Mechanical engineering

Mechanical engineering is a very broad field of engineering that involves the application of physical principles for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. The system can be as simple as the design of a chair for comfort or as complex as the operations of a turbocharged engine for speed. It can be as small as the manufacturing of a nano-sized gear or as large as the structure of a supertanker used to carry oil around the world.

The major divisions of mechanical engineering are designs and controls, thermo-science and fluids, engineering mechanics, and manufacturing. Depending on the colleges and the universities, some mechanical engineering programs offer more specialized programs, such as mechatronics, robotics, transport and logistics, cryogenics, and biomechanics, if a separate department does not exist for these subjects.

Modern analysis and design processes in mechanical engineering are aided by various computational tools like finite element analysis (FEA) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD), computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM). In system design and controls, a mechanical engineer may apply CAD/CAM systems to feed “instructions" to computer numerically-controlled (CNC) machines such as robots, milling machines, and lathes. In this way the engineer could automate the manufacturing process without the need for intermediate drawings. A mechanical engineer working in thermo-fluid might design a heat sink, an air conditioning system, or an internal combustion engine. Other processes might focus on the fluid itself, such as a fan to cool an electrical system, a turbine to power a submarine, or a spray gun to apply chemical coatings.

Given the wide range of subjects, students preparing to study mechanical engineering should consider the programs available in their respective colleges and universities. Most mechanical engineering programs offer the major subjects of study. Fundamental subjects of mechanical engineering include: statics, dynamics, strength of materials, solid mechanics, thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, refrigeration and air conditioning, kinematics (including robotics), manufacturing technology, mechatronics and control theory. Mechanical engineers are also expected to understand and be able to apply concepts from chemistry and electrical engineering. At the smallest scales, mechanical engineering becomes nanotechnology and molecular engineering - one speculative goal of which is to create a molecular assembler to build molecules and materials via mechanosynthesis. For now this goal remains within exploratory engineering.

Related disciplines include electrical engineering, industrial engineering, systems engineering, civil engineering, nuclear engineering, aerospace engineering, and other engineering disciplines.

Contents [hide] 1 Development of Mechanical Engineering 2 Subdisciplines 3 See also 4 Wikibooks 5 External links

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Development of Mechanical Engineering

Prior to the Industrial Revolution there were only two kinds of engineers. The military engineer built such things as fortifications, catapults, and, later, cannons. The civil engineer built bridges, harbors, aqueducts, buildings, and other structures. During the early 19th century in England mechanical engineering developed as a separate field to provide manufacturing machines and the engines to power them. The first British professional society of civil engineers was formed in 1818; that for mechanical engineers followed in 1847. In the United States, the order of growth of the different branches of engineering, measured by the date a professional society was formed, is civil engineering (1852), mining and metallurgical engineering (1871), mechanical engineering (1880), electrical engineering (1884), and chemical engineering (1908). Aeronautical engineering, industrial engineering, and genetic engineering are more modern developments. The first schools in the United States to offer an engineering education were the United States Military Academy in 1817, an institution now known as Norwich University in 1819, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1825. An engineering education is based on a strong foundation in mathematics and science; this is followed by courses emphasizing the application of this knowledge to a specific field and studies in the social sciences and humanities to give the engineer a broader education.

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Subdisciplines

• Mechanics
• Kinetics
• Mechatronics
• Continuum mechanics
• Structural failure
• Fluid Mechanics
• Thermodynamics
• Drafting

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See also

• List of mechanical engineering topics

• Fields of engineering
• Simple machine
• List of mechanical engineers
• List of inventors
• Patent

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Wikibooks

• Engineering Thermodynamics
• Solid Mechanics

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External links

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