(This lab is administered collaboratively with the Department of Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering.)

The Thermal/Fluids Laboratory gives students the opportunity to demonstrate and apply the concepts of thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and heat transfer to laboratory experiments aimed at the design, development, and analysis of engineering products. Students learn data reduction and analysis procedures while using working models and related software to conduct experimental engineering studies of energy processes.

This laboratory serves Fluid Mechanics (MME/CPB 313), Engineering Thermodynamics (MME/CPB 314), Engineering Thermodynamics II (MME 414), and Heat Transfer (MME/CPB 403), which are part of a Design Thread that integrates modeling with design throughout the curriculum. The development of this laboratory is shared jointly between the Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and the Department of Chemical, Paper, and Biomedical Engineering.

Considerable progress was made in 2007 with the addition of eight pieces of equipment including a dynamometer, thermal imager, scaled steam turbine plant, pump demonstrator, subsonic wind tunnel and gas turbine display. In addition, an internal combustion engine, exhaust gas analyzer and several fluid and thermal measuring devices were obtained for capstone design projects. In 2014 and 2015, two new pieces of equipment were purchased—namely, a humidity measurement bench unit and a refrigeration laboratory demonstration unit.