This book examines seven key combinatorial engineering frameworks (composite schemes consisting of algorithms and/or interactive procedures) for hierarchical modular (composite) systems. These frameworks are based on combinatorial optimization problems (e.g., knapsack problem, multiple choice problem, assignment problem, morphological clique problem), with the author's version of morphological design approach - Hierarchical Morphological Multicritieria Design (HMMD) - providing a conceptual lens with which to elucidate the examples discussed. This approach is based on ordinal estimates of design alternatives for systems parts/components, however, the book also puts forward an original version of HMMD that is based on new interval multiset estimates for the design alternatives with special attention paid to the aggregation of modular solutions (system versions). The second part of 'Modular System Design and Evaluation' provides ten information technology case studies that enriches understanding of the design of system design, detection of system bottlenecks and system improvement, amongst others. The book is intended for researchers and scientists, students, and practitioners in many domains of information technology and engineering. The book is also designed to be used as a text for courses in system design, systems engineering and life cycle engineering at the level of undergraduate level, graduate/PhD levels, and for continuing education. The material and methods contained in this book were used over four years in Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology (State University) in the author's faculty course "System Design".

This second companion volume on engineering studies considers engineering practice including contextual analyses of engineering identity, epistemologies and values. Key overlapping questions examine such issues as an engineering identity, engineering self-understandings enacted in the professional world, distinctive characters of engineering knowledge and how engineering science and engineering design interact in practice. Authors bring with them perspectives from their institutional homes in Europe, North America, Australia\ and Asia. The volume includes 24 contributions by more than 30 authors from engineering, the social sciences and the humanities. Additional issues the chapters scrutinize include prominent norms of engineering, how they interact with the values of efficiency or environmental sustainability. A concluding set of articles considers the meaning of context more generally by asking if engineers create their own contexts or are they created by contexts. Taken as a whole, this collection of original scholarly work is unique in its broad, multidisciplinary consideration of the changing character of engineering practice.

Embedded systems applications that are either mission or safety-critical usually entail low- to mid- production volumes, require the rapid development of specific tasks, which are typically computing intensive, and are cost bounded. The adoption of re-configurable FPGAs in such application domains is constrained to the availability of suitable techniques to guarantee the dependability requirements entailed by critical applications. This book describes the challenges faced by designers when implementing a mission- or safety-critical application using re-configurable FPGAs and it details various techniques to overcome these challenges. In addition to an overview of the key concepts of re-configurable FPGAs, it provides a theoretical description of the failure modes that can cause incorrect operation of re-configurable FPGA-based electronic systems. It also outlines analysis techniques that can be used to forecast such failures and covers the theory behind solutions to mitigate fault effects. This book also reviews current technologies available for building re-configurable FPGAs, specifically SRAM-based technology and Flash-based technology. For each technology introduced, theoretical concepts presented are applied to real cases. Design techniques and tools are presented to develop critical applications using commercial, off-the-shelf devices, such as Xilinx Virtex FPGAs, and Actel ProASIC FPGAs. Alternative techniques based on radiation hardened FPGAs, such as Xilinx SIRF and Atmel ATF280 are also presented. This publication is an invaluable reference for anyone interested in understanding the technologies of re-configurable FPGAs, as well as designers developing critical applications based on these technologies.

This book describes principles, industry practices and evolutionary methodologies for advanced safety studies, which are helpful in effectively managing volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous (VUCA) environments within the framework of quantitative risk assessment and management and associated with the safety and resilience of structures and infrastructures with tolerance against various types of extreme conditions and accidents such as fires, explosions, collisions and grounding. It presents advanced computational models for characterizing structural actions and their effects in extreme and accidental conditions, which are highly nonlinear and non-Gaussian in association with multiple physical processes, multiple scales, and multiple criteria. Probabilistic scenario selection practices and applications are presented. Engineering practices for structural crashworthiness analysis in extreme conditions and accidents are described. Multidisciplinary approaches involving advanced computational models and large-scale physical model testing are emphasized. The book will be useful to students at a post-graduate level as well as researchers and practicing engineers.

