Rotor dynamics is an important branch of dynamics that deals with behavior of rotating machines ranging from very large systems like power plant rotors, for example, a turbogenerator, to very small systems like a tiny dentist's drill, with a variety of rotors such as pumps, compressors, steam/gas turbines, motors, turbopumps etc. as used for example in process industry, falling in between. The speeds of these rotors vary in a large range, from a few hundred RPM to more than a hundred thousand RPM. Complex systems of rotating shafts depending upon their specific requirements, are supported on different types of bearings. There are rolling element bearings, various kinds of fluid film bearings, foil and gas bearings, magnetic bearings, to name but a few. The present day rotors are much lighter, handle a large amount of energy and fluid mass, operate at much higher speeds, and therefore are most susceptible to vibration and instability problems. This have given rise to several interesting physical phenomena, some of which are fairly well understood today, while some are still the subject of continued investigation. Research in rotor dynamics started more than one hundred years ago. The progress of the research in the early years was slow. However, with the availability of larger computing power and versatile measurement technologies, research in all aspects of rotor dynamics has accelerated over the past decades. The demand from industry for light weight, high performance and reliable rotor-bearing systems is the driving force for research, and new developments in the field of rotor dynamics.

The symposium proceedings contain papers on various important aspects of rotor dynamics such as, modeling, analytical, computational and experimental methods, developments in bearings, dampers, seals including magnetic bearings, rub, impact and foundation effects, turbomachine blades, active and passive vibration control strategies including control of instabilities, nonlinear and parametric effects, fault diagnostics and condition monitoring, and cracked rotors.

This volume is of immense value to teachers, researchers in educational institutes, scientists, researchers in R&D laboratories and practising engineers in industry. "

This books contains the Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Power Transmissions, that was held in Sinaia, Romania from June 20 -23, 2012. Power Transmissions is a very complex and multi-disciplinary scientific field of Mechanical Engineering that covers the different types of transmissions (mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic) as well as all the machine elements involved, such as gears, bearings, shafts, couplings and a lot more. It concerns not only their basic theory but also their design, analysis, testing, application and maintenance. The requirements set to modern power transmissions are really tough to meet: They need to be more efficient, stronger, smaller, noiseless, easier to produce and to cost less. There is a strong demand to become easier in operation and maintenance, or even automatic and in maintenance-free. Last but not least, they should be easily recycled and respect the environment. Joint efforts of specialists from both academia and industry can significantly contribute to fulfill these needs. The main goal of this conference was to bring together experts from all over the world and present the latest developments in the field of Power Transmissions.

This book is for researchers, engineers, and students who are willing to understand how humanoid robots move and be controlled. The book starts with an overview of the humanoid robotics research history and state of the art. Then it explains the required mathematics and physics such as kinematics of multi-body system, Zero-Moment Point (ZMP) and its relationship with body motion. Biped walking control is discussed in depth, since it is one of the main interests of humanoid robotics. Various topics of the whole body motion generation are also discussed. Finally multi-body dynamics is presented to simulate the complete dynamic behavior of a humanoid robot. Throughout the book, Matlab codes are shown to test the algorithms and to help the reader´s understanding.

Manufacturing is the basic industrial activity generating real value. Cutting and abrasive technologies are the backbone of precision production in machine, automotive and aircraft building as well as of production of consumer goods. We present the knowledge of modern manufacturing in these technologies on the basis of scientific research. The theory of cutting and abrasive processes and the knowledge about their application in industrial practice are a prerequisite for the studies of manufacturing science and an important part of the curriculum of the master study in German mechanical engineering. The basis of this book is our lecture "Basics of cutting and abrasive processes" (4 semester hours/3 credit hours) at the Leibniz University Hannover, which we offer to the diploma and master students specializing in manufacturing science.

The design and construction of rotating machinery operating at supercritical speeds was, in the 1920s, an event of revolutionary importance for the then new branch of dynamics known as rotor dynamics. In the 1960s, another revolution occurred: In less than a decade, imposed by operational and economic needs, an increase in the power of turbomachinery by one order of magnitude took place. Dynamic analysis of complex rotor forms became a necessity, while the importance of approximate methods for dynamic analysis was stressed. Finally, the emergence of fracture mechanics, as a new branch of applied mechanics, provided analytical tools to investigate crack influence on the dynamic behavior of rotors. The scope of this book is based on all these developments. No topics related to the well-known classical problems are included, rather the book deals exclusively with modern high-power turbomachinery.

