Professional Documents
Culture Documents
INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICAL
ENGINEERING
PREPARED FOR:
GHAZIRAH MUSTAPHA
PREPARED BY:
Much of the reason why we consider an engineering failure to be an engineering "disaster" has to do with
public perception of risk. For example, in 1992 roughly the same number of fatalities occurred (in the United
States) in transportation accidents involving airplanes (775), trains (755), and bicycles (722). Yet the public
perception of the risk associated with air travel is often much higher than that for trains and certainly for
bicycles. This stems from two reasons: (1) the large loss of life (and associated wide spread news reporting)
resulting from a single air crash, and (2) the air passenger's lack of control over their environment in the case
of air or, to a lesser degree, rail accidents. Both of these reasons results in increased fear, and hence a
• design flaws (many of which are also the result of unethical practices)
• materials failures
structural failure in which 504 people were killed, 592 people injured, and millions of dollars of damage
incurred. When engineers were at fault, the researchers classified the causes of failure as follows:
Other ................................................................... 3%
Often, a deficiency in engineering ethics is found to be one of the root causes of an engineering failure. An
engineer, as a professional, has a responsibility to their client or employer, to their profession, and to the
general public, to perform their duties in as conscientious a manner as possible. Usually this entails far more
than just acting within the bounds of law. An ethical engineer is one who avoids conflicts of interest, does not
attempt to misrepresent their knowledge so as to accept jobs outside their area of expertise, acts in the best
interests of society and the environment, fulfills the terms of their contracts or agreements in a thorough and
professional manner, and promotes the education of young engineers within their field. Many of these issues
are discussed in detail at the ethics homepage of the National Society of Professional Engineers. There you
will find an example of an engineering Code of Ethics and links to additional information on engineering
ethics. Or check here our list of some codes of Engineering Ethics. Failures in engineering ethics can have
Thirty five faculty members from around the country have created a number of case problems in several
engineering disciplines which intertwine technical calculations with engineering ethics. These were presented
The site for Applied Ethics in Professional Practice Case of the Month Club created and maintained by then
Professional Engineering Practice Liaison Program in the College of Engineering at University of Washington,
provides the opportunity to review a particular case study which involves engineering ethics and then vote on
which course of action should be taken. All cases are based on actual professional engineering experiences
Jack Kilby
There are few men whose insights and professional accomplishments have changed the
world. Jack Kilby was one of these men. His invention of the monolithic integrated circuit - the
microchip - laid the conceptual and technical foundation for the entire field of modern
microelectronics. From Jack Kilby's first simple circuit has grown a worldwide integrated
About Jack
Jack Kilby grew up in Great Bend, Kansas and joined TI in Dallas in 1958. During the summer
of that year, working with borrowed and improvised equipment, he conceived and built the
first electronic circuit in which all of the components, both active and passive, were fabricated
It was a relatively simple device that Jack Kilby showed to a handful of co-workers gathered in
TI's semiconductor lab 50 years ago -- only a transistor and other components on a slice of
germanium. Little did this group of onlookers know that Kilby's invention was about to
"As a new employee, I had no vacation time coming and was left alone to ponder the results
of the IF amplifier exercise. The cost analysis gave me my first insight into the cost structure
of a semiconductor house."
Nobel Prize
Jack Kilby received the Nobel Prize in Physics on December 10. 2000 for his part in the
invention of the integrated circuit. To congratulate him, U.S. President Bill Clinton wrote, "You
can take pride in the knowledge that your work will help to improve lives for generations to
come."
The Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM) is a statutory body constituted under the Registration
of Engineers Act 1967 with perpetual succession and a common seal and which may sue and
BEM falls within the ambit of responsibility of the Minister of Works. Vested with wide powers,
the Minister may suspend the operation of the Registration of Engineers Act 1967 in any part
of Malaysia by notification in the gazette. The appointment of the Board Members and the
Registrar is made by the Minister. Last but not least, the Minister has the final say on any
appeal from foreign engineers who are not satisfied with the decision of the Board in rejecting
Functions of BEM
BEM is of the view that it plays a pivotal role in uplifting the image of the engineering
profession. In order that it may play its role effectively, BEM is carrying out in earnest its
various functions provided for in Section 4 of the Registration of Engineers Act 1967
The Board shall keep and maintain a Register which shall be in five Parts:
Part A - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Professional
Engineers;
Part B - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Graduate
Engineers;
Part C - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Temporary
Engineers;
Part D - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Engineering
Part E - which shall contain the names, addresses and other particulars of Accredited
Checkers.
