MARCH 2014

Equations in Engineering Practice

COLIN SELLECK
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
Knovel Introduction
The Knovel White Papers are a series of thought provoking presentations that address important issues facing
the world of engineering. Each white paper is authored by a leading contributor seeking to advance the
discussion by oering new insights and practical knowledge.
This white paper provides a brief history of equations and the practical applications of equations in engineer-
ing practice. We hope that the perspective of this white paper will help to deepen your understanding of why
equations are critical to engineering practice and, hence, why todays engineers need the tools to eectively
develop and use equations across the multitude of disciplines they serve.
Meet The Author
Colin Selleck received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Louisiana
State University in 1978 and his M.S. from the same institution in 1980.
He then began his career at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque,
NM where he developed some of the rst computer graphics user
interfaces that gave engineers and scientists the ability to graphically
visualize the results of complex nite element analyses.
In 1987, Selleck joined a newly-formed robotics department at Sandia
and was a member of a team that developed the rst robotics-based
radiation inspection systems for nuclear waste transportation containers.
The system was one of the rst to program a robot to touch an object
by using a force sensor to detect contact. Sellecks contribution was the
development and programming of computer vision algorithms that lo-
cated the container as it arrived on trucks at the waste storage facilities.
In 1990, Selleck began designing and coding geometry sensors based on a structured lighting technique that
used lasers and cameras to scan objects and build 3D maps. These maps were used to plan safe and ecient ro-
bot motions while operating in unknown environments. This was especially critical in tasks such as remediating
nuclear waste and deploying robots into hazardous situations.
Selleck left Sandia in 1997 and began consulting with the University of New Mexicos Manufacturing Engineering
robotic laboratory that performs research in coordinated robot motion, simulation-based system realization,
optimal grasp planning, trajectory generation, and mobile navigation.
Since 2006, Selleck has been a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Binghamton University where he teaches
robotics, measurements and instrumentation, and senior capstone design. He is a member of two engineering
honorary societies: Tau Beta Pi and Pi Tau Sigma.
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
Equations in Engineering Practice
It is undeniable that equations have greatly inuenced the course of humanity, beginning 2300 years ago when
Pythagoras developed his infamous theorem that led to surveying, map making, geometry, and eventually to
the non-Euclidian dimensions that Einstein used for his ground-breaking theorems. In the West, the cultural
awakening of the Renaissance saw an increased interest in observing and modeling the natural world, driven
by the insatiable curiosity of our species and the realization that these models eventually foster the inventions
that have so rapidly changed the landscape. These include telescopes to reach the stars, machinery to produce
foods and fabrics, sailing ships to promote trade and exploration of the Earth, and power generation to fuel it
all. The crucial introduction of the Gutenberg printing press enhanced the dissemination of this newly-acquired
knowledge with a rapidity never before seen, allowing truths and ideas to ow across the continents. Eventually
came the farms, buildings, roads, and bridges that provided food, shelter and the means of swift mobility, all for
a fraction of the time and energy humanity was accustomed to expending just to stay fed and warm.
In this crucible of idle time and protection from the elements, humanity began unravelling the intricacies of our
world and, most importantly, modeling nature using equations that predicted future outcomes. Great advances
in knowledge were enabled by the perfection of the scientic method and its tenets of observation, hypoth-
esis, prediction, experimentation, and analysis that are structured in such a way that it has become the only
process of discovery that has yielded powerful and world-changing results in the elds of physics, chemistry,
astronomy, and the life sciences. For this scientic method has woven into its very fabric the ability to self-correct
its course over generations as new and more accurate experiments and theories are developed. The hallmark of
this method is the realization that no theory is so complete that it cannot be falsied and genuine scientists are
continually trying to expose aws in existing theorems, including their own, occasionally to the point of breaking
into vast new intellectual domains. To the uninitiated, it may seem as if the method itself is awed as there is no
unequivocal nal answer, but the truth of the matter is that complete knowledge is not only impossible, but in
fact undesirable, as unknowns continually drive the search for new ideas and theories.
An examination of an equation (e.g., E = mc
2
) will reveal the presence of symbols (usually denoted by Greek or Latin
letters), numbers, and operators that dene relationships between these entities. In pure mathematics, the symbols
represent abstract concepts far removed from the natural world, and only the operational rules between symbols
and the techniques for constructing and solving equations are dened. Out of pure mathematics arise the sophis-
ticated tools and techniques that allow engineers and scientists to construct intricate models with some inkling of
how to actually solve the equations contained therein. For engineers and scientists, these symbols represent any-
thing from a physical phenomenon to an abstract concept, and each has not only a numerical value, but also a unit
constructed from the fundamental units. Each of the latter is based on a single perceived physical phenomenon
and is well-dened to a high degree of precision. The fundamental units include length, mass, time, temperature,
current, and luminosity, with units of meter, kilogram, second, kelvin, ampere, and candela respectively.
