A Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering PDF

Preface

Mechanical engineering is a broad subject, encompassing as it does dynamics (including vibrations), fluid mechanics, stress analysis, thermodynamics (including heat transfer) and design together with such topics as combustion, control, instrumentation and measurement, lubrication and robotics. The first five topics may be regarded as the core of mechanical engineering. None of these topics is exclusive to mechanical engineering and one or more form part of aeronautical, chemical and civil engineering. There is further overlap with acoustics, bioengineering, electrical engineering, electronics, environmental engineering and materials science. Indeed, much of modern mechanical engineering takes place at the interfaces between disciplines. There are very few man-made artefacts in which mechanical engineering does not play a major role in the design, development and manufacturing processes. For example, in the most advanced computers, the design and manufacture of high-precision moving parts and their temperature control would not be possible without the application of mechanical-engineering principles.

The selection of terms to be defined in this Dictionary of Mechanical Engineering has been to some degree subjective and it is inevitable that we have included some that others would have omitted and vice versa. For example, a practising mechanical engineer is expected to be aware of legal obligations, particularly where health and safety are concerned, cost and business implications, project management, etc. We have taken the view that important as these considerations are, they are not part of mechanical engineering as such.

This dictionary is intended to be suitable for a wide range of readers: mechanicalengineering specialists, from students to researchers and professional engineers, as well as journalists, lawyers, politicians and others with a need for definitions of mechanicalengineering terms. As well as native-English speakers we expect that the dictionary will be of value to those whose mother tongue is not English. Engineering terms tend to have the same meanings throughout the English-speaking world, but variants from British English, mainly American English, are included parenthetically where there is an essential difference other than a minor difference in spelling. Every definition is based upon information from a number of sources: textbooks, reference books (including existing dictionaries), manufacturers' websites and publications, and research papers. We have also made extensive use of the internet and become aware that many definitions there are traceable to a single source and not always correct.