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MEC · 14 71 entries

Engineering branch

Mechanical Engineering

Mechanical engineering entries on stress analysis, machine design, power transmission, fluid flow, piping, vibration, rotating machinery, and thermal management.

Entries · 71
Topic Machine Design and Power Transmission Systems Mechanical guide to machine design and power transmission: shafts, gears, bearings, couplings, fasteners, lubrication, vibration, fatigue, reliability, and validation. Topic Mechanical Fluid Flow and Piping Systems Engineering guide to mechanical fluid flow, piping, pressure loss, Reynolds number, pumps, valves, cavitation, flow meters, water hammer, and system validation. Topic Mechanical Stress Analysis A practical introduction to mechanical stress analysis, including loads, stress and strain, elasticity, beams, torsion, stress concentrations, yielding, fatigue, buckling, and validation. Topic Mechanical Vibration and Rotating Machinery Reliability Mechanical vibration guide covering resonance, damping, rotor dynamics, bearings, alignment, fatigue, condition monitoring, maintenance, and validation. Topic Thermal Management, Heat Transfer, and Cooling Systems Mechanical thermal management guide covering heat duty, conduction, convection, heat exchangers, cooling, thermal stress, controls, reliability, and validation. Glossary term Assembly Tolerance The permitted dimensional and geometric variation across multiple parts while still allowing an assembly to fit, move, seal, align, or perform as intended. Glossary term Bearing A machine element that supports relative motion between parts while carrying radial, axial, or combined loads with controlled friction and alignment. Glossary term Bernoulli Equation An energy relation for steady flow that links pressure, velocity, and elevation along a streamline under defined assumptions. Glossary term Buckling Load The critical compressive load at which a member, plate, shell, or structural system loses stability and develops a lateral or local deformation mode. Glossary term Cavitation The formation, growth, and collapse of vapor cavities in a liquid when local pressure falls near or below the liquid vapor pressure. Glossary term Continuity Equation A conservation relation stating that mass is neither created nor destroyed within a defined flow system, except through specified sources or sinks. Glossary term Flange A projecting rim, collar, plate, or ring used to connect, stiffen, locate, seal, or transmit load between components. Glossary term Flow Rate The amount of fluid passing through a section, device, or control volume per unit time, expressed as volume flow or mass flow. Glossary term Free-Body Diagram A diagram that isolates a body or component and shows the external forces, moments, reactions, and selected coordinate system acting on it. Glossary term Gauge Pressure Pressure measured relative to local atmospheric pressure rather than relative to a perfect vacuum. Glossary term Gear Ratio The ratio that relates rotational speed, torque, and tooth counts between meshing gears or gear stages. Glossary term Geometric Tolerance A tolerance that controls the allowable variation of a part feature's form, orientation, location, profile, or runout. Glossary term Hoist A lifting device that raises or lowers a suspended load using rope, chain, drum, sheave, or geared drive mechanisms. Glossary term Hydraulics The engineering discipline concerned with the behaviour, control, and use of liquids under pressure and flow. Glossary term Hydrostatic Pressure Pressure in a stationary fluid caused by fluid weight, depth, density, gravity, and any applied surface pressure. Glossary term Inertia The property by which mass resists changes in translational or rotational motion under applied force or torque. Glossary term Jerk The time rate of change of acceleration, used to describe abruptness in motion profiles, vibration, and ride comfort. Glossary term K-Factor A sheet-metal bending factor that locates the neutral axis through the material thickness for bend allowance calculations. Glossary term Keyway A machined slot in a shaft or hub that receives a key to transmit torque between rotating components. Glossary term Kinematic Chain An arrangement of rigid bodies connected by joints that constrains and transmits motion. Glossary term Kinetic Energy The energy possessed by a body because of its translational or rotational motion. Glossary term Knock Abnormal combustion in a spark-ignition engine caused by rapid autoignition of unburned end-gas. Glossary term Laminar Flow A flow regime in which fluid motion is smooth, layered, and dominated by viscous effects rather than turbulent mixing. Glossary term Modal Analysis The study of natural frequencies, mode shapes, and damping of a dynamic structure. Glossary term Moment of Inertia A measure of how mass or cross-sectional area is distributed relative to an axis, affecting rotation, bending, and stability. Glossary term Natural Frequency A frequency at which a system tends to oscillate when disturbed without continuing excitation. Glossary term Orifice Plate A calibrated restriction plate that infers fluid flow rate from the differential pressure generated across an orifice. Glossary term Pascal Law The principle that pressure applied to a confined fluid is transmitted undiminished throughout the fluid. Glossary term Pressure Vessel A container designed to hold gases or liquids at pressure substantially different from ambient pressure. Glossary term Quasi-Static Analysis Analysis that treats loads as changing slowly enough that inertial effects can be neglected. Glossary term Quick Return Mechanism A reciprocating mechanism arranged to produce a slower cutting or working stroke and a faster return stroke. Glossary term Resonance Large-amplitude response that occurs when excitation frequency is near a natural frequency. Glossary term Reynolds Number A dimensionless fluid-flow ratio comparing inertial and viscous effects to classify similarity, laminar flow, transition, and turbulence. Glossary term Rotor Dynamics The study of vibration, stability, critical speeds, bearing