Diamond has a unique combination of properties, such as the highest hardness and thermal conductivity among any known material, high electrical resistivity, a large optical band gap and a high transmission, good resistance to chemical erosion, low adhesion and friction, and extremely low thermal expansion coefficient. As such, diamond has been a desirable material in a wide range of applications in mechanical, chemical, optical, thermal and electrical engineering. In many of the cases, the surface of a diamond component or element must have a superior finish, often down to a surface roughness of nanometers. Nevertheless, due to its extreme hardness and chemical inertness, the polishing of diamond and its composites has been a sophisticated process. Polishing of Diamond Materials will provide a state-of-the-art analysis, both theoretically and experimentally, of the most commonly used polishing techniques for mono/poly-crystalline diamond and chemical vapour deposition (CVD) diamond films, including mechanical, chemo-mechanical, thermo-chemical, high energy beam, dynamic friction and other polishing techniques. The in-depth discussions will be on the polishing mechanisms, possible modelling, material removal rate and the quality control of these techniques. A comparison of their advantages and drawbacks will be carried out to provide the reader with a useful guideline for the selection and implementation of these polishing techniques. Polishing of Diamond Materials will be of interest to researchers and engineers in hard materials and precision manufacturing, industry diamond suppliers, diamond jewellery suppliers and postgraduate students in the area of precision manufacturing.

"Mobile Speech and Advanced Natural Language Solutions" presents the discussion of the most recent advances in intelligent human-computer interaction, including fascinating new study findings on talk-in-interaction, which is the province of conversation analysis, a subfield in sociology/sociolinguistics, a new and emerging area in natural language understanding. Editors Amy Neustein and Judith A. Markowitz have recruited a talented group of contributors to introduce the next generation natural language technologies for practical speech processing applications that serve the consumer's need for well-functioning natural language-driven personal assistants and other mobile devices, while also addressing business' need for better functioning IVR-driven call centers that yield a more satisfying experience for the caller. This anthology is aimed at two distinct audiences: one consisting of speech engineers and system developers; the other comprised of linguists and cognitive scientists. The text builds on the experience and knowledge of each of these audiences by exposing them to the work of the other.

The aim of the book is to be a reference book in automotive technology, as far as automotive chassis (i.e. everything that is inside a vehicle except the engine and the body) is concerned. The book is a result of a decade of work heavily sponsored by the FIAT group (who supplied material, together with other automotive companies, and sponsored the work). The first volume deals with the design of automotive components and the second volume treats the various aspects of the design of a vehicle as a system.

This book analyzes the main problems in the real-time control of parallel hybrid electric powertrains in non-road applications that work in continuous high dynamic operation. It also provides practical insights into maximizing the energy efficiency and drivability of such powertrains. It introduces an energy-management control structure, which considers all the physical powertrain constraints and uses novel methodologies to predict the future load requirements to optimize the controller output in terms of the entire work cycle of a non-road vehicle. The load prediction includes a methodology for short-term loads as well as cycle detection methodology for an entire load cycle. In this way, the energy efficiency can be maximized, and fuel consumption and exhaust emissions simultaneously reduced. Readers gain deep insights into the topics that need to be considered in designing an energy and battery management system for non-road vehicles. It also becomes clear that only a combination of management systems can significantly increase the performance of a controller.

Mechatronics is a synergic discipline integrating precise mechanics, electrotechnics, electronics and IT technologies. The main goal of mechatronical approach to design of complex products is to achieve new quality of their utility value at reasonable price. Successful accomplishment of this task would not be possible without application of advanced software and hardware tools for simulation of design, technologies and production control and also for simulation of behavior of these products in order to provide the highest possible level of spatial and functional integration of the final product. This book brings a review of the current state of the art in mechatronics, as presented at the 8th International Conference Mechatronics 2009, organized by the Brno Technical University, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Czech Republic. The specific topics of the conference are Modelling and Simulation, Metrology & Diagnostics, Sensorics & Photonics, Control & Robotics, MEMS Design & Mechatronic Products, Production Machines and Biomechanics. The selected contributions provide an insight into the current development of these scientific disciplines, present the new results of research and development and indicate the trends of development in the interdisciplinary field of mechatronic systems. Therefore, the book provides the latest and helpful information both for the R&D specialists and for the designers working in mechatronics and related fields.

