SCOPES Project 7 IP 65642
U K
I M
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering
Working Group
Progress Report
-
Situation and Perspectives -
English Version
To be presented and discussed at the Fall 2002
SCOPES Project Meeting in
September 2002
Education and Research in the
Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Skopje
with
Regard to Establishing and Advancing CSE
–
Present State
·
Present State
Main
Activities of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Skopje
-
Education
-
Scientific
Research
-
Applied
research
Basic
Information about the Structure, Organizational Setting, and Educational
Process
Basic
organizational units
-
Institute
for Production Engineering
-
Institute
for Mechanical Constructions, Mechanization Machines and Motor Vehicles
-
Institute
for Thermotechnics und Thermoenergetics
-
Institute
for Hydrotechnics, Pneumatics und Automation
-
Institute
for Welding and Welded Constructions
-
Institute
for Mechanics
-
Department
for Mathematics and Informatics
Central facilities
-
-
Administrative
Services and Maintenance
-
Library
Study levels
|
VI/1 |
-
Two-year undergraduate studies (Mechanical Engineer Degree) |
|
VII/1 |
-
Five-year undergraduate studies (Graduated Mechanical Engineer degree) |
|
VII/2 |
-
Post-graduated studies (MSci Degree) |
|
VIII |
-
PhD studies (DSci Degree) |
The curriculum offers many basic and several
specialized courses. The courses are classified in nine groups leading to nine
profiles of graduate mechanical engineers. After the remodeling of the study
program few years ago, these nine fields of specialization are now the
following:
Fields
of specialization and elective modules
|
Field
of Specialization |
Elective
modules |
|
Production
Engineering |
-
Metal cutting Technology -
Technology of metal forming Processes |
|
Automotive
Engineering |
|
|
Mechanization
Machines |
-
Mechanization -
Agricultural Mechanization |
|
Welding and Welded
Constructions |
|
|
Railway Mechanical
Engineering |
|
|
Thermotechnics and
Thermoenergetics |
-
Thermotechnics -
Thermoenergetics -
Process Engineering |
|
Hydrotechnics,
Pneumatics und Automation |
-
Hydrotechnics -
Automation |
|
Energetic Mechanics
and Engineering |
|
|
Industrial
Engineering |
|
The studies of the VII/2 level (post-graduate
studies) are organized according to the tutorial system. Depending on their
research interest, the students can select among a large number of highly
specialized courses offered, and so can participate in profiling their
particular research area of interest.
The regulations for admission to
doctorate and for the accomplishment of a doctoral thesis are formed according
to the traditional European model.
The studies of the VII/1-level
leading to the academic title Diplom-Ingenieur (graduate or academically
trained engineer) last 10 semesters altogether and are closed with preparing
and submitting of the final thesis (diploma work). The lectures in the first
academic year are common and compulsory for all fields of specialization. The
curriculum of the first academic year may be regarded as Basic studies.
The subjects taken during the period of the basic studies are:
-
Mathematics
I
-
Technical
drawing and descriptive geometry
-
Materials
science
-
Mathematics
II
-
Strength
of materials I
-
Computers
and programming
-
Kinematics
und dynamics
-
Defense
and security
-
Sport
activities
After having successfully finished
the first academic year, the students choose one field of advance studies from
the above named nine particular fields of mechanical engineering. In the second
and the third academic year, the lectures in the framework of a particular
field of mechanical engineering are common and compulsory for all students of
the respective field. After the third academic year, each of these
specializations requires studies in a fixed number of compulsory and elective courses,
depending on the module that was chosen from the elective modules of the
respective field of advance studies.
The studies at the level VI/1 last
fife semesters, at which the instruction courses in the first and second
academic year are in common with the level VII/1. The
following fife mechanical engineering fields of specialization can be chosen:
Production Engineering; Mechanization Machines; Thermotechnics and
Thermoenergetics; Hydrotechnics, Pneumatics and Automation. These undergraduate
studies resemble those at a Fachhochschule in
Further details to this thematic can
be learned from the full curriculum that will be distributed to the workshop
participants in
As it can be seen from the above,
there exists at the FMES not explicitly a field of specialization or a module
that could live up to the name „Computational Science and Engineering”.
