Observers are digital algorithms that combine sensor outputs with knowledge of the system to provide results superior to traditional structures, which rely wholly on sensors. Observers have been used in selected industries for years, but most books explain them with complex mathematics. This book uses intuitive discussion, software experiments, and supporting analysis to explain the advantages and disadvantages of observers. If you are working in controls and want to improve your control systems, observers could be the technology you need and this book will give you a clear, thorough explanation of how they work and how to use them.
Control systems and devices have become the most essential part of nearly all mechanical systems, machines, devices and manufacturing systems throughout the world. Increasingly the efficiency of production, the reliability of output and increased energy savings are a direct result of the quality and deployment of the control system. A modern and essential tool within the engineer's kit is the Observer which helps improve the performance and reduce the cost of these systems.
George Ellis is the author of the highly successful Control System Design Guide (2nd Edition). Unlike most controls books, which are written by control theorists and academics, Ellis is a leading engineer, designer, author and lecturer working in industry directly with the users of industrial motion control systems. Observers in Control Systems is written for all professional engineers and is designed to be utilized without an in-depth background in control theory. This is a "real-world" book which will demonstrate how observers work and how they can improve your control system.It also shows how observers operate when conditions are not ideal and teaches the reader how to quickly tune an observer in a working system.
Software Available on line: A free updated and enhanced version of the author's popular Visual ModelQ allows the reader to practice the concepts with Visual ModelQ models on a PC. Based on a virtual laboratory, all key topics are demonstrated with more than twenty control system models. The models are written in Visual ModelQ, and are available on the Internet to every reader with a PC.
* Teaches observers and Kalman filters from an intuitive perspective
* Explains how to reduce control system susceptibility to noise
* Shows how to design an adaptive controller based on estimating parameter variation using observers
Shows how to improve a control system's ability to reject disturbances
* Key topics are demonstrated with PC-based models of control systems. The models are written in both MatLab(R) and ModelQ; models are available free of charge

This eagerly awaited second edition of Heinz Heisler's Advanced Vehicle Technology is a comprehensive and thorough description of vehice bodies and components.
The second edition has been rigorously updated to provide additional material on subjects such as antilock braking, vehicle aerodynamics, tire tread design advances, electronically controlled anti-vibration engine mountings and transport refrigeration. Around 100 new diagrams have been included to complement the text.
Advanced Vehicle Technology 2nd edition's depth of coverage, detailed illustrations and fluent and precise style are the outstanding features in this high quality student text.
More quality artwork has been added to enhance and add value to the explanation given in the text.
16 key topics have been updated to bring this 2nd edition in line with current technology.
Fully international in scope, reflecting the nature of contemporary vehicle engineering.

From Charpy to Present Impact Testing contains 52 peer-reviewed papers selected from those presented at the Charpy Centenary Conference held in Poitiers, France, 2-5 October 2001.

The name of Charpy remains associated with impact testing on notched specimens. At a time when many steam engines exploded, engineers were preoccupied with studying the resistance of steels to impact loading.

The Charpy test has provided invaluable indications on the impact properties of materials. It revealed the brittle ductile transition of ferritic steels.

The Charpy test is able to provide more quantitative results by instrumenting the striker, which allows the evolution of the applied load during the impact to be determined. The Charpy test is of great importance to evaluate the embrittlement of steels by irradiation in nuclear reactors. Progress in computer programming has allowed for a computer model of the test to be developed; a difficult task in view of its dynamic, three dimensional, adiabatic nature. Together with precise observations of the processes of fracture, this opens the possibility of transferring quantitatively the results of Charpy tests to real components. This test has also been extended to materials other than steels, and is also frequently used to test polymeric materials.

Thus the Charpy test is a tool of great importance and is still at the root of a number of investigations; this is the reason why it was felt that the centenary of the Charpy test had to be celebrated. The Societe Francaise de Metallurgie et de Materiaux decided to organise an international conference which was put under the auspices of the European Society for the Integrity of Structures (ESIS).

This Charpy Centenary Conference (CCC 2001) was held in Poitiers, at Futuroscope in October 2001. More than 150 participants from 17 countries took part in the discussions and about one hundred presentations were given. An exhibition of equipment showed, not only present day testing machines, but also one of the first Charpy pendulums, brought all the way from Imperial College in London.

