Sources of Information on Engineering

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around sources of information and references related to engineering, including textbooks, handbooks, online resources, and academic programs. Participants share various materials that may be useful for students and professionals in different engineering disciplines.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Homework-related
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants provide links to DOE Handbooks covering various engineering topics such as classical physics, electrical science, thermodynamics, and material science.
  • Reference manuals for licensing exams in engineering are mentioned, including titles by Michael R. Lindeburg and others, which contain basic theory and example problems.
  • Participants suggest posting links and book suggestions for engineering resources, particularly for students.
  • Information about the FE exam reference book is shared, along with a link to the NCEES website.
  • One participant mentions an online materials database, Matweb, as a resource.
  • Discussion includes references to codes for steel grades in seismic design and the importance of the Caltrans Seismic Design Criteria Manual for civil and structural engineers.
  • Several online resources for fluid mechanics and numerical software are shared, including links to FEM software and general engineering design resources.
  • Participants express interest in academic programs in engineering and encourage contributions from others regarding their own departments or schools.
  • One user inquires about sources for downloading engineering ebooks, prompting responses about the availability of free resources and open courseware from institutions like MIT.
  • Specific interests in control engineering topics such as PID and automation are expressed by one participant, seeking further information.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants share a variety of resources and suggestions, but there is no consensus on specific sources or the availability of free engineering ebooks. Multiple viewpoints regarding the best resources and their applicability to different engineering disciplines are present.

Contextual Notes

Some references may depend on specific engineering disciplines or regional practices, and the availability of certain materials may vary. The discussion includes both formal and informal resources, with varying levels of detail and reliability.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for engineering students, professionals seeking reference materials, and individuals looking for academic resources or specific engineering topics.

  • #31
To bad you don't understand russian, they have so many good books and info about engineering in internet.
 
Engineering news on Phys.org
  • #33
It's amazing what you can find on the web. I was looking for more information on Fourier transforms and stumbled onto an excellent resource via a series of lectures posted on YouTube through a Stanford University outreach program. Excellent course, and the home page has all the course notes, lecture notes and exams.

If you want a textbook for a certain course but don't plan to take the course just yet, used book stores can be a gold mine and so can ebay. Find out what edition the local college or university is teaching from then get the previous edition. The main changes from one edition to the next are usually the problem sets and the graphics, neither of which affect the material that is taught. There's little demand for out-of-date textbooks but they're perfectly fine to study or as references and can be had for a song. My best standby is still Google and/or Wikipedia. They provide the quickest answers for me when I need them.
 
  • #34
Well, as I am in the very (and I mean "very") beginning stages of my degree in Electrical Engineering, I am not sure if this book would be very much help to the advanced engineer; but I know it is going to help me in the meantime.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0831128003/?tag=pfamazon01-20
 
  • #35
I have 3 different copies of Machinery's handbook and use them almost every day.
 
  • #36
FredGarvin said:
I have 3 different copies of Machinery's handbook and use them almost every day.

Can you please explain why you'd need more than one? The only reason I could imagine is if you have them in different locations (e.g. desk, plant floor, etc...).

I recently got the a digital (CD) copy of the 28th Edition, and I find it to be far-superior to the old-school paper book for a few reasons:
  • can print/reproduce any pages in whatever paper size you want (great for looking at the smallish figures/graphs)
  • can search and find anything almost instantly
  • no more lugging around (or losing) those rather-bulky tomes
  • can share (over a network)
  • easy to copy-&-paste
 
  • #37
Last edited by a moderator:
  • #38
gfowler1980 said:
Can you please explain why you'd need more than one?
I work at more than one location including home.
 
  • #39
Frontiers of Engineering:
Reports on Leading-Edge Engineering from the 2009 Symposium
http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12821
In 1995, the National Academy of Engineering initiated the Frontiers of Engineering Program, which brings together about 100 young engineering leaders at annual symposia to learn about cutting-edge research and technical work in a variety of engineering fields. The 2009 U.S. Frontiers of Engineering Symposium was held at The National Academies' Arnold O. and Mabel Beckman Center on September 10-12. Speakers were asked to prepare extended summaries of their presentations, which are reprinted in this volume. The intent of this book is to convey the excitement of this unique meeting and to highlight cutting-edge developments in engineering research and technical work.
 
  • #40
My new website is up, which covers topics in structural engineering that are applicable to students across a wide range of disciplines, in particular students who are studying general civil engineering and mechanical engineering.

Undergraduate engineering
I am sharing undergraduate notes on structural engineering, which include statics, mechanics of materials, and classical structural analysis. We are in the process of transcribing our notes on some of the "design" courses that undergraduate civil engineering typically students take, such as reinforced concrete design, steel design, and timber design.

Graduate engineering
As far as graduate-level structural engineering, we so far have some very detailed notes on prestressed concrete.

You can find everything here:

http://www.utsv.netMy favorite topic, and a personal area of research is solid mechanics. On the website, please find our free textbook on solid mechanics (a.k.a. continuum mechanics), which is particularly useful for researchers that use finite element analysis software and want a better understanding of the physics. The textbook is written for graduate students or researchers in industry in the fields of structural engineering, mechanical engineering (the forum that I most often frequent on PF), and also bioengineering, as one of the areas of focus in the texbook is "hyperelasticity" - relevant for those researchers who use finite element analysis software to model the behavior of biological tissue or rubber.

http://utsv.net/solid-mechanicsEnjoy!----
P.S. - Mods, many of the links in this thread are dead. Just FYI
----
 
  • #41
thank you all, it is good thread
 
  • #42
25 of ASME B36.4 piping mat'l standards online for free viewing and no registering, sign up etc. required.

The below website also other tech information i.e. I found it while looking for Steam Superheat Corrections and they have a table of the ASME approved values that can be printed as well.

http://www.piping-designer.com/index.php/standards/184-asme-standards
 
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  • #43
There is a book about the future in the field of engineering. It would be interesting to compare how it is now to what was written then.The Engineer of 2020
 

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