mechlab 0.2.4

Computational Mechanical Engineering Toolkit

MechLab

MechLab is an open-source Python library for mechanical engineering computations, providing a unified, modular, and extensible toolkit for students, researchers, and practicing engineers.

It brings together widely used scientific libraries under a clean, engineering-focused API for:

mechanics thermodynamics fluid mechanics control systems numerical & symbolic computation

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Features

• Mechanics (statics & dynamics)
• Thermodynamics utilities (properties, processes, cycles)
• Fluid mechanics calculations (dimensionless numbers, flow relations)
• Control systems analysis
• Symbolic & numerical computation
• Modular and extensible architecture
• Sphinx-based documentation with API reference

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Installation

Install directly from PyPI:

pip install mechlab

Using uv (recommended):

uv pip install mechlab

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Quick Start

from mechlab.thermodynamics import enthalpy_TP

h = enthalpy_TP(
    fluid="Water",
    T=500,        # Temperature [K]
    P=3e6         # Pressure [Pa]
)

print(f"Enthalpy: {h:.2f} J/kg")

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Package Structure

mechlab/
│
├── mechanics/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── statics/
│   │   ├── stress.py
│   │   └── strain.py
│   └── dynamics/
│       ├── linear_motion.py
│       ├── rectilinear_motion.py
│       └── motion_3d.py
│
├── mscience/              # Material science
│
├── thermodynamics/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   ├── properties.py
│   └── cycles.py
│
├── fluid_mechanics/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── dimensionless.py
│
├── control_systems/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── linear.py
│
├── utils/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── constants.py
│
└── __init__.py

Dependencies

MechLab is built on top of proven scientific Python libraries:

numpy scipy sympy control fluids CoolProp pint matplotlib

All dependencies are installed automatically.

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Design Philosophy

• Engineering-first API (clear physical meaning)
• Readable code over premature optimization
• Modular design — subject areas are independent
• Extensible — easy to add new models & correlations
• Documented — API reference generated directly from code

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Roadmap

• Rankine, Otto, Diesel cycles
• Pipe flow & heat exchanger modules
• Full unit-aware API using Pint
• Validation against textbook examples
• Interactive Jupyter notebooks
• Hosted documentation website

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Development Setup (Contributors)

Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/sewaksunar/mechlab.git
cd mechlab

Create a virtual environment and install dependencies with uv:

uv venv
uv pip install -e .

Build documentation:

cd docs
uv run sphinx-build source build

Run tests:

pytest

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Contributing

Contributions are welcome!

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Open a Pull Request

Please follow:

• PEP-8 style
• Clear docstrings
• Basic tests for new features

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Documentation

The documentation is built using Sphinx with autodoc support.

Build locally:

cd docs
uv run sphinx-build source build

Then open:

docs/build/index.html

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

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Author

Sewak Sunar Mechanical Engineering Enthusiast & Python Developer

GitHub: https://github.com/sewaksunar

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Acknowledgements

Inspired by mechanical engineering textbooks and the open-source scientific Python ecosystem.

If you find MechLab useful, please ⭐ the repository on GitHub!

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