forces, and dynamic response in rotating machinery. Glossary term Runout Geometric deviation of a rotating surface from ideal circular or axial alignment. Glossary term Screw Thread A helical ridge used to fasten components or convert rotation into linear motion. Glossary term Strain Gauge A resistive sensor that converts mechanical strain into a small electrical resistance change for force, load, and deformation measurement. Glossary term Stress The internal force per unit area that develops inside a material when external loads are applied. Glossary term Stress Concentration The local amplification of stress that occurs near geometric discontinuities such as holes, notches, and fillets. Glossary term Stress Tensor The mathematical object that fully describes the stress state at a point inside a three-dimensional body. Glossary term Tachometer An instrument or sensor system used to measure the rotational speed of shafts, rotors, wheels, motors, or machinery. Glossary term Thermal Stress Internal stress generated in a body when thermal expansion or contraction is constrained by boundary conditions or material mismatch. Glossary term Tolerance Stack-Up The analysis of accumulated dimensional and geometric variation across parts, datums, interfaces, and assembly operations. Glossary term Torque The rotational moment produced by a force acting with a lever arm about an axis, shaft, joint, or fastener. Glossary term Turbulence Irregular fluid motion dominated by fluctuations, mixing, and multi-scale vortical structures. Glossary term Undercut A local recess, groove, or manufacturing defect that reduces section strength or functional geometry. Glossary term Vacuum Pressure Pressure below atmospheric pressure, specified either as gauge vacuum or as absolute pressure. Glossary term Venturi Meter A flow measurement device that infers flow rate from pressure change through a converging-diverging section. Glossary term Vibration Isolation The reduction of transmitted vibration using compliant, damping, or inertial elements. Glossary term Viscosity A fluid property describing resistance to shear deformation and relative motion between layers, strongly affected by temperature and rheology. Glossary term Volumetric Efficiency The ratio of the actual volume of fluid drawn into a reciprocating machine per cycle to the swept volume of the piston, measuring how completely the working volume is utilised. Glossary term Von Mises Criterion A yield criterion that predicts the onset of plastic deformation in ductile materials under multiaxial stress states. Glossary term Water Hammer A hydraulic transient pressure surge caused by rapid changes in fluid velocity inside a pipe, conduit, valve, or pump system. Glossary term Yoke A forked or frame-like mechanical component used to connect, support, guide, or transmit load between parts. History History of Steam Power Engineering Engineering history of steam power, from mine pumping and Watt engines to boilers, thermodynamics, governors, turbines, pressure-vessel safety, power stations, and modern thermal systems. Formula sheet Mechanical Stress Analysis Formula Sheet Mechanical stress formulas for axial stress, strain, bending, torsion, shear, von Mises stress, stress concentration, deflection, buckling, thermal stress, and fatigue. Formula sheet Thermal Resistance Network Formula Sheet Formula sheet for thermal resistance networks covering conduction, contact interfaces, convection, radiation, series and parallel paths, junction temperature, transient RC models, heat spreading, and validation from measured temperatures. Project Electronics Thermal Management Project Engineering project for designing and validating the thermal management of an electronics assembly, including power loss, junction temperature, PCB heat spreading, heat sink selection, airflow, derating, instrumentation, and test evidence. Exercise set Heat Sink and Forced Convection Sizing Exercises Worked mechanical engineering exercises for heat sink and forced convection sizing, covering thermal resistance targets, airflow, convection coefficients, fin area, coolant flow, pressure drop, fan power, derating, and validation. Exercise set Machine Design and Power Transmission Systems Exercises Worked mechanical engineering exercises for machine design covering torque, speed, gear ratio, shaft sizing, keyway stress, bearing life, resonance separation, reflected inertia, tolerance stack-up, fatigue damage, hoist brake torque, and validation. Exercise set Mechanical Fluid Flow and Piping Systems Exercises Worked mechanical engineering exercises for fluid flow and piping covering continuity, Reynolds number, pressure loss, pump power, NPSH margin, valve pressure drop, flow-meter inference, water hammer, branch balancing, and validation. Exercise set Mechanical Stress Analysis Exercises Worked mechanical engineering exercises for stress analysis covering axial stress, bending, torsion, von Mises stress, stress concentration, deflection, buckling, thermal stress, fatigue, pressure loads, and strain-gauge validation. Exercise set Mechanical Vibration and Rotating Machinery Reliability Exercises Worked mechanical engineering exercises for vibration and rotating machinery covering forcing frequencies, resonance separation, damping ratio, unbalance force, isolation transmissibility, speed avoidance, gear mesh frequency, sampling, fatigue damage, RPN, and validation. Exercise set Thermal Management and Heat Transfer Exercises Worked mechanical engineering exercises for thermal management covering heat duty, thermal resistance, junction temperature, convection, coolant flow, heat exchangers, heat flux, and validation. Case study Thermal Runaway and Cooling Failure Case Study Case study of a thermal runaway and cooling failure in an electronics and battery-adjacent system, covering heat generation, cooling degradation, sensor evidence, derating, protection, failure modes, and validation lessons. Case study Watt Governor Case Study A case study of the centrifugal governor used on steam engines, showing how mechanical feedback regulates speed and why stability, delay, friction, and loop gain matter.