ME 139L Experimental Heat Transfer, Spring 2015

Course Syllabus
Unique #s: 17735, 17740, 17745, 17750, 17755, 17760, 17765, 17770, 17775, 17780, 17785,
17790, 17795, 17800, 17805
Course Instructor:
Prof. Li Shi, Office: ETC 7.140, Tel: 512-471-3109, E-mail:
lishi@mail.utexas.edu
Instructor Office Hours: Tuesday 3:00-4:00 PM in ETC 7.140 and by appointment
Lab Teaching Assistants and Office Hours:
Teach Assistant
Steffen Bickle
Daniel Pinero
Jihoon Jeong
Manasa Gadde
Patrick Jurney
Sajjad Sadeghi Neshat

Office Hours &

Room #
Tues 11-12PM, ETC
17805,17795
2.130
Weds. 1-2PM, ETC
17745,17760
T-Room
Tues 12-1PM, ETC
17780,17790,17800 7.148D
Tues 11-12pm, ETC
17735,17750,17765 T-Room
Mon 2-3 PM, ETC
17740,17770
7.144
Mon 12-1pm T17755,17775,17785 Room
Section Unique #

Email:
steffen.bickle@gmail.com
daniel.pinero.3@gmail.com
jihoonjeong@utexas.edu
mgadde@utexas.edu
jurney4@gmail.com
ssneshat@gmail.com

Text: Bergman, Lavine, Incropera, DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 7th
Edition, John Wiley & Sons, 2011 (same as for 339)
Course web page: Course documents including prelab assignments and lab descriptions will be
posted on Canvas (http://canvas.utexas.edu/), which requires login with UT EID.
Course Description: ME139L is a laboratory course that supports the fundamentals taught in
the ME 339 heat transfer theory course. Laboratory exercises include practical studies of
measurement techniques for conduction, convection, and radiation heat transfer processes.
Particular emphasis is placed on thermal measurements including the use of thermocouples,
thermistors, resistance temperature detectors, and infrared cameras, and the applications of these
thermal measurement techniques for industrial and research problems. The course is focused on
learning sound experimental methods, understanding the mechanisms underlying thermal
measurements, and uncertainty analysis.
Prerequisite or Co-requisite: ME 339
Lectures: Weekly lectures are offered in RLM 4.102 on Monday 3-4 PM per the schedule
attached below. The lectures serve to introduce the content and requirement of each lab exercise,
discuss the associated measurement methods, and address questions on pre-lab exercise and lab
reports.

Labs: ME139L consists of five lab sessions to be conducted according to the schedule provided
below. Labs are held in ETC 1.204 according to the published schedule for each Unique
numbered section. The labs are conducted in teams of two to four students.

Schedule:
Week of

Lecture

Lab

January 26

Introduction and Temperature

Measurements

No Lab

February 2

Temperature Sensors

Lab 1: Characteristics of Temperature

Sensors

February 9

Temperature Measurement
No Lab
Errors and Infrared Thermometry

February 16

Measurements of Thermal
Conductivity, Contact Thermal
Resistance and Surface Heat
Loss

Lab 2: Gas Temperature and Solid

Thermal Conductivity Measurements

February 23

No Lecture

No Lab

March 2

Heat Capacity Measurements

and Thermal Energy Storage
Systems

Lab 3: Transient Measurements of

Heat Capacity and Thermal Energy
Storage

March 9

Thermal Measurements in a
Flow

No Lab

March 23

Convection Measurements on a
Flat Plate

Lab 4: Convection Measurements on

a Flat Plate

March 30

Convection Measurements
across Cylinders

No Lab

April 6

No Lecture

Lab 5: Convection Measurements

across Cylinders

April 13

Review

No Lab

April 20

Practice exam problems

No lab (submit Lab 5 report during

the lab meeting time)

