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Mechanical Design in Tutankhamun's Chariot

Article

Sandor, B. I. “Tutankhamun’s Chariots: Secret Treasures of Engineering Mechanics.” Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures, vol. 27, no. 7, July 2004, pp. 637–46. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2695.2004.00779.x.

Image

Image of the suspension system of an ancient Egyptian chariot.

Description

Engineering and mechanical design have been important since human beings have been making tools. History is often defined by the ways that humans can create and make use of various tools. One example is in ancient Egyptian history, where chariots had to be cleverly designed for optimal performance in war, races, or general transport. This is discussed in the attached research paper, which analyzes the complex engineering that went into the Tutankhamun-class chariot. The paper describes the chariot as “the earliest high-performance machine, most likely developed via racing and thoughtful mechanistic modelling and testing.” Attached is a diagram of the suspension of the Tutankhamun-class chariot; its advanced design techniques are evident in the diagram. The article also details how the chariots in ancient Egypt were somewhat analogous to cars today in their usage, providing an interesting point of comparison between ancient and modern mechanical design. Other points of analysis that were discussed were the chariots’ pole socket, split axle, spoked wheel, and fail-safe wheel design. These design techniques helped give the ancient Egyptian civilization a technological advantage over its counterparts, thus helping influence the course of history.

Effect of Surface Treatment on the Behavior of Joints

Article

Nasreen, Adeela, et al. “Effect of Surface Treatment on Stiffness and Damping Behavior of Metal-Metal and Composite-Metal Adhesive Joints.” Polymers (20734360), vol. 15, no. 2, Jan. 2023, p. 435. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.3390/polym15020435.

Description

Surface treatment is a process by which the surface of a material is altered to achieve desirable physical properties. For example, in the construction industry, wood is often stained on its surface or pressure treated to protect it from rotting or warping. However, the applications of surface treatment extend far beyond the construction industry; in the attached research paper, the use of surface treatment in the aerospace and automotive industries. In particular, the paper discusses how the surface treatment of composite materials and metals affects their thermomechanical behavior when they are affixed together by joints. What the researchers found was that surface treatment of the materials “improved the stiffness properties of metallic joints to 36% and decreased the damping to 23%” and “increased the stiffness of composite-metal joints to 34% and reduced the energy dissipation to 20%.” This improvement in various properties of the joints due to surface treatment could greatly help automotive and/or aerospace designers who need to maximize the efficiency and reliability of their designs.

MATLAB

MATLAB is a programming language whose purpose is largely to help out people in STEM fields outside of computer science. It is best used for purposes such as data analysis, matrix operations, testing and measurement, model creation, and signal/image processing. MathWorks, the company that designed MATLAB, states that it “lets you take your ideas from research to production by deploying to enterprise applications and embedded devices.” This is what makes MATLAB more of a tool for engineers and general scientists rather than computer scientists; it is designed to assist people analyzing real-world systems rather than being used to build complicated programs for computer science applications. For example, one research group used MATLAB to model the motion of a rescue robot. In addition to the programming language itself, MATLAB also contains “interactive apps, highly specialized libraries for engineering applications, and tools for automatically generating embedded code.” Finally, MATLAB is designed to be accessible to learn so that people who might not be very skilled at computer science can use it. More information about MATLAB, its applications, and how to use it are linked here and here.

SIMULINK

SIMULINK is a MATLAB-based software used to create virtual models and simulate their performance in environments similar to the real world. It is best used for designing and testing models, data analysis, and model creation. Essentially, it serves as a precursor to building and testing a physical prototype. Being based in MATLAB also allows users to port their code and data directly from MATLAB into SIMULINK in order to run simulations; this creates a productive loop where the results of a simulation in SIMULINK can be analyzed in MATLAB and then used to create a new model and conduct a new simulation. The ability to create and test digital prototypes is a critical ability for engineers in the mechanical design process, for they often have budgetary constraints and thus cannot create an excessive number of physical prototypes. Digital model simulation also allows for quicker prototype testing, as simulations of the prototypes’ performance can be run in a fraction of the time that it takes to build and test real prototypes. This makes SIMULINK not only cost-efficient, but time-efficient as well for those engaging in the mechanical design process. More information about SIMULINK, its applications, and how to use it are linked here and here.

Convective Heat Transfer

Video

Demonstration of convective heat transfer.

Description

In chemistry, convective heat transfer is a process by which a liquid is heated by a surface that it is touching. The heat causes the liquid near the surface to become hotter than the surrounding liquid, so this hotter (and less dense) liquid rises up through the rest of the cooler liquid. Once the liquid is far enough away from the surface, it also cools due to its surroundings and sinks back down until it is near the surface again, where it is again heated. This process of heat transfer has applications in engineering, chemistry, and even in environmental science (there are examples of convective heat transfer occurring naturally in the atmosphere and the Earth’s mantle). Particularly, in mechanical design, convective heat transfer is important in the design of pipes, tubes, and other similar objects that transfer liquids from one place to another. It is also important in the design of power generation applications that involve boiling water into steam to generate energy, such as nuclear power and coal power. More information about convective heat transfer and its applications in engineering can be found here and here.

Radiative Heat Transfer

Video

Demonstration of radiative heat transfer.

Description

In chemistry, radiative heat transfer is a process by which heat is transferred through waves or particles. An example of radiative heat transfer is the heat that is felt when one is standing near a fire. The electromagnetic radiation that transfers heat between bodies is known as thermal radiation. Radiative heat transfer is important to mechanical design, for all objects in the universe emit some form of thermal radiation. Thermal radiation can also be emitted through any medium, including through air, liquid, solid, and a vacuum. As a result, thermal radiation is present everywhere in the universe, and must be accounted for in engineering. Radiative heat transfer is particularly important in combustion systems, where the great amounts of heat created by combustion can be used to create energy (such as in a gas power plant) or is lost to the environment, with systems in place to prevent overheating (such as in car engines). More information about radiative heat transfer can be found here and here.

GitHub

Video

Tutorial for using GitHub.

Description

GitHub is an online service that allows users to collaboratively develop software, letting users from all over the planet work on projects together. GitHub includes several tools to assist users in their collaboration; it has codespaces for developers, an AI programmer that helps build code, enhanced embedded security, and several automation tools that increase efficiency. These advanced tools make GitHub one of the world’s premier services for software development. It even champions itself as “the place for anyone from anywhere to build anything.” In this way, GitHub is a massively helpful tool for mechanical design. Engineers can use it to build their software-intensive projects and programs, keeping tabs on their previous versions as they go. They can also easily manage these programs using GitHub’s built in tools for version control, file storage, and collaborative editing. Some knowledge of software development is required to be able to effectively use GitHub, but this does not exclude people who are not strong coders. More information about GitHub can be found here and here.

American Society of Mechanical Engineers

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) is an American organization of professional engineers that sets the bar for engineers. They state that they are “the globally-recognized, trusted source of standards used around the world.” Along with providing numerous codes and standards used in engineering, they also provide a platform for engineers to share ideas and engage with each other. In addition, ASME helps train engineers for job positions and publishes research in numerous fields; despite their name, ASME provides their services for more fields than just mechanical engineering, including biomedical engineering and manufacturing. As a result of its massive importance as a source of standards, a community for engineers to interact, a place for engineers to learn more about their discipline, and a source of engineering research, ASME is absolutely invaluable to the world of mechanical design. It is one of the most important organizations not just in the field of mechanical engineering, but in the greater field of engineering in general. More information about ASME can be found here and here.

Citations

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