Six weeks of semester two have flown by, meaning there’s only six to go, and by this stage you’re probably starting to think pretty seriously about what specialisation you want to go into. So lets take a look into semester two of CHEMMAT:
CHEMMAT 232: Process Design
The worst part about this paper is that it’s our only lecture on a Friday…you can probably guess what the attendance on that day is like!
This paper is essentially about designing chemical plants. From finding reliable resources, and communicating any design concepts to other people, to the necessary design considerations, such as loading a system may be subject to (essentially mechanics, its handy to have your ENGGEN 121 course book handy for this section because it is largely statics. Don’t go forgetting everything from first year Mechanics because you’re going to need it), flow through the system, and the selecting of the appropriate material for a plant to be constructed from.
CHEMMAT 212: Energy and Processing
Thermodynamics. Lots of derivations. The first half of this course covers the first and second thermodynamic laws, and applies them to flow processes, and in the second half we look into chemical and phase equilibria for both ideal, and non-ideal systems. We do get decent notes for this course though, thankfully, and the large number of examples worked through in class, and the practice problems from the text book are definitely helpful.
CHEMMAT 213: Transfer Processes
This is the course I personally struggle with the most. CHEMMAT 213 looks at fluid mechanics and heat transfer, and we have two lectures of each module a week. So, let’s break down what each module covers:
Fluid Mechanics also starts off with a LOT of derivations. We look at properties of fluids, fluid flow types, then lots of hydrostatic forces, and how they act on bodies. Heat Transfer involves a lot of very similar equations, but taking the time to understand what’s going on with each equation definitely helps.
I know everyone says this about every single paper, but with the two different topics being taught simultaneously, you definitely want to make an effort to stay on top of the content.
ENGGEN 204: Managing Design and Communication
Being able to take a paper with no exam at the end of it must be a win, right? A large portion of your grade for this paper is based off group projects. There are definitely some thought provoking points made in lectures, and being one of the few specialisations that seem to be writing endless lab reports, chemmat students shouldn’t be particularly phased by the report writing involved in this course.
There’s obviously so much more that goes on within our courses, but if I wrote it all we’d be here forever, so don’t be afraid to ask any questions you may have.
Until next time!