Engineering Mechanics: Statics & Dynamics

by Anthony M. Bedford, Wallace Fowler

Publisher: Prentice Hall
ISBN: 0136142257

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Book Description

Addison-Wesley is pleased to announce the imminent publication of Anthony Bedford and Wallace Fowler's Engineering Mechanics: Dynamics, Second Edition. This book has quickly earned a place in Engineering schools across the country because it teaches engineering mechanics the way a good instructor would. Hallmark Features

Problem Solving

Uses a "Strategy-Solution-Discussion" problem-solving methodology that explains how to approach problems, solve them, and critically judge the results

Visualization

Stresses the importance of visual analysis, especially the use of free-body diagrams Develops figures gradually and employs "ghosting" techniques to clarify and emphasize concepts-- emulating the way an instructor teaches

Applications

Places engineering mechanics within the context of engineering practice by including applications from many fields of engineering

Introduces design principles with the "Application to Engineering" feature using concepts developed in preceding sections of the chapter

New Features

Visualization

Provides more free-body diagrams to many of the worked examples. Separates most of the diagrams showing velocities, accelerations, and forces intoa free-body diagram showing the forces and a kinematic diagram showing the accelerations

Content

Extends the discussion of normal and tangential components

• in Chapter 2 to include three- dimensional motion Includes a revised discussion of reference frames throughout the text, especially in Chapters 2 and 6 Improves the discussion of impulsive forces
• in Chapter 5 Improves the discussion of 2D rigid-body kinematics in Chapter 6 Expands and improves the discussion of D'Alembert's principle
• in Chapter 7 Provides a revised and improved discussion of angular impulse and momentum in Chapter 8 Expands the discussion of 3D rigid body dynamics in Chapter 9 and provides new examples and problems Offers several new examples throughout the text including more of the popular feature, "Application to Engineering" Includes more than 20% new and revised end-of-chapter problems

Organization

Presents section on Orbital Mechanics in Chapter 3 Other Provides a thoroughly revised solution manual written by Wallace Fowler

From the Back Cover

This book presents the foundations and applications of statics by emphasizing the importance of visual analysis of topics, especially through the use of free body diagrams. It also promotes a problem-solving approach to solving examples through its strategy, solution, and discussion format. The authors further include design and computational examples that help integrate these ABET 2000 requirements. Features strong coverage of free-body and kinetic diagrmas. Includes a revised discussion of reference frames. Chapter topics include: Motion of a Point; Force, Mass, and Acceleration; Energy Methods; Momentum Methods; Planar Kinematics of Rigid Bodies; Planar Dynamics of Rigid Bodies; Energy and Momentum in Rigid Body Dynamics; Three-Dimensional Kinematics and Dynamics of Rigid Bodies; Vibrations. For professionals in mechanical, civil, aeronautical, or engineering mechanics fields.

About the Author

Anthony Bedford is Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. He received his B.S. degree at the University of Texas at Austin, his M.S. degree at the California Institute of Technology, and his Ph.D. degree at Rice University in 1967. He has industrial experience at Douglas Aircraft Company and at TRW, where he did structural dynamics and trajectory analyses for the Apollo program. He has been on the faculty of the University of Texas at Austin since 1968. He is a member of the University of Texas Academy of Distinguished Teachers and has received several teaching awards over the years.

Dr. Bedford's main professional activity has been education and research in engineering mechanics. He has been principal investigator on grants from the National Science Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, and from 1973 until 1983 was a consultant to Sandia National Laboratories, Albuquerque, New Mexico. His other books include Hamilton's Principle in Continuum Mechanics, Introduction to Elastic Wave Propagation (with D.S. Drumheller), and Mechanics of Materials (with K.M. Liechti).

Wallace T. Fowler holds the Paul D. and Betty Robertson Meek Professorship in Engineering in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. Dr. Fowler received his B.A., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees at the University of Texas at Austin, and has been on the faculty there since 1965. During Fall 1976, he was on the staff of the United States Air Force Test Pilot School, Edwards Air Force Base, California, and in 1981-1982 he was a visiting professor at the United States Air Force Academy. Since 1991 he has been Associate Director of the Texas Space Grant Consortium.

Dr. Fowler's areas of teaching and research are dynamics, orbital mechanics, anti spacecraft mission design. He is author or coauthor of technical papers on trajectory optimization, attitude dynamics, and space mission planning and has also published papers on the theory and practice of engineering teaching. He has received numerous teaching awards including the Chancellor's Council Outstanding Teaching Award, the General Dynamics Teaching Excellence Award, the Halliburton Education Foundation Award of Excellence, the ASEE Fred Merryfleld Design Award, and the AIAA-ASEE Distinguished Aerospace Educator. Award. He is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Teachers at the University of Texas at Austin. He is a licensed professional engineer, a member of several technical societies, and a Fellow of both the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the American Society for Engineering Education. In 2000-2001, he served as president of the American Society for Engineering Education

Customer Reviews

Overall this book is not horrible, but it's not great by any stretch of imagination. Some of the chapters are well explained, but there are also a couple of chapters, such as chapter 18, that are very unclear. There are too few examples in each chapter, and they usually fail to underscore most of the theory stated earlier, some even skip the steps that are being taught in the same chapter! Needless to say, this makes understanding the material frustrating at times. There are probably much better dynamics textbooks around.

I have taught dynamics at the university level, and have used several different dynamics books. This one is clear and well-written, but oversimplified, even for a one-semester undergraduate course. The selection of problems is poor.