Courses tagged with "Infor" (113)

The Experimental Project Lab in the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics is a two-semester course sequence: 16.621 Experimental Projects I and 16.622 Experimental Projects II (this course). Students in 16.622 gain practical insight and improved understanding of engineering experimentation through design and execution of "project" experiments. Building upon work in course 16.621, students construct and test equipment, make systematic experimental measurements of phenomena, analyze data, and compare theoretical predictions with results. Deliverables comprise a written final project report and formal oral presentations. Instructions on oral presentations and multi-section reporting are given. Experimental Projects I and II provide a valuable link between theory (16.621) and practice (16.622).

This course covers examination of the state of knowledge of planetary formation, beginning with planetary nebulas and continuing through accretion (from gas, to dust, to planetesimals, to planetary embryos, to planets). It also includes processes of planetary differentiation, crust formation, atmospheric degassing, and surface water condensation. This course has integrated discussions of compositional and physical processes, based upon observations from our solar system and from exoplanets. Focus on terrestrial (rocky and metallic) planets, though more volatile-rich bodies are also examined.

This course will cover fundamentals of digital communications and networking. We will study the basics of information theory, sampling and quantization, coding, modulation, signal detection and system performance in the presence of noise. The study of data networking will include multiple access, reliable packet transmission, routing and protocols of the internet. The concepts taught in class will be discussed in the context of aerospace communication systems: aircraft communications, satellite communications, and deep space communications.

This course uses the theory and application of atomistic computer simulations to model, understand, and predict the properties of real materials. Specific topics include: energy models from classical potentials to first-principles approaches; density functional theory and the total-energy pseudopotential method; errors and accuracy of quantitative predictions: thermodynamic ensembles, Monte Carlo sampling and molecular dynamics simulations; free energy and phase transitions; fluctuations and transport properties; and coarse-graining approaches and mesoscale models. The course employs case studies from industrial applications of advanced materials to nanotechnology. Several laboratories will give students direct experience with simulations of classical force fields, electronic-structure approaches, molecular dynamics, and Monte Carlo.

This course was also taught as part of the Singapore-MIT Alliance (SMA) programme as course number SMA 5107 (Atomistic Computer Modeling of Materials).

Acknowledgements

Support for this course has come from the National Science Foundation's Division of Materials Research (grant DMR-0304019) and from the Singapore-MIT Alliance.

This course covers the thermo-fluid dynamic phenomena and analysis methods for conventional and nuclear power stations. Specific topics include: kinematics and dynamics of two-phase flows; steam separation; boiling, instabilities, and critical conditions; single-channel transient analysis; multiple channels connected at plena; loop analysis including single and two-phase natural circulation; and subchannel analysis.

This undergraduate class is designed to introduce students to the physics that govern the circulation of the ocean and atmosphere. The focus of the course is on the processes that control the climate of the planet.

Acknowledgments

Prof. Ferrari wishes to acknowledge that this course was originally designed and taught by Prof. John Marshall.

This is an introduction to the physics of atmospheric radiation and remote sensing including use of computer codes. Subjects covered include: radiative transfer equation including emission and scattering, spectroscopy, Mie theory, and numerical solutions. We examine the solution of inverse problems in remote sensing of atmospheric temperature and composition.

The major themes of this course are estimation and control of dynamic systems. Preliminary topics begin with reviews of probability and random variables. Next, classical and state-space descriptions of random processes and their propagation through linear systems are introduced, followed by frequency domain design of filters and compensators. From there, the Kalman filter is employed to estimate the states of dynamic systems. Concluding topics include conditions for stability of the filter equations.

This course studies basic optimization and the principles of optimal control. It considers deterministic and stochastic problems for both discrete and continuous systems. The course covers solution methods including numerical search algorithms, model predictive control, dynamic programming, variational calculus, and approaches based on Pontryagin's maximum principle, and it includes many examples and applications of the theory.

This course integrates studies of engineering sciences, reactor physics and safety assessment into nuclear power plant design. Topics include materials issues in plant design and operations, aspects of thermal design, fuel depletion and fission-product poisoning, and temperature effects on reactivity, safety considerations in regulations and operations, such as the evolution of the regulatory process, the concept of defense in depth, General Design Criteria, accident analysis, probabilistic risk assessment, and risk-informed regulations.

This course introduces the design of feedback control systems as applied to a variety of air and spacecraft systems. Topics include the properties and advantages of feedback systems, time-domain and frequency-domain performance measures, stability and degree of stability, the Root locus method, Nyquist criterion, frequency-domain design, and state space methods.

