Course Description
A rigorous quantitative study, project, design, and facilitated discussion of global energy magnitudes and their transformations initiated as radiation from the sun, manifesting into different renewable forms throughout the biosphere, and concluding as stored fossilized solar energy, all in the engineering context of a mechanical preindustrial and then industrial civilization.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
The graduate students will be given additional project
assignments requiring significantly more reading material that
will entail some additional homework. They will also be required
to complete a capstone project that will be presented to the
entire class.
Athena Title
Energy in Nature Civil Engin
Prerequisite
ENVE 3210 or ENGR 3140 or ENGR 3140E or MCHE 3140 or permission of department
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1) Understanding the earth’s energy cycles and their relation to the earth as a functioning heat engine 2) Major energy sources, their quantities, their availability to the functionality of the biosphere, and their availability to humankind 3) Energy’s principle conversion efficiencies 4) Patterns, trends, and mechanical designs attributed to available energies and their flows and how these manifest into the socioeconomic considerations of energy use in preindustrial and industrial society 5) Thermodynamic theories of ecological system growth and functionality
Topical Outline
1) Major energy sources, storages, flows, and conversions 2) Power density and energy intensity 3) Planetary energetics, e.g., solar and geomorphic processes 4) Bioenergetics, e.g., photosynthesis 5) Human energetics, e.g., metabolism and thermoregulation 6) Heterotrophic conversions 7) Traditional agriculture 8) Preindustrial and industrial energy flows and the mechanical designs attributed to these flows 9) Fossil fuels 10) Fossil-fueled civilization 11) Energetics of food 12) Ecological systems as an extension of thermodynamic theory and dissipative structures (This topic is for graduate students only.) ▪ Graduate Students will be required to select an area of further research from these topic areas with guidance from the instructor. At a minimum, graduate students will be expected to conduct a detailed literature review to assess the current state of the art, provide a clear and well-articulated written review, and identify critical areas of potential research. This will then serve as a portion of their class capstone project.
Syllabus