This unique collection is the post-conference proceedings of the 4th "International Conference on Field and Service Robotics" (FSR). This book has authoritative contributors and presents current developments and new directions in field and service robotics. The book represents a cross-section of the current state of robotics research from one particular aspect: field and service applications, and how they reflect on the theoretical basis of subsequent developments.

Cracks can develop in rotating shafts and can propagate to relevant depths without affecting consistently the normal operating conditions of the shaft. In order to avoid catastrophic failures, accurate vibration analyses have to be performed for crack detection. The identification of the crack location and depth is possible by means of a model based diagnostic approach, provided that the model of the crack and the model of the cracked shaft dynamical behavior are accurate and reliable. This monograph shows the typical dynamical behavior of cracked shafts and presents tests for detecting cracks. The book describes how to model cracks, how to simulate the dynamical behavior of cracked shaft, and compares the corresponding numerical with experimental results. All effects of cracks on the vibrations of rotating shafts are analyzed, and some results of a numerical sensitivity analysis of the vibrations to the presence and severity of the crack are shown. Finally the book describes some crack identification procedures and shows some results in model based crack identification in position and depth. The book is useful for higher university courses in mechanical and energetic engineering, but also for skilled technical people employed in power generation industries.

There is a growing number of applications that require fast-rotating machines; motivation for this thesis comes from a project in which downsized spindles for micro-machining have been researched. The thesis focuses on analysis and design of high-speed PM machines and uses a practical design of a high-speed spindle drive as a test case. Phenomena, both mechanical and electromagnetic, that take precedence in high-speed permanent magnet machines are identified and systematized. The thesis identifies inherent speed limits of permanent magnet machines and correlates those limits with the basic parameters of the machines. The analytical expression of the limiting quantities does not only impose solid constraints on the machine design, but also creates the way for design optimization leading to the maximum mechanical and/or electromagnetic utilization of the machine. The models and electric-drive concepts developed in the thesis are evaluated in a practical setup.

Electrical Machines primarily covers the basic functionality and the role of electrical machines in their typical applications. The effort of applying coordinate transforms is justified by obtaining a more intuitive, concise and easy-to-use model. In this textbook, mathematics is reduced to a necessary minimum, and priority is given to bringing up the system view and explaining the use and external characteristics of machines on their electrical and mechanical ports. Covering the most relevant concepts relating to machine size, torque and power, the author explains the losses and secondary effects, outlining cases and conditions in which some secondary phenomena are neglected. While the goal of developing and using machine mathematical models, equivalent circuits and mechanical characteristics persists through the book, the focus is kept on physical insight of electromechanical conversion process. Details such as the slot shape and the disposition of permanent magnets and their effects on the machine parameters and performance are also covered.

The International Symposia on Distributed Autonomous Robotic Systems (DARS) started at Riken, Japan in 1992. Since then, the DARS symposia have been held every two years: in 1994 and 1996 in Japan (Riken, Wako), in 1998 in Germany (Karlsruhe), in 2000 in the USA (Knoxville, TN), in 2002 in Japan (Fukuoka), in 2004 in France (Toulouse), and in 2006 in the USA (Minneapolis, MN). The 9th DARS symposium, which was held during November 17-19 in T- kuba, Japan, hosted 84 participants from 13 countries. The 48 papers presented there were selected through rigorous peer review with a 50% acceptance ratio. Along with three invited talks, they addressed the spreading research fields of DARS, which are classifiable along two streams: theoretical and standard studies of DARS, and interdisciplinary studies using DARS concepts. The former stream includes multi-robot cooperation (task assignment methodology among multiple robots, multi-robot localization, etc.), swarm intelligence, and modular robots. The latter includes distributed sensing, mobiligence, ambient intelligence, and mul- agent systems interaction with human beings. This book not only offers readers the latest research results related to DARS from theoretical studies to application-oriented ones; it also describes the present trends of this field. With the diversity and depth revealed herein, we expect that DARS technologies will flourish soon.

