Thermal engineering is a branch of Mechanical Engineering, that encompasses
technologies dealing with heating and cooling systems, transfer of heat, and fluid
mechanics. In simple words, thermal engineering is a division of engineering
that deals with heating or cooling of processes, equipment, or enclosed
environments. A thermal engineer is a professional who specializes in a complex
field of engineering that focuses on thermodynamics, heat transfer, mass
transfer, and fluid mechanics.
Thermodynamics deals with conversion of heat energy into mechanical, chemical
and electrical energy as well as conversion of other energies into heat energy.
Thermal Engineers pay attention to every aspect of heat generation and its
removal in an electronics system.
Thermal engineering principles are applied in many areas, including the
electric power industry; the automobile industry; and the heating, ventilation,
and air conditioning (HVAC) industry. The principles of thermal engineering
are also crucial to the operation of vehicles. The heating and cooling
of the car is controlled by thermal management systems integrated into
the design. Thermal engineering also offers widespread application in
the area of spacecraft propulsion and in other application areas of thermal
control.
Thermal engineering is important to the design of almost any machine.
Mechanical elements and electric circuits generate heat during operation which
can often threaten the device. Cooling mechanism help regulate the machine's
internal temperature. Devices that use this principle include even computers and
car batteries.
