29 in VCE Specialist Mathematics 3/4, or equivalent. If students have not completed this previously, they may first need to enrol in MAST10005 Calculus 1 in their first semester. Students wishing to progress to the Master of Engineering (Mechanical) are encouraged to also take COMP20005 Engineering Computation.
Year 1
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 2
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 3
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
These sample study plans assume that students have achieved a study score of at least 29 in VCE Specialist Mathematics 3/4, or equivalent. If students have not completed this previously, they may first need to enrol in MAST10005 Calculus 1 in their first semester. Students wishing to progress to the Master of Engineering (Mechanical) are encouraged to also take COMP20005 Engineering Computation.
Year 1
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 2
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 3
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
These sample study plans assume that students have achieved a study score of at least 29 in VCE Specialist Mathematics 3/4, or equivalent. If students have not completed this previously, they may first need to enrol in MAST10005 Calculus 1 in their first semester. Students wishing to progress to the Master of Engineering (Mechanical) are encouraged to also take COMP20005 Engineering Computation.
Year 1
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 2
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Year 3
100 pts
- Semester 1 50 pts
- Semester 2 50 pts
Explore this major
Explore the subjects you could choose as part of this major.
- 12.5 pts
AIMS
This subject consists of three distinct and fundamentally related topics -
- An introduction to the fundamentals of materials science will be given on atomic structure and bonding, crystal structures and defects, elastic and plastic deformation, dislocations and strengthening and failured (fast fracture, fatigue and creep)
- The mechanics of materials section will extend the concepts of material mechanical behaviour by detailing elastic/inelastic behaviour and introducing the concepts of stress and strain analysis. Topics covered may include the definition of principal stresses, plane stress, plane strain, two-dimensional stress and strain analysis, torsion, pure bending, transverse loading, Mohr’s circle, failure criteria, inelastic behaviour, residual stress
- This subject will also provide an introduction to finite element analysis (FEA) and its application for stress-strain analysis. Particular emphasis will be placed on the fundamental mechanisms by which materials fail under loading.
INDICATIVE CONTENT
- Mechanics: the definition of principal stresses, plane stress, plane strain, two-dimensional stress and strain analysis, torsion, pure bending, transverse loading, Mohr’s circle, failure criteria, inelastic behaviour, residual stress.
- Materials: atomic structure and bonding, crystal structures and defects, elastic and plastic deformation, dislocations and strengthening and failure (fast fracture, fatigue and creep).
- Finite element analysis (FEA): FEA procedure, application of FEA to discrete systems and continuous bodies.
- 12.5 pts
AIMS
This course is an introduction to basic principles of fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. These two subjects are introduced together in a single course, reflecting the large degree of cross-over in applications and basic first principles between the two subjects.
Fluid mechanics is a very important core subject, influencing a diverse range of engineering systems (aircraft, ships, road vehicle design, air conditioning, energy conversion, wind turbines, hydroelectric schemes to name but a few) and also impacts on many biological (blood flow, bird flight etc) and even meteorological studies. As engineers, we are typically concerned with predicting the force required to move a body through a fluid, or the power required to pump fluid through a system. However, before we can achieve this goal, we must start from fundamental principles governing fluid flow.
Thermodynamics could be defined as the science of energy. This subject can be broadly interpreted to include all aspects of energy and energy transformations. Like fluid mechanics, this is a hugely important subject in engineering, underpinning many key engineering systems including power generation, engines, gas turbines, refrigeration, heating etc. This unit again starts from first principles to introduce the basic concepts of thermodynamics, paving the way for later more advanced units
This course aims to develop a fundamental understanding of thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, based on first principles and physical arguments. Real world engineering examples will be used to illustrate and develop an intuitive understanding of these subjects.