Uranium Processing and Properties describes developments in uranium science, engineering and processing and covers a broad spectrum of topics and applications in which these technologies are harnessed. This book offers the most up-to-date knowledge on emerging nuclear technologies and applications while also covering new and established practices for working with uranium supplies. The book also aims to provide insights into current research and processing technology developments in order to stimulate and motivate innovation among readers. Topics covered include casting technology, plate and sheet rolling, machining of uranium and uranium alloys, forming and fabrication techniques, corrosion kinetics, nondestructive evaluation and thermal modeling.

Vibration of Hydraulic Machinery deals with the vibration problem which has significant influence on the safety and reliable operation of hydraulic machinery. It provides new achievements and the latest developments in these areas, even in the basic areas of this subject. The present book covers the fundamentals of mechanical vibration and rotordynamics as well as their main numerical models and analysis methods for the vibration prediction. The mechanical and hydraulic excitations to the vibration are analyzed, and the pressure fluctuations induced by the unsteady turbulent flow is predicted in order to obtain the unsteady loads. This book also discusses the loads, constraint conditions and the elastic and damping characters of the mechanical system, the structure dynamic analysis, the rotor dynamic analysis and the system instability of hydraulic machines, including the illustration of monitoring system for the instability and the vibration in hydraulic units. All the problems are necessary for vibration prediction of hydraulic machinery.

"Surface Integrity in Machining" describes the fundamentals and recent advances in the study of surface integrity in machining processes. "Surface Integrity in Machining" gathers together research from international experts in the field. Topics covered include: the definition of surface integrity and its importance in functional performance; surface topography characterization and evaluation; microstructure modification and the mechanical properties of subsurface layers; residual stresses; surface integrity characterization methods; and surface integrity aspects in machining processes. A useful reference for researchers in tribology and materials, mechanical and materials engineers, and machining professionals, "Surface Integrity in Machining" can be also used as a textbook by advanced undergraduate and postgraduate students.

SYROM conferences have been organized since 1973 by the Romanian branch of the International Federation for the Promotion of Mechanisms and Machine Science IFToMM, Year by year the event grew in quality. Now in its 10th edition, international visibility and recognition among the researchers active in the mechanisms science field has been achieved. SYROM 2009 brought together researchers and academic staff from the field of mechanisms and machine science from all over the world and served as a forum for presenting the achievements and most recent results in research and education. Topics treated include conceptual design, kinematics and dynamics, modeling and simulation, synthesis and optimization, command and control, current trends in education in this field, applications in high-tech products. The papers presented at this conference were subjected to a peer-review process to ensure the quality of the paper, the engineering significance, the soundness of results and the originality of the paper. The accepted papers fulfill these criteria and make the proceedings unique among the publications of this type.

By outlining a new design or the Kuroshio power plant, new approaches to turbine design, anchorage system planning, deep sea marine engineering and power plant operations and maintenance are explored and suggested. The impact on the local environment, particularly in the face of natural disasters, is also considered to provide a well rounded introduction to plan and build a 30MW pilot power plant. Following a literature review, the six chapters of this book propose a conceptual design by focusing on the plant's core technologies and establish the separate analysis logics for turbine design and the relay platforms. This is tempered against the ecological impact of both the construction and operation of the plant. These proposed technologies and plans can be further applied to power generation in other waters such as the Gulf Stream, the East Australian Current the Humboldt Current and the East Africa Coastal Current. Engineers, students and industry professionals are provided with a solid introduction to power plant technology as well as a design with specific real world applications

