MECHENG 715 : Building Services

Engineering

2023 Semester Two (1235) (15 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Principles and practice of heating, ventilation, air-conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R), psychrometry, heating/cooling loads, mass transfer and air quality, refrigeration/heat pump systems, cooling towers, pumps, fans, valves, pipes and ducts.

Course Overview

CONTENT:
  1.  Course overview, aims and objectives. (1 hr)
  2.  Revision and Basic Theory (2 hrs)
  3.  Hot water heating system, pipe flow and pipe sizing (3 hrs)
  4.  HVAC systems, air distribution and duct sizing (3 hrs)
  5.  Pumps and fans (5 hrs)
  6.  Control systems and strategies (4 hrs)
  7.  Natural ventilation (If time permits)
  8.  Buildings, human comfort, health, cost and environment (2 hrs)
  9.  Psychrometry (2 hrs)
  10.  Space heating and cooling systems: air-conditioners, chillers, cooling towers, heat pumps, heaters, thermal loads (5 hrs)
  11.  Refrigeration cycles (4 hrs)
  12.  Insulation, humidity (2 hrs)
  13.  Energy and cost analysis (3 hrs)

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: MECHENG 325

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 1: Disciplinary Knowledge and Practice
Capability 2: Critical Thinking
Capability 3: Solution Seeking
Capability 4: Communication and Engagement
Capability 6: Social and Environmental Responsibilities

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Analyse, evaluate and design a duct network for an HVAC or fluid transfer system. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2)
  2. Analyse, evaluate and design a pipe network with its components. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2)
  3. Analyse and evaluate various types of fan or pump. (Capability 1.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
  4. Analyse, evaluate and design an appropriate control strategy for a particular HVAC situation. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
  5. Understand and evaluate human comfort and its effect on human health. (Capability 1.1 and 6.1)
  6. Understand and analyse the properties of moist air. (Capability 1.1, 2.1 and 3.1)
  7. Analyse and evaluate a vapour compression refrigeration system. (Capability 1.1, 3.1, 6.1 and 6.2)
  8. Analyse and evaluate various types of HVAC systems. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 3.1 and 3.2)
  9. Analyse and evaluate the energy usage and costs of building services components. (Capability 1.1, 2.1, 3.2, 4.3, 6.1 and 6.2)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Quizzes 20% Individual Coursework
Laboratories 40% Individual Coursework
Final Exam 40% Individual Coursework
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Quizzes
Laboratories
Final Exam

Students must sit the exam to pass the course. Otherwise, a DNS (did not sit) result will be returned.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard  15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 36 hours of lectures, 74 hours of reading and thinking about the content, and 40 hours of work on assessments.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is required at scheduled activities including labs to complete/receive credit for components of the course.
Lectures will be available as recordings. Other learning activities including tutorials/labs may not be available as recordings.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

Recommended Reading:
  1. Y A Cengel & M A Boles, Thermodynamics: An engineering approach, 6th Ed., McGraw Hill, 2008. 
  2. D V Chadderton, Building Services Engineering, 6th Ed., Routledge, 2013.
  3. T L Bergman, A S Lavine, F P Incropera and D P DeWitt, Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer, 7th Ed., Wiley, 2011.
  4. F M White, Fluid Mechanics, 8th Ed. in SI units, McGraw-Hill, 2016.

Health & Safety

Students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

MDLS Labs - Safety induction mandatory

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Overall, the students liked the course. So, there will not be any major changes to it. 


Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed against online source material using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.