Exploring Engineering

Chapter 2
Key elements in
Engineering Analysis
 What You Are Going to Learn
This is the most important single lecture in
this course (which you should have already
read).
In mathematics you deal with pure numbers, in
engineering you also deal in variables
Engineering variables are about units as well as
numbers.
How to deal with units and dimensions
Need-know-how-to-solve method
Spreadsheet analysis

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 Units and Dimensions
All engineers will have to understand this
chapters’ material irrespective of sub
discipline
Let’s start with everyone’s favorite superhero …
it’s Superman!

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 Superman – Engineering Hero
Superman embodies many engineering concepts!

Faster … speeding bullet  speed and velocity

More powerful … mighty locomotive  power
Can leap …tall buildings  force and energy
…kryptonite traps  Information (or lack of it!)

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 Superman – Engineering Hero
Suppose I asked you what is ?
A pretty good answer is 3.14, or 3.142, or 3.141593
Suppose now I ask what is Superman’s speed?
Is 800 an answer?
No! Not unless we add something - i.e., 800 meter/second
The units, m/s, really adds some new information ... had
we said 800 inches/hr Superman would be called
“Supermolasses”!

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 Variables Units Numbers

Velocity m/s (miles per 800 (1789, 4.81 x 106)

and hour - mph,
speed furlongs per
fortnight)
Power hp (kW) 2,000 (1491)

Energy N-m (ft lbf) 9.81 x 104 (72,300)

Informa- Bits Needs enough to dodge

tion kryptonite!

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 Units and Dimensions
Did you see that we converted from one set of
units to another as in m/s to furlongs/fortnight?
Unit conversions can be tricky – particularly for
new units whose magnitude is unfamiliar
What’s the volume of a 1 ft cube in m3 if
1 m = 3.28 ft (or 3.28 [ft/m])?
V = 1 ft3, V = 1/3.283 [ft3][m/ft]3 = 0.028 m3

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 More on Units and Dimensions
What’s the acceleration of a rocket in mph/s if you
know it in SI units, acceleration a = 55 m/s2?
1 mile = 1609 m or 1609 [m/mile]
and 1 hour = 3,600 s, or 3600 [s/hr].
Therefore, a = 55  3600/1609 [m/s2] [s/hr][mile/m]
Or, a = 123 mph/s

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 Units and Dimensions
In this course we will require the units to be
manipulated in square brackets […] in each problem.
While easy to get the previous solutions without
this method, many engineering problems are
much harder than this & need this apparently
clumsy methodology.
Computerized unit conversions are available in free
software on the Internet (for example at:
http://joshmadison.com/software/convert-for-windows)

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 More Conversion Examples
These use conversion factors you can paste from
Convert.exe
Convert 800 m/s to miles per hour (mph)
800 [m/s][3.28 ft/m][1/5280 miles/ft][3600 s/hr]
800 x 2.236 = 1789 [mph]
Convert 2,000 horsepower (hp) to kW
2,000 [hp][0.7457 kW/hp] = 1492 kW
Convert 9.81 x 104 N∙m to ft∙lbf
9.81 x 104 [N∙m][1/4.448 lbf/N][3.28 ft/m]
9.81 x 104 x 0.737 = 7.234 x 104 ft ∙ lbf

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 Comparing SI and Engineering
English Unit Systems
Unit Force Mass Length Time gc = ma/F
System
SI newton kilogram meter second 1
(kg∙m/s2) (kg) (m) (s)
English pound pound foot second 32.174
force (lbf) mass (lbm) (ft) (s) lbm∙ft/lbf∙s2

Note: In the SI system gc = 1 kg∙m/(N∙s2) = 1 (dimensionless)

 Numbers
Are “engineering numbers” the same as
“every day numbers?
NO!
Why Not?
Because engineers need more precise definitions
Please use you calculators. What is 10/6?
Is it really 1.666667?

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 Significant Figures
Suppose the numbers 20, 20., 20.0, 20.00, 20.000, 20.0000
are distances in meters. Are they all the same?
The naked “20” infers the division on the ruler you used to make
the measurement (Maybe you were far away and used a nearby
flagpole to estimate the height of a pine tree.). Thus only 1 figure
is “significant”.
But if you measured 20. (notice the period representing the
place marker) your resolution improved to two significant
figures. In effect you used a 1 m ruler.
If you measured 20.0 m you now measured to 0.1 m and if you
measured 20.0000 m your ruler your scale was good to 0.0000 m
and all 6 figures were significant

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 Significant Figures
If 10 and 6 are not integers, what is 10/6?
Not 1.666667 because both the numerator
and denominator are only known each to 1
significant number.
Thus 10/6 = 2 (because it’s correct to 1 sig fig!)

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 Significant Figures
The sum or difference of two values should contain no
significant figures further to the right of the decimal place
than occurs in the least precise number in the operation.
The product or quotient should contain no more significant
figures than are contained by the term with the least number
of significant figures used in the operation.
When the discarded part of the number is 0, 1, 2, 3, or 4, the
next remaining digit should not be changed. When the
discarded part of the number is 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9, then the next
remaining digit should be increased by 1.

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 Significant Figures
Suppose you subtract 201.12 from 509.1
519.1 (4 sig figs) – 499.22 (5 sig. figs)
= 19.88 = 19.9 (3 sig figs)
Add 201.144 and 1.05
201.144 + 1.05 =202.194 = 202.19 (Why?)

