ME 4570 — Thermal Systems Analysis and Design

4 semester hoursUndergraduateLectureusually offered: fall, springtypical days: M/W/ThBostonTraditional

Introduces theories of thermal energy transport, including conduction, convection, and thermal radiation, and the design of thermal systems. Solution methods are developed for steady-state and transient conduction problems including thermal circuit analogies, internal energy sources and extended surfaces. Convective heat transfer mechanisms are introduced and correlations to evaluate the heat transfer coefficient are discussed. Methodologies for calculating the thermal radiation heat transfer between surfaces are introduced. These theories are integrated with thermodynamics and fluid mechanics in the design of thermal systems, including heat exchangers. Includes an open-ended design project and students are expected to use computational methods throughout the course.

Prerequisites

Offering history

TermSectionsEnrolledCapacityFullOpen seats/section
Fall 202339112971%12.7
Spring 20243158158100%0.0
Fall 202429010784%8.5
Spring 2025418019891%4.5
Fall 2025211712197%2.0
Spring 2026416821977%12.8

Snapshots from scheduled scrapes — not live seat availability. "Full" can exceed 100% when sections over-enroll.

Meeting times

Share of recent sections by weekday: M 65% · T 0% · W 77% · Th 54% · F 11%

Common patterns: MWR (51% of sections), MW (14% of sections), W (13% of sections), F (11% of sections), U (8% of sections), R (3% of sections) — in patterns, R means Thursday

Professors

Fall

Spring

Percentages are each professor's average share of the season's enrolled students in recent terms.

Unlocks

ENSY 5650, ME 5680, ME 5685, ME 5690, ME 5700, MEIE 4702

Courses that list ME 4570 in their prerequisites.

Links

Official catalog (ME course descriptions) · Student reviews on RateMyHusky · All ME courses · Plan it at numap.app