Editing Engineering (section)

==Methodology==
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[[File:Dampfturbine Montage01.jpg|thumb|upright|Design of a [[turbine]] requires collaboration of engineers from many fields, as the system involves mechanical, electro-magnetic and chemical processes. The [[turbine blade|blades]], [[stator|rotor and stator]] as well as the [[steam cycle]] all need to be carefully designed and optimized.]]

In the [[engineering design]] process, engineers apply mathematics and sciences such as physics to find novel solutions to problems or to improve existing solutions. Engineers need proficient knowledge of relevant sciences for their design projects. As a result, many engineers continue to learn new material throughout their careers.

If multiple solutions exist, engineers weigh each design choice based on their merit and choose the solution that best matches the requirements. The task of the engineer is to identify, understand, and interpret the constraints on a design in order to yield a successful result. It is generally insufficient to build a technically successful product, rather, it must also meet further requirements.

Constraints may include available resources, physical, imaginative or technical limitations, flexibility for future modifications and additions, and other factors, such as requirements for cost, [[Safety engineering|safety]], marketability, productivity, and [[Serviceability (computer)|serviceability]]. By understanding the constraints, engineers derive [[specifications]] for the limits within which a viable object or system may be produced and operated.

===Problem solving===
[[File:Booster-Layout.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|left|A drawing for a [[steam locomotive]]. Engineering is applied to [[design]], with emphasis on function and the utilization of mathematics and science.]]
Engineers use their knowledge of [[science]], [[mathematics]], [[logic]], [[economics]], and [[empirical knowledge|appropriate experience]] or [[tacit knowledge]] to find suitable solutions to a particular problem. Creating an appropriate [[mathematical model]] of a problem often allows them to analyze it (sometimes definitively), and to test potential solutions.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.livescience.com/47499-what-is-engineering.html|title=What is engineering?  |last=Lucas |first=Jim |website=Live Science |date=August 22, 2014|language=en|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=July 2, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190702140957/https://www.livescience.com/47499-what-is-engineering.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

More than one solution to a design problem usually exists so the different [[design choice]]s have to be evaluated on their merits before the one judged most suitable is chosen. [[Genrich Altshuller]], after gathering statistics on a large number of [[patent]]s, suggested that [[compromise]]s are at the heart of "[[level of invention|low-level]]" engineering designs, while at a higher level the best design is one which eliminates the core contradiction causing the problem.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://theoriesaboutengineering.org/genrich_altshuller.html|website=Theories About Engineering |title= Genrich Altshuller's Theory of Inventive Problem Solving |access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=September 11, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190911220432/http://theoriesaboutengineering.org/genrich_altshuller.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Engineers typically attempt to predict how well their designs will perform to their specifications prior to full-scale production. They use, among other things: [[prototype]]s, [[scale model]]s, [[simulation]]s, [[destructive testing|destructive tests]], [[nondestructive testing|nondestructive tests]], and [[stress testing|stress tests]]. Testing ensures that products will perform as expected but only in so far as the testing has been representative of use in service. For products, such as aircraft, that are used differently by different users failures and unexpected shortcomings (and necessary design changes) can be expected throughout the operational life of the product.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/engineering-design-process/engineering-design-compare-scientific-method|title=Comparing the Engineering Design Process and the Scientific Method|website=Science Buddies|language=en-US|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=December 16, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216191107/https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/engineering-design-process/engineering-design-compare-scientific-method|url-status=live}}</ref>

Engineers take on the responsibility of producing designs that will perform as well as expected and, except those employed in specific areas of the [[arms industry]], will not harm people. Engineers typically include a [[factor of safety]] in their designs to reduce the risk of unexpected failure.

The study of failed products is known as [[forensic engineering]]. It attempts to identify the cause of failure to allow a redesign of the product and so prevent a re-occurrence. Careful analysis is needed to establish the cause of failure of a product. The consequences of a failure may vary in severity from the minor cost of a machine breakdown to large loss of life in the case of accidents involving aircraft and large stationary structures like buildings and dams.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.asce.org/forensic-engineering/forensic-engineering/|title=Forensic Engineering {{!}} ASCE|website=www.asce.org|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=April 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200408165523/https://www.asce.org/forensic-engineering/forensic-engineering/|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Computer use===
[[File:CFD Shuttle.jpg|thumb|left|A computer simulation of high velocity air flow around a [[Space Shuttle orbiter]] during re-entry. Solutions to the flow require [[Finite element method|modelling]] of the combined effects of [[Navier–Stokes equations|fluid flow]] and the [[heat equation]]s.]]

As with all modern scientific and technological endeavors, computers and software play an increasingly important role. As well as the typical business [[application software]] there are a number of computer aided applications ([[computer-aided technologies]]) specifically for engineering. Computers can be used to generate models of fundamental physical processes, which can be solved using [[numerical method]]s.

[[File:WorldWideWebAroundWikipedia.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Graphic representation of a minute fraction of the WWW, demonstrating [[hyperlink]]s]]
One of the most widely used [[design tool]]s in the profession is [[computer-aided design]] (CAD) software. It enables engineers to create 3D models, 2D drawings, and schematics of their designs. CAD together with [[digital mockup]] (DMU) and [[Computer-aided engineering|CAE]] software such as [[Finite element method|finite element method analysis]] or [[analytic element method]] allows engineers to create models of designs that can be analyzed without having to make expensive and time-consuming physical prototypes.

These allow products and components to be checked for flaws; assess fit and assembly; study ergonomics; and to analyze static and dynamic characteristics of systems such as stresses, temperatures, electromagnetic emissions, electrical currents and voltages, digital logic levels, fluid flows, and kinematics. Access and distribution of all this information is generally organized with the use of [[product data management]] software.<ref>{{cite web
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  | first = Katrina
  | title = PDM: Not Just for the Big Boys Anymore
  | publisher = ThomasNet
  | date = May 7, 2001
  | url = http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2001/05/pdm_not_just_fo.html
  | access-date = December 30, 2006
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  | archive-date = August 6, 2010
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  }}</ref>

There are also many tools to support specific engineering tasks such as [[computer-aided manufacturing]] (CAM) software to generate [[CNC]] machining instructions; [[manufacturing process management]] software for production engineering; [[Electronic design automation|EDA]] for [[printed circuit board]] (PCB) and circuit [[schematic]]s for electronic engineers; [[Maintenance, repair, and operations|MRO]] applications for maintenance management; and Architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) software for civil engineering.

In recent years the use of computer software to aid the development of goods has collectively come to be known as [[product lifecycle management]] (PLM).<ref>{{cite web
  | last = Arbe
  | first = Katrina
  | title = The Latest Chapter in CAD Software Evaluation
  | publisher = ThomasNet
  | date = May 22, 2003
  | url = http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2003/05/the_latest_chap.html
  | access-date = December 30, 2006
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100806132726/http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2003/05/the_latest_chap.html
  | archive-date = August 6, 2010
  | url-status=dead
  }}</ref>