April 27

Exam

No Lab

May 3

No Lecture

No Lab

Prelab Preparation Assignments and Lab Reports: Before each lab, the students are required
to study lab instructions and complete the pre-lab assignment, which will be posted on the course
website a week prior to each lab. Pre-lab assignments are due to the lab TA at the beginning of
2

each lab session. Lab reports are due to the lab TA two weeks after each lab meeting, usually
during the subsequent lab.
Exam: An exam will be given during the lecture of April 27 to test the students understanding
of the lab content and associated thermal measurement techniques.
Grading: Prelab preparation assignments: 20%; Lab reports: 50%; Lab participation as
determined by Lab TAs: 10%; Exam: 20%; The +/- letter grading system will be used to assign
final grades. The final grade will be statistically adjusted to accommodate differences in grading
practices amongst TAs.
Class Policies:
1. Lecture and laboratory attendance are required.
2. Lab TAs will not allow a student to participate in a lab section without submitting the pre-lab
assignment.
3. Lab TAs will assign lab participation grades based on students attendance, punctuality, attention,
and participation of the labs. Punctuality for the lab is essential. Late arrival will result in a low grade.
4. Lab TAs will not accept late lab reports.
Additional Notes
(1) The academic honesty policy of the University of Texas at Austin will be strictly
enforced. Collaboration on pre-lab assignments and lab reports is encouraged. However, copying
pre-lab assignments and lab reports from a solution manual or another students work will be
awarded no credit and can be referred to the Dean of Students for disciplinary action.
Collaboration of any form on exams is not allowed and will be referred to the Dean of Students
for disciplinary action. To access the UT Honor Code (statement of ethics) and for an
explanation
or
example
of
what
constitutes
plagiarism
see
http://registrar.utexas.edu/catalogs/gi09-10/ch01/index.html.
(2) An engineering student must have the Deans approval to add or drop a course after the fourth
class day of a semester. Adds or drops are not approved after this date except for good cause.
Applications to drop a course after the fourth class day should be made in the Office of Student
Affairs, ECJ 2.200.
(3) Web-based, password-protected class sites are available for all accredited courses taught at
UT. Types of information that may be available within these sites are syllabi, handouts,
assignments, etc. Students who do not want their names included in electronic class rosters must
restrict their directory information in the Office of the Registrar, Main Building, Room 1. For
information
on
restricting
directory
information
see:
http://www.utexas.edu/student/registrar/catalogs/gi00-01/app/appc09.html.
(4) All students should become familiar with the official e-mail student notification policy. It is
the student's responsibility to keep the University informed as to changes in his or her e-mail
address.
Policy/
instructions
for
updating
your
e-mail
address
are
at
http://www.utexas.edu/its/policies/emailnotify.html. In this course e-mail will be used as a means
of communication with students. You will be responsible for checking your e-mail regularly for
class work and announcements.
(5) The university provides, upon request, appropriate academic adjustments for qualified
students with disabilities. Any student with a documented disability (physical or cognitive) who
requires academic accommodations should contact the Division of Diversity and Community
3

Engagement,
Services
for
Students
http://www.utexas.edu/diversity/ddce/ssd/.

with

Disabilities,

471-6259,

(6) Per the university policy, a student must notify the instructor of a pending absence at least
fourteen days prior to the date of observance of a religious holy day. If a student must miss a
class, an examination, a work assignment, or a project in order to observe a religious holy day,
the student will be given an opportunity to complete the missed work within a reasonable time
after the absence.
Knowledge, skills and abilities students should have before entering this course
Knowledge and skill in use of differential and integral calculus. Understand physical quantities
employed in Thermodynamics and Fluid Mechanics. Ability to apply basic laws of
Thermodynamics to control volume energy and mass balances. Understand the meaning of
physical quantities employed in Newtonian Mechanics. Ability to apply basic laws of Newtonian
Mechanics to compute various quantities.
Knowledge, skills and abilities students should gain from this course
Knowledge of physical processes for heat transfer and how they are applied in real devices and
systems. Ability to make thermal measurements in flows, on surfaces and within solids. Skills in
experimental planning including uncertainty analysis for experimental measurements.
Impact on subsequent courses in curriculum
Knowledge needed to understand design of thermal systems and various advance heat transfer
courses.
ABET EC2000 Program outcomes achieved:
Knowledge of and ability to apply engineering and science fundamentals.
Ability to set up and conduct experiments, and to present the results in a professional
manner.
Ability to communicate in written, oral, and graphical forms.
Ability to work in teams and apply interpersonal skills in an engineering context.