Glossary of mechanical engineering
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Most of the terms listed in Wikipedia glossaries are already defined and explained within Wikipedia itself. However, glossaries like this one are useful for looking up, comparing and reviewing large numbers of terms together. You can help enhance this page by adding new terms or writing definitions for existing ones.
This glossary of mechanical engineering terms pertains specifically to mechanical engineering and its sub-disciplines. For a broad overview of engineering, see glossary of engineering.
A[edit]
- Accelerated life testing – is the process of testing a product by subjecting it to conditions (stress, strain, temperatures, voltage, vibration rate, pressure etc.) in excess of its normal service parameters in an effort to uncover faults and potential modes of failure in a short amount of time.[1][2] By analyzing the product's response to such tests, engineers can make predictions about the service life and maintenance intervals of a product.[3][4]
- Acceleration – In physics, acceleration is the rate of change of velocity of an object with respect to time. An object's acceleration is the net result of any and all forces acting on the object, as described by Newton's Second Law.[5] The SI unit for acceleration is metre per second squared (m s−2). Accelerations are vector quantities (they have magnitude and direction) and add according to the parallelogram law.[6][7] As a vector, the calculated net force is equal to the product of the object's mass (a scalar quantity) and its acceleration.
- Accelerometer – is a device that measures proper acceleration.[8] Proper acceleration, being the acceleration (or rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame,[9] is not the same as coordinate acceleration, being the acceleration in a fixed coordinate system.
- Accuracy and precision –
- Ackermann steering geometry – is a geometric arrangement of linkages in the steering of a car or other vehicle designed to solve the problem of wheels on the inside and outside of a turn needing to trace out circles of different radii. It was invented by the German carriage builder Georg Lankensperger in Munich in 1817, then patented by his agent in England, Rudolph Ackermann (1764–1834) in 1818 for horse-drawn carriages. Erasmus Darwin may have a prior claim as the inventor dating from 1758.[10]
- Acoustic droplet ejection–
- Active cooling – An active cooling system is one that involves the use of energy to cool something, as opposed to passive cooling that uses no energy. Such systems circulate a coolant to transfer heat from one place to another. The coolant is either a gas, such as in air cooling of computers, or a liquid such as in a car engine. In the latter case, liquid is pumped to transfer heat from the engine to the radiator, which in turn is cooled by passing air over it. Other active cooling systems make use of a refrigeration cycle.
- Actual mechanical advantage – The actual mechanical advantage (AMA) is the mechanical advantage determined by physical measurement of the input and output forces. Actual mechanical advantage takes into account energy loss due to deflection, friction, and wear.
- Adjoint equation – is a linear differential equation, usually derived from its primal equation using integration by parts. Gradient values with respect to a particular quantity of interest can be efficiently calculated by solving the adjoint equation. Methods based on solution of adjoint equations are used in wing shape optimization, fluid flow control and uncertainty quantification. For example this is an Itō stochastic differential equation. Now by using Euler scheme, we integrate the parts of this equation and get another equation, , here is a random variable, later one is an adjoint equation.
- Aerodynamics – is the study of the motion of air, particularly its interaction with a solid object, such as an airplane wing. It is a sub-field of fluid dynamics and gas dynamics, and many aspects of aerodynamics theory are common to these fields.
- Agitator (device) –
- Air handler – An air handler, or air handling unit (often abbreviated to AHU), is a device used to regulate and circulate air as part of a heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system.[11]
- Air conditioner – Air conditioning (often referred to as AC, A/C, or air con)[12] is the process of removing heat and moisture from the interior of an occupied space, to improve the comfort of occupants. Air conditioning can be used in both domestic and commercial environments.
- Air preheater –
- Airflow – Airflow, or air flow is the movement of air from one area to another. The primary cause of airflow is the existence of pressure gradients. Air behaves in a fluid manner, meaning particles naturally flow from areas of higher pressure to those where the pressure is lower. Atmospheric air pressure is directly related to altitude, temperature, and composition.[13][14] In engineering, airflow is a measurement of the amount of air per unit of time that flows through a particular device.
- Allowance –
- American Machinists' Handbook –
- American Society of Mechanical Engineers – The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is a professional association that, in its own words, "promotes the art, science, and practice of multidisciplinary engineering and allied sciences around the globe" via "continuing education, training and professional development, codes and standards, research, conferences and publications, government relations, and other forms of outreach."[15]
- Ampere – is the base unit of electric current in the International System of Units (SI).[16][17] It is named after André-Marie Ampère (1775–1836), French mathematician and physicist, considered the father of electrodynamics.
