Duke University 2009-2010 - Office of the Registrar - Duke University

of municipal refuse. Major design project in solid waste management. Prerequisite: Civil Engineering 124L or consent
of instructor. Instructor: Staff. 3 units. C-L: Environment 248
249. Control of Hazardous and Toxic Waste. Engineering solutions to industrial and municipal hazardous waste
problems. Handling, transportation, storage, and disposal technologies. Biological, chemical, and physical processes.
Upgrading abandoned disposal sites. Economic and regulatory aspects. Case studies. Consent of instructor required.
Instructor: Peirce. 3 units.
250. Environmental Microbiology. Fundamentals of microbiology and biochemistry as they apply to environmental
engineering. General topics include cell chemistry, microbial metabolism, bioenergetics, microbial ecology and
pollutant biodegradation. Prerequisites: CE124L or graduate standing or consent of the instructor. Instructor: Gunsch.
3 units.
251. Engineering Analysis and Computational Mechanics. Mathematical formulation and numerical analysis of
engineering systems with emphasis on applied mechanics. Equilibrium and eigenvalue problems of discrete and
distributed systems; properties of these problems and discretization of distributed systems in continua by the trial
functions with undetermined parameters. The use of weighted residual methods, finite elements, and finite differences.
Prerequisite: senior or graduate standing. Instructor: Dolbow and Laursen. 3 units.
252. Buckling of Engineering Structures. An introduction to the underlying concepts of elastic stability and buckling,
development of differential equation and energy approaches, buckling of common engineering components including
link models, struts, frames, plates, and shells. Consideration will also be given to inelastic behavior, postbuckling, and
design implications. Prerequisite: Civil Engineering 131L or consent of instructor. Instructor: Virgin. 3 units. C-L:
Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science 252
254. Introduction to the Finite Element Method. Investigation of the finite element method as a numerical technique
for solving linear ordinary and partial differential equations, using rod and beam theory, heat conduction, elastostatics
and dynamics, and advective/diffusive transport as sample systems. Emphasis placed on formulation and programming
of finite element models, along with critical evaluation of results. Topics include: Galerkin and weighted residual
approaches, virtual work principles, discretization, element design and evaluation, mixed formulations, and transient
analysis. Prerequisites: a working knowledge of ordinary and partial differential equations, numerical methods, and
programming in FORTRAN or MATLAB. Instructor: Dolbow and Laursen. 3 units. C-L: Mechanical Engineering and
Materials Science 254
255. Nonlinear Finite Element Analysis. Formulation and solution of nonlinear initial/boundary value problems using
the finite element method. Systems include nonlinear heat conduction/diffusion, geometrically nonlinear solid and
structural mechanics applications, and materially nonlinear systems (for example, elastoplasticity). Emphasis on
development of variational principles for nonlinear problems, finite element discretization, and equation-solving
strategies for discrete nonlinear equation systems. Topics include: Newton-Raphson techniques, quasi-Newton iteration
schemes, solution of nonlinear transient problems, and treatment of constraints in a nonlinear framework. An
independent project, proposed by the student, is required. Prerequisite: CE/ME 254 or consent of instructor. Instructor:
Laursen. 3 units. C-L: Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science 255
256. Computational Methods for Evolving Discontinuities. Presents an overview of advanced nomenical methods for
the treatment of engineering problems such as brittle and ductile failure and solid-liquid phase transformations in pure
substances. Analytical methods for arbitrary discontinuities and interfaces are reviewed, with particular attention to the
derivation of jump conditions. Partition of unity and level set methods. Prerequisites: CE 254, CE 255, or instructor
consent. Instructor: Dolbow. 3 units.
260. Vadose Zone Hydrology. Transport of fluids, heat, and contaminants through unsaturated porous media.
Understanding the physical laws and mathematical modeling of relevant processes. Field and laboratory measurements
of moisture content and matric potential. Prerequisites: Civil Engineering 122L and Mathematics 108, or consent of
instructor. Instructor: Kabala. 3 units.
262. Analytical Models of Subsurface Hydrology. Reviews the method of separation of variables, surveys integral
transforms, and illustrates their application to solving initial boundary value problems. Three parts include: mathematical
and hydrologic fundamentals, integral transforms and their philosophy, and detailed derivation via integral
transforms of some of the most commonly used models in subsurface hydrology and environmental engineering.
Discussion and use of parameter estimation techniques associated with the considered models. Prerequisites:
Mathematics 108 and either Civil Engineering 122L or 123L, or consent of instructor. Instructor: Kabala. 3 units.
263. Multivariable Control. 3 units. C-L: Electrical and Computer Engineering 263, Mechanical Engineering and
Materials Science 263
264. Physico-Bio-Chemical Transformations. Surveys of a selection of topics related to the interaction between fluid
flow (through channels or the porous media) and physical, chemical, and biochemical transformations encountered in
environmental engineering. Numerous diverse phenomena, including solute transport in the vicinity of chemically
reacting surfaces, reverse osmosis, sedimentation, centrifugation, ultrafiltration, rheology, microorganism population
dynamics, and others will be presented in a unifying mathematical framework. Prerequisites: Civil Engineering 122L
and Mathematics 108, or consent of instructor. Instructor: Kabala. 3 units.
Departments, Programs, and Course Offerings 110