"Foundations of Large-Scale Multimedia Information Management and Retrieval: Mathematics of Perception" covers knowledge representation and semantic analysis of multimedia data and scalability in signal extraction, data mining, and indexing. The book is divided into two parts: Part I - Knowledge Representation and Semantic Analysis focuses on the key components of mathematics of perception as it applies to data management and retrieval. These include feature selection/reduction, knowledge representation, semantic analysis, distance function formulation for measuring similarity, and multimodal fusion. Part II - Scalability Issues presents indexing and distributed methods for scaling up these components for high-dimensional data and Web-scale datasets. The book presents some real-world applications and remarks on future research and development directions. The book is designed for researchers, graduate students, and practitioners in the fields of Computer Vision, Machine Learning, Large-scale Data Mining, Database, and Multimedia Information Retrieval. Dr. Edward Y. Chang was a professor at the Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering, University of California at Santa Barbara, before he joined Google as a research director in 2006. Dr. Chang received his M.S. degree in Computer Science and Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering, both from Stanford University.

Every four years, Schaeffler provides an insight into its latest developments and technologies from the engine, transmission and chassis as well as hybridization and electric mobility sectors. In 2014 the Schaeffler Symposium with the motto "Solving the Powertrain Puzzle" took place from 3th to 4th of April in Baden-Baden. Mobility for tomorrow is the central theme of this proceeding. The authors are discussing the different requirements, which are placed on mobility in different regions of the world. In addition to the company's work in research and development, a comprehensive in-house mobility study also provides a reliable basis for the discussion. The authors are convinced that there will be a paradigm shift in the automotive industry. Issues such as increasing efficiency and advancing electrification of the powertrain, automatic and semi-automatic driving, as well as integration in information networks will define the automotive future. In addition, the variety of solutions available worldwide will become increasingly more complex and mobility patterns will also change rapidly. However, this does not mean that cars will drive virtually in the future. Powertrains based on internal combustion engines will still dominate for a very long time and demonstrate new strengths in combination with hybrid drives. Transmissions will also gain in importance as the link between the internal combustion engine and electric motor. The proceeding "Solving the Powertrain Puzzle" contains 34 technical papers from renowned experts and researchers in the field of automotive engineering.

21st Century Kinematics focuses on algebraic problems in the analysis and synthesis of mechanisms and robots, compliant mechanisms, cable-driven systems and protein kinematics. The specialist contributors provide the background for a series of presentations at the 2012 NSF Workshop. The text shows how the analysis and design of innovative mechanical systems yield increasingly complex systems of polynomials, characteristic of those systems. In doing so, it takes advantage of increasingly sophisticated computational tools developed for numerical algebraic geometry and demonstrates the now routine derivation of polynomial systems dwarfing the landmark problems of even the recent past. The 21st Century Kinematics workshop echoes the NSF-supported 1963 Yale Mechanisms Teachers Conference that taught a generation of university educators the fundamental principles of kinematic theory. As such these proceedings will provide admirable supporting theory for a graduate course in modern kinematics and should be of considerable interest to researchers in mechanical design, robotics or protein kinematics or who have a broader interest in algebraic geometry and its applications.

Direct injection spark-ignition engines are becoming increasingly important, and their potential is still to be fully exploited. Increased power and torque coupled with further reductions in fuel consumption and emissions will be the clear trend for future developments. From today's perspective, the key technologies driving this development will be new fuel injection and combustion processes. The book presents the latest developments, illustrates and evaluates engine concepts such as downsizing and describes the requirements that have to be met by materials and operating fluids. The outlook at the end of the book discusses whether future spark-ignition engines will achieve the same level as diesel engines.

In constant effort to eliminate mine danger, international mine action community has been developing safety, efficiency and cost-effectiveness of clearance methods. Demining machines have become necessary when conducting humanitarian demining where the mechanization of demining provides greater safety and productivity. Design of Demining Machines describes the development and testing of modern demining machines in humanitarian demining. Relevant data for design of demining machines are included to explain the machinery implemented and some innovative and inspiring development solutions. Development technologies, companies and projects are discussed to provide a comprehensive estimate of the effects of various design factors and to proper selection of optimal parameters for designing the demining machines. Covering the dynamic processes occurring in machine assemblies and their components to a broader understanding of demining machine as a whole, Design of Demining Machines is primarily tailored as a text for the study of the fundamentals and engineering techniques involved in the calculation and design of demining machines. It will prove as useful resource for engineers, designers, researchers and policy makers working in this field.