1
One must divide ones time between politics and equations. But our equations are much more
important to me, because politics is for the present, while our equations are for eternity.

Albert Einstein

The International System of Units (SI) also denes the mole or quantity of substance as a fundamental unit, but
this was created to ease the calculations of chemistry and can easily be eliminated by using Avogadros constant.
Regardless, it is not based on a perceived physical phenomenon as the other fundamental units are.
1
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
The other important component of an equation is revealed by the very word equation: the equals sign. In use since
the mid 16th century, it represents is equal to and reveals the heart of building physical models with equations: de-
veloping new concepts or re-visualizing old ones, isolating variables while ignoring others, mixing in universal con-
stants such as the speed of light or the gravitational constant, and arranging them mathematically so that each side
of the equals sign is the same in value and units. This is followed, of course, by verifying the new equation through
reproducible experimentation and only then is the equation accepted into the canon of knowledge for all to use.
It comes as no surprise that equations are widely used in engineering practice across many dierent elds.
Engineers use equations not only to predict but also to parameterize their designs, such as calculating the size of
a structural member or choosing capacitance values on a circuit board. As shown in Figure 1, studies performed
by Chestnut Hill Advisors in 2010 and 2013 reveal that a majority of engineers need an equation at least once a
week and one third need an equation at least once a day.
Figure 1. Frequency of equation use by engineers
One area that has many thousands of equations is calculating stress and strain in components, structures, and
bridges. These calculations allow designers to properly size their designs so that the costs of production are
minimized while still building a safe and useful product. Many of these equations have been empirically derived
from laboratory testing over generations and are meticulously catalogued.
Finite element analysis (FEA) use is prevalent and at its root are the equations of state that dene thermodynamic
properties. It should be noted that while FEA is available in all computer aided design software, it can lead to incorrect
analyses as FEA can become unstable, especially near areas of high stress concentration. One would be well-advised
to also search for the appropriate equations and perform hand calculations to verify the results of any FEA analysis.
HOW OFTEN DO YOU NEED AN EQUATION?
Source: Chestnut Hill Advisors, 2013
2010 2013
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40 %
ONCE A MONTH ONCE A WEEK >ONCE A WEEK >ONCE A DAY
18
17
13
25
32
31
35
30
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
The oil and gas industry uses equations in the sizing of pumps and pipes and in the design of reneries and storage
facilities. Equations are also used in the eld to predict well bore pressures and temperatures, allowing engineers to
optimize the production system. Much eort has also been put into creating equations of state of uids that allow
engineers to predict the behavior of oil and gas as it makes it way from the well to the consumer. Equations are also
used in the exploratory phase to estimate how much oil is available in a newly-discovered reservoir.
The production of chemicals, which are the raw materials of the technology engine, also requires equations
in many dierent areas. Mass and energy balance of chemical processes are essential to designing optimal
production facilities. Equations are also used in calculating reaction rates, phase equilibrium, chemical reactor
design, and minimizing air and water pollution.
The electronics industry uses equations in circuit design, packaging, and in designing techniques to remove heat
from high-speed processors. The design of new instruments, gaming consoles, home entertainment compo-
nents, power electronics, computers, sensors, and data acquisition systems all depend heavily on equations.
Where do engineers nd the many equations they need to do their job eciently and correctly? Not surpris-
ingly, 78% use a website, and this is on the rise, having increased 19 percentage points since 2010 (see Figure
2). This reveals the double-edged sword of the worldwide web while it is quick, easy to use, and accesses an
astounding amount of data, the vast majority of the information available is not peer-reviewed. This problem
is not unique to engineers: everyone from students to professionals across many elds are accessing data that
may be incorrect. Before the creation of the worldwide web, peer-reviewed books, periodicals, and journals
were the only source of equations, and while that may be inconvenient for many reasons, the information they
contained could be used with a high level of condence.
Figure 2. Source of equations for engineers
HOW DO YOU FIND THE EQUATION?
