The Bachelor of Engineering (BE) and Masters of Engineering (ME) programmes are 4 years and 5 years in duration, respectively. Both include an eight month period of Cooperative Education spent in an appropriate industrial environment. Both the BE and ME are divided into two parts.
PART I
Part I comprises the first year of study and is common to both the BE and ME programmes. It provides you with a foundation in the fundamental engineering subjects and makes up for variations in the background of individual students. The subjects taken include:
Mathematics | Computing | Engineering Mechanics | Physical Chemistry | Electrical Principles
Fluid Mechanics | Design for Manufacture | The Engineering Profession
PART II of the BE Mechanical Engineering
Part II of the BE comprises years 2, 3 and 4 and you will generally study five modules per semester. You will study all the fundamental subjects of mechanical engineering – mathematics, mechanics of solids, design, mechanics of fluids, thermodynamics, dynamics of machines and control.
At the end of Year 2 you are placed in industry for an eight-month Cooperative Education period. This period provides experience of the practice and application of Mechanical Engineering in an industrial environment. You will then return to the University for the latter half of third year and start to specialise. In the final year, you can specialise in Thermofluids, Mechanics of Solids or Energy by choosing appropriate final year electives.
An important aspect of this programme is the final year project completed in year 4. This is an individual project assigned to you at the end of year 3 giving you almost 12 months to undertake. The project is a major piece of work and involves the preparation of a report detailing all aspects of the project. It will provide you with the opportunity to demonstrate your ability to work as a professional engineer and to incorporate the knowledge you have gained over the previous three years. Many students are proud to show this work at subsequent job interviews.
PART II of the ME Mechanical Engineering
Part II if the ME comprises Years 2, to 5. Years 2 and 3 are common to both the BE and the ME. At the end of Year 3, students are asked to decide whether they wish to take the BE or the ME route. The ME route is then offered to those students who meet the required academic standards at the end of Year 3.
In Year 4, the subjects studied include:
- Mechanical Design
- Design of Thermofluid Systems
- Enterprise Management and Growth
- Finite Element Analysis
- Energy Management
- Prototype Build and Test
- Process Control
- Fuels and Energy Conversion
- Project Planning and Control.
An important part of Year 4 is a large group based project that the students undertake. In recent years, projects entailed the design, manufacture, and test of a miniature steam turbine for the conversion of waste heat into useful power, and investigating the use of compressed air energy storage (CAES) for propelling a scooter. The project brings together the theoretical content from a variety of modules that were taken over the first three years and allows the students to see how the various topics that were studied come together in a large team based engineering project.
Year 5 entails core modules in Advanced Technical Communications for Engineers and Fundamentals of Continuum Mechanics. Students must also pick five elective modules. These are specialist modules in the areas of solid mechanics, fluid dynamics, energy, heat transfer and materials. A large individual research project is undertaken by all students in Year 5, and this accounts for a significant proportion of grades for the year. Topics for these projects reflect the range of research interests of the Mechanical Engineering lecturing staff. Examples of project titles in recent years include:
- Rain erosion testing of wind turbine blades
- Pneumatic transport of dairy powders
- Hydrodynamics in Stirred Baffled vessels used by the Pharmaceutical Industry.
- Vibrational Energy Harvesting
- Automotive heat recovery for improved engine efficiency
- Wave energy in China
- Electrification of Public and Commercial transport in Ireland
- Ultrasonic Welding of Composite/Metal Aircraft Joints
- Data Analysis and optimisation of Domestic renovation Air source heat pumps
- Building Energy Modelling
- Heat Pipe Technologies for use in Battery Thermal Management Systems for Electric Vehicles
- An analysis on the optimisation of a heat pump in a school building
