Books in the Synthesis Lectures on Mechanical Engineering series

This second edition builds on the foundation established by the previous first edition published in 2017. The first edition covered background information, description, and analysis of four major cooling system technologies - vapor compression cooling, evaporative cooling, absorption cooling, and gas cooling. The second edition has been expanded to include increased coverage of cooling system refrigerants, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and building cooling loads. With increasing climate change due to the buildup of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, there has been a worldwide impetus to transition to cooling systems and refrigerants that have a low or even zero global warming potential. The text is written as a tutorial for engineering students and practicing engineers who want to become more familiar with the performance of refrigeration and air conditioning systems. The goals are to familiarize the reader with cooling technology nomenclature and provide insight into how refrigeration and air conditioning systems can be modeled and analyzed. Emphasis is placed on constructing idealized thermodynamic cycles to represent actual physical situations in cooling systems. The book contains numerous practical examples to show how one can calculate the performance of cooling system components. By becoming familiar with the analyses presented in the examples, one can gain a feel for representative values of the various thermal and mechanical parameters that characterize cooling systems. 

Complex variable theory is attractive for engineers as it offers elegant approaches for certain types of differential equations in engineering including heat transfer, solid mechanics, and fluid mechanics. However, a gap exists between books written by mathematicians and books written by engineers in their specific fields. Naturally, mathematicians tend to emphasize rigorousness and consistency while less emphasizing applications. On the other hand, books written by engineers often jump directly to the specific topics assuming that the readers already have sufficient background of complex variables and the pathway from theory to the application is not clearly elucidated. This book closes the gap in the literature. providing a smooth transition from basic theory to the application is accomplished. Although it is not possible to cover all the topics in engineering exhaustively, the readers can at least find the logic of how and why complex variables are effective for some of the engineering problems. Another motivation for writing this book is to demonstrate that the readers can take advantage of a computer algebra system, Mathematica, to facilitate tedious algebra and visualize complex functions so that they can focus on principles instead of spending endless hours on algebra by hand. Unlike numerical tools such as MATLAB and FORTRAN, Mathematica can expand, differentiate, and integrate complex-valued functions symbolically. Mathematica can be used as a stand-alone symbolic calculator or a programming tool using the Wolfram Language. If Mathematica is not available locally, Wolfram Cloud Basic can be used online as a free service to execute Mathematica statements.

The inherent complex dynamics of a parametrically excited pendulum is of great interest in nonlinear dynamics, which can help one better understand the complex world.Even though the parametrically excited pendulum is one of the simplest nonlinear systems, until now, complex motions in such a parametric pendulum cannot be achieved. In this book, the bifurcation dynamics of periodic motions to chaos in a damped, parametrically excited pendulum is discussed. Complete bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos in the parametrically excited pendulum include:period-1 motion (static equilibriums) to chaos, andperiod-,,,, motions to chaos (,,,, = 1, 2, , 6, 8, , 12).The aforesaid bifurcation trees of periodic motions to chaos coexist in the same parameter ranges, which are very difficult to determine through traditional analysis. Harmonic frequency-amplitude characteristics of such bifurcation trees are also presented to show motion complexity and nonlinearity in such a parametrically excited pendulum system. The non-travelable and travelable periodic motions on the bifurcation trees are discovered. Through the bifurcation trees of travelable and non-travelable periodic motions, the travelable and non-travelable chaos in the parametrically excited pendulum can be achieved. Based on the traditional analysis, one cannot achieve the adequate solutions presented herein for periodic motions to chaos in the parametrically excited pendulum. The results in this book may cause one rethinking how to determine motion complexity in nonlinear dynamical systems.

Finite element analysis is a basic foundational topic that all engineering majors need to understand in order for them to be productive engineering analysts for a variety of industries. This book provides an introductory treatment of finite element analysis with an overview of the various fundamental concepts and applications. It introduces the basic concepts of the finite element method and examples of analysis using systematic methodologies based on ANSYS software. Finite element concepts involving one-dimensional problems are discussed in detail so the reader can thoroughly comprehend the concepts and progressively build upon those problems to aid in analyzing two-dimensional and three-dimensional problems. Moreover, the analysis processes are listed step-by-step for easy implementation, and an overview of two-dimensional and three-dimensional concepts and problems is also provided. In addition, multiphysics problems involving coupled analysis examples are presented to further illustrate the broad applicability of the finite element method for a variety of engineering disciplines.The book is primarily targeted toward undergraduate students majoring in civil, biomedical, mechanical, electrical, and aerospace engineering and any other fields involving aspects of engineering analysis.

The use of sensors and instrumentation for measuring and control is growing at a very rapid rate in all facets of life in today's world. This Part II of Instrumentation: Theory and Practice is designed to provide the reader with essential knowledge regarding a broad spectrum of sensors and transducers and their applications. This textbook is intended for use as an introductory one-semester course at the junior level of an undergraduate program. It is also very relevant for technicians, engineers, and researchers who had no formal training in instrumentation and wish to engage in experimental measurements. The prerequisites are: a basic knowledge of multivariable calculus, introductory physics, college algebra, and a familiarity with basic electrical circuits and components. This book emphasizes the use of simplified electrical circuits to convert the change in the measured physical variable into a voltage output signal. In each chapter, relevant sensors and their operation are presented and discussed at a fundamental level and are integrated with the essential mathematical theory in a simplified form. The book is richly illustrated with colored figures and images. End-of-chapter examples and problems complement the text in a simple and straight forward manner.

An introductory textbook covering the kinematics and dynamics of particles, systems of particles, and kinematics and dynamics of rigid bodies. The primary focus of the book is on kinematics and dynamics of particles, kinematics and dynamics of systems of particles, and kinematics and dynamics of rigid bodies in two- and three-dimensional spaces.

Explores seven topics on dynamics, the branch of mechanics that is concerned with the relation existing between the forces acting on the objects and the motion of these objects. This book targets undergraduate students at the sophomore/junior level majoring in science and engineering.