How are mechanical engineering and aeronautical engineering united under one faculty centered around mechanics?

The School of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering explains why mechanical engineering and aeronautical engineering are taught in one department, centered around mechanics, and discusses how the two disciplines are closely linked through dynamics, thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and solid mechanics.

 

What comes to mind when you hear the name of the Faculty of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering? When people hear the word “mechanical,” they think of robots or cars, and when they hear “aeronautical,” they think of things like airplanes and rockets. It’s hard to find a common image between cars and airplanes, except that they are transportation. So when people hear the name ‘School of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering’, they think of either ‘mechanical engineering’ or ‘aeronautical engineering’. The reason why these two seemingly unrelated majors are grouped into one faculty is that they have a lot more in common than you might think.
In English, M.E.E. is Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering. As you can see, the name suggests that it consists of two disciplines: mechanical and aeronautical. Mechanical engineering is also known as mechanical engineering in English. It’s easy to think of mechanical as a place where you learn to build things like robots. However, if you look a little closer at the word mechanical and the word mechanical, you can see that it’s not about making things, but about learning the principles of motion that allow things like robots to move. And we’re not just talking about movement, but also things like the flow of energy and the flow of heat.
In English, aeronautical engineering is spelled Aerospace Engineering. When you hear the word aviation, you might think of airplanes. However, aerospace is a combination of two words: aero and space. These two words mean air and space (or outer space). From these words, you can see that aeronautical engineering is the study of air and the study of space.
The reason why mechanical engineering, which deals with the principles of motion, and aeronautical engineering, which deals with air and space, are grouped together as a single discipline is evident in the curriculum. The biggest difference between mechanical and aeronautical engineering and other engineering disciplines, such as chemical, biological, materials, and architectural engineering, is mechanics. Mechanics is generally categorized into four main types of mechanics. These are thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, and dynamics. While all four are optional in many majors, mechanical and aerospace engineering students are required to study all four.
Mechanics is the study of forces in Chinese characters. In English, it is written as “Mechanics”. It has the same root as mechanical, which means that it’s the study of how things work. Thermodynamics is the study of how heat is generated and transferred. Fluid mechanics is the study of how a flowing fluid (liquid) behaves and is affected by the surrounding conditions. Solid mechanics is the study of how forces are distributed inside an object, how much it deforms, and when it fails, even though the forces are invisible to the eye. In the case of dynamics, it is the study of how objects move when they are actually connected to each other.
You can see that mechanics is very closely related to mechanical engineering from its English name, Mechanics. Aviation is about learning about air and space, and it’s not easy to see how it relates to mechanics. However, the following examples show that aeronautical engineering is also very much related to mechanics.

01 Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering (Source – Midjourney)

The best examples of mechanical and aerospace engineering are cars and airplanes, respectively. Let’s look at these two examples to see how mechanics is applied to each. Both cars and airplanes can move. To move, cars and airplanes have engines, which are sources of power. These engines utilize the property that heat increases volume. Because they utilize heat, they are closely related to thermodynamics.
We said that engines utilize the property of increasing volume when heat is applied, and the substance that increases in volume is air, which is a fluid. How the air flows through the engine and how it flows determines the efficiency of the engine, which is the subject of fluid dynamics. In addition to engines, airplanes and cars travel at high speeds, where they encounter a lot of air resistance. Fluid dynamics is about reducing this resistance so that they can move more efficiently.
Both cars and airplanes like to be lightweight to reduce the amount of fuel they consume. However, lighter isn’t always better, because when you make something very light, it becomes thinner, like the thickness of a steel plate, which poses a real safety issue. That’s why knowledge of solid mechanics is used to make sure that the thickness of a steel plate can be reduced and still be safe, in other words, to create a lightweight and strong structure.
Finally, we come to the application of kinematics: cars and airplanes both move. In the real world, it is important to know the exact motion of a car and especially an airplane in order to control it. Dynamics is used to understand and control this movement. Real-world mechanics is a big part of both mechanics and aeronautics, and it’s this commonality that has led to the pairing of the two disciplines into a single faculty.
Mechanical engineering and aeronautical engineering have different names and different focuses. However, they share a fundamental principle: mechanics, which is the study of understanding the mechanisms behind the properties of objects and utilizing them. They are also taught in the same faculty as core disciplines.
Mechanics, which is taught in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is not just a theory, but also essential knowledge in various fields with practical applications. For example, the field of renewable energy also utilizes the mechanics of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Fluid dynamics and solid mechanics are essential for the design and efficiency of wind turbines. Thermodynamics is also important in systems that utilize solar energy. Mechanical aeronautics is also becoming increasingly important in the space industry. Principles of dynamics and mechanics are applied in the design and control of spacecraft and the orbit calculation of satellites.
In conclusion, mechanical and aerospace engineering is the study of mechanics and its practical application. Through this discipline, students are equipped with the ability to develop innovative technologies in various fields and contribute to future technological advancements. It can be seen that mechanical and aeronautical engineering is more than just mechanics and aviation; it plays an important role in solving various engineering problems and creating new technologies.