Engineering Research Series (REP) – serie

Advanced manufacturing technologies (AMTs) combine novel manufacturing techniques and machines with the application of information technology, microelectronics and new organizational practices within the manufacturing sector. They include "hard" technologies such as rapid prototyping, and "soft" technologies such as scanned point cloud data manipulation. AMTs contribute significantly to medical and biomedical engineering. The number of applications is rapidly increasing, with many important new products now under development. Advanced Manufacturing Technology for Medical Applications outlines the state of the art in advanced manufacturing technology and points to the future development of this exciting field. Early chapters look at actual medical applications already employing AMT, and progress to how reverse engineering allows users to create system solutions to medical problems. The authors also investigate how hard and soft systems are used to create these solutions ready for building. Applications follow where models are created using a variety of different techniques to suit different medical problems One of the first texts to be dedicated to the use of rapid prototyping, reverse engineering and associated software for medical applicationsTies together the two distinct disciplines of engineering and medicineFeatures contributions from experts who are recognised pioneers in the use of these technologies for medical applicationsIncludes work carried out in both a research and a commercial capacity, with representatives from 3 companies that are established as world leaders in the field – Medical Modelling, Materialise, & AnatomicsCovers a comprehensive range of medical applications, from dentistry and surgery to neurosurgery and prosthetic designMedical practitioners interested in implementing new advanced methods will find Advanced Manufacturing Technology for Medical Applications invaluable as will engineers developing applications for the medical industry. Academics and researchers also now have a vital resource at their disposal.

An Engineering Research Series title.This excellent and long awaited book is based upon extensive research carried out by the Institute of Tribology at the University of Leeds in the UK and the Ford Motor Company Ltd. It is concerned with both the theoretical and experimental study of the tribological performance of an automobile valve train, having an offset taper cam and a domed follower, incorporated with an hydraulic lash adjuster, with particular reference to the ZETA engine valve train.A sophisticated theoretical model has been developed that predicts the tribological performance of the valve train, and also provides a useful tool for the consideration of the tribological design of valve trains. Additionally the model can estimate the instantaneous and average rotational frequency of the follower, and the performance of the hydraulic lash adjuster.In order to validate the theoretical model, the experimental measurements have been correlated with the theoretical predictions that simulate the test conditions of the valve train. The agreement between the measurements and the predictions show that the model is very reliable. This gives readers great confidence in using the model when dealing with novel and alternative designs of the valve train.COMPLETE CONTENTS: Part One – Theoretical Formulation. Kinematics and dynamics of the cam and followerHydraulic lash adjusterThe maximum hertzian stressesAsperity interactionsThe oil film thicknessFriction and power loss of the valve trainThe rotation of the followerThe overall solution procedure and input/output dataAn example of the tribological analysis of a valve train.Part Two – Experimental Study. Test apparatus and the instrumentationCalibration of the instrumentation and commissioning testsTest procedureData processingExperimental results and discussionsPart Three – Correlation of theory and experiments. Experimental evidencesTheoretical predictionsComparison of results and discussionsOverall conclusions.

Industrial Application of Environmentally Conscious Design describes the transition that companies are making towards incorporating environmental thinking into their design and product development activities. Based upon the experiences, ideas and opinions of a collection of practitioners from product development companies in Europe and the USA, a pattern is identified, describing the cause and effect of the changes that industry moves through when learning and adopting environmental principles.

The techniques available to engineers for the modification of a material’s wettability characteristics are invariably extremely complex and difficult to control. The use of lasers, however, has been shown to provide a clean, accurate, and versatile way of modifying and improving the wettability characteristics of a wide range of engineering materials. Lawrence and Li have amply demonstrated the practicability of employing different types of lasers to effect changes in the wettability charactersitics of a number of engineering materials. Laser Maodification of the Wettability Characteristics of Engineering Materials makes extensive and comparative studies of the behavior and properties of composite, ceramic, metallic, and polymeric materials. The final chapter, practical applications of the use of lasers in modifying material behavior, is particularly useful as it puts this cutting edge research in industrial context.The authors have extended the scope of their industrially based research to present a very useful, coherent source for engineers. This excellen volume will be of great value to all those engineers and materials technologists working in industry or research institutions interested in the latest developments of property manipulation. Tribologists, surface technologists, those concerned with protective coatings and bonding materials, as well as anyone interested in laser technology, opt-electronics, marking, and laser engraving will find Laser Modification a useful guide.

