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MECH 492  Biological Fluid Dynamics  Units: 3.50  
An introductory course on biological flows across a broad range of scales from pericellular fluid flow to the beating heart. Topics range from the dynamics of classical biomedical flows, such as the circulatory and respiratory systems (e.g. wall compliance, pulsatility, and transition to turbulence) through to cellular-level motility and biopropulsion in general over a range of Reynolds numbers. Students will learn to quantify these biofluidic mechanics problems using key equations from fluid mechanics (mass conservation, Bernoulli, and generalized Bernoulli) and heat and mass transfer (convection-diffusion equation).
(Lec: 3, Lab: 0, Tut: 0.5)
Requirements: Prerequisites: MECH 241 or MREN 241, and MECH 346 or MREN 230, or permission of the instructor. Corequisites: Exclusions:  
Offering Term: W  
CEAB Units:    
Mathematics 0  
Natural Sciences 0  
Complementary Studies 0  
Engineering Science 42  
Engineering Design 0  
Offering Faculty: Smith Engineering  

Course Learning Outcomes:

  1. Solve problems involving pressure-driven internal flows with curvature, bifurcations and pulsatility.
  2. Construct mathematical models of fluid flow in biological systems.
  3. Apply the Bernoulli's equation for fluid flow in biological system.
  4. Apply the Navier-Stokes equation for quasi-steady and unsteady flow.
  5. Identify biological fluid dynamics research applied to bio propulsion systems
  6. Apply qualitative and quantitative reasoning to support real-world biomedical or biologically-inspired designs.