Infinite dimensions of Mechanical Engineering

Yes, it ain’t just about the machines........What comes to your mind when you listen to the word “Mechanical Engineering”? I am very sure few images of machines that you have seen in your day to day life come first. But it is not all and only about the machines that the most widespread, multi facets, multi-disciplinary and the oldest engineering brings to you. If one looks carefully he can always find the fringes of this engineering discipline in each and every object and happenings around him.

Bioengineering

What is the most closest and precious to you- your body! We are there also to help you. Here we come to make you live longer by replicating your body parts and helping in replacing them by your damaged body organs. Devices such as pace-makers, artificial joints and replacement heart valves are all designed along strong engineering principles. A bio-engineer must consider the mechanics, wear and compatibility of materials with the human body. Remember once it's in there you don't want it to break down!

Shown on the left is a heart valve opening under a pulse of blood. To build an artificial valve like this you need to understand the fluid flow through the valve, the mechanical design and material selection since you don't want the body to reject the valve. Finally you need to be able to test and manufacture the valve. Can you do it without a “Mechanical Engineer”!!!

Computational Fluid Dynamics

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) is the process of modeling fluid flows by the numerical solution of the governing partial differential equations or other mathematical equations of motion. CFD is used to build a computational model that represents a system or device to be studied. Then the fluid flow physics and chemistry is applied to this virtual prototype, and the software gives output a prediction of the fluid dynamics and related physical phenomena. Therefore, it is a sophisticated computationally-based design and analysis technique.

CFD software has the power to simulate flows of gases and liquids, heat and mass transfer, moving bodies, multiphase physics, chemical reaction, fluid-structure interaction and acoustics through computer modeling. Its industrial applications are rapidly expanding worldwide. It has got its application in the wide spectrum of engineering which includes wind tunnel flow, engine cooling, combustion chambers, air and liquid cooled devices, drug delivery system, blood flow, room ventilation, heat exchangers, and structural wind loads. Where ever comes the fluid and the heat flow there it comes to the CFD !

Energy & Environment

Energy conversion engineering is one of the foundational activities that define mechanical engineering. Mechanical engineering has been involved in energy conversion technologies since its inception, with programs in steam engines (1870-1950), internal combustion engines (1920s-present), gas turbines (1920s-1930s), and low-temperature refrigeration (1940s-present). Current research in this field is moving into new areas with the goals of lessening reliance on fossil fuels (by introducing more sustainable forms of energy) and preserving the environment (by reducing emissions from fossil fuel energy conversion).

Apart from the energy conversion and saving it also include the study of fire safety, miniature engines and fuel cells, pollutant formation during combustion, transport processes during soil and groundwater cleanup, cooling of electronic components at the chip level, microscale phase change for efficient power and thermal management to minimize energy use and environmental impact, turbulent energy transfer in reacting systems, thermoelectric cooling and power generation, energy requirements for large data centers with clusters of web servers, stand alone power generation for buildings, industries.

Manufacturing

Integrated Manufacturing combines classical topics in design, controls and materials processing with newer research techniques in Internet- based CAD/CAM, rapid-prototyping, intelligent agents, computer graphics, micro-fabrication, artificial intelligence, and sensors.

Materials

Materials science and engineering is an exciting and rapidly advancing discipline impacting a broad range of technologies. Research in this field includes the topics like Electronic, magnetic and Optical Materials, Structural Materials, Chemical and Electrochemical Materials, and the most advanced Computational Materials.

Mechatronics and Robotics

Mechatronics, a flexible, multi-technological approach in the integration of Mechanical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Electronics, and Information Sciences, is essential to the design of intelligent products. This integrative technology allows engineers to transform conceptions into reality. The major research areas associated with this field are Robot design and control, Manufacturing process control, Human-machine systems, Motion control, Micro electromechanical systems (MEMSmachine

design, Computer software for real time control and diagnostics, Mechanical systems modeling, identification, and control Computer mechanics.

Nanotechnology – Here comes another dimension of Mechanical engineering- working on nano scales. A Nanometer is tiny - much smaller than a millimeter - you could get 80 thousand nanometers across a human hair!

Nanotechnology brings together people like engineers, material scientists, chemists and biologists and allows them to precisely control the molecules of a material. This means they can make materials which are not just lighter, tougher and more flexible but also interactive, responsive and smart too. They can also manufacture complex nanocomponents from these materials and combine them to create tiny machines.

There are lots of uses for nanotechnology, already micro-machines are used in car airbags to sense when you are involved in a crash and they can

be used to control the delivery of drugs to our skin. However although we can imagine what a nano-robot may look like we have to little fear about them taking over our bodies as we just can't make the engine in that tiny space powerful enough!

Nuclear Engineering

Nuclear engineering is concerned with the science of nuclear processes and their application to the development of various technologies. Nuclear processes are fundamental in the medical diagnosis and treatment fields, and in basic and applied research concerning accelerator, laser and superconducting magnetic systems. Utilization of nuclear fission energy for the production of electricity is the current major commercial application, and radioactive thermal generators power a number of spacecraft.

Nuclear engineers are therefore concerned with maintaining expertise in the design and development of advanced fission reactors, performing basic and applied research in the development and ultimate commercialization of fusion energy, developing both institutional and technical options for radioactive waste and nuclear materials management, and in fostering research in nuclear science and applications, with emphasis on bioengineering, detection and instrumentation and environmental science.

Ocean Engineering

It involves the development, design, and analysis of man-made systems that can operate in the offshore or coastal environment. Such systems are used for transportation, recreation, fisheries, extraction of petroleum or other minerals, and recovery of thermal or wave energy, among others. Some systems are bottom-mounted, particularly those in shallower depths; others are mobile, as in the case of ships, submersibles, or floating drill rigs. Most are designed to withstand a hostile environment and to operate efficiently while environmentally friendly. Any failure would simply mean a disaster, can you design it without a MechE !!

Operation Research

People who have an inclination towards the Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms, logistics and Manufacturing planning opt to work in this very emerging field of Mechanical Engineering. Some of the research areas represented in the operation research are analysis of algorithms, automation and robotics, combinatorics and integer programming, convex optimization, financial engineering, inventory theory, risk analysis, robust optimization, queueing theory, supply chain management, scheduling, simulation.

Refernces :

http://meche.mit.edu/ http://www.coe.berkeley.edu/