1/97 mechanical engineering features

January 1997

feature article

product development on the web
Researchers and software developers are evaluating how the Internet, Java, and object-oriented programming could help create a unified network architecture for managing the product-development process

article abstracts

upgrading aging hydraulics
Manufacturers are retrofitting old hydraulic equipment with electronic controls, valves, and sensors to obtain the improved performance of modern machines at half the cost

intelligent sheet-metal bending
Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University have developed a software system that can produce process plans for sheet-metal bending 50 times faster than human specialists

modified motor designs save energy
Reconfigured components such as rotors and fan blades plus a new generation of superconducting materials are resulting in more-energy-efficient motors

taking an engine's temperature
When properly applied as a thin coating, thermally sensitive phosphors can monitor the temperature of ceramic surfaces inside an engine

predicting aneurysms with CFD
Computational-fluid-dynamics codes can simulate how blood flows within a cerebral aneurysm, helping surgeons to determine the best treatment method given the geometry, shear stress, and blood velocity of the patient

simulator trains chunnel operators
A state-of-the-art simulator with electric motors and an advanced imaging system helps prepare operators for work in the tunnel that runs under the English Channel