- Applied mechanics –
- Archimedes' screw – also known by the name the Archimedean screw or screw pump, is a machine used for transferring water from a low-lying body of water into irrigation ditches. Water is pumped by turning a screw-shaped surface inside a pipe. The screw pump is commonly attributed to Archimedes,[18]
- Artificial intelligence –
- Assembly drawing –
- Automaton clock – An automaton clock or automata clock is a type of striking clock featuring automatons.[19] Clocks like these were built from the 1st century BC through to Victorian times in Europe. A Cuckoo clock is a simple form of this type of clock.
- Automobile –
- Automotive engineering –
- Axle – is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to the vehicle, with the wheels rotating around the axle.[20] In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle is supported. In the latter case, a bearing or bushing sits inside a central hole in the wheel to allow the wheel or gear to rotate around the axle. Sometimes, especially on bicycles, the latter type axle is referred to as a spindle.
- Air Compressor – is a device that converts power (using an electric motor, diesel or gasoline engine, etc.) into potential energy stored in pressurized air (i.e., compressed air). By one of several methods, an air compressor forces more and more air into a storage tank, increasing the pressure. When tank pressure reaches its engineered upper limit the air compressor shuts off. The compressed air, then, is held in the tank until called into use.[21]
B[edit]
- Babbitt – also called Babbitt metal or bearing metal, is any of several alloys used for the bearing surface in a plain bearing. The original Babbitt alloy was invented in 1839 by Isaac Babbitt[22] in Taunton, Massachusetts, United States.
- Backdrive –
- Backlash –
- Balancing machine –
- Ball detent –
- Ball screw –
- Ball spline –
- Beale Number –
- Bearing –
- Bearing pressure – is a particular case of contact mechanics often occurring in cases where a convex surface (male cylinder or sphere) contacts a concave surface (female cylinder or sphere: bore or hemispherical cup). Excessive contact pressure can lead to a typical bearing failure such as a plastic deformation similar to peening. This problem is also referred to as bearing resistance.[23]
- Bearing surface – A bearing surface in mechanical engineering is the area of contact between two objects. It usually is used in reference to bolted joints and bearings, but can be applied to a wide variety of engineering applications. On a screw the bearing area loosely refers to the underside of the head.[24] Strictly speaking, the bearing area refers to the area of the screw head that directly bears on the part being fastened.[25] For a cylindrical bearing it is the projected area perpendicular to the applied force.[26] On a spring the bearing area refers to the amount of area on the top or bottom surface of the spring in contact with the constraining part.[27] The ways of machine tools, such as dovetail slides, box ways, prismatic ways, and other types of machine slides are also bearing surfaces.
- Belt –
- Belt friction – is a term describing the friction forces between a belt and a surface, such as a belt wrapped around a bollard. When one end of the belt is being pulled only part of this force is transmitted to the other end wrapped about a surface. The friction force increases with the amount of wrap about a surface and makes it so the tension in the belt can be different at both ends of the belt. Belt friction can be modeled by the Belt friction equation.[28]
- Bending –
- Biomechatronics –
- Bogie –
- Bonded seal –
- Brittle –
- Buckling –
- Bus--
- Bushing –
- Boilers & boiler systems
- BIW'--
C[edit]
- CAD –
- CAM –
- CAID –
- Calculator –
- Calculus –
- Car handling –
- Carbon fiber –
- Classical mechanics –
- Clean room design –
- Clock –
- Clutch –
- CNC –
- Coefficient of thermal expansion –
- Coil spring –
- Combustion –
- Composite material –
- Compression ratio –
- Compressive strength –
- Computational fluid dynamics –
- Computer –
- Computer-aided design –
- Computer-aided industrial design –
- Computer-numerically controlled –
- Conservation of mass –
- Constant-velocity joint –
- Constraint –
- Continuum mechanics –
- Control theory –
- Corrosion –
- Cotter pin –
- Crankshaft –
- Cybernetics –
D[edit]
- Damping –
- Deformation (engineering) –
- Delamination –
- Design –
- Design for manufacturability –
- Diesel Engine –
- Differential –
- Dimensionless number –
- Diode –
- Diode laser –
- Docking sleeve –
- Drafting –
- Drifting –
- Driveshaft –
- Dynamics –
- Dynamometer –
E[edit]
- Elasticity –
- Electric motor –
- Electrical engineering –
- Electrical circuit –
- Electrical network –
- Electromagnetism –
- Electronic circuit –
- Electronics –
- Energy –
- Engine –
- Engineering –
- Engineering cybernetics –
- Engineering drawing –
- Engineering economics –
- Engineering ethics –
