Thermal-Fluid Systems ME303

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The objective of this session is to introduce the subject of software engineering. When you have read this session you will understand what software engineering is and why it is important, know the answers to key questions which provide an introduction to software engineering, understand ethical and professional issues which are important for software engineers.

Introduction

Virtually all countries now depend on complex computer-based systems. More and more products incorporate computers and controlling software in some form. The software in these systems represents a large and increasing proportion of the total system costs. Therefore, producing software in a cost-effective way is essential for the functioning of national and international economies.

Software engineering is an engineering discipline whose goal is the cost-effective development of software systems. Software is abstract and intangible. It is not constrained by materials, governed by physical laws or by manufacturing processes. In some ways, this simplifies software engineering as there are no physical limitations on the potential of software. In other ways, however, this lack of natural constraints means that software can easily become extremely complex and hence very difficult to understand.

Software engineering is still a relatively young discipline. The notion of ‘software engineering’ was first proposed in 1968 at a conference held to discuss what was then called the ‘software crisis’. This software crisis resulted directly from the introduction of powerful, third generation computer hardware. Their power made hitherto unrealisable computer applications a feasible proposition. The resulting software was orders of magnitude larger and more complex than previous software systems.

Early experience in building these systems showed that an informal approach to software development was not good enough. Major projects were sometimes years late. They cost much more than originally predicted, were unreliable, difficult to maintain and performed poorly. Software development was in crisis. Hardware costs were tumbling whilst software costs were rising rapidly. New techniques and methods were needed to control the complexity inherent in large software systems.

These techniques have become part of software engineering and are now widely although not universally used. However, there are still problems in producing complex software which meets user expectations, is delivered on time and to budget. Many software projects still have problems and this has led to some commentators (Pressman, 1997) suggesting that software engineering is in a state of chronic affliction.

As our ability to produce software has increased so too has the complexity of the software systems required. New technologies resulting from the convergence of computers and communication systems place new demands on software engineers. For this reason and because many companies do not apply software engineering techniques effectively, we still have problems. Things are not as bad as the doomsayers suggest but there is clearly room for improvement.

This course deals with the transfer of work, energy, and material via gases and liquids. These fluids may undergo changes in temperature, pressure, density, and chemical composition during the transfer process and may act on or be acted on by external systems. You must fully understand these processes if you are an engineer working to analyze, troubleshoot, or improve existing processes and/or innovate and design new ones.

In your everyday life, you will likely encounter examples of the thermal-fluid systems we will study in this course. Consider the following scenarios:

1. Read this recent report by Gary Goettling for the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.* In it, Goettling describes a refrigeration system with no moving parts based on improvements to a patent filed by Einstein and Szilard in 1930. As an engineer, how would you go about evaluating this design for energy efficiency, safety, reliability, and manufacturing, operating, and installation costs?

2. Have you ever wondered how the level sensor on a retail gasoline dispenser automatically shuts off when the gasoline tank in an automobile is full?

3. Have you ever been tempted to share your opinion concerning the debates about global climate change? Global climate involves consideration of radiation, convection, and chemical change amongst many other factors.

4. Have you wondered how it is possible to estimate the composition and flow rate of a mixture of petroleum, water, and natural gas at a remote location five miles under the ocean surface.

5. Just how dirty do your air filters need to be in your domestic air handling system or on your motor vehicle for it to be economically advantageous to replace them?

Quiz PDF eBook: 
Thermal-Fluid Systems ME303
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33 Pages
2014
English US
Educational Materials



Source:  Dr. Steve Gibbs. Thermal-Fluid Systems. The Saylor Academy 2014, http://www.saylor.org/courses/me303/
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