We will study the fundamental principles of classical mechanics, with a modern emphasis on the qualitative structure of phase space. We will use computational ideas to formulate the principles of mechanics precisely. Expression in a computational framework encourages clear thinking and active exploration.

We will consider the following topics: the Lagrangian formulation; action, variational principles, and equations of motion; Hamilton's principle; conserved quantities; rigid bodies and tops; Hamiltonian formulation and canonical equations; surfaces of section; chaos; canonical transformations and generating functions; Liouville's theorem and Poincaré integral invariants; Poincaré-Birkhoff and KAM theorems; invariant curves and cantori; nonlinear resonances; resonance overlap and transition to chaos; properties of chaotic motion.

Ideas will be illustrated and supported with physical examples. We will make extensive use of computing to capture methods, for simulation, and for symbolic analysis.

This course describes the processes by which mass, momentum, and energy are transported in plasmas, with special reference to magnetic confinement fusion applications.

The Fokker-Planck collision operator and its limiting forms, as well as collisional relaxation and equilibrium, are considered in detail. Special applications include a Lorentz gas, Brownian motion, alpha particles, and runaway electrons.

The Braginskii formulation of classical collisional transport in general geometry based on the Fokker-Planck equation is presented.

Neoclassical transport in tokamaks, which is sensitive to the details of the magnetic geometry, is considered in the high (Pfirsch-Schluter), low (banana) and intermediate (plateau) regimes of collisionality.

This course provides an introduction to nuclear science and its engineering applications. It describes basic nuclear models, radioactivity, nuclear reactions and kinematics; covers the interaction of ionizing radiation with matter, with an emphasis on radiation detection, radiation shielding, and radiation effects on human health; and presents energy systems based on fission and fusion nuclear reactions, as well as industrial and medical applications of nuclear science.

This is the second course in a two-semester sequence on astrophysics. Topics include galactic dynamics, groups and clusters on galaxies, phenomenological cosmology, Newtonian cosmology, Roberston-Walker models, and galaxy formation.

This course covers the fundamentals of Newtonian mechanics, including kinematics, motion relative to accelerated reference frames, work and energy, impulse and momentum, 2D and 3D rigid body dynamics. The course pays special attention to applications in aerospace engineering including introductory topics in orbital mechanics, flight dynamics, inertial navigation and attitude dynamics. By the end of the semester, students should be able to construct idealized (particle and rigid body) dynamical models and predict model response to applied forces using Newtonian mechanics.

This course is offered for graduate students who are interested in the interdisciplinary study of bio-inspired structures. The intent is to introduce students to newly inspired modern advanced structures and their applications. It aims to link traditional advanced composites to bio-inspired structures and to discuss their generic properties. A link between materials design, strength and structural behavior at different levels (material, element, structural and system levels) is made. For each level, various concepts will be introduced. The importance of structural, dynamic, thermodynamic and kinetic theories related to such processing is highlighted. The pedagogy is based on active learning and a balance of guest lectures and hands-on activities.

This course focuses on the practical applications of the continuum concept for deformation of solids and fluids, emphasizing force balance. Topics include stress tensor, infinitesimal and finite strain, and rotation tensors. Constitutive relations applicable to geological materials, including elastic, viscous, brittle, and plastic deformation are studied.

This course provides students with an opportunity to conceive, design and implement a product, using rapid prototyping methods and computer-aid tools. The first of two phases challenges each student team to meet a set of design requirements and constraints for a structural component. A course of iteration, fabrication, and validation completes this manual design cycle. During the second phase, each team conducts design optimization using structural analysis software, with their phase one prototype as a baseline.

Acknowledgements

This course is made possible thanks to a grant by the alumni sponsored Teaching and Education Enhancement Program (Class of '51 Fund for Excellence in Education, Class of '55 Fund for Excellence in Teaching, Class of '72 Fund for Educational Innovation). The instructors gratefully acknowledge the financial support. The course was approved by the Undergraduate Committee of the MIT Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics in 2003. The instructors thank Prof. Manuel Martinez-Sanchez and the committee members for their support and suggestions.

Applies solid mechanics to analysis of high-technology structures. Structural design considerations. Review of three-dimensional elasticity theory; stress, strain, anisotropic materials, and heating effects. Two-dimensional plane stress and plane strain problems. Torsion theory for arbitrary sections. Bending of unsymmetrical section and mixed material beams. Bending, shear, and torsion of thin-wall shell beams. Buckling of columns and stability phenomena. Introduction to structural dynamics. Exercises in the design of general and aerospace structures.