Classic Analytical Problems in  Mechanical Engineering Tse-Chien Woo & Charles C.C. Hwang (both of the University of Pittsburgh)

ISBN 1-930217-00-5

PREFACE

This book provides invaluable support to academic students and practicing professional engineers in mechanical engineering. Many realistic engineering problems can be adequately treated by analytical methods. This book presents detailed closed-form solutions to a wide spectrum of classical mechanical engineering problems so that the reader may identify the appropriate solution technique and apply this to solve related problems.

The recent advances in computing have allowed the generation of numerical solutions to overshadow the equally important basic solution principles and methods. As a counterbalance available to engineers seeking the broadest conceptual approach, in particular highly motivated and self-directed graduate students, this book provides a pedagogical compendium to current texts and references so the reader can strengthen their analytical and methodological skills. Its exact solutions can also provide a basis for assessing the efficacy of the numerical approximations in the computations.

While intended for mechanical engineers, the nature of the subjects covered makes this book equally useful for engineers in related fields. In addition, it will serve as a useful reference for physicists and mathematicians interested in extending their theoretical background to cover more application oriented problems.

The book is organized into three Parts. Each Part corresponds to a category of mathematical method employed to derive the problem solution. Part I (Complex Variables) includes problems on two-dimensional fluid flow, heat conduction of solids, free streamlines, plane elastic problems, and torsion of prismatical bars, among others. Part II (Integral Transform) includes problems on vibration, viscoelasticity, and elastic contact, as well as additional heat conduction problems, among others. Part III (Vector and Tensor Analysis) includes problems on kinematic and stress analysis, and finite elastic deformation. A complete descriptive listing of problems follows this Preface.

Practically all solutions are presented immediately after each problem. Some groups of problems include a brief synopsis of relevant theory or a review of appropriate formulae preceding them. Each solution has been worked out in meticulous detail and is presented in a sequential, step-by-step fashion. It is our firm belief that the reader can learn much from the complete solution.

One hundred and ten problems, along with their accompanying solutions, are presented. These problems have been selected because we believe they are especially interesting and highly typical of those encountered by mechanical engineers. A great number of these were introduced in various standard textbooks and references. The complete solutions are worked out in detail by the authors. Some of the finite elastic deformation problems were the assigned exercises in the course Professor R.T. Shield taught during his 1970-1971 Visiting Alcoa Professorship at the University of Pittsburgh. We gratefully acknowledge all these sources.

Tse-Chien Woo
Charles C.C. Hwang