However, when CSE is to be understood as the intersection of a natural or
engineering science, mathematics and informatics, then some of the subjects
offered at FMES are in a close or in a not very far relationship to CSE. We
will refer to these subjects in the oral discussion of the theme.
In their particular field of
specialization, the students are made familiar with the most important methods
of applied mathematics and mechanics and learn how to use these methods with
the aid of computers at solving given engineering or scientific tasks from the
respective domain. This is still done, however, not in a sufficient extent and
should be improved both in quantitative and in qualitative sense. The present
hardware equipment (see under Computer center below),
though still not at a high enough level, meets the basic requirements. At our
faculty, there is still a shortage of licensed software for symbolic and
numerical computation and simulation. Also, there is still not a systematic and
in the curriculum incorporated familiar making of students with handling of
such software. Some of the students and the teaching staff learn to deal with
such kind of software on an individual basis by using manuals, shareware or
something like that. Much of that is learned in an ad hock manner during the
accomplishment of seminar works or final exam theses under the guidance of the
teacher or the assistant.
On the positive
side in this connection, we would like to
mention that since some time ago we are provided with the following licensed
software:
|
FLUENT – CFD Software |
As is known, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) is
a new technology for numerical modeling and solving of fluid flow problems
(i.e., for determining the flow field parameters: velocity, pressure,
temperature, etc.) based on the governing equations of fluid dynamics. The
use of the CFD-technology gives us the possibility to gain a more detailed
understanding of the flow field, and heat and mass transport, already in the
early phase of a project development. By using CFD-Technology, a
visualization of streaming phenomena and other physical processes is also possible. With FLUENT as CFD-Solver
– we are now in possession of the version FLUENT 6 – we have the possibility
for solving various kinds of fluid flow problems: compressible and
incompressible fluid flows, laminar and turbulent fluid flows, steady, unsteady
and transient fluid flows, as well as one-, two- or three-dimensional flow
problems. FLUENT also implies various models for solving other physical problems, such as: Radiation heat transfer, Chemical reaction and combustion modeling; Multiphase modeling; Lagrangian dispersed phase modeling, etc. |
|
ADAMS is a computer code for solving multi-body
dynamics problems. ADAMS is an Acronym that stands
for „Automatic Dynamic Analysis of Mechanical Systems“. This computer program
is an integrated environment for virtual prototyping and modeling with the
ability to achieve high fidelity of the virtual model to the real one. With
this program, the virtual prototype can be studied and analyzed subjected to
external loads and given forced movements. At the end, it visualizes the
model’s behavior and stores in its database all the data for the relevant
variables of a dynamical system. ADAMS is an ideal tool for treating complex dynamic models with several degrees of freedom. The process of virtual prototyping is realized in several phases: Modeling – Solving/Simulation – Optimization – Visualization. |
In order to
introduce these two software packages, which were purchased in the framework of
a TEMPUS-JEP, the following fife intensive courses and three seminars were then
organized and held at FMES:
Activities – Intensive Courses:
·
Introduction
of CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) Technology and FLUENT-Software
·
Basic
Steps for Setting and Solving Problems with CFD and FLENT; Application of
GAMBIT
·
Kinematic
and Dynamic Analyses of Mechanisms with Accent on Applicative Software Packages
·
Application
of Modeling and Simulation Methods for Solving Engineering and Research
Problems in the Field of Experimental Fluid Dynamics and Waste Treatment
·
Modeling
and Simulation Computational Methods for Solving Engineering Problems in the
Field of Control of the Internal Combustion Engines.
Activities - Seminars:
·
Introduction
and Training with the Software FLUENT for Professionals from SME - Seminar 1
·
Introduction
and Training with the Software FLUENT for Professionals from SME - Seminar 2
·
Application
of the Concept of virtual prototyping using ADAMS – Seminar 3
To some extent, the software
The ever-lasting problem that our
universities have to cope with is how to provide or gain access to pertinent
international literature, scientific journals or referral databases. This
problem has been a little bit alleviated through a DFG donation that comprises
disposing of valuable monographs and textbooks and a several years`
subscription for Zentralblatt MATH (Online Access und CD-ROM-Version)
Computer Equipment, Infrastructure
The situation with the computer equipment and infrastructure at FMES is
presently as follows:
Computer center of the faculty
General
equipment
The computer center is provided with the following facilities:
-
Server
for the INTERNET-access via the computer network of the University,
-
Server
for keeping the electronic mail,
-
Server
for the WEB-page of the faculty,
-
Personal
computers,
-
Plotters,
scanners and printers
-
Licensed software
The first two servers enable
receiving and sending of e-mail as well as connection with the INTERNET.