This book offers a clear, yet comprehensive guide to how to structure a design project, focusing in particular on the key questions designers, architects, policy makers and health professionals should consider when working towards inclusion through design. The book is based on a series of lessons held by the author and his colleague Avril Accolla, whose aim was to train technicians at all levels to be capable of catering for the needs of the elderly. It clearly draws the outline of their "Ask the Right Question" approach, whose purpose is to help convey the notions in question appropriately to people with such widely different backgrounds, curricula, interests and cultures. Using a minimalist approach, based mainly on the discussion of eye-catching real-life examples placed in logical order and a crystal clear, engaging style, this book is a must-have for designers, technicians, customers and health practitioners, as well as social scientists and policy makers who deal with inclusive design at different levels and anyone interested in topics related to technological evolution and social integration.

Volume 2 of the updated and extended 3rd edition of this work focuses on the chemistry and technology of rigid polyurethanes. Recent developments in obtaining polyols from renewable resources and the field of rigid polyurethanes have been included. This book is of interest to chemists and engineers in industry and academia as well as anyone working with polyols for the manufacture of PUs.

With the increasing complexity and dynamism in today's machine design and development, more precise, robust and practical approaches and systems are needed to support machine design. Existing design methods treat the targeted machine as stationery. Analysis and simulation are mostly performed at the component level. Although there are some computer-aided engineering tools capable of motion analysis and vibration simulation etc., the machine itself is in the dry-run state. For effective machine design, understanding its thermal behaviours is crucial in achieving the desired performance in real situation. Dynamic Thermal Analysis of Machines in Running State presents a set of innovative solutions to dynamic thermal analysis of machines when they are put under actual working conditions. The objective is to better understand the thermal behaviours of a machine in real situation while at the design stage. The book has two major sections, with the first section presenting a broad-based review of the key areas of research in dynamic thermal analysis and simulation, and the second section presents an in-depth treatment of relevant methodology and algorithms, leading to better understanding of a machine in real situation. The book is a collection of novel ideas, taking into account the need for presenting intellectual challenges while appealing to a broad readership, including academic researchers, practicing engineers and managers, and graduate students. Given the essential role of modern machines in factory automation and quality assurance, a book dedicated to the topic of dynamic thermal analysis, and its practical applications to machine design would be beneficial to readers of all design and manufacturing sectors, from machine design to automotive engineering, in better understanding the present challenges and solutions, as well as future research directions in this important area.

The concept generation process seems like an intuitional thought: difficult to capture and perform, although everyone is capable of it. It is not an analytical process but a synthetic process which has yet to be clarified. Furthermore, new research methods for investigating the concept generation process-a very difficult task since the concept generation process is driven by inner feelings deeply etched in the mind-are necessary to establish its theory and methodology.

Concept Generation for Design Creativity - A Systematized Theory and Methodology presents the concept generation process both theoretically and methodologically. Theoretically, the concept generation process is discussed by comparing metaphor, abduction, and General Design Theory from the notions of similarities and dissimilarities. Analogy, blending, and integration by thematic relation have been explained methodologically. So far, these theories and methods have been discussed independently, and the relations among them have not been clarified. Two newly developed research methods to investigate the concept generation process are clearly explained: the explanation-based protocol analysis and constructive simulation.

By reading Concept Generation for Design Creativity - A Systematized Theory and Methodology, students, researchers and lecturers in design disciplines (including engineering design, industrial design, software design, CHI, design education, and cognitive science ) can obtain a clear picture of the advanced research findings and the outline of the theories and methods for concept generation. Furthermore, readers are expected to achieve the competence to generate new concepts.

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This book is based on the 55th International Conference of Machine Design Departments 2014 (ICMD 2014) which was hosted by the Czech Technical University in September 2014. It features scientific articles which solve progressive themes from the field of machine design. The book addresses a broad range of themes including tribology, hydraulics, materials science, product innovation and experimental methods. It presents the latest interdisciplinary high-tech work. People with an interest in the latest research results in the field of machine design and manufacturing engineering will value this book with contributions of leading academic scientists and experts from all around the world.

