ENGINEERING ELECTIVE
The Mechanical engineering was studied by our students for two terms(2022/2023 third term and 2023/2024 first term). The elective was studied for 7 weeks i.e it was studied for 4 weeks in 3rd term of 2022/2023session and 3 weeks in 1st term of 2023/2024 session.
The week by week notes for the course is given below.
WEEK 2:Friday, May 12th 2023
TOPIC: An introduction to Mechanical engineering.
Here, our students were told what they need to do to become a mechanical engineer. They were also told the importance of mechanical engineering to the society and they were allowed to have a knowledge of what they would learn about the course of the term.
WEEK 3:Friday, May19th 2023
TOPIC: Areas of Specialization in Mechanical engineering.
A recap of an introduction to Mechanical engineering was done. Mechanical engineering is the study of how things work, how things are made and other elements of forces and motion react.
What do mechanical engineer study? They primarily study science and mathematics. For more studies on this, visit study.com
There are several areas of Specialization in Mechanical engineering but we’re listed for the students and 3 were explained to them. The 8 specialization are
Automobile engineering
Railway engineering
Automation/ Robotic engineering
Biotechnology engineering
Refrigerator and Air conditioning engineering
Industrial and Production engineering
Ecosystems engineering
Aerospace engineering
The three areas of Specialization explained were
Aerospace engineering: this is the aspect of mechanical engineering concerned with the development of technology for flying objects like airplanes, drones, gliders etc
Ecosystem engineering: this is the aspect of mechanical engineering that deals with the environment where things are produced. They work out how production can be clean and not harmful to the environment.
Industrial engineering: this is the aspect of mechanical engineering that uses the tools in economics to minimize waste and makes production to be optimal.
WEEK4: Friday, May 25th 2023
TOPIC: An introduction to Industrial Engineering
Here, the students learnt that industrial engineers are needed by other mechanical engineering specialists to optimize production. An industrial engineer reduces wastage in time and raw materials, ensures the man power availability for a particle task within a week and proper rest time given to them.
An injection machine was drawn for the students to give them an idea of how it can be utilized effectively to achieve optimal gain. For more study on this visit kids.kiddle.co/industrial engineering
WEEK7: Friday,16th June 2023
TOPIC: An introduction to Automobile Engineering
In this topic, students were made to understand that automobile engineering deals with the study of vehicles on land.
History of automobile.
Works and ideas about the automobile were carried out in the 15th century. Leonardo da vinci considered the concept of self- propelled vehicle. other powered vehicles were also made with notable disadvantages. For example, steam powered vehicles were made and so also electrical powered vehicles were also made. These electrical powered vehicles were slow and could only moved 20 miles/hr. Also it couldn’t travel more than 50 miles without being recharged.
A significant success was said to be made as regards automobile when early gasoline automobile engines were made and the major one was the Otto engine made by a German named Nikolaus Otto in 1876.
Some facts were stated and some terms were defined for the students. They are:
Sedan: a type of car with four doors that can take up to four people.
Coupe: a 2- door car.
Global Positioning System (GPS): helps to locate the car amongst other functions.
The first automobiles were called horseless carriages because they resembled horse-drawn vehicles.
Piston can be found in car in engines of automobiles and it consists of the piston rod and the cylindrical head. For more studies on this visit kids.kiddle.co/ automotive engineering.
The Automobile Engineering as an engineering elective was looked into more closely during the first term of the 2023/2024 academic session. As stated earlier, it was studied for three weeks. The week by week note is given below.
WEEK 3: Friday, 6th October 2023
TOPIC: Car parts and vocabulary
In this topic, some parts of the most commonly used form of land transport which is the car we’re listed and briefly explained to the students. They are:
Steering wheels: used to control the direction of cars
Gear lever: for changing gears in a lever
Seat belt: attached to the chair in a car and it is fasten on humans in the car
Windscreen: the big window at the front of a car
Windscreen wipers: used when it is raining or snowing to clean the windscreen
Other car parts are
Headlight
Tail light
Speedometer
Car trp meter
Fuel gauge
Temperature gauge
Rev counter
Wheels
Oil filter
Spark plugs
Fan belts
Gear box
Petrol tank
Break pads
Radiator
Engines
Battery
Alternator
Clutch
Driveshaft
Shock absorber
Braking system
Booth
Tail pipes
Temperature gauge
Mufflers
Pistons etc
For more studies on this visit www.easypacelearning.com
WEEK 4: Friday, 13th October 2023
TOPIC: Engines and Motors
An engine is the part of an automobile that converts energy to movement. Also, engines use heat to power movement. The steam engine and internal combustion engines are great examples. The internal combustion engines are what we use in most cars, trucks and other vehicles today.
An internal combustion engine powers many of our day to day activities. As the name suggests, It creates energy by burning or combusting fuel inside a cylinder. The process happens in 4 parts or strokes
The process of internal combustion engine (ICE)
There are 4 processes involved in an ICE to create energy to move a vehicle. The processes are:
The intake stroke: the crankshaft moves the piston to open the intake valve. This allows a tiny bit of gasoline and lots of air to enter into d cylinder.
The compression stroke: the piston moves again to compress the air.
The combustion stroke: Once the cylinder contents are compressed, the engine sparks and gasolines explodes moving the piston back down.
The Exhaust stroke: Finally, the piston moves again and opens the exhaust valve so, the exhaust fumes from the car travels out of the tail pipe.
WEEK 8: Friday, 10th November 2023
TOPIC : Brake System
This was the last topic the students were introduced to in automobile engineering for first term of 2023/2024 session. The simple function of the brake in an automobile is to control the vehicle. It stops the vehicle from colliding with any object that is on it’s way
There are different types of brakes and they are:
1. Foot brakes
2. Hand brakes
3. Mechanical brakes
4. Vacuum brakes
5. Air brakes
6. Power brakes
7. Hydraulic brakes
8. Electric brakes
9. Internal expanding brakes
Thank you for viewing this write- up. Next is the week by week note on Civil Engineering elective.