This book gathers contributions by researchers from several countries on all major areas of robotic research, development and innovation, as well as new applications and current trends. The topics covered include: novel designs and applications of robotic systems, intelligent cooperating and service robots, advanced robot control, human-robot interfaces, robot vision systems, mobile robots, humanoid and walking robots, bio-inspired and swarm robotic systems, aerial, underwater and spatial robots, robots for ambient assisted living, medical robots and bionic prostheses, cognitive robots, cloud robotics, ethical and social issues in robotics, etc. Given its scope, the book offers a source of information and inspiration for researchers seeking to improve their work and gather new ideas for future developments. The contents reflect the outcomes of the activities of RAAD (International Conference on Robotics in Alpe-Adria-Danube Region) in 2020.

This book presents selected peer-reviewed papers presented at the International Conference on Innovative Technologies in Mechanical Engineering (ITME) 2019. The book discusses a wide range of topics in mechanical engineering such as mechanical systems, materials engineering, micro-machining, renewable energy, systems engineering, thermal engineering, additive manufacturing, automotive technologies, rapid prototyping, computer aided design and manufacturing. This book, in addition to assisting students and researchers working in various areas of mechanical engineering, can also be useful to researchers and professionals working in various allied and interdisciplinary fields.

This book provides an overview of the nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) concept for application to innovative combustion engines. Readers can use this book to become more expert in advanced combustion engine control and to develop and implement their own NMPC algorithms to solve challenging control tasks in the field. The significance of the advantages and relevancy for practice is demonstrated by real-world engine and vehicle application examples. The author provides an overview of fundamental engine control systems, and addresses emerging control problems, showing how they can be solved with NMPC. The implementation of NMPC involves various development steps, including: * reduced-order modeling of the process; * analysis of system dynamics; * formulation of the optimization problem; and * real-time feasible numerical solution of the optimization problem. Readers will see the entire process of these steps, from the fundamentals to several innovative applications. The application examples highlight the actual difficulties and advantages when implementing NMPC for engine control applications. Nonlinear Model Predictive Control of Combustion Engines targets engineers and researchers in academia and industry working in the field of engine control. The book is laid out in a structured and easy-to-read manner, supported by code examples in MATLAB (R)/Simulink (R), thus expanding its readership to students and academics who would like to understand the fundamental concepts of NMPC. Advances in Industrial Control reports and encourages the transfer of technology in control engineering. The rapid development of control technology has an impact on all areas of the control discipline. The series offers an opportunity for researchers to present an extended exposition of new work in all aspects of industrial control.

This book presents the most recent trends and concepts in power engineering, especially with regard to prosumer and civic energy generation. In so doing, it draws widely on his experience gained during the development of steam microturbines for use in small combined heat and power stations based on the organic Rankine cycle (CHP-ORC). Major issues concerning the dynamic properties of mechanical systems, in particular rotating systems, are discussed, and the results obtained when using unconventional bearing systems, presented. Modeling and analysis of radial-flow and axial-flow microturbines are addressed in detail, covering rotor analysis with different bearing systems, simulation modal analysis, and stress analysis. Furthermore, experimental studies of the dynamic properties of microturbine elements are extensively described. Interest in distributed generation and CHP-ORC is growing rapidly, and the potential market for such systems promises to be very large. This book will be of value for engineers and scientists involved in the design, modeling, operation, and diagnostics of various types of turbomachinery, especially steam microturbines.

This book gathers the proceedings of the 5th International Conference on the Industry 4.0 Model for Advanced Manufacturing (AMP 2020), held in Belgrade, Serbia, on 1-4 June 2020. The event marks the latest in a series of high-level conferences that bring together experts from academia and industry to exchange knowledge, ideas, experiences, research findings, and information in the field of manufacturing. The book addresses a wide range of topics, including: design of smart and intelligent products, developments in CAD/CAM technologies, rapid prototyping and reverse engineering, multistage manufacturing processes, manufacturing automation in the Industry 4.0 model, cloud-based products, and cyber-physical and reconfigurable manufacturing systems. By providing updates on key issues and highlighting recent advances in manufacturing engineering and technologies, the book supports the transfer of vital knowledge to the next generation of academics and practitioners. Further, it will appeal to anyone working or conducting research in this rapidly evolving field.

This book describes the design, mathematical modeling, control system development and experimental validation of a versatile mobile pipe inspection robot. It also discusses a versatile robotic system for pipeline inspection, together with an original, adaptable tracked mobile robot featuring a patented motion unit. Pipeline inspection is a common field of application for mobile robots because the monitoring of inaccessible, long and narrow pipelines is a very difficult task for humans. The main design objective is to minimize the number of robots needed to inspect different types of horizontal and vertical pipelines, with both smooth and rough surfaces. The book includes extensive information on the various design phases, mathematical modeling, simulations and control system development. In closing, the prototype construction process and testing procedures are presented and supplemented with laboratory and field experiments.

