Category: Engineering

Mechanical belts

Mechanical belts 04/07/16

A belt is a loop of pliable material that can induce rotation on two mechanical objects. Belts are also used to transfer power and pull twists., and they are often the cheapest solution for such necessities. Belts are often used to connect two cylindrical mechanical objects in that are coplanar with one another. The power in a belt can be calculated by finding the difference in tension and multiplying it by the velocity, which can be symbolically represented as P=(T1–T2)*v. Belts are important because they can turn objects that are not coaxial.

Glass

Glass 03/28/16

One of the most fascinating physical substances known to humanity is one that is probably seen my the majority of the world everyday. This material is known as glass, and we shall examine what makes it so special.

Glass begins it’s life in the form of sand. If one were to raise the temperature of sand to 1700 Centigrades, then it melts and obtains a peculiar internal structure that results in it becoming what material scientists like to refer to as an Amorphous solid. The manufacturing process for glass often begins with such sand being mixed with recycled products and soda ash and limestone in a massive furnace. The soda lowers the amount of energy needed to melt the sand, but an unfortunate side-effect is that the glass that is produced through such means is often of very poor quality, so limestone is often added to prevent this from happening. The resultant glass is termed Soda-lime-silica glass in honor of all of the materials that went into it

Glass is so popular because it has a sublime domain of applications. Glass is chemically inert, so it will react with very little substances making it a prime candidate for use as a material holder such as in glasses Glass is transparent so it is easy to see through and glass is also fairly resistant to thermal expansion so one does not have to worry too much about glass breaking or swelling due to a heat wave. In addition, glass is a highly recyclable material

Glass is truly a most fascinating material. Imagine what human civilization would be like if glass lost one of it’s useful facets, such as chemical inertness or transparentness, then all of society would be simply turned upside down! I want you to ponder how glass and engineering make our world possible

Engineering drafting

Engineering drafting 03/27/16
One of the most interesting things about Engineering is Engineering drafting. Very simple yet profound question is ‘how can we represent three dimensional machines on a two dimensional plane?” The solution to this is Engineering drafting. First, we take the object in an isometric view. Then, we take a look at it through three planes,the front side, the right side, and the top side. We then make a sketch of what it would look like if we viewed the objects through each of those planes. We use dashed hidden lines to represent parts of the object that are covered by other parts in front of the plane-view.

Solar power

Solar power 03/21/16

Let one consider this. The earth receives around 3.86*1026joules of energy hits the Earth every second. The Earth directly receives1.74*1017of those joules. This number is over 35,000 times the amount of energy that all of human civilization consumes every second. If we are able to receive this much energy from the sun, wouldn’t it be logical to create a system to harness this energy? This is where Solar Power comes in. Solar power uses Solar panels which in take the energy of the sun and uses the photoelectric effect to transform this into usable energy. Most commercial solar panels have an efficiency rating of 15-20 percent, so research in to higher efficiency solar power is paramount.

Hydrofoils

Hydrofoils 03/18/16

Hydrofoils are a very useful invention for boating. The main purpose of hydrofoils is to lift a boat out of water using the physics of fluid mechanics. The hydrofoils of a ship are usually mounted on struts below the hull. The ship increases in speed, a lift force will be produced beneath the hydrofoil elements which raises the hull out of the water which in turn reduces the drag force on the object as a result of the lesser area in the water.

Rail Transport

Rail Transport 03/17/16

Undoubtedly one of the most important developments in human technology was that of rail transportation. To put it simply, Rail transportation is the transportation of individuals and goods through the means of motorized vehicles that are bound by rails. Many rails are electrified, which means that on board power can be delivered to the train through tracks. One of the advantages of rail transportation is reduced friction along with the ability to transport nearly insurmountable amounts of weight across long distances.

Tracks

Tracks 03/16/16

Tracks are one of the fundamental pieces in modern day human infrastructure for transportation. Tracks are structures that allow for wheels to roll. Tracks profiles are often in the shape of an asymmetrical I-beam, to allow for easy movement of train wheels. Many modern tracks are welded together through the use of welders to make sure that the strength of a modern day train will not destroy the beam. Due to the effects of thermal expansion train tracks can expand and contract depending on the weather. To counter this, anchors and hooks are used to keep the rail track in place. A Gauge of a rail is the spacing between endpoints of a rail. Gauge sizes vary all over the world.

Electric Generators

Electric Generators 03/14/16
Have you ever wondered how a machine like a wind turbine generates electricity? This task is accomplished through the use of a machine called an Electric generator. The primary principle of an electric generator is to transfer mechanical energy into electrical energy. There are two types of generator: Dynamos and Alternators. Dynamos generate DC current while alternators generate AC current. Usually, the current is generated by using the relationship between electricity and magnetism to induce a current. There are many types of electric generators, ranging from the classical steam driven generator to the sublime magnetohydrodynamic generator.

Transformers

Transformers 03/12/16
One of the most pertinent devices in the field of electrical engineering are transformers. The function of a transformer is very simple, it changes the potential difference from one value of wiring to another. The mechanism works a follows; The will be two wirings of coil, one on each each side of the transformer. The wire on the left will be hooked up to an alternating current which in turn will cause a magnetic field to be produced. As a by-product of Maxwell’s equations, there will be an voltage difference induced on the second coil. The voltage potential depends on the number of loops that the wire makes. If the wire has more loops then more voltage will be produced and it will be called a step up transformer. If there is less wiring there will be less voltage and it will be called a step down transformer. The equation for a transformer is VsVp=NsNp, with Vsbeing the secondary voltage Vpbeing the primary NsBeing the number of loops in the secondary and Np being the number of loops in the primary. As one can observe, The voltage ratio is directly proportional to the Loop ratio. Power also is assumed to be conserved for Mathematical purposes, so we can derive that V1I1=V1I1by using the fact that P1=P2and that P=IV.