Engineering

Engineering
 Engineering is the application of science to the
optimum conversion of the resources of nature to
the uses of humankind.
 The field has been defined by the Engineers Council
for Professional Development, in the United States,
as the creative application of “scientific principles
to design or develop structures, machines,
apparatus, or manufacturing processes, or works
utilizing them singly or in combination; or to
construct or operate the same with full cognizance
of their design; or to forecast their behavior under
specific operating conditions; all as respects an
intended function, economics of operation and
safety to life and property.”
Engineering
 The words engine and ingenious are derived from
the same Latin root, ingenerare, which means “to
create.” The early English verb engine meant “to
contrive.” The function of the scientist is to know,
while that of the engineer is to do. Engineering is
based principally on physics, chemistry, and
mathematics and their extensions into materials
science, solid and fluid mechanics,
thermodynamics, transfer and rate processes, and
systems analysis.
 Unlike the scientist, the engineer is not free to select
the problem that interests him; he must solve
problems as they arise; his solution must satisfy
conflicting requirements.
History of Engineering
History of Engineering
The first engineer known by name and
achievement is Imhotep, builder of the Step
Pyramid at Ṣaqqārah, Egypt, probably in about
2550 B.C.
Engineering remarkable works include: The
Pharos (lighthouse) of Alexandria, Solomon’s
Temple in Jerusalem, the Colosseum in Rome,
the Persian and Roman road systems, the Pont
du Gard aqueduct in France, and many other
large structures, some of which endure to this
day.
History of Engineering
In construction medieval European engineers
carried technique, in the form of the Gothic
arch and flying buttress, to a height unknown to
the Romans.
Civil engineering emerged as a separate
discipline in the 18th century, when the first
professional societies and schools of engineering
were founded.
Civil engineers built structures of all kinds,
designed water-supply and sanitation systems,
laid out railroad and highway networks, and
planned cities.
History of Engineering
England and Scotland were the birthplace of
mechanical engineering, as a derivation of the
inventions of the Scottish engineer James Watt
and the textile machinists of the Industrial
Revolution.