Maintaining a question-and-answer format, this second edition provides simplified means of solving nearly 200 practical problems that confront engineers involved in the planning, design, operation and maintenance of steam plant systems. Calculations pertaining to emissions, boiler efficiency, circulation and heat transfer equipment design and performance are provided. Solutions to 70 new problems are featured in this edition.

This book describes the unsteady phenomena needed to understand supersonic combustion. Following an initial chapter that introduces readers to the basic concepts in and classical studies on unsteady supersonic combustion, the book highlights recent studies on unsteady phenomena, which offer insights on e.g. interactions between acoustic waves and flames, flow dominating instability, ignition instability, flame flashback, and near-blowout-limit combustion. In turn, the book discusses in detail the fundamental mechanisms of these phenomena, and puts forward practical suggestions for future scramjet design.

This book is about mechanical design engineering, in particular design for mechanical system durability and performance density. It addresses diversified mechanical design issues that relate to several application areas, and provides potential solutions. Design for Durability and Performance Density includes four real-world case studies which help to identify the root cause of problems and failure cases encountered in industry and in the oil field. It suggests remedies for the ones that could be solved, and includes sample calculations and worked examples to quantify the extent of problems where necessary. This book will be of use to senior-level mechanical engineering students, design and application engineers as well as consulting engineering firms. It could help them to learn how things could be designed the wrong way, and how old experience could prevent novice mistakes, to avoid being tempted into any of the various subtle design pitfalls and confronting their consequences.

This book investigates the time-dependent behavior of fiber-reinforced ceramic-matrix composites (CMCs) at elevated temperatures. The author combines the time-dependent damage mechanisms of interface and fiber oxidation and fracture with the micromechanical approach to establish the relationships between the first matrix cracking stress, matrix multiple cracking evolution, tensile strength, tensile stress-strain curves and tensile fatigue of fiber-reinforced CMCs and time. Then, using damage models of energy balance, the fracture mechanics approach, critical matrix strain energy criterion, Global Load Sharing criterion, and hysteresis loops he determines the first matrix cracking stress, interface debonded length, matrix cracking density, fibers failure probability, tensile strength, tensile stress-strain curves and fatigue hysteresis loops. Lastly, he predicts the time-dependent mechanical behavior of different fiber-reinforced CMCs, i.e., C/SiC and SiC/SiC, using the developed approaches, in order to reduce the failure risk during the operation of aero engines. The book is intended for undergraduate and graduate students who are interested in the mechanical behavior of CMCs, researchers investigating the damage evolution of CMCs at elevated temperatures, and designers responsible for hot-section CMC components in aero engines.

This book presents select papers presented during the 6th National Symposium on Rotor Dynamics, held at CSIR-NAL, Bangalore, and focuses on the latest trends in rotor dynamics and various challenges encountered in the design of rotating machinery. The book is of interest to researchers from mechanical, aerospace, tribology and power industries, engineering service providers and academics.

This book offers the first comprehensive and practice-oriented guide to condition monitoring algorithms in MATLAB (R). After a concise introduction to vibration theory and signal processing techniques, the attention is moved to the algorithms. Each signal processing algorithm is presented in depth, from the theory to the application, and including extensive explanations on how to use the corresponding toolbox in MATLAB (R). In turn, the book introduces various techniques for synthetic signals generation, as well as vibration-based analysis techniques for large data sets. A practical guide on how to directly access data from industrial condition monitoring systems (CMS) using MATLAB (R) .NET Libraries is also included. Bridging between research and practice, this book offers an extensive guide on condition monitoring algorithms to both scholars and professionals. "Condition Monitoring Algorithms in MATLAB (R) is a great resource for anyone in the field of condition monitoring. It is a unique as it presents the theory, and a number of examples in Matlab (R), which greatly improve the learning experience. It offers numerous examples of coding styles in Matlab, thus supporting graduate students and professionals writing their own codes." Dr. Eric Bechhoefer Founder and CEO of GPMS Developer of the Foresight MX Health and Usage Monitoring System

This book bridges the gap between the demand for micro-featured components on the one hand, and successful micromachining of miniature products on the other. In addition to covering micromachining in the broader sense, it specifically addresses novel machining strategies implemented in various advanced micromachining processes to improve machining accuracy, energy consumption, component durability, and miniature-scale applicability. The book's main goal is to present the capabilities of advanced micromachining processes in terms of miniature product manufacturing by highlighting various innovative machining strategies that can be used to augment the production scale and precision alike.

