This collection focuses on all aspects of science and technology related to friction stir welding and processing.

This book addresses the evaluation and optimization of key elements in concentrating solar thermal (CST) technologies, such as solar receivers and working fluids, using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. It discusses both general and specific aspects, explaining the methodology used to analyze and evaluate the influence of different parameters on the facility performance. This information provides the basis for optimizing design and operating conditions in CST systems.

This book aims to provide recent information on advances in drilling technology. The use of advanced machines, appropriate strategies and special drilling tools can signifi cantly reduce the machining time required for drilling operations, and consequently the production costs, and improve the quality of the holes produced. For these reasons an improvement of the drilling technology is very important for the modern manufacturing industries. This book can be used as a research book for fi nal undergraduate engineering course or at postgraduate level. It can also serve as a useful reference for academics, researchers, mechanical, industrial, production, manufacturing and materials engineers, professionals in drilling technology and related matters.

This book provides novel insights into two fundamental subjects in solid mechanics: virtual work and shape change. The author explains how the principle of virtual work represents a tool for analysis of the mechanical effects of the evolution of the shape of a system, how it can be applied to observations and experiments, and how it may be adapted to produce predictive theories of numerous phenomena. The book is divided into three parts. The first relates the principle of virtual work to what we observe with our eyes, the second demonstrates its flexibility on the basis of many examples, and the third applies the principle to predict the motion of solids with large deformations. Examples of both usual and unusual shape changes are presented, and equations of motion, some of which are entirely new, are derived for smooth and non-smooth motions associated with, for instance, systems of disks, systems of balls, classical and non-classical small deformation theories, systems involving volume and surface damage, systems with interactions at a distance (e.g., solids reinforced by fibers), systems involving porosity, collisions, and fracturing of solids.

The book gives an understanding on how thermophysical properties change as function of alloy composition and complexity. In order to reach this goal, data on density, surface tension, and viscosity as functions of alloy composition and temperature are measured and discussed for pure liquid elements, liquid binary-, and ternary alloys.

The application of mathematical concepts has proven to be beneficial within a number of different industries. In particular, these concepts have created significant developments in the engineering field. Mathematical Concepts and Applications in Mechanical Engineering and Mechatronics is an authoritative reference source for the latest scholarly research on the use of applied mathematics to enhance the current trends and productivity in mechanical engineering. Highlighting theoretical foundations, real-world cases, and future directions, this book is ideally designed for researchers, practitioners, professionals, and students of mechatronics and mechanical engineering.

This book is about the Ultra-high Performance Cementitious Composites (UHPCC), which is a relativity new type of cementitious materials. UHPCC has very low water-to-binder ratio, high amount of high-range water reducer, fine aggregates and high-strength steel or organic fibers. With the prominent mechanical properties, e.g., high compressive and tensile strength, high ductility, and high fracture energy, UHPCC has been becoming the most prospective construction cement-based material for both civil and military structures to resist high-speed projectile penetration, low-velocity impact and blast loadings. In this book, the related work conducted by authors on the static and dynamic mechanical properties, as well as the impact and blast resistance of UHPCC are presented. This book is written for the researchers, engineers and graduate students in the fields of protective structures and terminal ballistics.

This comprehensive book offers a clear account of the theory and applications of advanced metal forming. It provides a detailed discussion of specific forming processes, such as deep drawing, rolling, bending extrusion and stamping. The author highlights recent developments of metal forming technologies and explains sound, new and powerful expert system techniques for solving advanced engineering problems in metal forming. In addition, the basics of expert systems, their importance and applications to metal forming processes, computer-aided analysis of metalworking processes, formability analysis, mathematical modeling and case studies of individual processes are presented.

The evolution of soft computing applications has offered a multitude of methodologies and techniques that are useful in facilitating new ways to address practical and real scenarios in a variety of fields. In particular, these concepts have created significant developments in the engineering field. Soft Computing Techniques and Applications in Mechanical Engineering is a pivotal reference source for the latest research findings on a comprehensive range of soft computing techniques applied in various fields of mechanical engineering. Featuring extensive coverage on relevant areas such as thermodynamics, fuzzy computing, and computational intelligence, this publication is an ideal resource for students, engineers, research scientists, and academicians involved in soft computing techniques and applications in mechanical engineering areas.

Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) is a relatively new research area which describes the methods and approaches used to supply quantitative descriptions of the effects of uncertainty, variability and errors in simulation problems and models. It is rapidly becoming a field of increasing importance, with many real-world applications within statistics, mathematics, probability and engineering, but also within the natural sciences. Literature on the topic has up until now been largely based on polynomial chaos, which raises difficulties when considering different types of approximation and does not lead to a unified presentation of the methods. Moreover, this description does not consider either deterministic problems or infinite dimensional ones. This book gives a unified, practical and comprehensive presentation of the main techniques used for the characterization of the effect of uncertainty on numerical models and on their exploitation in numerical problems. In particular, applications to linear and nonlinear systems of equations, differential equations, optimization and reliability are presented. Applications of stochastic methods to deal with deterministic numerical problems are also discussed. Matlab (R) illustrates the implementation of these methods and makes the book suitable as a textbook and for self-study.

< b=""> The book provides a concise description of the physical processes and mathematical models for explosions and formation of blast waves from explosions. The contents focus on quantitatively determining the energy released in the different types of explosions and the destructive blast waves that are generated. The contribution of flames, detonations and other physical processes to the explosion phenomenon is dealt with in detail. Gaseous and condensed phase explosions are discussed and the yield of explosions with their TNT equivalence is determined. Time scales involved in the explosion process and the scaling procedure are ascertained. Explosions over the ground, in water, and the interaction of explosions with objects are examined. In order to keep the text easily readable, the detailed derivation of the mathematical equations is given in the seven appendices at the end of the book. Case studies of various explosions are investigated and simple problems and their solutions are provided for the different topics to assist the reader in internalizing the explosion process. The book is a useful reference for professionals and academics in aeronautics, mechanical, civil and chemical engineering and for personnel working in explosive manufacture and high-energy materials, armaments, space, defense, and industrial and fire safety.

This book introduces the state-of-the-art technologies in mechatronics, robotics, and MEMS devices in order to improve their methodologies. It provides a follow-up to "Advanced Mechatronics and MEMS Devices" (2013) with an exploration of the most up-to-date technologies and their applications, shown through examples that give readers insights and lessons learned from actual projects. Researchers on mechatronics, robotics, and MEMS as well as graduate students in mechanical engineering will find chapters on: Fundamental design and working principles on MEMS accelerometers Innovative mobile technologies Force/tactile sensors development Control schemes for reconfigurable robotic systems Inertial microfluidics Piezoelectric force sensors and dynamic calibration techniques ...And more. Authors explore applications in the areas of agriculture, biomedicine, advanced manufacturing, and space. Micro-assembly for current and future industries is also considered, as well as the design and development of micro and intelligent manufacturing.

This volume includes contributions presented at the Fifth IFToMM Symposium on the History of Machines and Mechanisms, held at Universidad Autonoma de Queretaro, Santiago de Queretaro, QRO, Mexico, in June 2016. It contains work on theories and facts concerning mechanisms and machines from antiquity to current times as viewed in the present day. Topics include modern reviews of past works; people, history, and their works; direct memories of the recent past; historic development theories; the history of the design of machines and mechanisms; developments of mechanical design and automation; the historic development of teaching; the history of schools of engineering and the education of engineers.

The papers in this volume present and discuss the frontiers in the mechanics of controlled machines and structures. They are based on papers presented at the International Workshop on Advanced Dynamics and Model Based Control of Structures and Machines held in Vienna in September 2015. The workshop continues a series of international workshops held in Linz (2008) and St. Petersburg (2010).

This new edition of the Phosphor Handbook comprises three volumes and provides a comprehensive source of knowledge for researchers interested in synthesis, characterization, properties, and applications of phosphor materials. The first volume covers the theoretical background and fundamental properties of luminescence as applied to solid-state phosphor materials. New sections include the rapid developments in principal phosphors in nitrides, perovskite, and silicon carbide. The second volume provides the descriptions of synthesis and optical properties of phosphors used in different applications, including the novel phosphors for some newly developed applications. New sections on smart phosphors, quantum dots for display applications, up-conversion nanophosphors for photonic application, phosphors for solar cells. The third volume addresses the experimental methods for phosphor evaluation and characterization and the contents are widely expanded from the Second Edition, including the theoretical and experimental designs for new phosphors as well as the phosphor analysis through high pressure and synchrotron studies.

This book addresses the key concerns regarding the operation of wind turbines in cold climates and focuses in particular on the analysis of icing and methods for its mitigation. Topics covered include the implications of cold climates for wind turbine design and operation, the relevance of icing for wind turbines, the icing process itself, ice prevention systems and thermal anti-icing system design. In each chapter, care is taken to build systematically on the basic knowledge, providing the reader with the level of detail required for a thorough understanding. An important feature is the inclusion of several original analytical and numerical models for ready computation of icing impacts and design assessment. The breadth of the coverage and the in-depth scientific analysis, with calculations and worked examples relating to both fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, ensure that the book will serve not only as a textbook but also as a practical manual for general design tasks.

