Product Description

"The biggest contribution of Vincenti's splendidly crafted book may well be that it offers us a believably human image of the engineer." -- Technology Review.

Johns Hopkins Studies in the History of Technology.

Merritt Roe Smith, Series Editor.

Customer Reviews (3)

interesting chapters from aeronautical history
As Prof. Vincenti points out in the preface, the people interested in the history of aviation may prefer to omit epistemological parts of the book. I must agree. The epistemological part (introduction of the book, introductions and conclusions of the chapters, 50 pages after the chapter 6) is too wordy to my taste. I can't say it isn't interesting (based on what I learned about differences between engineers and scientists I can say that I am engineer) but it is definitely not easy to read (with lot of redundancy and abstraction).

The narrative part of the chapters 2-6 is other case. There are very interesting stories about:
2. airfoil design and use (laminar flow, Davis's airfoil used in B-24 Liberator)
3. flying quality specification
4. development of control volume analysis (in Prandtl's aerodynamics)
5. air-propeller test (by Durand and Lesley)
6. development of flush riveting

The notes in pages 259-318 contain also comprehensive bibliography to all stories.

a glimpse into engineering information gathering and use
One commonly held view of the relationship between scientists and engineers assumes that the latterrepresent an applied form of the former. Vincenti shatters this notion by showing how engineers develop their knowledge and use that information in the context of the problems they solve.While engineers and scientists share in their formative education a curriculum heavily devoted to mathematics (at least through differential equations) and fundamental physical forces, their priorities diverge at the context of their assigned tasks and in the type and quality of information that can be made available to complete their purposes.In particular, engineering knowledge does not exist for its own sake, in contrast to science.

Vincenti cites several examples from the aeronautics industry.While these descriptions take on an anecdotal character, these collected narratives nonetheless impose his conclusion as well as any philosophical essay could and probably better.In each case, _What_Do_Engineers_Know_?_ demonstrates that incomplete information may yield intermediate results having little or no effect on the intended problem.

The first example relates to a wing design for the B-24.The history of the Davis airfoil design is explained, as well as its incorporation for the B-24 wing.At the time of its adoption, various airfoil shapes had been investigated, and the Davis form subsequently was found to resemble the high performance laminar-flow airfoil.But did this form benefit the B-24 performance.Probably not, answers the author.Laminar flow can be difficult to maintain at the Reynolds numbers typical of modern aircraft, particularly in wartime conditions when surface roughness will likely increase tripping the boundary layer to turbulent (with resulting increased drag -- laminar flow has a thinner boundary layer, but is more prone to flow separation).The B-24 was considered a fine aircraft, in part due to its wing length.

The second example describes flying-quality characteristics and relative design priorities regarding stability and control.(The Wright brothers had emphasized stability in the infancy of manned powered flight.)Designers had to determine what characteristics made an airplane desirable to pilots, and which would consign them to the scrapyard.This ergonomic study evolved as pilot and aircraft capabilities expanded in speed and flight duration.An appendix provides qualitative criteria used to compare stability performance.

The third example compares how thermodynamics is treated by physicists and engineers.The latter employ control volume analysis as developed by Ludwig Prandtl for economy and accuracy rather than the understanding of nature governing thermal energy transfer.The fourth example covers data collection for airplane propellers.Subtle changes in camber, pitch and twist in a design can have subtle or profound effects on efficiency.These were evaluated using empirical studies, in contrast to a more analytical treatment where the contributing second and third order effects are more difficult to distinguish.The fifth example explains the struggles in riveting thin metal sheets with countersunk joints for aircraft production.The establishment of standard head angles required more detailed material behavior for both rivets and attaching sheets than previously known.

Finally Vincenti concludes with a synthesis on how design knowledge develops from functional collections of information. The writing style can be tedious at times, and other times smooth, but this is a matter of personal taste for the reader.While a typical engineer may find some aspects of the work, particularly among the examples, more familiar than other chapters, it nonetheless remains a beneficial insight into how engineering knowledge is acquired, organized and utilized to address the concern at hand.

Vincenti shows the way technologies mature
I am an instructional technologist dealing a lot with the design and development of products in a young technology, computer-based instruction. My technology is in its youth compared to other technologies that have become essential to our social and economic operations. I am interested in knowing the stages my technology will go through and the types of knowledge it must accumulate as it matures, which seems certain, given current interest and ferment.

Vincenti describes how aeronautics technologies grew and went through their stages, and this has given me insight into my own. This is not a book of idealized process for implementing technology. It is s set of historical case studies, some of which Vincenti himself participated in, others of which he researched.