This book provides a compact history of gears, by summarizing the main stages of their development and the corresponding gradual acquisition of engineering expertise, from the antiquity to the Renaissance and the twentieth century. This brief history makes no claim to be exhaustive, since the topic is so extensive, complex and fascinating that it deserves an entire encyclopedia. Despite its brevity, the book debunks a number of popular misconceptions, such as the belief that the first literary description of a gear was supplied by Aristotle. It disproves not only this myth, but also other peremptory statements and/or axiomatic assumptions that have no basis in written documents, archaeological findings or other factual evidence. The book is chiefly intended for students and lecturers, historians of science and scientists, and all those who want to learn about the genesis and evolution of this topic.

This book describes the theoretical framework of parallel manipulators and presents examples of their application. The theoretical part begins with the theory of parallel manipulator synthesis. Working on this basis, various topology designs of one-loop and multiloop parallel manipulators are then obtained. The next section describes the zero parameters method for the analysis of mechanism (manipulator) structure with closed kinematic circuits, and includes examples of its application, highlighting its advantages compared to traditional methods. The book then presents the redundant parameters method for determining the position of special parallel manipulator links, and discusses its application in solving the direct problem of link position for multiloop manipulators. It also addresses one-loop and multiloop manipulators, and includes a solution for the direct and inverse link position problems of kinematics. In closing, the book presents a range of potential applications for parallel manipulator. These examples are intended to promote the development and implementation of new engineering solutions, e.g. in seismic protection systems, renewable energy and other areas. The book includes a wealth of material that can be used for teaching undergraduate, graduate and PhD students majoring in robotics, automation and related fields, and can also be used by researchers to solve problems in connection with introducing robotics technologies.

This book is a practical guide to sound engineering practice for engineers from industry and commerce responsible for the selection, installation, designing and maintenance of efficient and safe gas fired heating equipment. Starting from the basic principles of combustion, gas and dual fuel burners, this book describes the whole range of non-domestic gas fired equipment encountered in industrial and commercial premises. Gas controls and air-gas ration equipment are considered which is particularly relevant to those responsible for designing, servicing, maintaining and updating gas fired plant for safety and efficience. Individual chapters focus on gas supply, electrical power generation including combined heat and power and all aspects of instrumentation and measurment. Safety is a theme running throughout the book and all relevant references are made to the British Gas Standards and Codes of Practice.

This book describes the characteristics of heat pipes under steady-state and transient operating conditions. It emphasizes the physical aspects of heat pipe behavior and develops design formulas on the basis of mathematical models and empirical observation. The author take a tutorial approach, presenting information on the application of heat pipe technology, design methods, and data to heat pipe cooling and heat exchange requirements. He provides the nonspecialist with sufficient understanding of heat pipe technology to appreciate and assess its application potential, while also meeting the needs of the experienced heat pipe designer and researcher.

The EUCOMES08, Second European Conference on Mechanism Science is the second event of a series that has been started in 2006 as a conference activity for an European community working in Mechanism Science. The ?rst event was held in Obergurgl, Austria in 2006. This year EUCOMES08 Conference has come to Cassino in Italy taking place from 17 to 20 September 2008. TheaimoftheEUCOMESConference istobringtogetherEuropean researchers, industry professionals and students from the broad ranges of disciplines referring to Mechanism Science, in an intimate, collegial and stimulating environment. In this second event we have received an increased attention to the initiative, as canbeseenbythefactthattheEUCOMES08Proceedingswillcontaincontributions by authors even from all around the world. This means also that there is a really interest to have not only a conference frame but even a need of aggregation for an European Community well identi?ed in Mechanism Science with the aim to strengthen common views and collaboration activities among European researchers and institutions. I believe that a reader will take advantage of the papers in these Proceedings with further satisfaction and motivation for her or his work. These papers cover the wide ?eld of the Mechanism Science. The program of EUCOMES08 Conference has included technical sessions with oral presentations, which, together with informal conversations during the social program, have enabled to offer wide opportunities to share experiences and discuss scienti?c achievements and current trends in the areas encompassed by the EUCOMES08 conference.

Discusses all the major aspects of automotive and engine lubrication - presenting state-of-the-art advances in the field from both research and industrial perspectives. This book should be of interest to mechanical, lubrication and automotive engineers, automotive and machinery designers as well as undergraduate and graduate students in these fields.