INDICATIVE CONTENT
Topics include:
Fluid Mechanics - fluid statics, static forces on submerged structures, stability of floating bodies; solid body motion; fluid dynamics; streamlines; pathlines and streaklines; conservation of mass, momentum and energy; Euler's equation and Bernoulli's equation; control volume analysis; dimensional analysis; incompressible flow in pipes and ducts; boundary layers; flow around immersed bodies; and drag and lift.
Thermodynamics - heat and work, ideal non-flow and flow processes; laws of thermodynamics; Carnot's principle; Clausius inequality; direct and reversed heat engines; thermal efficiencies; properties of pure substances; change of phase; representation of properties; steam and air tables; and vapour equation of state, ideal gases.
- 12.5 pts
The subject introduces students to the conceptual engineering design process, with an associated emphasis on realising autonomous mechanical systems. This includes project formulation, ideation, evaluation, and realisation. Project realisation includes physical prototyping and review to assess performance against the initial formulation phase.
The design process incorporates cost benefit analysis with associated socio-economic and human factors, and fault analysis. Autonomous system design includes mechatronic approaches to data-driven system design and regulation.
- 12.5 pts
This subject will cover the modelling of a range of physical systems across multiple domains as ordinary differential equations, and then introduce the mathematical techniques to analyse their open loop behaviour.
Topics include:
- Development of low order models of a range of electrical, thermal, mechanical, pneumatic and hydraulic dynamic systems
- Different representations of these systems (time and, frequency domains) and transformations between them (Laplace, Fourier and Z-transforms)
- Representations of systems – transfer functions, Bode plots, state space, block diagrams, etc
- Identification of linear time invariant systems (least squares identification)
- Relation to time domain properties of open loop responses – stability, oscillations, etc.
MATLAB will be used throughout the course to complement the presented concepts.
Option 1
Complete the following subject:
- Engineering Mathematics 12.5 pts
This subject introduces important mathematical methods required in engineering such as manipulating vector differential operators, computing multiple integrals and using integral theorems. A range of ordinary and partial differential equations are solved by a variety of methods and their solution behaviour is interpreted. The subject also introduces sequences and series including the concepts of convergence and divergence.
Topics include: Vector calculus, including Gauss’ and Stokes’ Theorems; sequences and series; Fourier series, Laplace transforms; systems of homogeneous ordinary differential equations, including phase plane and linearization for nonlinear systems; second order partial differential equations and separation of variables.
Option 2
Complete both of the following subjects:
- Vector Calculus 12.5 pts
This subject studies the fundamental concepts of functions of several variables and vector calculus. It develops the manipulation of partial derivatives and vector differential operators. The gradient vector is used to obtain constrained extrema of functions of several variables. Line, surface and volume integrals are evaluated and related by various integral theorems. Vector differential operators are also studied using curvilinear coordinates.
Functions of several variables topics include limits, continuity, differentiability, the chain rule, Jacobian, Taylor polynomials and Lagrange multipliers. Vector calculus topics include vector fields, flow lines, curvature, torsion, gradient, divergence, curl and Laplacian. Integrals over paths and surfaces topics include line, surface and volume integrals; change of variables; applications including averages, moments of inertia, centre of mass; Green's theorem, Divergence theorem in the plane, Gauss' divergence theorem, Stokes' theorem; and curvilinear coordinates.
- Differential Equations 12.5 pts
Differential equations arise as common models in the physical, mathematical, biological and engineering sciences. This subject covers linear differential equations, both ordinary and partial, using concepts from linear algebra to understand the structure of the general solutions. It balances basic theory with concrete applications. Topics include:
- linear ordinary differential equations and initial-value problems, including systems of first-order linear ordinary differential equations;
- Taylor series solutions of linear ordinary differential equations;
- Laplace transform methods for solving dynamical models with discontinuous inputs;
- boundary-value problems for linear ordinary differential equations and their interpretation in terms of eigenvalues and eigenfunctions;
- Fourier series solutions of certain linear partial differential equations on spatially bounded domains using separation of variables and eigenfunction expansion;
- Fourier transform solutions of certain linear partial differential equations on unbounded spatial domains.