- Engineering management –
- Engineering society –
- Exploratory engineering –
F[edit]
- Fits and tolerances -
- Factor of safety –
- False precision –
- Fast fracture –
- Fatigue –
- Fillet –
- Finite element analysis –
- Fluid mechanics –
- Flywheel –
- Force –
- Force density –
- Forging –
- Four-bar linkage –
- Four-stroke cycle –
- Four wheel drive –
- Friction –
- Front wheel drive –
- Fundamentals of Engineering exam –
- Fusible plug –
- Fusion Deposition Modelling –
G[edit]
- Gas compressor –
- Gauge –
- Gear –
- Gear coupling –
- Gear ratio –
- Granular material –
H[edit]
- Heat engine –
- Heat transfer –
- Heating and cooling systems –
- Hinge –
- Hoberman mechanism –
- Hobson's joint –
- Hooke's law –
- Hotchkiss drive –
- HVAC –
- Hydraulics –
- Hydrostatics –
I[edit]
- Ideal machine –
- Ideal mechanical advantage –
- Imperial College London –
- Inclined plane' –
- Independent suspension' –
- Inductor' –
- Industrial engineering' –
- Inertia –
- Institution of Mechanical Engineers –
- Instrumentation –
- Integrated circuit –
- Intelligent pump –
- Invention –
J[edit]
- Jack chain –
- Jacking gear –
- JIC fitting –
- Joule –
K[edit]
L[edit]
- Laser –
- Leaf spring –
- Lever –
- Liability –
- Life cycle cost analysis –
- Limit state design –
- Linkage –
- Live axle –
- Load transfer –
- Locomotive –
- Lubrication –
M[edit]
- Machine –
- Machine learning –
- Magnetic circuit –
- Margin of safety –
- Mass transfer –
- Materials –
- Materials engineering –
- Material selection –
- Mechanical advantage –
- Mechanical Biological Treatment –
- Mechanical efficiency –
- Mechanical engineering –
- Mechanical equilibrium –
- Mechanical work –
- Mechanics –
- Mechanochemistry –
- Mechanosynthesis –
- Mechatronics –
- Microelectromechanical systems –
- Micromachinery –
- Microprocessor –
- Microtechnology –
- Modulus of rigidity--
- Molecular assembler –
- Molecular nanotechnology –
- Moment –
- Moment of inertia –
- Motorcycle –
- Multi-link suspension –
N[edit]
O[edit]
P[edit]
- Pascal (unit) –
- Physics –
- Pinion –
- Piston –
- Pitch drop experiment –
- Plain bearing –
- Plasma processing –
- Plasticity –
- Pneumatics –
- Poisson's ratio –
- Position vector –
- Potential difference –
- Power –
- Power stroke –
- Pressure –
- Prime mover –
- Process control –
- Product Lifecycle Management –
- Professional Engineer –
- Project management –
- Pulley –
- Pump –
Q[edit]
R[edit]
- Rack and pinion –
- Rack railway –
- Railcar –
- Rail gauge –
- Railroad car –
- Railroad switch –
- Rail tracks –
- Random vibration –
- Reaction kinetics –
- Rear wheel drive –
- Refrigeration –
- Reliability engineering –
- Relief valve –
- RepRap Project –
- Resistive force –
- Resistor –
- Reverse engineering –
- Rheology –
- Rigid body –
- Robotics –
- Roller chain –
- Rolling –
- Rotordynamics –
S[edit]
- Safety engineering –
- Screw theory –
- Seal –
- Semiconductor –
- Series and parallel circuits –
- Shear force diagrams –
- Shear pin –
- Shear strength –
- Shear stress –
- Simple machine –
- Simulation –
- Slide rule –
- Society of Automotive Engineers –
- Solid mechanics –
- Solid modeling –
- Split nut –
- Sprung mass –
- Statics –
- Steering –
- Steam Systems –
- Stress-strain curve –
- Structural failure –
- Student Design Competition –
- Surveying –
- Suspension –
- Switch –
T[edit]
- Technical drawing –
- Technology –
- Tensile strength –
- Tensile stress –
- Testing Adjusting Balancing –
- Theory of elasticity –
- Thermodynamics –
- Toe –
- Torque –
- Torsion beam suspension –
- Torsion spring –
- Toughness –
- Track gauge –
- Transmission –
- Truck –
- Truck (railway) –
- Turbine –
- Tribology –
- Touch screen –
- tear –
- Tire manufacturing –
U[edit]
- Understeer –
- Unibody –
- Unsprung weight –
V[edit]
- Verification and Validation –
- Valve –
- Vector –
- Vertical strength –
- Viscosity –
- Volt –
- Vibration –
- Velocity diagrams –
W[edit]
- Wear –
- Wedge –
- Weight transfer –
- Wheel –
- Wheel and axle –
- Wheelset –
X[edit]
- X bar charts
Y[edit]
Z[edit]
See also[edit]
- Mechanical engineering
- Engineering
- Glossary of engineering
- National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying
- Fundamentals of Engineering Examination
- Principles and Practice of Engineering Examination
- Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
- Glossary of aerospace engineering
- Glossary of civil engineering
- Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering
- Glossary of structural engineering
- Glossary of areas of mathematics
- Glossary of artificial intelligence
- Glossary of astronomy
- Glossary of automotive design
- Glossary of biology
- Glossary of calculus
- Glossary of chemistry
- Glossary of economics
- Glossary of physics
- Glossary of probability and statistics
References[edit]
- ^ Nelson, W. (1980). "Accelerated Life Testing - Step-Stress Models and Data Analyses". IEEE Transactions on Reliability (2): 103. doi:10.1109/TR.1980.5220742.