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 Significant Figures
Take the numbers 13,000, 13,000., 13,000.0
Sig figs are 2, 5 & 6 respectively
Using exponents can be easier:
1.3 × 104, 1.3000 × 104, & 1.30000 × 104 respectively
Subtract 0.42 × 10-2 from 0.380
3.80 × 10-1 - 0.42 × 10-2 = 3.80 × 10-1 - 0.042 × 10-1
= 3.758 × 10-1 = 3.8 × 10-1 (2 sig figs)

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 An Effective Problem Solving
Technique
A formal technique to help you solve
problems
- “Need-Know-How-Solve” method breaks the
problem done into four constituent parts
that are easier to formulate than overall
problem.

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 Problem Solving
Engineers of all disciplines are often challenged
with unfamiliar problems
By breaking them down into a systematic methodology,
many “impossible” problems can be solved
By systematizing your approach, you will leave an
“auditing” trail for all those who later work on the
same project.
As a huge bonus, the suggested method really
helps in getting a good grade!

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 “Need-Know-How-Solve” Method
Need:
The 1st step is obvious: read the problem very carefully.
Look for what is being sought. Don’t try to solve it now.
Just write down what you are seeking.
Know:
Look at what you have been given (or look it up in
available resources if not explicit in the statement of the
problem). Again, don’t try to solve it now. Just write down
what you know as the 2nd step.

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 How:
The 3rd step formulates your intended approach. It may be
trivial (e.g., how many apples for $1?) or it may be an
equation (e.g., E = mc2) or it the need for a spreadsheet
analysis etc. Still don’t try to solve it now.

Solve:
The 4th and last step does what your instincts told you
(incorrectly) to try as step 1: go ahead and get to a solution.

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 Example
Stress is defined as the force/area. Calculate the
stress in SI units in an ½ inch diameter cable
supporting a 0.5 ton truck engine.
Need: Stress in cable
Know: Force, F is 0.5 ton = 1,000 lbf = 4450 N
(Convert) and diameter is ½ inch

Cable
How: Stress  F/A, where A = R2 = D2/4
Solve: A = 3.14  (0.5  0.0254)2/4
[inch m/in]2 = 5.07  10-4 m2 0.5 ton
tons
Hence  = F/A = 4450/5.07  10-4 [N]/[m2] engine

= 8.8  106 N/m2

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 “Need-Know-How-Solve” Method
On a single lane highway, you measure that there are
3140 cars/hr passing under a bridge. What is the
separation between cars in seconds?
Need: Spacing in time between cars
Know: 3140 cars/hr
How: Dimensional analysis based on […] units
Solve: If 3140 cars/hr, time in s = 3600/3140 [s/hr][hr/car]
= 1.15 s/car (to 3 significant figures)

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 More
If, in the previous example, the cars are traveling at 69
mph, what is their separation in m? In car lengths? Does
this meet 1 car length per 10 mph spacing?
Need: Spacing between cars
Know: 3140 cars/hr, interval = 1.15 s and v = 69 mph
How: […] method. V = 69 mph = 30.8 m/s. Assume average
car is 4 m long.
Solve: Since t = 1.15 s/car and V = 30.8 m/s, distance/car =
30.8  1.15 = 35.3 m of which 4 m. is car length.
Spacing = 31 m or 31/4 [m/car][car/m] = 7.8 ~ 8 (car lengths),
which is greater than the recommended 7 car lengths.

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 “Need-Know-How-Solve” Method
Summary:
1) Engage the mind before the pencil!
2) Delay solution until you have all in the facts.
3) Allow for a traceable solution for other members
of an team (warts and all!).
4) As a practical matter, you can get most of the
grade for the same wrong answer if you follow
this methodology!
– E.g, write just the answer as “84.7” and may get you “0” grade
but not for a clear development to a solution that said T =
8670/10 = 84.7! You would still get most of the grade.

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 Spreadsheets Can Aid in
Calculation, Visualization and
Simulation

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 Data Visualization
Data is raw facts. For example a collection
of numbers.
Information can be gained by presenting
the data in a way that makes it possible to
visualize the meaning of the data.

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 Organizing Data
Headings
Labels
Formatting numbers as percentages,
currency, etc.
Graphs can be used to display data in a way
that the significance of the numeric data
can be seen.
Ordering the data by sorting.

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 Performing Computations
Spreadsheets provide built in functions to
perform calculations using the data.
MAX
MIN
SUM
AVERAGE
STDEV

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 Knowledge
Knowledge results from the interpretation
of information.
It takes a human being with expertise to
interpret the information to gain
knowledge.

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 Spreadsheets
Definition: A spreadsheet is software designed to
manipulate and analyze numbers and formulas in
rows and columns.
We will be using Microsoft Excel in this class.
However there are similar programs such as Lotus
123.

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 The Spreadsheet

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 Cell Contents
The types of cell contents:
Alphanumeric – text
Headings
Labels
Numeric
Integers
Floating point
Equations and formulas: B1+B4/H13
Predefined Functions: discussed in slide 5.

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 An Example
We will be creating a worksheet for a
class grade sheet.
The input to a spread sheet requires
entering numbers in cells.
In this case the input will be grades.

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 Summary
Engineering problems need precise mathematics
But not more precise than can be justified …
Significant Figures are important in engineering
calculations.
Variables have units that must be consistent. The […]
method is very helpful in maintaining correct units.
It’s highly recommended that use the Need-Know-How-to-
Solve method because it sets you on a path to a solution and
it provides an audit trail for those who follow.
More complex problems need spreadsheets to organize them

Exploring Engineering