Mechanical Engineering Principles & Practice for Non Mechanical Engineers

Earn 8 PDH | .8 CEU (Total course 8 hours)

ABOUT THE COURSE
11:00 AM – 3:00 PM, EDT, both days


Course description
This course caters, mainly, to Engineers, Technicians and Facilities Managers who are not intimately familiar with Mechanical Engineering Principles and Practices. Through this course, attendees are expected to learn basic principles of mechanical engineering in a simple, easy to understand, format. This course will enable attendees to accomplish straightforward and common calculations associated mechanical engineering concepts such as statics, kinetics, kinematics, materials, mechanics of materials, fluid mechanics, hydraulic machines, thermodynamics, refrigeration cycle, financial evaluation and decision making associated with typical engineering projects. Most concepts are presented in basic and easy to understand terms. Mechanical engineering concepts are illustrated by practical numerical problems and case studies. Past experience has shown that even professionals without engineering education can take away a commensurate amount of engineering knowledge from “cross-discipline” skill building seminars, such as this one.

Learning Objectives
1. Understand the principles and concepts associated with mechanical energy, work, torque, power – and the inter-conversion between these entities in the engineering realm.
2. Get familiarized with methods and strategies utilized by mechanical engineers for
analysing forces and moments in beams and truss systems - in static equilibrium.
3. Understand how to perform stress, strain, toughness and ductility analyses on
engineering materials.
4. Get familiarized with – or get refreshed on – basics of dynamics; kinematics and
kinetics, in linear and angular motion domains.
5. Learn about strengths, thermal and alloying characteristics of materials.
6. Comprehend and learn to apply hydrostatics and hydrodynamics principles, laws and equations for analyses of fluid systems.
7. Gain an introduction to – or get refreshed on – the four stages/phases of
refrigeration cycle, illustrated and supported by DuPont R-134a refrigerant pressureenthalpy case study.
8. Get introduced to some of the basic instruments utilized by mechanical engineers.

Topics:
- Mechanical engineering system of units - Imperial (US) and Metric (SI) Systems.
- Basic mechanical engineering concepts, associated formulas and units
- Dynamics – Kinematics: The kinematics topic provides an introduction to concepts,
laws and analytical techniques pertinent to motion in the absence of unbalanced
forces.
- Dynamics – Kinetics: The kinetics topic introduces the attendees to concepts, laws
and problem analysis techniques associated with bodies or objects in motion, when
motion is influenced by unbalanced forces.
- Materials and Mechanics of Materials: This topic covers concepts such as stress,
strain, strengths of materials, alloy phase diagrams, phase equilibrium liquid-solid
diagrams.
- Fluid Mechanics & Hydraulic Machines: This topic includes fluid statics,
hydrodynamics and hydraulic machines.
- Thermodynamics: In this segment, the attendee is introduced to some
fundamental, yet practical, thermodynamic concepts, principles, laws, problem
solving techniques. Refrigeration Cycle: Basic refrigeration cycle model is covered, coupled with brief explanation of thermodynamic processes associated with each segment of the refrigeration cycle.
- Engineering Economics & Financial Analysis of Engineering Projects: This topic is
intended to provide engineer and non-engineer attendees with a brief introduction
to basic, yet practical, methods for performing simple, financial evaluations of capital
projects.

Why you shouldn’t miss this seminar – How this seminar can benefit your
organizations, what is unique about this course:
1. Have you ever felt somewhat inadequate and ill-equipped in your technical
discussions with mechanical or civil engineers? If so, then this course or seminar is a
must.
2. Do you, as an engineer, manager, or technician, feel that your knowledge and
understanding of static or dynamic mechanical system analyses, trusses and beams
in static equilibrium, fluid systems, refrigeration cycles, heat engines, sensible and
latent heat calculations is inadequate or weak? Not to worry, this seminar/course
will help you bridge that gap
3. How often do you get a chance to attend a workshop, course or a seminar that is
presented by the author of a text book pertinent to the subject? Your instructor is
the author of “Thermodynamics Made Simple for Energy Engineers (A copy of the
book available at additional cost)
4. As an engineer, technician or manager have you ever found the concept of thermal
and mechanical properties of engineering materials, phase diagrams and Lever’s
Rule elusive and hard to comprehend? Then, this workshop will present an excellent
opportunity for you to remedy that.
5. Imagine yourself, as an engineer or manager with little or no mechanical
engineering background, at 2 o'clock in the morning, in a triage situation, leading a
team of mechanical engineers, maintenance engineers, utilities engineers - trying
to troubleshoot the root cause of failure of a complex mechanical system. This
seminar is an opportunity for you to bridge that mechanical engineering gap in your
knowledge and fortify your confidence to lead multidiscipline teams of engineers
and enable you to make informed objective decisions.
6. How often do you get an opportunity to understand abstract and complex
mechanical concepts through relatively simple analogies and explanation? This
seminar will provide you that invaluable opportunity.
7. Some workshops and seminars end up being monotonous monologues from the
presenter to the audience. Not this one. In this seminar you will get an opportunity
to exercise the skills and concepts through classwork and engage the instructor in
discussions.
8. Last, but not least – If you are not a licensed Professional Engineer, but aspire to be
one and if you are rusty in the fundamentals of mechanical engineering concepts and
principles, then this two (2) day course could serve as a “warm-up” on many
mechanical engineering principles, concepts and problem analyses techniques.

Who should attend:
- Licensed Professional Engineers, who need to meet the annual or biennial license
renewal PDH (Professional Development Hour) or CEU (Continuing Education Units)
requirements.
- Engineers and Architects who do not possess current working knowledge of
mechanical engineering and are interested in broadening their engineering
knowledge base through basic cross-training.
- Facility Managers, Maintenance Engineers, Maintenance Managers, Engineering
Managers, Program/Project Managers and other professionals in leadership role
who sense a lack of current and adequate mechanical engineering knowledge to
hold meaningful technical discussions and to make informed decisions when
interacting with their mechanical engineering direct reports or colleagues.
- Non-engineers, including technical writers responsible for developing operations
and maintenance manuals for mechanical, civil and HVAC systems
- Procurement/purchasing professionals who are responsible for acquisition of
mechanical, civil and HVAC systems
- Candidates aspiring to take the FE or PE exams.
- Energy Managers and Construction Managers,
- Patent attorneys and attorneys who specialize in construction, workplace safety and
workmanship litigation cases.
- Other professionals whose annual PLP, Performance and Learning Program,
includes engineering/technical courses/seminars/workshops.