Teaching Mechanical Engineering
with MATLAB and Simulink

Educators teach mechanical engineering courses with MATLAB and Simulink by drawing on available course materials, onramp tutorials, and code examples. Educators can use MATLAB live scripts to create lectures that combine explanatory text, mathematical equations, code, and results. Examples are presented to demonstrate the application of MATLAB and Simulink to the analysis of problems in system dynamics, engineering mechanics, mathematical modeling, and Model-Based Design.

Below is a sample of course curricula, textbooks, educational videos, online labs, and additional tools for teaching mechanical engineering courses with MATLAB and Simulink.

Downloadable Course Materials to Help Develop and Enhance Curriculum

• Mass-Spring-Damper Systems
• A First Course on Solid Mechanics (English and Italian)
• Heat Transfer with MATLAB
• Model-Based Design Series: Basic Component Modeling
• Model-Based Design Series: Battery Systems
• Model-Based Design Series: Supervisory Control & Fault Diagnosis

Videos

• MATLAB Tech Talks are short educational videos that explore fundamental engineering concepts. These videos can help supplement instructors’ curriculum materials.
• Finite Element Analysis in MATLAB (7:33)
• Multibody Simulation with Simscape Multibody (47:31)
• Introduction to Simulink for System Modeling and Simulation (36:04)

Virtual, Remote, and Low-Cost Hardware-Based Labs

• Arduino-Based Lab Activities for MATLAB and Simulink (Professor Richard Hill from the University of Detroit Mercy demonstrates and discusses the Arduino-based lab activities in the webinar Simple and Inexpensive Hardware Experiments for the System Dynamics and Controls Curriculum.)
• Robotarium: Remote Access Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech (33:34)
• Virtual Control Labs (RWTH)

Auto Grading with MATLAB

Use MATLAB Grader to create interactive course assignments, automatically grade student work, and provide feedback:

• Dynamics Problem Collection (This MATLAB Grader collection includes problems for concepts taught in courses on dynamics of mechanical systems.)
• Automating Grading of Assignments in a MATLAB Programming Course (Duarte G.T. Antunes, Eindhoven University of Technology)

Textbooks

• Heat Transfer Principles and Applications
• Modeling and Simulation of Mechatronic Systems Using Simscape
• Kinematics and Dynamics of Mechanical Systems: Implementation in MATLAB and SimMechanics

More Mechanical Engineering books

Technical Articles and Customer Stories

• RWTH Aachen University Prepares Students for Careers in Industry
• University of Sydney Students Experience Flight Dynamics in the Variable Stability Flight Simulator
• Engaging Students in Hands-on Control System Design at University of Arizona
• Automotive Research Lab at Penn State Gives Students Practical Hardware-in-the-Loop Experience