This book presents the proceedings of the first INCASE conference, organised by ARTC at A*STAR, Singapore. It provides a comprehensive review of recent advances in surface enhancement processes and strategies employed to assess their impact on materials properties and performance. As cyber-physical systems are becoming more and more relevant in manufacturing, it focuses on assessing the readiness of current technologies for future transformations, such as Industry 4.0, identifying the opportunities and challenges, and exploring ways to address them. Written by researchers, practising engineering and industry experts, the book bridges the gap between research and manufacturing, promoting technology adoption in industry and innovative ideas to prepare it for the future.

The book is an outcome of research work in the areas of nanotechnology, interfacial science, nano- and micro-fluidics and manufacturing, soft matter, and transport phenomena at nano- and micro-scales. The contributing authors represent prominent research groups from Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. The book has 13 chapters and the entire work presented in the chapters is based on research carried out over past three years. The chapters are designed with number of coloured illustrations, figures and tables. The book will be highly beneficial to academicians as well as industrial professionals working in the mentioned areas.

Guided-Wave-Produced Plasmas provides an up-to-date report of the physics of plasmas produced by the high-frequency electromagnetic fields of guided waves. The modelling of discharges generated by travelling surface waves is presented using a unified approach based on modern aspects of nonlinear plasma theory. Diagnostic methods needed for research and the main experimental results on plasma behaviour are covered in detail. The methods and ideas presented in this book possess great potential for a wide variety of applications in plasma technology.

This book starts with a short recapitulation on basic concepts, common to any types of robots (serial, tree structure, parallel, etc.), that are also necessary for computation of the dynamic models of parallel robots. Then, as dynamics requires the use of geometry and kinematics, the general equations of geometric and kinematic models of parallel robots are given. After, it is explained that parallel robot dynamic models can be obtained by decomposing the real robot into two virtual systems: a tree-structure robot (equivalent to the robot legs for which all joints would be actuated) plus a free body corresponding to the platform. Thus, the dynamics of rigid tree-structure robots is analyzed and algorithms to obtain their dynamic models in the most compact form are given. The dynamic model of the real rigid parallel robot is obtained by closing the loops through the use of the Lagrange multipliers. The problem of the dynamic model degeneracy near singularities is treated and optimal trajectory planning for crossing singularities is proposed. Lastly, the approach is extended to flexible parallel robots and the algorithms for computing their symbolic model in the most compact form are given. All theoretical developments are validated through experiments.

Addressing structures, this book presents a classic discipline in a modern setting by combining illustrated examples with insights into the solutions. It is the fruit of the author's many years of teaching the subject and of just as many years of research into the design of optimal structures. Although intended for an advanced level of instruction it has an undergraduate course at its core. Further, the book was written with the advantage of having massive computer power in the background, an aspect which changes the entire approach to many engineering disciplines and in particular to structures. This paradigm shift has dislodged the force (flexibility) method from its former prominence and paved the way for the displacement (stiffness) method, despite the multitude of linear equations it spawns. In this book, however, both methods are taught: the force method offers a perfect vehicle for understanding structural behavior, bearing in mind that it is the displacement method which does the heavy number crunching. As a rule the book keeps things as simple as possible, conveying the basic ideas and refraining from lengthy calculations wherever possible. Further, it endeavors to unify the approach, showing that whatever applies to simple springs is equally valid for intricate frames. In addition to various design considerations, it also addresses several topics relating to optimal structures that will be of interest to students and teachers of structures.

This textbook is ideal for mechanical engineering students preparing to enter the workforce during a time of rapidly accelerating technology, where they will be challenged to join interdisciplinary teams. It explains system dynamics using analogies familiar to the mechanical engineer while introducing new content in an intuitive fashion. The fundamentals provided in this book prepare the mechanical engineer to adapt to continuous technological advances with topics outside traditional mechanical engineering curricula by preparing them to apply basic principles and established approaches to new problems. This book also: * Reinforces the connection between the subject matter and engineering reality * Includes an instructor pack with the online publication that describes in-class experiments with minimal preparation requirements * Provides content dedicated to the modeling of modern interdisciplinary technological subjects, including opto-mechanical systems, high-speed manufacturing equipment, and measurement systems * Incorporates MATLAB (R) programming examples throughout the text * Incorporates MATLAB (R) examples that animate the dynamics of systems

This thesis studies the general heat conduction law, irreversible thermodynamics and the size effect of thermal conductivity exhibited in nanosystems from the perspective of recently developed thermomass theory. The derivation bridges the microscopic phonon Boltzmann equation and macroscopic continuum mechanics. Key concepts such as entropy production, temperature and the Onsager reciprocal relation are revisited in the case of non-Fourier heat conduction. Lastly, useful expressions are extracted from the picture of phonon gas dynamics and are used to successfully predict effective thermal conductivity in nanosystems.