From Charpy to Present Impact Testing puts together a number of significant contributions. They are classified into 6 headings:

Keynote lectures,
Micromechanisms,
Polymers,
Testing procedures,
Applications,
Modelling.

"

Accepted as the standard reference work on modern pneumatic and compressed air engineering, the new edition of this handbook has been completely revised, extended and updated to provide essential up-to-date reference material for engineers, designers, consultants and users of fluid systems.

'Practical Temperature Measurement' introduces the concepts of temperature and its measurement to engineers, physicists and chemists of all disciplines. The author describes the wide range of techniques and specific devices available for temperature measurement and provides guidance for the selection of a particular method for a given application. It is of value to engineering and physics postgraduates studying modules on instrumentation and process control and, in addition, for practical project work requiring an understanding of temperature measurement methods.
For postgraduates and industrialists faced with the task of selecting a particular measurement method or sensor for an experiment, product or process, this text provides both thorough descriptions of the various techniques, as well as guidance for their selection.
Essential for all those who need to measure temperature in real-life situations
Includes worked examples of real situations commonly found in industry

This book provides a detailed overview of the theory of analytical and experimental modal analysis and its applications. Modal Analysis is the processes of determining the inherent dynamic characteristics of any system and using them to formulate a mathematical model of the dynamic behavior of the system. In the past two decades it has become a major technological tool in the quest for determining, improving and optimizing dynamic characteristics of engineering structures.
Its main application is in mechanical and aeronautical engineering, but it is also gaining widespread use in civil and structural engineering, biomechanical problems, space structures, acoustic instruments and nuclear engineering.

The only book to focus on the theory of modal analysis before discussing applications
A relatively new technique being utilized more and more in recent years which is now filtering through to undergraduate courses
Leading expert in the field

This comprehensive overview of chassis technology presents an up-to-date picture for vehicle construction and design engineers in education and industry. The book acts as an introduction to the engineering design of the automobile's fundamental mechanical systems. Clear text and first class diagrams are used to relate basic engineering principles to the particular requirements of the chassis. In addition, the 2nd edition of 'The Automotive Chassis' has a new author team and has been completely updated to include new technology in total vehicle and suspension design, including platform concept and four-wheel drive technology.

Scope of Publication
A reference work for process designers and users of decanters, this book aims to bridge the information gap in this field - that between academic theory promoted in student textbooks and case study data in manufacturers sales literature.

Design
It includes information on design and specification, preparing the reader to select and correctly size equipment.

Purchase
As a design or project engineer working with vendors to make final equipment selection, this work provides the readers with the full facts before they start talking to product vendors.

Supply
In an environment of industry consolidation, the handbook allows you to track suppliers old and new, providing a basis on which users can find the new relevant company for the parts/service he/she wishes to purchase.

Operation
Once an equipment purchase is made, the user needs to be made aware of how to optimally operate decanters. The "Decanter Centrifuge Handbook" covers relevant (process) operating issues such as instrumentation and control and the use of flocculents.

This book contains 15 fully peer-reviewed Invited Papers which were presented at the 13th Biennial European Conference on Fracture and is a companion to the CD-ROM http: //www.elsevier.com/locate/isbn/008043701xProceedings.
The organisers of the ECF 13 opted from the very beginning for an application-orientated conference, and consequently, this book contributes to the understanding of fracture phenomena, and disseminates fracture concepts and their application to the solution of engineering problems to practitioners in a wide range of fields.
The fields covered in this book can be broadly classified into: elastic-plastic fracture mechanics, fracture dynamics, fatigue and interactive processes, failure, structural integrity, coatings and materials, with applications to the following industrial sectors: transport, aerospace engineering, civil engineering, pipelines and automotive engineering.

This volume contains a selection of papers presented at Fatigue Design 95 held in Helsinki, Finland from 5-8 September 1995. The papers have been peer reviewed and present practical aspects for the design of components and structures to avoid fatigue failure.
Topics covered include: fatigue design experiences, ground vehicle components, component reliability, multiaxial fatigue, notch analysis, service loading, welded structures, probabilistics aspects in fatigue, fatigue design optimization.

