Course Descriptions
ENER 5250. Analysis of Renewable Energy Systems. (3) Prerequisite: ETME 3143 or permission of instructor. System analysis of renewable energy systems: well-to-wheels analysis, lifecycle energy and emissions, total cost, skill sets, methodologies and tool kits needed to analyze various technologies on a consistent basis for a given application. Topics include: solar photovoltaics, wind energy, and fuel cell technologies.
ENER 5260. Hydrogen Production and Storage. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 1101 or equivalent, ETME 3143 or equivalent, or permission of instructor. Basic concepts and principles of hydrogen technologies, including properties, usage, safety, fundamental understanding of hydrogen storage and production technologies.
ENER 5275. Air Conditioning Systems. (3) Prerequisite: ETME 3143 or permission of instructor. Functions and operating characteristics of the major components of refrigerating machines, heat pumps, boilers, furnaces, solar collectors, heat exchangers, fans and pumps. Emphasis on sizing, economics and performance characteristics. Includes coverage of psychometric principles and fan and pump laws.
ENER 5280. Fuel Cell Technology. (3) Prerequisite: ETME 3143 or equivalent or permission of instructor. Basic concepts and principles of fuel cell technologies, including chemistry, thermodynamics, electrochemistry, cell components and operating conditions fuel cell systems.
ENER 5285. Applied Noise and Vibration Control. (3) Prerequisites: ETME 3113 or ELET 3113 and ETGR 3171, both with a grade of C or above. Laplace transformation method for solution of differential equations. Review of Newton’s 2nd Law of Motion. Solution to the free vibration problem both with and without damping. Introduction to acoustics and the one dimensional solution to the wave equation. Noise sources and mechanics of noise generation. System design for noise and vibration minimization. Methods of noise and vibration remediation.
ENER 5290. Advanced Instrumentation. (3) Prerequisite: ELET 2241 or ETME 3163. Methodologies for measurement, analysis, and control of physical components of conventional and renewable energy conversion and storage systems.
ENER 6000. Special Topics in Applied Energy or Electromechanical Systems. (1-3) Study of specific new areas emerging in the various fields of energy and electromechanical systems. May be repeated for credit.
ENER 6120. Energy Generation and Conversion. (3) Prerequisite: ETGR 3171. Overview of energy use. Fossil fuel resources and energy conversion. Solar energy principles, solar collector, photovoltaic cells and applications. Wind energy and wind turbines. Nuclear energy principles, nuclear reactors and power generation. Geothermal and Hydraulic energy conversion. Hydrogen energy, storage, and transportation. Overview of fuel cell, fuel cell types, and application.
ENER 6135. Energy Transmission and Distribution. (3) Prerequisite: ETGR 3171. Power transmission and distribution network architectures. Transmission line models, parameters, and equivalent circuits. Symmetrical components. Power flow studies. Symmetrical and unsymmetrical faults. Transient operation and power system protection. Power system stability. Distribution optimization.
ENER 6150. System Dynamics. (3) Pre-or corequisite: ETGR 5272. Energy-based modeling of dynamic mechanical, electrical, thermal, and fluid systems to formulate linear state equations, including system stability, time domain response, and frequency domain techniques.
ENER 6170. Applied Mechatronics. (3) Prerequisite: ENER 6150. Analog electronic design for purposes of controlling electromechanical systems, including electromechanical sensors and actuators, analog electronic design of filters, state-space and classical controllers, and transistor-based servoamplifiers and high voltage amplifiers. Significant laboratory component with design and fabrication of circuits to control electromechanical systems. Implementation of digital controllers.
ENER 6220. High Voltage Technology. (3) Prerequisite: ETGR 3171. Covers concepts of high voltage generation, measurements, protection and safety. Study of high electric fields theory, breakdown mechanisms in gases, liquids, and solid dielectrics. The high voltage insulation, including insulation coordination, is also discussed. Instruction on high voltage applications and safety.
ENER 6235. Advanced Transmission. (3) Prerequisite: ENER 6135. Instruction on network steady-state analysis; faults; protection systems; switching equipment; voltage and power static control; surge voltages and protection, transient operation and stability, “smart grid” enabling technologies.
ENER 6260. Computational Fluid Dynamics for Energy Applications. (3) Prerequisites: ETGR 3171 and ETME 3133. Introduction to the use of commercial CFD codes to analyze flow and heat transfer in energy related problems. Finite difference and finite volume methods, SIMPLE model for incompressible flow, models of simple geometries are developed and studied, post processing and visualization. Overview of turbulence and turbulence modeling.
ENER 6270. Dynamic Systems Control and Design. (3) Prerequisite: ELET 4242 or ENER 6150. Analysis and design of dynamic systems control. Analysis of linear feedback systems, deterministic and stochastic dynamic systems, their characteristics, robust stability, and robust performance. Robust control, Kalman filter, and its design and compensation of deterministic and stochastic dynamic systems, including wind turbines system control and piezo (mechatronics) systems.
ENER 6800: Independent Study. (1-3) Prerequisite: Permission of graduate committee advisor. Individual investigation and exposition of results for a directed project in energy and electromechanical systems. May be repeated for credit.
ENER 6900: Master’s Research and Thesis. (1-6) Prerequisite: Permission of graduate committee advisor. Individual investigation culminating in the preparation and presentation of a thesis. May be repeated for credit.
EMGT 5961: Introduction to Energy Systems (3). Prerequisites: junior standing, basic math, economics or consent of instructor. Overview of energy systems: energy types, generation, conversion, storage, transportation/transmission, and utilization. Principles, physical structure, processes, and utilization of fossil fuel, nuclear, and renewables for transportation, thermal, and electrical energy generation are discussed along with associated performance metrics. Also provides an introduction to environmental impacts of energy production, lifecycle analysis, energy efficiency concepts and metrics, transmission systems, grid reliability, and the impact of smart grid technologies. All topics are presented in the context of industry standards as well as federal and state regulations.
EMGT 5962 Energy Markets (3). Prerequisites: basic math and economics or consent of instructor, ECON 5181 or SEGR 4961. Energy and power systems in regulated and competitive environments and implications on business decisions for firms in these industries. Topics include: mechanism of energy markets; comparative market systems; determination of prices under different market structures; gas, oil, coal, and electricity market architecture; electricity market design; dispatch and new build decisions; smart grid and renewable energy in electricity markets; risk and risk management in energy including demand and price volatility and use of financial derivatives; and the impact of financial market trends and current and proposed policies on the energy industry.