ME 557Combustion 1

Units: 0.50
Faculty: Engineering
Subject: Mechanical Engineering

When it runs

Ran in 2 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

Combustion thermodynamics, introduction to chemical kinetics of combustion, combustion properties of fuels, flammability of combustible mixtures. Flame propagation mechanisms, pre-mixed and diffusional; stability of flames; introduction to combustion aerodynamics, jet flames; atomization; droplet and spray combustion. Elementary ignition concepts and theory. Basic detonation theory.

Prerequisites

Complete all of the following
- Must have completed the following:
  - ME353 - Heat Transfer 1 (0.50)
  - ME362 - Fluid Mechanics 2 (0.50)
- Students must be in level 4A or higher
- Enrolled in H-Mechanical Engineering

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
Section	Class	Enrolled	Meets
LEC 001	4992	0 / 60	W 17:30–20:20
LEC 701	2021	34 / 9999	Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

67% liked it50% easy75% useful

From 3 ratings and 2 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

A lot of derivations and equations, but interesting content.

Mar 2025 · didn’t like itOn UW Flow Remove this
The hottest course in mech eng (literally). Draws a lot from thermo and fluid mechanics, along with a bit of chemistry. Lectures were rough because it's mostly theory and the prof covered a bunch of stuff while rushing through it. Relevant stuff wasn't always clear. The midterm and final ended up being easy because of open book + internet. There's also a report that can either be based on a simulation/experiment or a literature review. Combustion is lit!

Apr 2023 · liked itOn UW Flow Remove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

2 posts and comments in 2 threads mention ME 557, April 2018 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Winter 2019

Jan 3, 2019 4B Mech | Combustion VS. Air Pollution VS. Non Metallic composite materials 4 points, 5 comments

u/fizo4: “… ME 557 - Combustion 1 ME 571 - Air Pollution ME 533 - Non metallic composite materials”

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Winter 2018

Apr 30, 2018 need some advise on 4th year mech courses 6 points, 10 comments

u/shaysura: “… ME 452 - Energy Transfer in Buildings ME 456 - Heat Transfer 2 ME 459 - Energy Conversion ME 557 - Combustion ME 567 - Fire Safety Engineering ME 571 - Air Pollution   I'm not interested in any particular specialization and am really only looking to take a few interesting …”