Research into thermal convection in porous media has substantially increased during recent years due to its numerous practical applications. These problems have attracted the attention of industrialists, engineers and scientists from many very diversified disciplines, such as applied mathematics, chemical, civil, environmental, mechanical and nuclear engineering, geothermal physics and food science. Thus, there is a wealth of information now available on convective processes in porous media and it is therefore appropriate and timely to undertake a new critical evaluation of this contemporary information. "Transport Phenomena in Porous Media" contains 17 chapters and represents the collective work of 27 of the world's leading experts, from 12 countries, in heat transfer in porous media. The recent intensive research in this area has substantially raised the expectations for numerous new practical applications and this makes the book a most timely addition to the existing literature. It includes recent major developments in both the fundamentals and applications, and provides valuable information to researchers dealing with practical problems in thermal convection in porous media. Each chapter of the book describes recent developments in the highly advanced analytical, numerical and experimental techniques which are currently being employed and discussions of possible future developments are provided. Such reviews not only result in the consolidation of the currently available information, but also facilitate the identification of new industrial applications and research topics which merit further work.

This supplement to the comprehensive series "Encyclopedia of Fluid Mechanics" steps back from the topical approach to fluid mechanics, and embraces the overall subject from an entirely mathematical viewpoint. Within the pure science of mathematics, the motion of particles and fluids is described and studies without the uncertainty that can accompany experimental investigations. This volume addresses the mathematical details of model formation and development, which constitutes the basis for numerical experimentation. It is intended to stimulate and report current and emerging concepts in pure research on flow dynamics.

This handbook places emphasis on the importance of correct interpretation of pumping requirements, both by the user and the supplier. Completely reworked to incorporate the very latest in pumping technology, this practical handbook will enable you to understand the principles of pumping, hydraulics and fluids and define the various criteria necessary for pump and ancillary selection. The "Pump Users Handbook" will prove an invaluable aid in ordering pump equipment and in the recognition of fundamental oprational problems.

This book presents the ideas and industrial concepts in compact heat exchanger technology that have been developed in the last 10 years or so. Historically, the development and application of compact heat exchangers and their surfaces has taken place in a piecemeal fashion in a number of rather unrelated areas, principally those of the automotive and prime mover, aerospace, cryogenic and refrigeration sectors. Much detailed technology, familiar in one sector, progressed only slowly over the boundary into another sector. This compartmentalisation was a feature both of the user industries themselves, and also of the supplier, or manufacturing industries. These barriers are now breaking down, with valuable cross-fertilisation taking place.
One of the industrial sectors that is waking up to the challenges of compact heat exchangers is that broadly defined as the process sector. If there is a bias in the book, it is towards this sector. Here, in many cases, the technical challenges are severe, since high pressures and temperatures are often involved, and working fluids can be corrosive, reactive or toxic. The opportunities, however, are correspondingly high, since compacts can offer a combination of lower capital or installed cost, lower temperature differences (and hence running costs), and lower inventory. In some cases they give the opportunity for a radical re-think of the process design, by the introduction of process intensification (PI) concepts such as combining process elements in one unit. An example of this is reaction and heat exchange, which offers, among other advantages, significantly lower by-product production.
To stimulate future research, the author includes coverage of hitherto neglected approaches, such as that of the Second Law (of Thermodynamics), pioneered by Bejan and co- workers. The justification for this is that there is increasing interest in life-cycle and sustainable approaches to industrial activity as a whole, often involving exergy (Second Law) analysis. Heat exchangers, being fundamental components of energy and process systems, are both savers and spenders of exergy, according to interpretation.

This volume covers the computational dynamics of linear and non-linear engineering systems subject to conservative as well as non-conservative loads. Available in both paperback and hardback, the volume proposes an as simple as possible numerical evaluation of dynamic phenomena.
p]
Practically all known methods of linear spectral analysis like the Householder, Givens, Wiland, Lanczos, Jacobi, Guyan, Eberlein, etc., are clearly detailed with a critical appraisal of their advantages and disadvantages. A great number of flow diagrams and examples are given in order to facilitate the understanding and practical application. A technically experienced reader will no doubt appreciate the interpretative difficulties of a subject like random or stochastic vibration expounded in a special chapter. Non-model damping is also detailed and the highly topical direct integration methods of the equations of dynamic equilibrium receive a very broad description.
p]
Finally non-linear oscillations are analysed mostly from the computational point of view. Here the Newmark and the Hermitean algorithms receive very detailed accounts and a critical appraisal. At the same time the subject of non-linear oscillations is introduced through a semi-analytical discussion of the Duffing equation in which the various attractor systems in phase space including strange attractors for chaotic manifestation are described.
p]
This volume is the first to appear in this series of self-contained textbooks designed to present a modern, comprehensive account of computational mechanics, which will appeal to both student and experienced practitioner alike.

