Study-Unit Description

Study-Unit Description


CODE ENR0011

 
TITLE Engineering Technology

 
UM LEVEL 00 - Mod Pre-Tert, Foundation, Proficiency & DegreePlus

 
ECTS CREDITS 5

 
DEPARTMENT Faculty of Engineering

 
DESCRIPTION The study-unit introduces the student to the practical aspects of engineering technology, the instrumentation used in various engineering laboratories as well as help students apply theoretical knowledge to design and build simple engineering systems. The unit will be delivered through a mix of demonstrations and hands-on workshops and will provide a broad overview of different engineering fields.

Study-unit Aims:

The study-unit aims to provide students with practical exposure to work practices in electrical and mechanical engineering. The unit aims to introduce the student to health and safety practices and procedures, various instrumentation and data acquisition techniques. The study-unit aims at giving the students exposure to design and building electrical and mechanical systems.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Knowledge & Understanding
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Explain the regulations governing electrical installations in Malta;
2. Describe the types of electrical installations, switchgear, wiring, earthing and testing procedures;
3. Describe the equipment needed for performing various electrical measurements;
4. Describe the most commonly used cables in electrical installations;
5. Describe the basic circuit elements and calculate current, voltage and power;
6. Apply circuit analysis techniques such as Kirchoff’s laws and Ohm’s law;
7. Describe time-varying signals in relation to electronic circuits;
8. Explain in simple terms the properties of different electronic components such as resistors, capacitors, semiconductor devices, logic gates and special ICs;
9. Describe various signals & systems encountered in engineering;
10. Explain the purpose of system modelling for simulation and control;
11. Discuss mathematical tools used for signal processing and to build models;
12. Classify and describe control systems and their application;
13. Describe what information is acquired from the most basic material testing techniques such as tensile, impact, bending, hardness, and fatigue testing;
14. Explain stress and strain;
15. Determine the mechanical properties of materials (Ductility, Young’s modulus, Yield strength, Tensile strength, Resilience and Toughness) from stress-strain curves;
16. Select appropriate equipment to determine a number of mechanical and physical properties;
17. Describe the concept of friction and ways by which it can be reduced;
18. Describe how the resistance to indentation damage of a material could be determined;
19. Describe the energy levels within the atom and how they could be used for chemical compostional analysis;
20. Describe the basic aspects of fabrication processes and production systems;
21. Describe the fundamental aspects of tool wear and cutting tool technology;
22. Select appropriate processes for generating different simple parts;
23. Select appropriate cutting tools for turning and milling simple parts;
24. Explain the reason for a number of details and configurations included in the structural design of a mechanical component;
25. Explain the use of different types of sensors used in experiments;
26. Get first hand experience of engineer's work in industry.

2. Skills
By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to:

1. Design and carry out a simple electrical installation in accordance with the relevant regulations;
2. Differentiate between types of circuits, switchgear and cables;
3. Interpret testing results of an electrical installation;
4. Measure current and power flows;
5. Simulate simple circuits within a circuit simulation software;
6. Build simple circuits and take measurements using laboratory tools such as oscilloscope, function generator, power supplies and digital multimeter;
7. Use block diagrams to represent systems;
8. Simulate basic system models in MATLAB & SIMULINK;
9. Identify and use basic sensors and lab equipment to measure signals;
10. Write very basic programs for PLCs and educational robots;
11. Perform bench fitting and basic metrology;
12. Use a lathe to turn simple parts;
13. Perform basic sample preparation for metallographic observation;
14. Perform basic microstructural observations using an optical microscope;
15. Conduct micro- and macro- hardness test;
16. Perform tensile testing of materials and determine the mechanical properties from the test results;
17. Give a simple qualitative interpretation to chemical analysis data obtained using Energy dispersive spectroscopy;
18. Measure the dynamic coefficient of friction between different materials in sliding contact;
19. Design and fabricate a small mechanical structural component in order to achieve a given function using commonly found materials;
20. Use specific sensors to record experimental information.

Main Text/s and any supplementary readings:

Main texts

- Ridley, Channing, Ridley, John R., & Channing, John. (1999). Workplace safety (Safety at work series). Butterworths-Heinemann.
- Erickson, K. (2016). Programmable logic controllers : An emphasis on design and application (3rd ed.). Dogwood Valley P.
- Driscoll, T. (2009). Learning MATLAB. SIAM.
- O'Malley, J. (1992). Schaum's outline of theory and problems of basic circuit analysis. (2nd ed., Schaum's outline series). McGraw-Hill.
- Golnaraghi F., Kuo B.C., (2009). Automatic Control Systems (9th Ed.), Wiley.
- Requirements for Electrical Installations BS 7671:2018 (IET Wiring Regulations 18th Edition)

 
STUDY-UNIT TYPE Practical

 
METHOD OF ASSESSMENT
Assessment Component/s Assessment Due Sept. Asst Session Weighting
Logbook SEM2 No 100%

 
LECTURER/S Edward Abela
Alexandra Bonnici
Sophie Briffa
Marvin Bugeja
Duncan Camilleri
Saviour Camilleri
Tracey Camilleri
Evan Joe Dimech
Simon G. Fabri
Mario Farrugia

 

 
The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints.
Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice.
It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years.

https://www.um.edu.mt/course/studyunit