After two succesful conferences held in Innsbruck (Prof. Manfred Husty) in 2006 and Cassino in 2008 (Prof Marco Ceccarelli) with the participation of the most important well-known scientists from the European Mechanism Science Community, a further conference was held in Cluj Napoca, Romania, in 2010 (Prof. Doina Pisla) to discuss new developments in the field.

This book presents the most recent research advances in Mechanism Science with different applications. Amongst the topics treated are papers on Theoretical kinematics, Computational kinematics, Mechanism design, Mechanical transmissions, Linkages and manipulators, Mechanisms for biomechanics, Micro-mechanisms, Experimental mechanics, Mechanics of robots, Dynamics of multi-body systems, Dynamics of machinery, Control issues of mechanical systems, Novel designs, History of mechanism science etc.

"The mathematical investigations referred to bring the whole apparatus of a great science to the examination of the properties of a given mechanism, and have accumulated in this direction rich material, of enduring and increasing value. What is left unexamined is however the other, immensely deeper part of the problem, the question: How did the mechanism, or the elements of which it is composed, originate? What laws govern its building up? Is it indeed formed according to any laws whatever? Or have we simply to accept as data what invention gives us, the analysis of what is thus obtained being the only scientific problem left - as in the case of natural history?" Reuleaux, F., Theoretische Kinematik, Braunschweig: Vieweg, 1875 Reuleaux, F., The Kinematics of Machinery, London: Macmillan, 1876 and New York: Dover, 1963 (translated by A.B.W. Kennedy) This book represents the second part of a larger work dedicated to the structural synthesis of parallel robots. Part 1 already published in 2008 (Gogu 2008a) has presented the methodology proposed for structural synthesis. This book focuses on various topologies of translational parallel robots systematically generated by using the structural synthesis approach proposed in Part 1. The originality of this work resides in the fact that it combines the new formulae for mobility connectivity, redundancy and overconstraints, and the evolutionary morphology in a unified approach of structural synthesis giving interesting innovative solutions for parallel mechanisms.

Over the last decade, Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) has become a - ture technology for the development of new products in aeronautical industry. Aerodynamic design engineers have progressively taken advantage of the pos- bilities o?ered by the numericalsolutionof the Reynolds averagedNavier-Stokes (RANS) equations. Signi?cant improvements in physical modeling and solution algorithms as well as the enormous increase of computer power enable hi- ?delity numerical simulations in all stages of aircraft development. In Germany, the national CFD project MEGAFLOW furthered the dev- opment and availability of RANS solvers for the prediction of complex ?ow problemssigni?cantly. MEGAFLOWwasinitiated by the?rstaviationresearch programoftheFederalGovernmentin1995undertheleadershipoftheDLR(see Kroll, N. , Fassbender, J. K. (Eds). : MEGAFLOW - Numerical Flow Simulation for Aircraft Design; Notes on Numerical Fluid Mechanics and Multidisciplinary Design, Volume 89, Springer, 2005). A network from aircraft industry, DLR and several universities was created with the goal to focus and direct development activities for numerical ?ow simulation towards a common aerodynamic si- lation system providing both a block-structured (FLOWer-Code) and a hybrid (TAU-Code) parallel ? ow prediction capability. Today, both codes have reached a high level of maturity and reliability. They are routinely used at DLR and German aeronautic industry for a wide range of aerodynamic applications. For many universities the MEGAFLOW software represents a platform for the - provementofphysicalmodelsandfortheinvestigationofcomplex?owproblems. The network was established as an e?cient group of very closely co-operating partners with supplementing expertises and experience.

The 60th birthday of Prof. Luczak is the reason for this book. He will be honoured for his research work during the "GfA-confernece" in March 2009. This book is the correspondig "Festschrift" for him.