The International Conference on Mechanical Design and Production has been established since 1979 by the Department of Mechanical Design and Production at Cairo University.

The conference MDP-6 held in Cairo, 2-4 January 1996, represents the 6th in the series. Its aim was to highlight the current advances in mechanical design and production, and to disseminate the latest developments from academic and industrial institutions in all related scientific disciplines.

This publication includes a selection of papers submitted to the conference and reviewed by members of the scientific committee. The main areas of the papers include: materials processing and characterization constitutive modeling; simulation and analysis of manufacturing processes; numerical analysis of structures; fracture analysis; design and tribology; dynamics, control and robotics; and new trends in industrial and manufacturing engineering.

This volume contains 18 papers selected from 90 presented at the Fifth International Conference on Biaxial/Multiaxial Fatigue and Fracture held in Cracow, Poland 8-12 September 1997. The papers in this book deal with theoretical, computational and experimental aspects of the multiaxial fatigue and fracture of engineering materials and structures. The papers are divided into the following four categories:
1. Proportional cyclic loading
2. Non-proportional cyclic loading
3. Variable amplitude and random loading
4. Crack growth

Most papers in this publication talk about the behaviour of constructional materials and elements of machines under non-proportional loading and under variable amplitude and random loading, which are more realistic load histories met in industrial practice. Variable amplitude loading under cyclic load with basic frequency and random loading under load with a continuous band of frequency is classified here. This book gives a review of the latest world success and directions of investigations on multiaxial fatigue and fracture. More and more often publications are results of the co-operation of researchers from different laboratories and countries. Seven out of eighteen papers included here were worked out by international authors teams. This is a symptom of the times, when science and investigations know no borders.

The 24th Leeds-Lyon Symposium was held in London from 4th-6th September 1997, where it was hosted by the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine.

The meeting addressed the topic of "Tribology for Energy Conservation" and attracted a wide range of stimulating papers and speakers. Some 150 delegates from nineteen countries attended and about sixty papers were presented in fifteen sessions. These covered the topics of lubricants, wear, friction reduction, hydrodynamics, elastohydrodynamic lubrication, surface roughness, manufacturing, component life (including condition monitoring), and automotive aspects.

In the 1970s and the early 1980s there was an enormous volume of research and development into the subject of molybdenum disulphide lubrication, much of which was supported by national governments for the benefit of defence, aviation or space activities. There were already some well-established practical guidelines for deciding when and how to use molybdenum disulphide, but there was still a considerable lack of universally-accepted theoretical understanding of some of the important and fundamental aspects of molybdenum disulphide technology. However, the state of knowledge was growing rapidly.

In the past fifteen years the situation with regard to the technology of molybdenum disulphide lubrication has stabilised in many respects, and a measure of consensus has been reached about some of the mechanisms involved. The use of molybdenum disulphide has become routine in some industries, and there are many well-established and reputable commercial products available. Except in the high-technology field of physical deposition techniques, especially sputtering, the output of new research publications has fallen from perhaps two hundred a year in the 1970s to fewer than ten a year in the 1990s. In spite of this maturing of the subject, it is clear that there are still many aspects in which disagreements persist about the mechanisms involved, and which as a result are unclear or misunderstood among current, and perhaps even more importantly, potential users.
One of the primary objectives of this book is to analyse the various aspects of molybdenum disulphide lubrication technology about which there are still disagreements or controversy, and to attempt to come to firm conclusions about some of the mechanisms involved. In particular, it will place emphasis on the importance and effects of burnishing and film consolidation.

