Engineering Analysis

The epistemology of the journal Engineering is what you would expect from a science based journal.  Every article that I read begins with an abstract that lays out the premise that the journal will discuss.  As we discussed in class, the discoveries mentioned in the articles I read build upon previous knowledge.  This is typical of science.  For example, in the article on plasma adhesion from Engineering the abstract discusses previous discoveries and speaks how its research will build upon this. 

Each of the articles followed a similar convention of structure.  The all chose to use headings and subheadings to identify sections of their work.  As is also typical with scientific writing, graphs and tables are all labeled with a similar convention.  Tables have captions above them while graphs and other figures have captions below them.  The structure of the articles were all similar to the scientific method of experimentation.  The articles begin by identifying a problem then creating a hypothesis.  Data is then displayed and observations are made upon the presented data.

The references located in each of the journal articles always came at the end of the article.  A number would be placed after a statement but no further explanation would be used to describe the reference.  I think that this speaks to the intended audience.  The writers of these journal entries are clearly targeting a experienced audience in their respective engineering fields.  By leaving the references solely at the end of the article, the writer assumes that the reader will have some prior knowledge of the described references.

The articles described from Engineering, all follow a similar trend in language choice.  We discussed in class that scientific writing tends to use hedging.  Words such as seem or appear to be are used to show that the observed trends are not certain.  For example, in the beam deflection article I discussed, the words "assumption," observed," and "considered".  These words are always in association with the proposed solution.  The article never says for certain that their procedure is best.  This is typical of science writing which is constantly built upon.

The articles in Engineering follow some of the aspects of the Swale genre model.  Establishing a territory is frequently used in these mentioned articles.  Each article seems to begin with a reviewing of previous research that will be expanded upon.  In the plasma adhesion article, generalizations are made about the packaging industry and the direction it is heading.  This also falls into Swale's first move.

Since science is more of a wall that is being build upon, move 2 in the Swale genre model is typically indicating a gap.  Most of the articles I read do not counterclaim, raise questions, or continue a tradition.  These articles show where current research needs to be expanded upon and how their research will fill this gap. In the magnetic sealing article I discussed, the author does not refute claims of traditional sealing methods, only provides information on the gap where magnetic seals fit.

The final step that most of the articles in Engineering touch upon is outlining purposes.  Science based articles are typically effective in organization.  Due to the previously mention headings and subheadings, the articles in Engineering are well outlined.  The articles set up their premise and outline the purpose of their article far before any data is presented or conclusions made.  The abstract in the articles I discussed always helped to outline what the article would cover before any conclusions were made.

Engineering followed the expected science base journal.  The article was well organized and direct in its approach to learning.  The audience in clearly defined as informed professionals in their respective fields of engineering. The language is precise and clear as to what is trying to be accomplished and what conclusions were actually made.

Abrasives

The article I chose to discus this week is entitled Applications of high-efficiency abrasive process with CBN grinding wheel. This article discusses the advantages to a new abrasive grinding wheel that can help the machining industry.

This is what one of these CBN super-abrasive machines look like.  They could be used in any sort of machine shop where fine detail is required.  Normally in these situations, a lathe and milling machine must be used.  This procedure invokes much more error from human operation as compered to the CBN computer controlled machining.

The article discusses the advantages of these proposed machines.  The new CBN grinding wheel used by these machines is extremely efficient.  These grinding wheels are optimal for companies that handle hard to machine materials.  Items such as ceramics are brittle and typically break when exposed to extreme force.  However, these CBN grinding wheels are capable of handling brittle materials.  The article discusses that these CBN grinding wheels also preferable in any "high-speed and super-high grinding, quick point-grinding, high efficiency deep-cut grinding, creep feed deep grinding, heavy-duty snagging and abrasive belt grinding" situations.

These CBN grinding wheels look very promising for the future.  They should become comparable in cost to already employed methods and may actually be financially beneficial as less man hours will be needed to complete a project.

Here is a video I found while I was perusing youtube the other day.  I thought it was pretty good, a good compilation of some of the best movie speeches.  Enjoy.

Beam Damage

The article I am blogging about this week is Detection and quantification of structural damage of a Beam-like structure using natural frequencies. 

When most teachers teach of the natural frequencies of structural beams, the Tacoma Narrows bridge is always mentioned.  All materials have a natural frequency and when a force and materials frequency are close, extreme vibrations can occur.  This was the case with the Tacoma Narrows bridge.  The designers of this bridge did not factor in the natural frequency of their supports and therefore the bridge fell.

As for the article I read for this blog, a system was developed to find structural damage by using frequencies.  The system in question applies a known frequency to a material and based upon its natural frequency, predicts damage.  Cracks and other damage can be quantified based upon how the material responds to a given frequency.


This technique could be very useful in analyzing buildings that cannot be easily examined such as large sky scrapers.  This technique could be employed to see which beams are wearing down the most and appropriate measures can be taken to stop this wear.