2010 2013
20
40
60
80
100 %
LOOK UP FIND IT ON FIND IT ON PREVIOUS ASK PREVIOUS SAVED ON
PRINTED TEXT WEBSITE COMPANY ELECTRONIC COLLEAGUE PRINTED ELECTRONIC
INTRANET DOCUMENT LIST DEVICE
79
59
79
78
62
42
46
45
29
63
57
28
16
Source: Chestnut Hill Advisors, 2013
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
This can be a problem, as engineers must validate their work as what they do will likely aect people and prop-
erty in one way or another, even causing injury or death. Engineers and their employers are typically aware of
this danger. Figure 3 shows that even though the web was the source of the equation, only 4% use a website to
validate their work. The three most common ways of validation are committees of peers, codes or best practices,
and other calculation programs.
Figure 3. How engineers get their work validated
What tools are engineers using to archive their results? Figure 4 shows that 87% save their calculations on their
hard drive, though it should be noted that cloud storage is on the rise, probably because data can be accessed
from almost anywhere as long as there is an Internet connection.
Since Excel is so universally used, it is not surprising that 84% use it to share their calculations with colleagues,
as shown in Figure 5. Creating and debugging Excel worksheets is time-consuming and prone to errors, be-
cause the equations are not presented legibly as one would see in a text book, but are encoded in an arcane
language that is unreadable.
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR WORK VALIDATED? (2013)
SOMETIMES MOST OFTEN
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
%
COMMITTEE CODES/BEST ANOTHER SPECIALIZED CA OR COMPARE TEST IN OTHER
OF PEERS PRACTICES CALCULATION SOFTWARE COMPLIANCE ON WEB A LAB
PROGRAM (E.G. FEA)
46 46
34
24
22 22
12
15
26
20
12
8
18
4 4
8
Source: Chestnut Hill Advisors, 2013
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
Figure 4. How engineers save their calculations
Figure 5. How engineering results are communicated to others
HOW DO YOU SAVE YOUR CALCULATIONS FOR FUTURE USE?
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
%
MY HARD DRIVE OUR KM PORTABLE PRINT & FILE EMAIL CLOUD-BASED DO NOT SAVE
83
24
23 23 20
6
2
87
27
18 18
21
13
1
2010 2013
SYSTEM MEDIA ARCHIVE
HOW DO YOU DELIVER YOUR CALCULATION WORK TO OTHERS?
2010 2013
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
%
USE EXCEL USE WORD USE POWER USE CALCULATION USE EMAIL USE OTHER DONT NEED
POINT PACKAGE TO DELIVER
73
34
84
38
33
27
25
18
6
35
19
6
5
2
Source: Chestnut Hill Advisors, 2013
Source: Chestnut Hill Advisors, 2013
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Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
Finding the right equation is important, but subsequent tasks such as validating and archiving are equally so. It
would seem that demand exists for engineering content/service providers to create new leading-edge products
that allow engineers to easily nd equations, then calculate, validate, share, and store their work. From these
data it would seem the most useful tools for an engineer would include the following:
Peer-reviewed and comprehensive equations with explanatory text.
Search tools to quickly fnd the appropriate equation and relevant text.
Downloadable worksheet that has the equation already entered and a sample problem worked out.
Web-based symbolic equation solver that presents equations in a text document.
Export of PDFs of the worksheet to share work with colleagues.
Archive of results locally or in the cloud (if security concerns allow) for later retrieval to solve new
problems or to review and validate work.
The development and use of equations by engineers and scientists has a rich history built on many hours of
research and experimentation performed by colleagues from across the globe in a multitude of disciplines.
This has resulted in vast stores of knowledge that can be drawn upon to assist in the design and production
of all the modern conveniences that humanity has come to depend upon. As it stands, todays engineers do
not have all the tools to eciently mine this knowledge to accomplish their required tasks of search, calculate,
document, validate, and archive. But with ever-expanding technological advances and increasing demand for
peer-reviewed and accurate information, it can only be a matter of time before this is realized, and, if wisely used,
engineers and thus the world can only benet.
Knovel Know More. Search Less. Equations in Engineering Practice Colin Selleck
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About Knovel
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drive innovation and deliver answers engineers can trust. Knovel users include hundreds of thousands of
engineers and applied scientists worldwide. Knovel has more than 700 customers worldwide including 74 of the
Fortune 500 companies and more than 400 leading universities. Knovel was acquired by Elsevier in January 2013.
For more information, visit www.knovel.com or call (866) 240-8174.
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company works in partnership with the global science and health communities to publish more than 2,000
journals, including The Lancet and Cell, and close to 20,000 book titles, including major reference works from
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