Heat exchangers with minichannel and microchannel flow passages are becoming increasingly popular because of their ability to remove large heat fluxes under single-phase and two-phase applications. This book serves as a sourcebook for those individuals involved in the design processes of microchannel flow passages in a heat exchanger.
This book manages to present its findings in a manner that is directly useful to a designer, while a researcher is able to use the information in developing new models, or in identifying research needs.
Each chapter is accompanied by a real life' case study.
First book published solely dealing with heat and fluid flow in minichannels and microchannels.

The direct conversion of daylight into electricity by photovoltaic solar cells is one of the most promising of the renewable energy options. The importance of the technology is reflected in the growth in the field. What was largely technology for space programmes in 1976 produced 28.6 MW of terrestrial modules in 1987. The popularity of the technology can partly be explained by its versatility. Arrays of any size and voltage can be constructed from standard modules, with the conversion efficiency being practically independent from output. Photovoltaics are also well suited to on-site generation of power in remote areas. This book is intended primarily to give students, engineers and scientists entering the photovoltaics field an overview of all aspects of the subject, with pointers to further reading. However, by using simple language and avoiding jargon, an effort has been made to make the work useful and interesting to the general public.

This volume discusses elasticity, compatibility, equilibrium, and boundary conditions relative to the stresses and strains that plates undergo.

The need to understand how to design and set up an investigative experiment is nearly universal to all students in engineering, applied technology and science, as well as many of the social sciences. Many schools offer courses in this fundamental skill and this book is meant to offer an easily accessible introduction to the essential tools needed, including an understanding of logical processes, how to use measurement, the do's and don'ts of designing experiments so as to achieve reproducible results and the basic mathematical underpinnings of how data should be analyzed and interpreted. The subject is also taught as part of courses on Engineering statistics, Quality Control in Manufacturing, and Senior Design Project, in which conducting experimental research is usually integral to the project in question.
* Covers such essential fundamentals as "definitions," "quantification," and standardization of test materials
* Shows students and professionals alike how to plan an experiment-from how to frame a proper Hypothesis to designing an experiment to accurately reflect the nature of the problem to "designing with factors."
* Includes a separate section on the use of Statistics in Experimental Research, including overview of probability and statistics, as well as Randomization, Replication and Sampling, as well as proper ways to draw statistical inferences from experimental data.

This book is a comprehensive and practical guide to the use of ultrasonic techniques for the characterization of fluids. Focusing on ultrasonic velocimetry, the author covers the basic topics and techniques necessaryfor successful ultrasound measurements on emulsions, dispersions, multiphase media, and viscoelastic/viscoplastic materials. Advanced techniques such as scattering, particle sizing, and automation are also presented. As a handbook for industrial and scientific use, Ultrasonic Techniques for Fluids Characterization is an indispensable guide to chemists and chemical engineers using ultrasound for research or process monitoring in the chemical, food processing, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, biotechnology, and fuels industries.
Key Features
* Appeals to anyone using ultrasound to study fluids
* Provides the first detailed description of the ultrasound profiling technique for dispersions
* Describes new techniques for measuring phase transitions and nucleation, such as water/ice and oil/fat
* Presents the latest ultrasound techniques for particle sizing in concentrated systems
* Explains new techniques for compressibility measurements in dispersions and fluids, including cell suspensions
* Contains a detailed treatment of ultrasound scattering theory
* Written by one of the leading researchers in the field
* Includes over 350 references to the primary literature

Control problems offer an industrially important application and a guide to understanding control systems for those working in Neural Networks. Neural Systems for Control represents the most up-to-date developments in the rapidly growing aplication area of neural networks and focuses on research in natural and artifical neural systems directly applicable to control or making use of modern control theory. The book covers such important new developments in control systems such as intelligent sensors in semiconductor wafer manufacturing; the relation between muscles and cerebral neurons in speech recognition; online compensation of reconfigurable control for spacecraft aircraft and other systems; applications to rolling mills, robotics and process control; the usage of past output data to identify nonlinear systems by neural networks; neural approximate optimal control; model-free nonlinear control; and neural control based on a regulation of physiological investigation/blood pressure control. All researchers and students dealing with control systems will find the fascinating Neural Systems for Control of immense interest and assistance.
Key Features
* Focuses on research in natural and artifical neural systems directly applicable to contol or making use of modern control theory
* Represents the most up-to-date developments in this rapidly growing application area of neural networks
* Takes a new and novel approach to system identification and synthesis