Instructor

N. D. Ebrahimi

(Please follow this link for my contact information.)

Schedule

Office Hours

MWF 12-1

(These are walk-in; i.e., no appointment is necessary.)

Appointments are available upon request.

[Off-campus "Consulting Days:" one day per week during the semester (Tues. or Thurs.); on these days, I may be contacted by e-mail and scheduled, phone conferences only.]

Announcements

Course updates, announcements, etc. will be sent to you via your UNM e-mail account. If you prefer to receive e-mail through other accounts (addresses), you would need to forward your UNM e-mail to your preferred address. Instructions are available at "How to forward your electronic mail?"

Assignments

Homeworks will be assigned regularly.

Important note: Working diligently on assignments constitutes the best path toward doing well in exams (and, therefore, receiving a good grade in the course). It is the responsibility of the students to make sure that they gain a high level of competency with the subject through homeworks.

Pre-requisites

Topical pre-requisites: Undergraduate Vibrations and Controls; Introductory Linear Algebra

Exams

 Logistics:

·        Three (3) Semester Exams (to be given approximately around the 5th,10th, and 15th week of the semester); exact dates will be announced the week before the scheduled exam.

·         Quantitative as well as concept type

·         Range of coverage: all home works (and their supporting material) that are due before the day of exam

·         One sheet of notes (8.5 × 11.0 in., only one side) and calculators are allowed

·         Cell phones, electronic tablets, Laptops as well as all other similar electronic devices are not allowed

Note: To accommodate exam preparation by students, every effort will be made to avoid introducing new subjects during the last three class sessions before Exam III. The available class time during this particular period will be spent on activities such as resolving homeworks, one-on-one (or small-group) discussions of course topics, etc.

Class Participation

Lively class participation (including appropriate humor that is shared by all) is strongly encouraged and (indirectly) rewarded (e.g., citations in letters of recommendation, etc.).

Grades (“Curve”)

Grades (based on total numerical score) will be assigned as follows: 

If your numerical score is equal to100, your Course Grade will be an A+.

If your numerical score is smaller than 45, your Course Grade will be an F. UNM does not allow C-, D+, D, or D-  Grades for graduate students.

Note to ME 480 students: this course is one of the options of the ME Graduate Core courses at UNM. As such, this course is intended mainly as a Graduate course. Undergraduate students who choose to take this course are treated the same way as graduate students.

Optional References

Software

It is very appropriate (and in many cases, necessary) to make use of your scientific calculator and/or commercially available software (such as Matlab) in carrying out complex or tedious calculations. Examples of this type of calculations include (but not limited to): Plots, Eigen-problems, Matrix Inversions, Systems of Algebraic Equations, Differential Equations, Integration, etc.  If you do make use of such resources, be certain to mention the source (e.g., Matlab) in your work. Matlab is available at UNM computer pods as well as ME Department's computer room. For a tutorial on Matlab please visit The MathWorks.

Web-based Instructional Support

ME 480/580 Not-for-Public Web directory: This directory is available only to registered students; access will be provided at the beginning of the semester (see your UNM e-mail “Inbox” when the semester starts). In this directory, you are provided with course e-handouts as well as supplemental material (such as Answers, Exam Keys, etc.).

Outline of Contents

1. Writing Differential Equations for Engineering Systems such as Mechanical, Hydraulic, Electric, Electromechanical, Thermal, and Ecological Systems.

2. Standard Signals: Unit Step, Unit Ramp, and Unit Parabola. Mathematical Descriptions of Continuous-Time Systems: Input-Output Descriptions of Single Variable Systems (Convolution); Computation of the Impulse Response; Graphical Convolution; Transfer Functions; “Simulation” Diagrams; Concept of State; Continuous Dynamical Systems; Deriving State-Space Descriptions; Linear Transformation of State Variables; Obtaining the Transfer Function from the State-Space Description.

3. Analysis of the State Equations for Continuous-Time Systems: Time-Varying Homogeneous Case, Fundamental Matrices, and the State Transition Matrix; Time-Invariant Homogeneous Case; Time-Invariant Forced Case; System Modes and Modal Decomposition.

4. System Controllability and Observability: Controllability and Observability of Time-Invariant Systems with Distinct Eigenvalues; Direct Criteria.

5. System Stability: Equilibrium States; Stability Concepts; Stability Criteria for Zero-Input and Nonzero-Input Systems; Total Stability; Lyapunov's Direct Method.

Additional Comments

Use of cell phones (voice, text, games, etc.) and Laptops as well as all other similar electronic devices are not allowed in the classroom. Turn off and conceal these devices before entering the class room.