Power Plant Design
Power Plant Design
Common Course ID: MAE/ME-336 Power Plant Design
Abstract: This open textbook is being utilized in a mechanical engineering course for undergraduate students by Dr. Paul O. Ayegba at CSU Long Beach. The open textbook provides analysis of various thermodynamic cycles, internal combustion engines, thermodynamics property relations, chemistry of combustions among other topics related to the course. The main motivation to adopt an open textbook was its suitability and open access. Most students access the open textbook in digital format.
Course Name and ID: Power Plant Design MAE 336
Brief Description of course highlights: The course cover topics on the design of power production systems, including steam power plants, gas turbines and auxiliary power units. Survey of alternate power sources including wind, solar, geothermal, ocean thermal and biomass. These exiting topics are shaping the ways energy is produced in an efficient and environmentally sustainable manner. They’ll provide you with skills to succeed in energy related career pathways as well as other engineering and non-engineering career pathways. Some of the topics might spark innovative thinking leading to groundbreaking energy technologies.
Student population: 35 x 2 = 70 (~50 males and ~20 females).
Course Prerequisites: MAE-330, Engineering Thermodynamics-I
Learning or student outcomes:
ABET Student Outcomes: The course satisfies following ABET student outcomes:
- an ability to identify, formulate, and solve complex engineering problems by applying principles of engineering, science, and mathematics
- an ability to apply engineering design to produce solutions that meet specified needs with consideration of public health, safety, and welfare, as well as global, cultural, social, environmental, and economic factors
Course Objectives: Help students to learn Design of power production systems, including steam power plants, internal combustion engines, gas turbines and auxiliary power units, gas power cycles, vapor and combined power cycles, refrigeration cycles and heat pumps, thermodynamics of non-reactive and reactive gas mixtures, combustion, thermodynamics of high-speed fluid flow, survey of alternative power sources.
Course Topics by week and Chapters in OER Textbook – Applied Thermodynamics by Onkar Singh
Week | Topics | Chapter |
1-2 | Review of Engineering Thermodynamic Principles | 1-4 |
2-4 | Gas Power Cycles, Combustion Engines | 9, 17 |
5 | Midterm 1 |
|
5-6 | Vapor and Combined Power Cycles, Design of Steam and other Power Plants (wind, solar, geothermal, ocean thermal and biomass) | 8, 14 |
7-8 | Refrigeration Cycles and Heat Pumps | 18 |
9 | Midterm 2 |
|
9 | Thermodynamic Property Relations | 6,7 |
11 | Spring Break (March 30 – April 5) |
|
10,12 | Gas Mixtures, Gas-Vapor Mixtures and Air-Conditioning, Thermodynamics of Non-Reactive Gas Mixtures | Notes |
13-14 | Chemical Reactions, Thermodynamics of Reactive Mixtures, Combustion | 10 |
15-16 | Thermodynamics of High-Speed Fluid Flow Compressible Flow, Turbomachinery | Notes |
17 | Final Exams (https://www.csulb.edu/student-records/final-exam-schedule) |
|
Textbook or OER/Low cost Title: Applied Thermodynamics by Onkar Singh
Brief Description: The open textbook provides analysis of various thermodynamic cycles, internal combustion engines, thermodynamics property relations, chemistry of combustions among other topics related to power plant design.
Please provide a link to the resource https://csu-lb.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/fulldisplay?docid=alma991067607560102901&context=L&vid=01CALS_ULB:01CALS_ULB&search_scope=NZ_IZ_CI&tab=Everything&lang=en&lang=en.
Authors: Onkar Singh
Student access: University Library.
Supplemental resources: N.A.
Cost savings from that of a traditional textbook. ~$70 x 70 = $ 4900
License:
Interlibrary loan electronic: Permitted (interpreted)
Course Pack Electronic: Permitted (interpreted)
Course Reserve Print: Permitted (interpreted)
Course Reserve Note: Academic Complete contains all unlimited simultaneous user access titles and course reserves use is allowed.
OER/Low Cost Adoption Process
Provide an explanation or what motivated you to use this textbook or OER/Low Cost option. Improve student access to the materials.
How did you find and select the open textbook for this course? I consulted librarian (Jessica McBridge), AL$ facilitator (Chad Harris) and browsed OER sites (Merlot and LibreText)
Sharing Best Practices: I found the MIT OER collections are very helpful for a number of my mechanical engineering courses e.g. Engineering Thermodynamics, Heat Transfer Systems Design, Power Plant Design, Advanced Fluids Dynamics.
Describe any key challenges you experienced, how they were resolved and lessons learned. The OER material I adopted for my Power Plant Course did not cover all the topics in the course. I included instructor's notes in the syllabus to make up for this and I also included an additional OER textbook as a recommended text (ENGINEERING THERMODYNAMICS International edition with SI units by OLIVIER CLEYNEN)
Dr. Paul O. Ayegba
Assistant Professor CSU Long Beach. I am a thermo-fluids professor at CSULB. I teach engineering thermodynamics, power plant design, heat transfer system design, propulsion, advanced heat transfer, advanced fluid dynamics, phase change and interfacial phenomena.
https://www.csulb.edu/college-of-engineering/mechanical-aerospace-engineering/page/dr-paul-onubi-ayegba
Since joining California State University, Long Beach as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, I have been deeply committed to delivering high-quality, inclusive, and research-informed instruction that supports student success across undergraduate and graduate levels. My teaching philosophy emphasizes conceptual understanding, problem-solving, and the application of theory to real-world engineering systems, particularly in the areas of thermal-fluids, energy systems, and phase-change phenomena.