The book provides readers with a snapshot of recent research and technological trends in the field of condition monitoring of machinery working under a broad range of operating conditions. Each chapter, accepted after a rigorous peer-review process, reports on an original piece of work presented and discussed at the 4th International Conference on Condition Monitoring of Machinery in Non-stationary Operations, CMMNO 2014, held on December 15-16, 2014, in Lyon, France. The contributions have been grouped into three different sections according to the main subfield (signal processing, data mining or condition monitoring techniques) they are related to. The book includes both theoretical developments as well as a number of industrial case studies, in different areas including, but not limited to: noise and vibration; vibro-acoustic diagnosis; signal processing techniques; diagnostic data analysis; instantaneous speed identification; monitoring and diagnostic systems; and dynamic and fault modeling. This book not only provides a valuable resource for both academics and professionals in the field of condition monitoring, it also aims at facilitating communication and collaboration between the two groups.

Mixed finite element methods are a tool to solve complex engineering problems of different nature. This subject is treated in the volume from the engineering and the mathematical point. Different applications are considered which depict the value of mixed formulations in engineering on one side. On the other side the mathematical background is provided including proofs of convergence and stability of these methods and adequate solvers for mixed problems are discussed. This broad spectrum yields an indepth treatment of mixed methods from different perspectives.

This book presents a domain of extreme industrial and scientific interest: the study of smart systems and structures. It presents polytope projects as comprehensive physical and cognitive architectures that support the investigation, fabrication and implementation of smart systems and structures. These systems feature multifunctional components that can perform sensing, control, and actuation. In light of the fact that devices, tools, methodologies and organizations based on electronics and information technology for automation, specific to the third industrial revolution, are increasingly reaching their limits, it is essential that smart systems be implemented in industry. Polytope projects facilitate the utilization of smart systems and structures as key elements of the fourth industrial revolution. The book begins by presenting polytope projects as a reference architecture for cyber-physical systems and smart systems, before addressing industrial process synthesis in Chapter 2. Flow-sheet trees, cyclic separations and smart configurations for multi-component separations are discussed here. In turn, Chapter 3 highlights periodic features for drug delivery systems and networks of chemical reactions, while Chapter 4 applies conditioned random walks to polymers and smart materials structures. Chapter 5 examines self-assembly and self-reconfiguration at different scales from molecular to micro systems. Smart devices and technologies are the focus of chapter 6. Modular micro reactor systems and timed automata are examined in selected case studies. Chapter 7 focuses on inferential engineering designs, concept-knowledge, relational concept analysis and model driven architecture, while Chapter 8 puts the spotlight on smart manufacturing, industry 4.0, reference architectures and models for new product development and testing. Lastly, Chapter 9 highlights the polytope projects methodology and the prospects for smart systems and structures. Focusing on process engineering and mathematical modeling for the fourth industrial revolution, the book offers a unique resource for engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs working in chemical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, materials science or systems chemistry, students in various domains of production and engineering, and applied mathematicians.

This work addresses the topic of optical networks cross-layer design with a focus on physical-layer-impairment-aware design. Contributors captures both the physical-layer-aware network design as well as the latest advances in service-layer-aware network design. Treatment of topics such as, optical transmissions which are prone to signal impairments, dense packing of wavelengths, dispersion, crosstalk, etc., as well as how to design the network to mitigate such impairments, are all covered.

Geological models used in predictive hydrogeological modeling are not exact replicas of the objects they represent: many details related to structures and properties of the objects remain unknown. Those details may considerably affect simulation results.A provable evaluation of the uncertainty of hydrogeological and solute transport simulations are almost impossible. In this book the author describes how to obtain the best-possible results in simulations, based on the available data and predefined criteria that are turned into transforming mechanisms. The latterare mathematical expressions for evaluating model parameters supporting effective simulations. Examples of the mechanisms as well as methods of their evaluation are provided in this book. It is also shown how these mechanisms can be used for the interpretation of hydrogeological data.The first edition of this book was published in the series "Springer Briefs in Earth Sciences.""