The book is not easy to read, but I have found it very rewarding. It is full of technical terms and heavy technology. At the same time, if you pay the price in effort and study this book carefully, you will not be disappointed. You will see how technologies develop, and knowing this, you will be able to anticipate developments and needs in your own area of growth. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Industrial Engineer, published by Institute of Industrial Engineers, Inc. (IIE) on November 1, 2008. The length of the article is 1040 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Research: executive summaries.(IIE Transactions)
Author: Candace Yano
Publication: Industrial Engineer (Magazine/Journal)
Date: November 1, 2008
Publisher: Institute of Industrial Engineers, Inc. (IIE)
Volume: 40Issue: 11Page: 54(2)

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Industrial Engineer, published by Institute of Industrial Engineers, Inc. (IIE) on December 1, 2009. The length of the article is 400 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Work perfect: the day we strive for.(Interview)
Author: Nicole D. Smith
Publication: Industrial Engineer (Magazine/Journal)
Date: December 1, 2009
Publisher: Institute of Industrial Engineers, Inc. (IIE)
Volume: 41Issue: 12Page: 66(1)

Article Type: Interview

Distributed by Gale, a part of Cengage Learning ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Tupolev - The Man and His Aircraftis outstanding work
This is a finely detailed work on the historical achievements of Andrei Tupolev and the firm that bears his name. Every aviation library should have a copy as well as any aviation buff.

Co-Authors: Amazon should recognize the late Mr. Paul Duffy as well as Mr. Kandalov as authors of this work. With all respect to Mr. Kandalov, Paul Duffy was very close to the Tupolev family and without him this book would not have been written.

FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Andrej N Tupolev is the greatest aeronautical mind of all times.Like clockwork for 50 years of his unmatched career, every aircraft this genius designed had scored several world records!Tupolev's TU-144, the world's first giant supersonic transporter and the true marvel of aeronautical engineering still remains unsurpassed today, some 30 years after its maiden flight.
However, the book's courageous attempts to illustrate the unique and exceptional talent of Tupolev falls short of its mark.Although well-structured points are made regarding the revolutionary milestones achieved by Tupolev, such as the variable geometry canard winglets and nose-cone or the delta wing design, which ushered in the 3+ Mach epoch, they are lost on the average reader.
Tupolev's work isn't even fully understood by the West aeronautical community today let alone by a biography reader.It helps to know some facts on the TU-144 victory before reading.
The Brito-French monopoly Airbus, although painstakingly retracing Tupolev's steps with a network of spies, only managed to trudge haplessly behind the master producing no more than a pathetic feat with an equally befitting humdrum name, the Concorde.Concorde, following years of development snags, eventually turned out to be nothing more than a miniature copy of the TU-144.Its carrying limits made it an economic disaster and the wrong power plant and nacelle mounting was its undoing making the only West effort crash and burn in an inferno outside of Paris.
The book gives good examples of Tupolev's superiority throughout but spares the West, namely the USA, the 30 years of its greatest aeronautical embarrassments save for the JFK moon landing sham.
While Tupolev connected the far reaches of Asia and Europe with a regular supersonic service, especially Americans stood confounded.The German-birthed Boeing managed only a few pencil drafts - nothing more.Unable to come close in 30 years, to obtain the Tupolev's marvel, the US government bought the TU-144 in 1996.
This book is a well-written proof of the ongoing Russian superiority over the West and USA.It will reveal facts like that while Tupolev was breaking one world record after another, Americans managed only to repaint their flag on the Russian fuselage.
The book is an absolute necessity for every schoolboy, it will stun rigid all airplane buffs, and it will floor even those who understand nothing about aeronautics.
WELL RECOMMENDED!!!

An excellent book on Tupolev Aircraft.
If ever there was an excellent book on Soviet aircraft to emerge from the post cold war era, this is the one. Not only do the authors have a lot of knowledge on these impressive aircraft, but also a collection of photosnever before published of many little-known aircraft. Some of theseaircraft are truly impressive such as massive bombers from the pre-warperiod to the Strategic Bombers fielded by the former Soviet Union. Tupolevis also the constructor of most of Russia's commercial jets and the book istherefore useful for anyone interested in civil aviation. there are alsotables giving the production levels of most Tupolev aircraft and alsoothers indicating the registration numbers of Tupolev airliners. But mostof all it describes the personality and contributions to aerospace ofAndrei N.Tupolev, one of the world's greatest aircraft designers, whodominated his country's aircraft industry for much of this century. ... Read more