Selected, peer reviewed papers from the 14th International Conference on Research and Development in Mechanical Industry, RaDMI-2014, Topola, Serbia, 18-21 September 2014

This book covers modern subjects of mechanical engineering such as nanomechanics and nanotechnology, mechatronics and robotics, computational mechanics, biomechanics, alternative energies, sustainability as well as all aspects related with mechanical engineering education. The chapters help enhance the understanding of both the fundamentals of mechanical engineering and its application to the solution of problems in modern industry. This book is suitable for students, both in final undergraduate mechanical engineering courses or at the graduate level. It also serves as a useful reference for academics, mechanical engineering researchers, mechanical, materials and manufacturing engineers, professionals in related with mechanical engineering.

Mechanical engineering is critical to the design, manufacture, and operation of small and large mechanical systems throughout the U.S. economy. This book highlights the main findings of a benchmarking exercise to rate the standing of U.S. mechanical engineering basic research relative to other regions or countries. The book includes key factors that influence U.S. performance in mechanical engineering research, and near- and longer-term projections of research leadership. U.S. leadership in mechanical engineering basic research overall will continue to be strong. Contributions of U.S. mechanical engineers to journal articles will increase, but so will the contributions from other growing economies such as China and India. At the same time, the supply of U.S. mechanical engineers is in jeopardy, because of declines in the number of U.S. citizens obtaining advanced degrees and uncertain prospects for continuing to attract foreign students. U.S. funding of mechanical engineering basic research and infrastructure will remain level, with strong leadership in emerging areas.

This volume provides valuable insight into diverse topics related to mechanical engineering and presents state-of-the-art work on sustainable development being carried out throughout the world by budding researchers and scientists. Divided into three sections, the volume covers machine design, materials and manufacturing, and thermal engineering. It presents innovative research work on machine design that is of relevance to such varied fields as the automotive industry, agriculture, and human anatomy. The second section addresses materials characterization, an important tool in assessing proper materials for application-oriented jobs, and emerging unconventional machining processes that are important in design engineering for new products and tools. The section on thermal engineering broadly covers the use of viable alternate fuels, such as HHO, biodiesel, etc., with the objective of reducing the burden on petroleum reserves and the environment.

This book, the second in the Woodhead Publishing Reviews: Mechanical Engineering Series, is a collection of high quality articles (full research articles, review articles, and cases studies) with a special emphasis on research and development materials and surface engineering and its applications. Surface engineering techniques are being used in the automotive, aircraft, aerospace, missile, electronic, biomedical, textile, petrochemical, chemical, moulds and dies, machine tools, and construction industries. Materials science is an interdisciplinary field involving the micro and nano-structure, processing, properties of materials and its applications to various areas of engineering, technology and industry. This book addresses all types of materials, including metals and alloys, polymers, ceramics and glasses, composites, nano-materials, biomaterials, etc. The relationship between micro and nano-structure, processing, properties of materials is discussed. Surface engineering is a truly interdisciplinary topic in materials science that deals with the surface of solid matter. - Written by a highly knowledgeable and well-respected experts in the field - The diversity of the subjects of this book present a range of views based on international expertise

This updated and enlarged Second Edition provides in-depth, progressive studies of kinematic mechanisms and offers novel, simplified methods of solving typical problems that arise in mechanisms synthesis and analysis - concentrating on the use of algebra and trigonometry and minimizing the need for calculus.;It continues to furnish complete coverag

This book introduces readers to essential technology assessment and forecasting tools, demonstrating their use on the basis of multiple cases. As organizations in the high-tech industry need to be able to assess emerging technologies, the book presents cases in which formal decision-making models are developed, providing a framework for decision-making in the context of technology acquisition and development. Applications of different technology forecasting tools are also discussed for a range of technologies and sectors, providing a guide to keep R&D organizations abreast of technological trends that affect their business. As such, the book offers a valuable the theoretical and practical reference guide for R&D managers responsible for emerging and future technologies.

Owing to their specialized training, engineers play a crucial role in the design and development of new products or infrastructure as well as the creation of wealth. Consequently, engineers recognize that in the performance of these functions they have a specific responsibility to take such measures as are appropriate to safeguard the environment, health, safety and well-being of the public. This book proposes a series of fifteen practical cases, integrating knowledge from different fields of the mechanical engineering discipline, along with basic knowledge in environment, occupational health and safety risk management. The cases are descriptions of a real system, it’s functioning and it’s instructions for use. The systems selected represent a broad spectrum of mechanical engineering issues or problems: fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, heating, ventilation and cooling, vibrations, dynamics, statics, failure of materials, automatic and mecatronics, hydraulics, product design, human factors, maintenance, rapid prototyping to name a few. The professional objective of the cases proposed is to design or improve the design of the described system. This book is a must to transfer knowledge to future engineers with respect to hazards resulting from their work.

This book explores the history of mechanical engineering since the Bronze Age. Focusing on machinery inventions and the development of mechanical technology, it also discusses the machinery industry and modern mechanical education. The evolution of machinery is divided into three stages: Ancient (before the European Renaissance), Modern (mainly including the two Industrial Revolutions) and Contemporary (since the Revolution in Physics, especially post Second World War). The book not only clarifies the development of mechanical engineering, but also reveals the driving forces behind it – e.g. the economy, national defense and human scientific research activities – to highlight the links between technology and society; mechanical engineering and the natural sciences; and mechanical engineering and related technological areas. Though mainly intended as a textbook or supplemental reading for graduate students, the book also offers a unique resource for researchers and engineers in mechanical engineering who wish to broaden their horizons.

Computational Methods and Production Engineering: Research and Development is an original book publishing refereed, high quality articles with a special emphasis on research and development in production engineering and production organization for modern industry. Innovation and the relationship between computational methods and production engineering are presented. Contents include: Finite Element method (FEM) modeling/simulation; Artificial neural networks (ANNs); Genetic algorithms; Evolutionary computation; Fuzzy logic; neuro-fuzzy systems; Particle swarm optimization (PSO); Tabu search and simulation annealing; and optimization techniques for complex systems. As computational methods currently have several applications, including modeling manufacturing processes, monitoring and control, parameters optimization and computer-aided process planning, this book is an ideal resource for practitioners. - Presents cutting-edge computational methods for production engineering - Explores the relationship between applied computational methods and production engineering - Presents new innovations in the field - Edited by a key researcher in the field