3 credits
Spring 2026 Lecture Distance Learning Lower Division
This course includes applications of thermal science and energy fundamentals to civil engineering topics. Emphasis is placed on fundamental concepts of properties of materials, work, heat, internal energy, entropy, equilibrium, and relations derived from the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Example applications include: power plants; fluid flow in ducts/pipes; thermal properties of building/construction materials and processes; geothermal systems; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) processes; energy balances in buildings; refrigeration; hydroelectric power; contaminant transport in air, water, and soil; climate change; the urban heat island effect; and energy use in the transportation sector.
Learning Outcomes1Explain the principles of mass and energy conservation and their use in civil engineering applications.
2Evaluate thermodynamic systems and several forms of work, energy, and heat transfer.
3Apply conservation of mass and energy for closed systems and control volume processes.
4Explain the second law of thermodynamics, entropy changes, and device efficiencies.
Prerequisites
made by Purdue students.