An important title in the "Engineering Research Series" Adaptive Neural Control of Walking Robots brings together two important areas of technological development: adaptive neural control and mobile/walking robots. The development and management of locomotory robots has not only produced machines that are useful on uneven ground, for climbing walls, in dangerous or hostile environments, and in remote situations, but has also been responsible for some excellent engineering and technological solutions in the field of responsive or adaptive control.Adaptive Neural Control of Walking Robots will be of interest to engineers and research establishments working on the practical or industrial application of climbing and walking robots. The book will also interest those concerned with robot control systems, adaptive neural control, and applications of autonomous or programmable machine behaviour in multijointed systems.COMPLETE CONTENTS: Introduction and backgroundA generic intelligent control hierarchyInsect observations and hexapod designModels for co-ordination of walkingLeg trajectory planning and generationHexapod kinematics and dynamicsThe theory of stable adaptive neural control for open-chain systemsStable neural control of systems with constraintsand closed kinematic chainsHexapod experimentsSummary, conclusions, and outlook

The tubular welded joints used in the construction of offshore structures can experience millions of variable amplitude load cycles during their service life. Such fatigue loading represents a main cause of degradation in these structures. As a result, fatigue is an important consideration in their design. Fatigue and Fracture Mechanisms of Offshore Structures present novel research and the results of wave-induced stress on the operational life of offshore structures. Containing results of an investigation undertaken to assess the fatigue and fracture performance of steels used in the offshore industry, Fatigue and Fracture Mechanics of Offshore Structures includes, Stress analysis of tubular jointsFatigue designFatigue loading in Jackup structuresJack-up dynamic responseModelling of wave loadingTest specimen considerationsThe stress intensity factor conceptVariable amplitude crack growth modelsConsideration of sequence effectsSea state probability modelThe important research in this book will be of interest to those dealing with a wide range of engineering structures - from bridges and buildings to masts and pipelines, as well as fatigue and fracture specialists, and those concerned with materials technology.

A title in the "Engineering Research Series" Constraint-Aided Conceptual Design is concerned with that phase of product development during which the designer takes a specification for the product and generates many broad solutions to achieve the end result. This valuable book offers a computational reasoning solution based on the notion of constraint filtering as the basis of an interactive design support tool to assist a human designer working in the conceptual phase of design. Using this interactive design support tool, the designer can be assisted in developing models of proposed schemes which satisfy the various constraints that are imposed on the design.COMPLETE CONTENTS: BackgroundTheoryImplementation strategyIllustration and validationConclusionsAn overview of GalileoGeneric design conceptsAn illustrative exampleAn industrial case study.

An "Engineering Research Series" title. Valve wear and its effect upon engine performance still presents a major challenge to the tribologist. Although new valve materials and production techniques are constantly being developed, these advances have been outpaced by demands for increased engine performance. The drive for reduced oil consumption and exhaust emissions, use of lead-replacement and low-sulphur fuels, and the introduction of alternative fuels such as gas all have implications for valve and seat insert wear.Automotive Engine Valve Recession aims to provide the reader with a complete understanding of valve recession. The fundamental nature of contact and wear between valves and valve seats is considered, followed by an outline of the essential features of valve operation and the potentially serious problems associated with wear and valve recession in automobile engines. An overview is then given of an experimental study of valve wear and the development of special apparatus for the simulation of engine operating conditions carried out in the School of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sheffield, UK. CONTENTS INCLUDE: IntroductionValve operation and designValve failureAnalysis of failed componentsValve and seat wear testing apparatusExperimental studies on valve wearDesign tools for prediction of valve recession and solving valve failure problems.