The Scientific Network of Integrated Systems, Design and Technology (ISDT) is an initiative that has been established to respond industrial needs for integration of " Knowledge Technology" (KT)" with multi- and inter-disciplinary applications. In particular the objective of ISDT is to incorporate multilateral engineering disciplines i.e. Composite-, Automotive-, Industrial-, Control- and Micro-Electronics Engineering, and derive knowledge for design and development of innovative product and services. In this context, the discourse of KT is established to address effective use of Knowledge Management, Semantic Technology, Information Systems and Software Engineering towards evolution of adaptive and intelligent systems for industrial applications. This carefully edited book presents the results of the latest ISDT meeting with special involvement of leading researchers and industries whose contributions are presented in the book chapters. This book consists of three main chapters namely:

. Chapter 1: Applied Knowledge Management in Practice

. Chapter 2: Semantic Technologies for Industrial Management and Process Controlling

. Chapter 3: Knowledge Driven Approaches for Product Engineering

Each article presents a unique in-progress research with respect to the target goal of improving our common understanding of KT integration and promoting further researches and cooperation in future.

Product design is characterized by a steady increase in complexity. The main focus of this book is a structural approach on complexity management. This means, system structures are considered in order to address the challenge of complexity in all aspects of product design. Structures arise from the complex dependencies of system elements. Thus, the identification of system structures provides access to the understanding of system behavior in practical applications.

The book presents a methodology that enables the analysis, control and optimization of complex structures, and the applicability of domain-spanning problems. The methodology allows significant improvements on handling system complexity by creating improved system understanding on the one hand and optimizing product design that is robust for system adaptations on the other hand. Developers can thereby enhance project coordination and improve communication between team members and as a result shorten development time. The practical application of the methodology is described by means of two detailed examples.

The integrated and advanced science research topic Man-Machine-Environment system engineering (MMESE) was first established in China by Professor Shengzhao Long in 1981, with direct support from one of the greatest modern Chinese scientists, Xuesen Qian. In a letter to Shengzhao Long from October 22nd, 1993, Xuesen Qian wrote: You have created a very important modern science and technology in China
MMESE primarily focuses on the relationship between man, machines and the environment, studying the optimum combination of man-machine-environment systems. In this system, man refers to people in the workplace (e.g. operators, decision-makers); machine is the general name for any object controlled by man (including tools, machinery, computers, systems and technologies), and environment describes the specific working conditions under which man and machine interact (e.g. temperature, noise, vibration, hazardous gases etc.). The three goals of optimization of Man-Machine-Environment systems are to ensure safety, efficiency and economy.
"Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Man-Machine-Environment System Engineering" are an academic showcase of the best papers selected from more than 400 submissions, introducing readers to the top research topics and the latest developmental trends in the theory and application of MMESE.
These proceedings are interdisciplinary studies on the concepts and methods of physiology, psychology, system engineering, computer science, environment science, management, education, and other related disciplines. Researchers and professionals working in these interdisciplinary fields and researchers on MMESE related topics will benefit from these proceedings."

The initial motivator for the development of DRM, a Design Research Methodology, and the subsequent writing of this book was our frustration about the lack of a common terminology, benchmarked research methods, and above all, a common research methodology in design. A shared view of the goals and framework for doing design research was missing. Design is a multidisciplinary activity occurring in multiple application areas and involving multiple stakeholders. As a consequence, design research emerges in a variety of disciplines for a variety of applications with a variety of subjects. This makes it particularly difficult to review its literature, relate various pieces of work, find common ground, and validate and share results that are so essential for sustained progress in a research community. Above all, design research needs to be successful not only in an academic sense, but also in a practical sense. How could we help the community develop knowledge that is both academically and practically worthwhile? Each of us had our individual ideas of how this situation could be improved. Lucienne Blessing, while finishing her thesis that involved studying and improving the design process, developed valuable insights about the importance and relationship of empirical studies in developing and evaluating these improvements. Amaresh Chakrabarti, while finishing his thesis on developing and evaluating computational tools for improving products, had developed valuable insights about integrating and improving the processes of building and evaluating tools.