Hello, if you guys are interested and curious to know what you will be studying in mechanical engineering and where you will be applying your knowledge then this blog is for you.
As a student of mechanical engineering I was always curious and interested from start of my engineering studies that why a mechanical engineer has to study particular subject, where and how studied subjects will be helpful for him. what will be the application of these subjects and how these subjects should be studied and applied in the real world. If you have the same questions in mind then let us explore the subjects and then understand their importance, one by one.
As a student of mechanical engineering everybody learns more or less of following subjects:
Every engineer is a mathematician first and then an engineer. Mathematics is the language of technology enthusiast. Yes, it is true! Mathematics is the one of the fundamental subjects of every engineering stream. Study of mathematics helps to understand how the engineering concepts are derived and how mathematical tools can be used to solve engineering problems. Generally speaking, for any research and development work there is a need of mathematical tool to interpret the results, to carry out the analysis and to develop the possible approach for problem solving.
It is the first language of every mechanical engineer. An engineer communicates, expresses his ideas, his work through the language of engineering drawings. Engineering graphics and engineering drawings are one of the most fundamental and essential subjects for every engineer. Without knowledge of this subject mechanical engineer can not work in field. This subject teaches how to draw a machine. How to read and understand the information through drawings. How to interpret and understand tolerances; concepts like concentricity, run out, etc. In every industry they use engineering drawings for communication and representation of design concepts, production, structural analysis, etc. An engineering student should spend a good amount of time and master this subject as this is one of the very interesting and widely used subjects in engineering field.
Applied mechanics is the first subject in mechanical engineering curriculum which introduces the basic concepts about the force,moments, stress, rigid body, centroid, center of gravity, friction, etc . In this subject basically we learn how to calculate resultant of the all forces applied on a rigid body, to resolve forces in its directional components. We learn to draw FBD (free body diagrams). In short it is the subject where we explore the type and effects of applied forces on the body and their effects resulting the motion , friction, displacement etc.
Fluid mechanics is about study of forces acting on fluid and its behavior. This subject covers the understanding of properties of commonly used fluids (like air, water), variation of these properties with respect to the external conditions applied (pressure, temperature, externally applied forces). The subject is broadly divided into study of fluid at static (fluid statics) and fluid in motion (Fluid dynamics). The subject also introduces the principles and governing equations to design and understand the working of fluid machines and structures like pipe/channel design, hydraulic turbines, hydraulic pumps, etc.
Thermodynamics is about heat and work interaction and its governing laws. This subject deals with the learning obtained through observations and obvious conclusions about how the heat and work energy conversions happen. In this subject we learn about theoretical concepts about heat engines, refrigerators, types of power generation cycles (Otto cycle, Diesel cycle, Rankine cycle, ), types of work consuming cycles (refrigeration cycles, vapor absorption cycles ). We learn about conservation of energy principle, its applications; We learn about concepts about limitations of maximum possible work extraction from any heat source. (Second law of thermodynamics, Availability, Exergy, entropy etc.)
Thermodynamics cover the basics of heat and work interaction but it does not answer the question for how much heat transfer is required with respect to time. Or, at what rate heat should be given to achieve desired output. Heat transfer and mass transfer covers these topics along with laws of heat transfer and mass transfer. In heat transfer basically we learn how does heat is carried through different mediums (solids and fluids, heat transfer at boundary of solids and fluids), radiation. In addition we learn to design heat different types of transfer units (heat exchanger), we learn about heat transfer during condensation and boiling phenomenon. In mass transfer we explore about the diffusion of the mass and laws related with mass transfer. The knowledge of heat transfer is very important to design any thermal equipment.
mechanical engineer thinks about this possibility. This is one of the most interesting subjects for any mechanical engineer. Here we learn some practical knowledge about how does engine really works. How does fuel is burnt in combustion chamber to produce tremendous power which propels automobile and make the world move at its own speed. we learn about how automobile bodies, transmission drives, cabin arrangement, exhaust gas handling systems are designed differently for differnt automobiles as per their applications and utility. It also introduces us the recent trends in the market and new technologies that will be coming in soon, which will change the future of automobile sector globally.
Here we learn about machines and technologies used for production of engineered products. This subject covers the theory of metal cutting, types of machining processes, calculation of time, cost, labor, equipment, forces induces for carrying out any production activity. We also learn some of the non conventional ways of machining which includes, electric discharge machining, chemical machining, water jet machining, ultra sonic, laser, abrasive machining.
This is one of the essential streams in mechanical engineering for ensuring accuracy, precision and quality of the product . Quality is a relevant term in a sense, that it is relevant to your customer satisfaction and capability of maintaining the product quality at your end. In this subject we learn how to use measuring instruments, their types, least counts, measurement errors, standards of measuring instruments and units etc. Also we learn quality assurance tools and techniques.
- Engineering mathematics.
- Engineering graphics and drawing.
- Numerical Methods.
- Applied mechanics.
- Strength of materials.
- Theory of machines.
- Design of machines.
- Fluid mechanics.
- Hydraulic and Pneumatic machines.
- Thermodynamics.
- Heat and mass transfer.
- Automobile Engineering.
- Material science.
- Production engineering.
- Manufacturing technology.
- Industrial Engineering & Management.
- Metrology and quality control.
- Engineering Mathematics:

- Engineering Drawing:

- Applied Mechanics:

- Strength of Materials (SOM):
- Theory of machines (TOM):
- Design of machine (DOM) :
- Fluid Mechanics:

- Hydraulic and pneumatic machinery:
- Thermodynamics:

- Heat and mass transfer:

- Automobile engineering:

- Material science:
- Production engineering:

- Manufacturing Technology:
- Metrology and Quality control.

- Industrial engineering and management:
- At least 1 CAD Sofware like: Inventor, Auto CAD, Solidworks, CATIA, CREO, Etc.
- Matlab.
- Coding softwares like C.C++, Python.
- Any one structural analysis / CFD software like ANSYS, Comsol, Star CCM, etc.
- MS Excel and MS Words. (You may think Everybody knows, but learn them properly).