A unique thermal-fluid science course for non-mechanical programs

Mechanical Engineering (ME) faculty members are often called upon to teach service courses to non-ME majors. In courses such as statics and strength of materials, existing ME courses work well to satisfy student needs from other departments. However, the traditional ME thermal-fluid science courses are often not a good match for the non-major. Special courses are then used to present the material to these students. This paper documents the creation of such a hybrid Thermal-Fluid Sciences course at Western Kentucky University (WKU) that has been developed to satisfy the needs of civil (CE) and electrical (EE) engineering students. The four-hour course offered each fall presents a blend of thermodynamics, heat transfer, and fluid mechanics. The course has been offered three semesters, and is still evolving. The paper also presents some of the struggles to balance a solid engineering science experience with a perceived need for coverage for the FE exam materials only. In addition, lessons learned with respect to various student-learning styles in the course are shared. The results of faculty self-assessment, student course assessment and FE exam results are presented and compared