The development of the British machine-tool

industry gave tremendous impetus to the study
of mechanical engineering both in Britain and
abroad.
History of Engineering
The growth of knowledge of electricity from
Alessandro Volta’s original electric cell of
1800 through the experiments of Michael
Faraday and others, culminating in 1872 in
the Gramme dynamo and electric motor
led to the development of electrical and
electronics engineering.
The electronics aspect became prominent
through the work of such scientists as James
Clerk Maxwell of Britain and Heinrich Hertz of
Germany in the late 19th century.
History of Engineering
Chemical engineering grew out of the
19th- century proliferation of industrial
processes involving chemical reactions in
metallurgy, food, textiles, and many
other areas.
By 1880 the use of chemicals in
manufacturing had created an industry
whose function was the mass production
of chemicals. The design and operation of
the plants of this industry became a
function of the chemical engineer.
Functions of Engineering
Engineering Functions
 Problem solving is common to all engineering work. The
problem may involve quantitative or qualitative factors;
it may be physical or economic; it may require abstract
mathematics or common sense. Of great importance is
the process of creative synthesis or design, putting ideas
together to create a new and optimum solution.
 Although engineering problems vary in scope and
complexity, the same general approach is applicable.
First comes an analysis of the situation and a preliminary
decision on a plan of attack. In line with this plan, the
problem is reduced to a more categorical question that
can be clearly stated. The stated question is then
answered by deductive reasoning from known principles
or by creative synthesis, as in a new design.
Major Functions of Engineering
 Research: Using mathematical and scientific concepts,
experimental techniques, and inductive reasoning, the
research engineer seeks new principles and processes.
 Development: Development engineers apply the results of
research to useful purposes. Creative application of new
knowledge may result in a working model of a new electrical
circuit, a chemical process, or an industrial machine.
 Design: In designing a structure or a product, the
engineer selects methods, specifies materials, and determines
shapes to satisfy technical requirements and to meet
performance specifications.
 Construction: The construction engineer is responsible for
preparing the site, determining procedures that will
economically and safely yield the desired quality, directing
the placement of materials, and organizing the personnel
and equipment.
Major Functions of Engineering
 Production: Plant layout and equipment selection are
the responsibility of the production engineer, who
chooses processes and tools, integrates the flow of
materials and components, and provides for testing and
inspection.
 Operation: The operating engineer controls machines,
plants, and organizations providing power,
transportation, and communication; determines
procedures; and supervises personnel to obtain reliable
and economic operation of complex equipment.
 Management and other functions: In some countries and
industries, engineers analyze customers’ requirements,
recommend units to satisfy needs economically, and
resolve related problems.
Fields of Engineering
 Chemical Engineering: It consists on the development of
processes and the design and operation of plants in which
materials undergo changes in their physical or chemical
state. Applied throughout the process industries, it is founded
on the principles of chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
 Mathematics is a basic tool in optimization and modeling.
Optimization means arranging materials, facilities, and energy
to yield as productive and economical an operation as
possible. Modeling is the construction of theoretical
mathematical prototypes of complex process systems,
commonly with the aid of computers. Chemical engineers
are employed in the design and development of both
processes and plant items. Plant operation and control is
increasingly the sphere of the chemical engineer rather than
the chemist.
Fields of Engineering
 Civil Engineering: It is the profession of designing and
executing structural works that serve the general public.
The term was first used in the 18th century to distinguish
the newly recognized profession from military
engineering, until then preeminent.
 The functions of the civil engineer can be divided into
three categories: those performed before construction
(feasibility studies, site investigations, and design), those
performed during construction (dealing with clients,
consulting engineers, and contractors), and those
performed after construction (maintenance and
research).
Fields of Engineering
 Science and Systems Engineering: Computer engineering
involves many aspects of computer design, the creation
of individual components for computer equipment,
networking design, and integrating software options with
the hardware that will drive the applications. Computer
engineers can find work in such fields as
telecommunications, transportation, manufacturing, and
product development.
 Some of the common tasks associated with the computer
engineer include software design that is customized for a
particular industry type. A computer engineer is not only
part of the design process of a new application, but also
continues to provide service and support as new versions
of software are released.
Fields of Engineering
 Electric And Electronics Engineering: Electric engineering is
the branch of engineering concerned with the practical
applications of electricity in all its forms, including
those of the field of electronics.
 Electronics engineering is that branch of electrical
engineering concerned with the uses of the
electromagnetic spectrum and with the application of
such electronic devices as integrated circuits, transistors,
and vacuum tubes.
 Electrical engineering is the branch dealing with “heavy
current” (electric light and power systems and
apparatuses) whereas electronics engineering deals with
such “light current” applications as wire and radio
communication, the stored-program electronic computer,
radar, and automatic control systems.
Fields of Engineering
 Environmental Engineering: Environmental engineering
consists on the development of processes and
infrastructure for the supply of water, the disposal of waste,
and the control of pollution of all kinds. These endeavors
protect public health by preventing disease transmission,
and they preserve the quality of the environment by
averting the contamination and degradation of air, water,
and land resources.
 Projects in environmental engineering involve the
treatment and distribution of drinking water; the collection,
treatment, and disposal of wastewater; the control of air
pollution and noise pollution; municipal solid-waste
management and hazardous-waste management; the
cleanup of hazardous-waste sites; and the preparation of
environmental assessments, audits, and impact studies.
Fields of Engineering
 Industrial Engineering: It is the application of engineering
principles and techniques of scientific management to the
maintenance of a high level of productivity at optimum
cost in industrial enterprises. The managers responsible for
industrial production require an enormous amount of
assistance and support because of the complexity of most
production systems, and the additional burden of
planning, scheduling, and coordination. Historically, this
support was provided by industrial engineers whose major
concern was with methods, standards, and the
organization of process technology.
 Industrial engineering originated with the studies of Taylor,
the Gilbreths, and other pioneers of mass production
methods. Their work expanded into responsibilities that now
include the development of work methods to increase
efficiency and eliminate worker fatigue.
Fields of Engineering
 Mechanical Engineering: It is the branch of engineering
concerned with the design, manufacture, installation, and
operation of engines and machines and with
manufacturing processes. It is particularly concerned with
forces and motion.
 Four functions of the mechanical engineer can be cited.
The first is the understanding of and dealing with the bases
of mechanical science. It include dynamics, concerning
the relation between forces and motion. Second is the
sequence of research, design, and development. This
function attempts to bring about the changes necessary to
meet present and future needs. Third is production of
products and power, which embraces planning,
operation, and maintenance. Fourth is the coordinating
function of the mechanical engineer, including
management, consulting, and, in some cases, marketing
Measurement Systems
Introduction
 Weights and measures were among the earliest tools
invented by man. Primitive societies needed rudimentary
measures for many tasks: constructing dwellings of an
appropriate size and shape, fashioning clothing and
bartering food or raw materials.
 As societies evolved, measurements became more
complex. The invention of numbering systems and the
science of mathematics made it possible to create whole
systems of measurement units suited to trade and
commerce, land division, taxation, and scientific research.
 Although the concept of weights and measures today
includes such factors as temperature, luminosity, pressure,
and electric current, it once consisted of only four basic
measurements: mass (weight), distance or length, area,
and volume (liquid or grain measure).
The English System
The measurement system commonly used in the
United States today is nearly the same as that
brought by the colonists from England.
The "yard" as a measure of length can be
traced back to early Saxon kings. They wore a
sash or girdle around the waist that could be
removed and used as a convenient measuring
device. The word "yard" comes from the Saxon
word "gird" meaning the circumference of a
person’s waist.
Standardizing various units and combining them
into loosely related systems of measurement
units sometimes occurred in fascinating ways.
The English System
 Tradition holds that King Henry I decreed that a yard
should be the distance from the tip of his nose to
the end of his outstretched thumb.
 After 1959, the U.S. and the British inch were defined
identically for scientific work and were identical in
commercial usage.
 The U.S. customary bushel and the U.S. gallon, and
their subdivisions differ from the corresponding British
Imperial units. Also, the British ton is 2240 pounds,
whereas the ton generally used in the United States
is the short ton of 2000 pounds. The American
colonists adopted the English wine gallon of 231
cubic inches.
Metric System
 The metric system is a relatively modern system (just
over 200 years old) which has been developed
based on scientific principles to meet the
requirements of science and trade.
 The metric system offers a number of substantial
advantages:
➢Simplicity: The Metric system has only 7 basic
measures, plus a substantial number of measures
using various combinations of these base
measures. The imperial system (prior to the UK
converting to metric) and the USA system have
over 300 different measures of which many are
ambiguous.
Metric System
➢Ease of calculation: All the units in the metric
system are multiplied by 10 (to make larger
units) or divided by 10 (to make smaller units).
For example a kilometer is 1000 meters (10 *10
* 10).
➢International Standard: With the exception of
the USA, all major countries have converted
to the metric system (although in some
countries, such as the UK, the conversion to
metric is not yet complete).