There are many books on the use of numerical methods for solving engineering problems and for modeling of engineering artifacts. In addition there are many styles of such presentations ranging from books with a major emphasis on theory to books with an emphasis on applications. The purpose of this book is hopefully to present a somewhat different approach to the use of numerical methods for - gineering applications. Engineering models are in general nonlinear models where the response of some appropriate engineering variable depends in a nonlinear manner on the - plication of some independent parameter. It is certainly true that for many types of engineering models it is sufficient to approximate the real physical world by some linear model. However, when engineering environments are pushed to - treme conditions, nonlinear effects are always encountered. It is also such - treme conditions that are of major importance in determining the reliability or failure limits of engineering systems. Hence it is essential than engineers have a toolbox of modeling techniques that can be used to model nonlinear engineering systems. Such a set of basic numerical methods is the topic of this book. For each subject area treated, nonlinear models are incorporated into the discussion from the very beginning and linear models are simply treated as special cases of more general nonlinear models. This is a basic and fundamental difference in this book from most books on numerical methods.

There are many books on the use of numerical methods for solving engineering problems and for modeling of engineering artifacts. In addition there are many styles of such presentations ranging from books with a major emphasis on theory to books with an emphasis on applications. The purpose of this book is hopefully to present a somewhat different approach to the use of numerical methods for - gineering applications. Engineering models are in general nonlinear models where the response of some appropriate engineering variable depends in a nonlinear manner on the - plication of some independent parameter. It is certainly true that for many types of engineering models it is sufficient to approximate the real physical world by some linear model. However, when engineering environments are pushed to - treme conditions, nonlinear effects are always encountered. It is also such - treme conditions that are of major importance in determining the reliability or failure limits of engineering systems. Hence it is essential than engineers have a toolbox of modeling techniques that can be used to model nonlinear engineering systems. Such a set of basic numerical methods is the topic of this book. For each subject area treated, nonlinear models are incorporated into the discussion from the very beginning and linear models are simply treated as special cases of more general nonlinear models. This is a basic and fundamental difference in this book from most books on numerical methods.

The U.S. Army today is faced with a dilemma. This situation arises from the conflict of having to logistically support potential Army commitments worldwide with outdated techniques and equipment. Up to now, the Army has relied on Logistics Over the Shore (LOTS) operations to resupply forces already ashore in the absence of adequate fixed port facilities. However, the techniques and equipment designed for LOTS operations, until recently, have envisioned the World War II type of operation which transfers and distributes break bu1k cargo. The advent of containerization has led to the diminished use of break bulk cargo type of operations. Large scale use of containers has become standard operating procedure in the Army. As these changes have proceeded over the years, proposals have been made to meet these new requirements. One such proposal resulted in the testing of all currently available lighterage vehicles and the adoption of the Lighter Air Cushion Vehicle (LACV-30) to support containerized LOTS operations. Another more recent proposal has been the debut of the Aerocrane as a potential lighterage vehicle. This thesis investigated this relatively new development to determine the feasibility of using Aerocranes in LOTS operations and their advantage in comparison with current Army lighterage. The conclusion is that the Aerocrane is both more responsive and more cost effective and should be adopted to support containerized LOTS operations.