BEM through its Examination and Qualification Committee conducts the Professional
Assessment Examination (PAE) to assess the quality of experience gained by the Graduate
scrutinized thoroughly by the Application Committee to ensure compliance with the Act and
consulting services provided by these bodies corporate would be done professionally for the
BEM through its Engineering Accreditation Council (EAC)* assesses and accredits
accreditation team whose members are appointed by EAC. The accreditation team shall
consist of at least three members in the same or related discipline of the course to be
accredited. At least one of the members should be from an academic institution and one from
industry/practice. The accreditation team shall visit the institution to audit the facilities and
There are two types of accreditation given by BEM: conditional accreditation and full
accreditation. The period of full accreditation shall be five years after which it has to be
requirement, the programme may be given conditional accreditation for a period of not
more than 2 years during which the faculty must take necessary corrective measures.
BEM use as a guide the list for Professional/Chartered Engineer by the accreditation
Prior to conduct new engineering programme institution of higher learning shall obtain
approval from the relevant authorities. The authority normally will require supporting
Since its inception in 1972, BEM has been a medium for the engineers to decide on matters
relating to their professional conduct or ethics. Any matter concerning the professional
conduct of registered engineers will be studied by the Board to determine whether there is a
case against a registered engineer for contravening the Act. The procedures to follow are
If there is a breach of professional ethics or code of conduct on the part of the engineer but
appropriate action, e.g. warning, censure or advice would be taken by BEM as deemed fit.
Such measures should be viewed by the engineers at large as a concerned effort on the part
e) Scale of Fees
In this respect the Scale of Fees Committee of BEM continues to have dialogues sessions
with the Federal Treasury on issues involving mode of remuneration, quantum and conditions
of payment.
f) Publication
The Publication Committee of BEM undertakes the task of promoting engineering profession
The Ingenieur (4 issues per year: March, June, Sept and December) is used as a
communication tool for BEM to disseminate information on the activities of the Board,
regulations, code of ethics, career development, update and guidelines and such other news
BEM has set certain guidelines in connection with the financial assistance provided.
BEM will consider providing financial assistance to seminar or conference which is organised
by a non-profit making organisation. The seminar or conference must be technical one that
The promotion of continued learning and education does not stop here. BEM would also
consider giving grant to selected type of study related to engineering or contribute prizes for
selected competition also related to engineering. BEM even goes further by purchasing
engineering reference books which all engineer have access to in the BEM library.
In order to keep abreast with changing techology, BEM encourages all registered engineers
Programme.
The Institution of Engineers, Malaysia better known as the IEM. It is a professional learned
society serving more than 16,000 members in Malaysia, overseas and the communities in,
which they work. It was formed in 1959 and was admitted a member of the Commonwealth
Engineers Council in 1962. The Institution is a qualifying body for professional engineers in
Malaysia.
With a membership of close to 24,094 engineers and an estimated annual growth rate of
The Corporate member of the Institution can apply to the Board of Engineers, Malaysia
(which is a registration body) for registration as a Professional Engineer, which will entitle him
to set up practice. The qualification standards are determined by the Council of the
Institution.
The Institution is one of the few professional engineering institutions in the world, which
represents all disciplines of the profession, and is thus able to take a broad view of the
professional scene.
Currently, the IEM has five (5) official representatives on the BEM out of a total Board
IEM'S FUNCTIONS
Objective
To undertake activities related to the promotion and advancement of the science and
engineering aspect of tunnelling and underground space technologies both locally and
internationally.
IEM is a society established to promote and advance the Science and Profession of
Engineering in any or all its disciplines and to facilitate the exchange of information and ideas
related to Engineering.
Function;
• Access to a wide network of fellow engineers in the private and public sectors in
• Keep abreast with engineering development via readership of IEM Journals and
Bulletins.
• Provides an avenue for networking with other engineers outside your company and
• Linked to the internet and access to the information superhighway, via internet.
interest.
conferences.