- ^ Spencer, F. W. (1991). "Statistical Methods in Accelerated Life Testing". Technometrics. 33 (3): 360–362. doi:10.1080/00401706.1991.10484846.
- ^ Donahoe, D.; Zhao, K.; Murray, S.; Ray, R. M. (2008). "Accelerated Life Testing". Encyclopedia of Quantitative Risk Analysis and Assessment. doi:10.1002/9780470061596.risk0452. ISBN 9780470035498.
- ^ Elsayed, E. A. (2003). "Accelerated Life Testing". Handbook of Reliability Engineering. pp. 415–428. doi:10.1007/1-85233-841-5_22. ISBN 1-85233-453-3.
- ^ Crew, Henry (2008). The Principles of Mechanics. BiblioBazaar, LLC. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-559-36871-4.
- ^ Bondi, Hermann (1980). Relativity and Common Sense. Courier Dover Publications. p. 3. ISBN 978-0-486-24021-3.
- ^ Lehrman, Robert L. (1998). Physics the Easy Way. Barron's Educational Series. p. 27. ISBN 978-0-7641-0236-3.
- ^ Tinder, Richard F. (2007). Relativistic Flight Mechanics and Space Travel: A Primer for Students, Engineers and Scientists. Morgan & Claypool Publishers. p. 33. ISBN 978-1-59829-130-8. Extract of page 33
- ^ Rindler, W. (2013). Essential Relativity: Special, General, and Cosmological (illustrated ed.). Springer. p. 61. ISBN 978-1-4757-1135-6. Extract of page 61
- ^ Erasmus Darwin's Improved Design for Steering Carriages by Desmond King-Hele , 2002, The Royal Society, London. Accessed April 2008.
- ^ 2008 ASHRAE handbook : heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning systems and equipment (Inch-Pound ed.). Atlanta, Ga.: ASHRAE American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers. 2008. ISBN 9781933742335.
- ^ "air con Definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary". dictionary.cambridge.org. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- ^ "How Do Air Pressure Differences Cause Winds?". ThoughtCo. Retrieved 2017-11-09.
- ^ ASHRAE, ed. ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals 2017. Atlanta, GA: American Society of Heating, Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers, 2017.
- ^ ASME. "ASME.org > About ASME". Retrieved 2011-12-27.
- ^ "2.1. Unit of electric current (ampere)", SI brochure (8th ed.), BIPM, archived from the original on 3 February 2012, retrieved 19 November 2011
- ^ Base unit definitions: Ampere Archived 25 April 2017 at the Wayback Machine. Physics.nist.gov. Retrieved on 2010-09-28.
- ^ Oleson 2000, pp. 242–251
- ^ "Musical automaton clock". Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Retrieved 2011-09-16.
- ^ Mechanical Engineering design (9th ed.). McGraw Hill. 2010. p. 360. ISBN 0073529281.
- ^ "How Do Air Compressors Work?". Popular Mechanics. 2015-03-18. Retrieved 2017-01-12.
- ^ Hellemans, Alexander; Bunch, Bryan (1988). The Timetables of Science. Simon & Schuster. p. 305. ISBN 0671621300.
- ^ EN 1993-1-8:2005 Eurocode 3: Design of steel structures - Part 1-8: Design of joints
- ^ Smith 1990, p. 38.
- ^ Fastener terms, retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ^ Low & Bevis 1908, p. 115.
- ^ Helical Compression Spring Terminology, retrieved 2009-06-29.
- ^ Attaway, Stephen W. (1999). The Mechanics of Friction in Rope Rescue (PDF). International Technical Rescue Symposium. Retrieved February 1, 2010.