Based on research into jets in supersonic crossflow carried out by the authors' team over the past 15 years, this book summarizes and presents many cutting-edge findings and analyses on this subject. It tackles the complicated mixing process of gas jets and atomization process of liquid jets in supersonic crossflow, and studies their physical mechanisms. Advanced experimental and numerical techniques are applied to further readers' understanding of atomization, mixing, and combustion of fuel jets in supersonic crossflow, which can promote superior fuel injection design in scramjet engines. The book offers a valuable reference guide for all researchers and engineers working on the design of scramjet engines, and will also benefit graduate students majoring in aeronautical and aerospace engineering.

Part I introduces the basic "Principles and Methods of Force Measurement" according to a classification into a dozen of force transducerstypes: resistive, inductive, capacitive, piezoelectric, electromagnetic, electrodynamic, magnetoelastic, galvanomagnetic (Hall-effect), vibrating wires, (micro)resonators, acoustic and gyroscopic. Two special chapters refer to force balance techniques and to combined methods in force measurement. Part II discusses the "(Strain Gauge) Force Transducers Components", evolving from the classical force transducer to the digital / intelligent one, with the incorporation of three subsystems (sensors, electromechanics and informatics). The elastic element (EE) is the "heart" of the force transducer and basically determines its performance. A 12-type elastic element classification is proposed (stretched / compressed column or tube, bending beam, bending and/or torsion shaft, middle bent bar with fixed ends, shear beam, bending ring, yoke or frame, diaphragm, axial-stressed torus, axisymmetrical and voluminous EE), with emphasis on the optimum place of the strain gauges. The main properties of the associated Wheatstone bridge, best suited for the parametrical transducers, are examined, together with the appropriate electronic circuits for SGFTs. The handbook fills a gap in the field of Force Measurement, both experts and newcomers, no matter of their particular interest, finding a lot of useful and valuable subjects in the area of Force Transducers; in fact, it is the first specialized monograph in this inter- and multidisciplinary field.

This book draws together the most interesting recent results to emerge in mechanical engineering in Russia, providing a fascinating overview of the state of the art in the field in that country which will be of interest to a wide readership. A broad range of topics and issues in modern engineering are discussed, including dynamics of machines, materials engineering, structural strength and tribological behavior, transport technologies, machinery quality and innovations. The book comprises selected papers presented at the 8th conference "Modern Engineering: Science and Education", held at the Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University in May 2019 with the support of the Russian Engineering Union. The authors are experts in various fields of engineering, and all of the papers have been carefully reviewed. The book will be of interest to mechanical engineers, lecturers in engineering disciplines and engineering graduates.

This volume gathers the latest advances, innovations, and applications in the field of intelligent systems such as robots, cyber-physical and embedded systems, as presented by leading international researchers and engineers at the International Conference on Intelligent Technologies in Robotics (ITR), held in Moscow, Russia on October 21-23, 2019. It covers highly diverse topics, including robotics, design and machining, control and dynamics, bio-inspired systems, Internet of Thing, Big Data, RFID technology, blockchain, trusted software, cyber-physical systems (CFS) security, development of CFS in manufacturing, protection of information in CFS, cybersecurity of CFS. The contributions, which were selected by means of a rigorous international peer-review process, highlight numerous exciting ideas that will spur novel research directions and foster multidisciplinary collaboration among different specialists, demonstrating that intelligent systems will drive the technological and societal change in the coming decades.

The book begins with an introduction to the general problems of making measurements in high temperature and a presentation of chemically reacting flow systems. It describes each instrument with the various diagnostic techniques and discusses measurements that have been made in furnaces, flames, and rocket engines. The detailed measurement techniques described in this book cover a wide spectrum of applications in combustion systems, including gas turbine, rocket measurement techniques that were developed in laboratories. Information obtained on detailed temperature, velocity, particle size, and gas concentration distribution is leading to improve understanding of the chemical combustion process and to design imporvements in combustors.

This book describes the fundamental phenomena of, and computational methods for, hydraulic transients, such as the self-stabilization effect, restriction of the Joukowsky equation, real relations between the rigid and elastic water column theories, the role of wave propagation speed, mechanism of the attenuation of pressure fluctuations, etc. A new wave tracking method is described in great detail and, supported by the established conservation and traveling laws of shockwaves, offers a number of advantages. The book puts forward a novel method that allows transient flows to be directly computed at each time node during a transient process, and explains the differences and relations between the rigid and elastic water column theories. To facilitate their use in hydropower applications, the characteristics of pumps and turbines are provided in suitable forms and examples. The book offers a valuable reference guide for engineers and scientists, helping them make transient computations for their own programming, while also contributing to the final standardization of methods for transient computations.