THE TACOMA NARROW BRIDGE
The original Tacoma Narrows Bridge was opened to traffic on July 1, 1940. It was located in
Washington State, near Puget Sound.
The Tacoma Narrows Bridge was the third-longest suspension bridge in the United States at
the time, with a length of 5939 feet including approaches. Its two supporting towers were 425
feet high. The towers were 2800 feet apart.
Prior to this time, most bridge designs were based on trusses, arches, and cantilevers to
support heavy freight trains. Automobiles were obviously much lighter. Suspension bridges
were both more elegant and economical than railway bridges. Thus the suspension design
became favored for automobile traffic. Unfortunately, engineers did not fully understand the
forces acting upon bridges. Neither did they understand the response of the suspension
bridge design to these poorly understood forces.
Furthermore, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge was built with shallow plate girders instead of the
deep stiffening trusses of railway bridges. Note that the wind can pass through trusses. Plate
girders, on the other hand, present an obstacle to the wind.
As a result of its design, the Tacoma Narrows Bridge experienced rolling undulations which
were driven by the wind. It thus acquired the nickname "Galloping Gertie."
FAILED???
Strong winds caused the bridge to collapse on November 7, 1940. Initially, 35 mile per hour
winds excited the bridge's transverse vibration mode, with an amplitude of 1.5 feet. This
motion lasted 3 hours.
The wind then increased to 42 miles per hour. In addition, a support cable at mid-span
snapped, resulting in an unbalanced loading condition. The bridge response thus changed to
a 0.2 Hz torsional vibration mode, with an amplitude up to 28 feet. The torsional mode is
shown in Figures 1a and 1b.
Theodore von Karman, a famous aeronautical engineer, was convinced that vortex
shedding drove the bridge oscillations. A diagram of vortex shedding around a
spherical body is shown in Figure 3. Von Karman showed that blunt bodies such as
bridge decks could also shed periodic vortices in their wakes.
A problem with this theory is that the natural vortex shedding frequency was
calculated to be 1 Hz. This frequency is also called the "Strouhal frequency." The
torsional mode frequency, however, was 0.2 Hz. This frequency was observed by
Professor F. B. Farquharson, who witnessed the collapse of the bridge. The
calculated vortex shedding frequency was five times higher than the torsional
frequency. It was thus too high to have excited the torsional mode frequency.
In addition to "von Karman" vortex shedding, a flutter-like pattern of vortices may
have formed at a frequency coincident with the torsional oscillation mode. Whether
these flutter vortices were a cause or an effect of the twisting motion is unclear.
"Flutter" is a self-induced harmonic vibration pattern. This instability can grow to very
large vibrations.
5. The two types of instability, vortex shedding and torsional flutter occurred at
relatively low wind speeds.
It was critical that the two types of instability, vortex shedding and torsional flutter,
both occurred at relatively low wind speeds. Usually, vortex shedding occurs at
relatively low wind speeds, like 25 to 35 mph, and torsional flutter at high windspeeds,
like 100 mph. Because of Gertie's design, and relatively weak resistance to torsional
forces, from the vortex shedding instability the bridge went right into "torsional flutter."
6. The bridge was beyond its natural ability
Now the bridge was beyond its natural ability to "damp out" the motion. Once the
twisting movements began, they controlled the vortex forces. The torsional motion
began small and built upon its own self-induced energy. In other words, Galloping
Gertie's twisting induced more twisting, then greater and greater twisting. This
increased beyond the bridge structure's strength to resist. Failure resulted.
OVERCOME OF THE FAILURE OF TACOMA NARROW BRIDGE (GALLOPING GERTIE).
• The deck system's prominent 33-foot deep steel Warren stiffening trusses: These gave
the bridge a depth-to-center span ratio of 1 to 85, the deepest stiffening system on a
major suspension span since the 1909 Manhattan Bridge.
• Wind grates:
Three slots of open steel grating 33 inches wide separating all
four traffic lanes, and a strip 19 inches wide along each curb.
(2) between the top chords of the main span and side span
stiffening trusses; and
(3) at each tower, where it joins the bottom of the deck truss.
• Ends of the west and east side spans were anchored securely
to the ground.