Features Table of Contents

October 1998

feature articles

bringing launch costs down to earth
Three federally funded projects are underway to develop new rocket engines that can make it more affordable to send payloads into orbit.

combating heart disease with FEA
Biomedical researchers are combining electrostatic finite-element-analysis software with laboratory testing to improve treatments for arrhythmia.

PDM moves to the mainstream
Now that the largest manufacturers have demonstrated success in fattening the bottom line with product-data management, small and midsize companies are embracing the technology.

keeping virtual products on track
PDM software helped engineers shrink the time needed to develop a new cross-country motor coach digitally.

PDM for the enterprise
As manufacturers redefine themselves, software vendors are developing versatile tools that enable customers to re-engineer business processes locally and globally.

preserving earth's stratosphere
Ozone levels in the Arctic and Antarctic should begin to recover due to reductions in chlorofluorocarbon production, but greenhouse warming may exacerbate losses of the gas in the polar regions.

choosing the right refrigerant
Given today's environmental, safety, performance, and economic concerns, what options does a designer have?

natural refrigerants
Substances such as air, water, ammonia, hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide may provide solutions to the problem of finding environmentally acceptable alternatives.