Autumn 2021
Prof. Avishek Ranjan
Author: Vedanth Sharma
Pre-requisite skills: Some knowledge of electromagnetism and fluid mechanics is good but not necessary
Course Content: Pre midsem the course content was mostly revision of previous electromagnetism and fluids concept and after midsem Magenetohydrodynamics is covered. —
Coure Evaluation: 3 quizzes Endsem Course Project
Motivation behind taking the course: The physics behind it is very interesting and also 30% weightage is on course project so we get a feel of practical engineering problems in this field and its analysis through simulations.
Information about Projects/Assignments: Projects were to be done in groups of two (or can be done individually) and my topic was Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster. It was the best course project I have done yet. There was constant feedback from the instructor and TA’s and they also teach us how to use ANSYS Fluent/COMSOL/Openfoam for it.
Overall Course Difficulty: 5/5
Average Time Commitment: About 3 hours/week
Attendance Policy: None as such. Instructor uploads a few videos per week, and we used to have an interactive live class where he re-iterates important concepts, solves challenging problems and also clarify our doubts if any.
General funda: Doing the course project sincerely can fetch you a decent grade as the professor is lenient with the course projects grading. Solve the practice problems sincerely to understand the concepts which will help you tackle the challenging problems in the exams.
Professor’s Teaching Style: The course content is quite mathematical but the instructor makes it very interesting by performing practical live demonstrations in class, showing related videos and explaining all the concept from the basics.
Who can take this course?: Anyone interested in understanding the interaction between fluid mechanics and electrodynamics can take this course. This course is very interdisciplinary in nature, it can be connected to plasmas physics, electric propulsion, fluid mechanics, unique battery storing devices, solar flares and even astrophysics! Any feasible topic can be taken for course project, so stduents interested in independent research may take this course.