This book provides a comprehensive presentation of artificial intelligence (AI) methodologies and tools valuable for solving a wide spectrum of engineering problems. What's more, it offers these AI tools on an accompanying disk with easy-to-use software.
Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems for Engineers details the AI-based methodologies known as: Knowledge-Based Expert Systems (KBES); Design Synthesis; Design Critiquing; and Case-Based Reasoning. KBES are the most popular AI-based tools and have been successfully applied to planning, diagnosis, classification, monitoring, and design problems. Case studies are provided with problems in engineering design for better understanding of the problem-solving models using the four methodologies in an integrated software environment.
Throughout the book, examples are given so that students and engineers can acquire skills in the use of AI-based methodologies for application to practical problems ranging from diagnosis to planning, design, and construction and manufacturing in various disciplines of engineering.
Artificial Intelligence and Expert Systems for Engineers is a must-have reference for students, teachers, research scholars, and professionals working in the area of civil engineering design in particular and engineering design in general.

"From the preface" "The advent of computers has opened new horizons in the field of engineering design. In the realm of analysis for engineering design the finite element method has emerged as a powerful tool for modeling and analysis of solids and structures of complex geometries and variable material properties in many areas of engineering design such as machine components, pressure vessels, nuclear reactors, off-shore structures, steel and concrete buildings, bridges, towers, automobile components, turbine parts, power plant structures, etc. The text-book literature on the finite element method exists at an introductory level through the new and more advanced level of simple applications. Modeling and analysis of practical problems continue to be developed and published in technical journals. Developments are also taking place in the use of artificial intelligence techniques in expert systems to advise the analysts on the choice of the elements, type of analysis, discretization, etc. for solving complicated problems. It is essential to periodically synthesize all the developments on the finite element method and its applications to practical problems of engineering design and also to identify the future areas of research both in the domains of academic research and industrial applications. Keeping this in mind an advanced study institute was organized at Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India during Aug. 1-10, 1988. This volume contains lecture notes prepared by the invited lecturers attending the Advanced Study Institute. It should serve as a ready reference to researchers and practitioners engaged in the finite-element analysis related to engineering design in several disciplines."