Mechanics of Machines module (ME22002)

Mechanical and biomedical engineering involves designing and analysing machines and machine parts. This module will introduce you to these essential core skills, which are needed when designing manufacturing technologies, cars, airplanes, wind turbines, and medical devices.

You will learn how to test machines for reliability, how vibration occurs in a machine and what can be done to eliminate it through damping and balancing, and how to design common power transmission systems. You will also learn about mechanics and dynamics in more detail, allowing you to analyse how machines move, transmit power, and perform tasks.

What you will learn

In this module, you will:

• consider how the reliability of a machine and its parts can be tested and analysed
• see how vibration arises in a machine and how this can be reduced or eliminated
• explore and understand how common machine parts work
• gain a deeper understanding of mechanics and dynamics
• see how your knowledge of mechanics and dynamics can be applied to machines

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• suggest testing regimes for analysing the reliability of a machine, and its parts
• understand when vibration occurs in a machine
• predict the effect of damping on vibration
• balance an out-of-balance machine to eliminate vibration
• design a power transmission system using gear trains, belt drives and flywheels
• apply the principles of mechanics and dynamics to a machine, including work and energy, momentum and collisions, rotational motion, and relative motion
• describe the motion and acceleration of linkages within a moving machine

Assignments / assessment

• Weekly Quizzes (5%)
• Two Courseworks (20%)
• Final Exam (75%)

Teaching methods / timetable

• Video lectures
  • Videos explaining each week's topic which you can view in your own time
• Seminars
  • A summary of the key topics and ideas from that week
• Tutorials
  • Problem-solving class applying that week's material to real engineering problems