Analytic Methods for Design Practice

In the competitive world of modern engineering, rigorous and definite design methodologies are needed. However, many parts of engineering design are performed in either an ad-hoc manner or based on the intuition of the engineer. This is the first book to look at both stages of the design process - conceptual design and detailed design - and detail design methodologies for every step of the design process. The following analytic design methodologies are introduced and their usefulness is explored with many mathematical and practical examples: Axiomatic design; Optimization; Design of experiments; Robust design; Structural optimization; Dynamic response optimization; and Multidisciplinary optimization. Case studies show how practical design problems can be solved with analytic design methods. Students will find this book an excellent introduction to the subject. The book's practical focus will interest practising engineers as a practical handbook of design.