Sasmal, Saptarshi, and K. Ramanjaneyulu. "Detection and quantification of structural damage of a Beam-like structure using natural frequencies." Engineering 1.3 (Nov 2009): 167(10). Academic OneFile. Gale. Clemson University Libraries. 27 Oct. 2010
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=clemson_itweb

Magnetic Sealing

This week the article I chose is entitled Computer aided modeling and design of a new magnetic sealing mechanism in engineering applications.  This article centers upon a new magnetic sealing process can limit pollution and leaking of lubricants in machines.


Typically machine parts are sealed using nuts and bolts or some sort of adhesive to "glue" the sides together.  These techniques are successful yet tend to allow for leaking of fluids through the seams, especially in moving parts.  Often times, some sort of rubber o-ring is also placed on these moving parts to help stop leakages.  These o-rings must be replaced relativity frequently creating more cost for companies.


The new proposed method centers upon creating a magnetic field in place of using bolts or adhesives.  A circuit made of one of the rare earth metals would provide many advantages over traditional sealing techniques. These magnetic circuits last "longer and are [more] durable in sealing lifetime, compact in system configuration, light in unit weight, higher in performance efficiency, and stable in sealing functioning" [1].  Each of these advantages will benefit companies economical.  By increasing efficiency and lifetime of the seal, companies will be able to delegate these funds to improving their products quality.

I found this article interesting due to the recent BP oil spill crisis.  Maybe some sort of magnetic sealing could be used in the future to seal these ocean oil lines.  Just a thought.  Here is a picture I thought was funny about the BP crisis.  Enjoy.

[1] Li, Jeremy "Zheng". "Computer aided modeling and design of a new magnetic sealing mechanism in engineering applications." Engineering 2.1 (Jan 2010): 22(6). Academic OneFile. Gale. Clemson University Libraries. 20 Oct. 2010
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=clemson_itweb

Plasma Surface Treating

The journal from which my blog discussion will be coming from is entitled simply Engineering.  This academic journal is published monthly and covers a wide range of research topics.


This week the article I chose is entitled Role of plasma surface treatments on wetting and adhesion. This article sets up the exigence of plasma surface treating by discussing the new technological advances in packaging.  Packaging companies are using new polymers on the outside of their packages that a much harder to inscribe or ink for labeling purposes.  The currently employed technique for this inking is called corona treating.


The author of this article displays research that shows an increased viability of plasma treatment for labeling.  Plasma is defined as "an ionized gas at atmospheric pressure" [1].  When these new polymer packages are treated with plasma instead of the normally used corona treatment, surface energies are greatly increased.  This increase in surface energy means that the ink in the labels will have a greater bond to the polymer and will therefore be less likely to fade.

This discovery means that plasma treatment may become a viable option for packaging companies to increase the life of  prints on their new polymer labels.  The author mentions that this new treatment is comparable in cost to the corona treatment process as well, meaning this new treatment may be utilized soon by packaging companies. 

If you are curious about the "4th state of matter" known as plasma, here is a video for your enjoyment.



[1]Wolf, Rory, and Amelia Carolina Sparavigna. "Role of plasma surface treatments on wetting and adhesion." Engineering 2.6 (June 2010): 397(6). Academic OneFile. Gale. Clemson University Libraries. 13 Oct. 2010
http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do?prodId=AONE&userGroupName=clemson_itweb

Genre

This week in class we talked about genre.  Miller proposes that genre spawns from ones social motives.  She thinks that exigences are not out there ready to be responded to like Bitzer, but more as if we as writers define our own exigences.  Her train of thought seems to be that writing could be placed into multiple genres and should not be systematically placed as Bitzer does.

Bitzer's approach appears to be like taking a list of qualifications and, based upon how many a work presents, placing this work in its appropriate genre.  While this way seems to be stringent and controlling, I like it more.  I agree that their are multiple purposes for why a work was written, but classifying them into multiple groups is confusing.

Lets say music genres were grouped in this way.  When looking for a band they could be located in political outcry, social message, reflections from childhood, or infinitely more categories.  In reality, each song from a group's album could be placed in separate genres based upon what the artist was trying to accomplish.

Ultimately I understand that their are multiple meanings and intentions to every work.  I understand that grouping them all into traditional categories based upon their characteristics is strict. However, I feel the tried and true method of taking something and basing its grouping by its characteristics just makes the most sense.

Here is also a cartoon that I found funny when looking for genre pictures.  Enjoy.

Smart Mobs and Collective Wisdom

The discussion we had in class this week revolved around smart mobs and how they apply to technical writing.  Smart mobs seem to be evident in nearly every aspect of life these days due to the large rise in available technology.  From animals in nature to peaceful removal of a government, the "smart mob" theory can easily be found.

The way in which smart mobs function, specifically the inter-connectivity or web of thought, really reminded me of an article I read back in high school about collective wisdom.  Collective Wisdom describes how to combined intellect on a group of people provides far better work than that of the best individuals.  In the article I read (which I couldn't find now) random people are asked to estimate the amount of M&M's in a jar.  Individually the answers were typically far from the actual answer, but when averaged together the average guess was within 5% of the correct answer.

Then second part of the experiment was to take a group of people and have them decide as a group how many M&M's were in the same jar.  With this new approach, another close guess was given.

With our class starting a group project that will require good effort from each member I think this experiment can be helpful.  As individuals we all have good ideas but it is when we take the best of each member that the best possible answer can be reached.