Sustainable Development in Mechanical Engineering

Book excerpt: Owing to their specialized training, engineers play a crucial role in the design and development of new products or infrastructure as well as the creation of wealth. Consequently, engineers recognize that in the performance of these functions they have a specific responsibility to take such measures as are appropriate to safeguard the environment, health, safety and well-being of the public. This book proposes a series of fifteen practical cases, integrating knowledge from different fields of the mechanical engineering discipline, along with basic knowledge in environment, occupational health and safety risk management. The cases are descriptions of a real system, it’s functioning and it’s instructions for use. The systems selected represent a broad spectrum of mechanical engineering issues or problems: fluid mechanics, thermodynamics, heat transfer, heating, ventilation and cooling, vibrations, dynamics, statics, failure of materials, automatic and mecatronics, hydraulics, product design, human factors, maintenance, rapid prototyping to name a few. The professional objective of the cases proposed is to design or improve the design of the described system. This book is a must to transfer knowledge to future engineers with respect to hazards resulting from their work.