This document is not field policy and has not been subject to field vote. It is a working document provided as a good-faith attempt to describe the current shared viewpoint of the Thermal Sciences faculty. Per field rules, the exam committee decides the scope of the exam and questions are at the discretion of the committee.
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Q exam name: Thermal Sciences
Field(s) to which it applies: AE, ME
Core physical principles covered: conservation and accounting principles for heat transfer, thermodynamics, and combustion (thermodynamics, equilibrium, governing equations e.g. mass, momentum, energy, species), reaction kinetics, laminar premixed and diffusion flames.
The exam committee decides the scope of the exam and questions are at the discretion of the committee; however, this list is provided as a good-faith outline of topics covered as a way to frame student’s broad study of fluid mechanics as a discipline.
Recommended textbooks for study: Glassman Combustion, Williams Combustion Theory, Bejan Heat Transfer, Buckius/Howell Thermodynamics
Classes required before Q exam: None. Foundational undergraduate training in thermodynamics, fluids and heat transfer expected at the level of MAE 2210, MAE 3230, and MAE 3240.
Classes strongly recommended before Q exam: MAE 5430: Combustion Processes, MAE 6510: Advanced Heat Transfer
Classes deemed helpful but usually not taken before Q exam: MAE 6430: Computational Combustion