Through the connection with the computer network of the University, we are
connected with many other faculties and research institutions in our country
and in the world. These are personal computers in the following configuration: Pentium
III dual Processor, 350 MHz, 20 GB HDD, 500 MB RAM, 15’’ color monitor.
The Server for the faculty WEB-page
enables access to information about the faculty, the teaching staff, the
educational process, as well as to actual news. The retrieving and displaying
of such information can be done by using Internet Explorer, Netscape or
something alike. The configuration of this server is: Pentium II, 600 MHz,
10 GB HDD, 256 MB RAM, 15’’ color monitor.
Local computer network: The following units of the faculty
are connected to the local computer network with a transfer rate of 10 MB/s
(supporting also 100 MB/s): the dean’ s office, the administration units, the
offices of the teaching staff, the laboratories situated in the annex building
of the faculty, and the computer center auxiliary room. These days a renovation
of the existing local network in the faculty main building as well in the
faculty annex building has been carried out.
Computer rooms
The Computer center is provided with
two lecture-rooms for holding lectures connected with the use of computers, but
also where the students can exercise individually. The lecture-room 1 (or the
so-called “big lecture-room”) is provided with 34 personal computers,
mostly PC 586 and K5, 1.7 GB HDD, 16 Mb RAM, 14’’ color monitors. The
lecture-room 2 (the „small lecture-room“) is provided with 20 personal
computers Pentium II, 6.4 GB HDD, 64 Mb RAM, 15’’ color monitors.
Four personal computers Pentium II, 600 MHz, 10 GB HDD,
64 Mb RAM, with 15’’ color monitors, are installed in the auxiliary room of
the computer center and connected to the local computer network of the faculty.
These computers can be used by the students, who perform their final thesis,
as well as by the professional staff.
Some of the institutes use their own’ s computer equipment for lecturing.
Computer center for modeling and simulation
That is the additional computer equipment with which the above-described
software packages FLUENT and
|
|
Computer model |
Processor |
RAM memory |
Number of units |
|
1 |
Dell Precision 410 |
2xPentium III, 450 MHz |
1024 MB |
1 |
|
2 |
Dell Precision 330 |
Pentium IV, 1.3
GHz |
512 |
1 |
|
3 |
Dell Optiplex GX1p |
Pentium III,
450 MHz |
384 |
5 |
|
4 |
Dell Optiplex GX1 |
Pentium III,
550 MHz |
384 |
1 |
|
5 |
Dell Optiplex GX200 |
Pentium III,
600 MHz |
512 |
1 |
|
6 |
Dell Optiplex GX1 |
Pentium III,
866 MHz |
256 |
2 |
|
7 |
Dell Optiplex GX115 |
Pentium III,
866 MHz |
256 |
2 |
|
8 |
Dell Optiplex G1 |
Pentium II, 400
MHz |
256 |
1 |
These computers operate under the Windows NT
operating system and are connected to the department computer network, which is
a separate network using an intelligent programmable device switch. In the mean
time, a connection to the faculty local computer network has been also
realized. The license manager is of such a type that allows up to ten active
processes, but it does not limit from which machines the processes are started.
·
Perspectives
After the First Start-Up meeting of
the project partners in
It would be ideal if we could
establish - in following the model at ETH
Better prospects for realization
would have an intensifying of CSE within the existing framework of education
and research in our faculty. Therefore, we would first begin with supplementary
and ad hock educational CSE activities in our faculty, like organizing special
courses and seminars, and preparing corresponding teaching materials. The goal
to be reached is to make our students better acquainted with the modern
computational methods and computing facilities. First, we want to purchase the
software Mathematica as licensed software and then to instruct the
students to use this software. We would begin with this in the next semester,
provided we will have purchased this software until then.
Our further activities in the
framework of this project will be our participation in preparing a volume with
solved engineering problems by advance computational means through the use,
say, of Mathematica.
Further details of our activities
during the referring period of this report will be given in the course of the
progress reports presentation in
Head of the Working team
Prof. Dr. Tomislav Zlatanovski