ADAMA SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL MECHANICAL CHEMICAL AND
MATERIAL ENGINEERING
DEPARTMANT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

ASSIGNMENT OF RFESAERCH METHODOLOGY FOR ENGINEER

RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF ENGINEERING

Name: ALAMUDIN SADO

ID NO A/UR4087/09 SECTION 5

Submission date

Submitted to Dr.Ziyn Engdasew

 1. What is research in the field of engineering (importance, nature,
characteristics, and peculiar features)
1.1 Definition of research in the field of engineering

Basic research in engineering is by definition concerned with the discovery

and systematic conceptual structuring of knowledge. Engineers develop,
design, produce or construct, and operate devices, structures, machines, and
systems of economic and societal value. Virtually all engineering research is
driven by the anticipated value of an application. However, not all potential
applications can be anticipated, and occasionally the hoped-for application
may not be nearly as important as one that turns up by serendipity. The time
from research to production may be a few years, as in the development and
application of the laser or in the progression from the integrated circuit to
microprocessor, or it may be decades, as in the development of television.

Engineering, unlike science, is concerned not only with knowledge of natural

phenomena, but also with how knowledge can serve humankind's needs and
wants. Such variables as cost, user compatibility, produciblity, safety, and
adaptability to various external operating conditions and environments must
be taken into account in the design, development, operational support, and
maintenance of the products and services that engineers create. Thus,
engineering involves the integration of knowledge, techniques, methods, and
experiences from many fields.

Also, almost all university research in both science and engineering is

performed as a component of the advanced education of students. For most
engineering students, the goal of a career in industry motivates their pursuit
of advanced study, and this will increasingly be the case in the future. Because
of this, engineering students' outlook on research tends to be predisposed
toward application in engineering practice.

engineering science, research, and practice have employed increasingly advanced

analytical and experimental methods across the spectrum of engineering fields
and industrial sectors. In What Engineers Know and How They Know It (Johns
Hopkins University Press, 1990), Walter Vincenti has identified some theoretical
and experimental features common to both scientific and engineering research. In
fact, in some engineering fields such as electronic materials, the analytical and
experimental methods and instruments used may be indistinguishable from those
in the basic-science fields of solid-state physics and chemistry.

Research in engineering is critical to an organization’s productivity and

competitiveness. From wireless communications to robotics, biomedical
engineering and sustainable energy, it helps fill gaps in knowledge and develop
new products while improving organizational efficiency and growth.
Recognizing that research boosts their competitive edge, successful companies
invest billions of dollars in R&D efforts. Current and prospective students should,
therefore be aware of the importance of research in engineering education as well
as throughout their careers.
1.2 Importance of engineering research.

Engineering education and academic engineering research have played

important roles in shaping this nation's industrial capabilities. They are doing
so to an increasing degree as more technically advanced and complex
products and systems are emerging in the marketplace and in the social and
economic infrastructure. As new knowledge and more powerful analytical and
experimental methods expand the power of engineering in practice, problems
of design and development once considered too complex to be dealt with
other than empirically, intuitively, or by trial and error have become solvable.

As Simon Ostrach points out (this volume), in many instances, industry lagged
in its awareness of this new problem-solving capacity and in its readiness to
adopt new methods. Engineers engaged in academic research, industrial
research, or product and system design, development, and innovation were
needed to assemble, evaluate, and exploit the full range of available scientific
and engineering knowledge and methods in their work. This was true whether
their work was directed toward the near or long term.

Knowledge derived from research does not necessarily or uniformly flow from
science to engineering. Engineering progress based on empirical, experimental,
and heuristic methods often anticipates underlying scientific principles. Thus, the
development of the airplane by the Wright brothers preceded fundamental
aerodynamic theories and principles adequate for the

design of either airplane wings or propellers. Nevertheless, engineering

development techniques, including the use of wind tunnels and flight tests (of
gliders), enabled the Wright brothers to design a flyable, controllable machine.
Subsequent research, largely in engineering but also in some of the basic sciences,
has made possible the tremendous growth in global air transportation over the past
century. Engineering research aimed at achieving technical and economic progress
of this sort must go well beyond the limited knowledge on which invention or
demonstration of technical feasibility of a new device, machine, or system is based.
It must produce more in-depth and usually more quantitative information that will
allow for continuing improvements in the performance, economics, and range of
application of the original invention or technical demonstration. Progress in the
development of prime movers and power plants—from steam engines to internal
combustion engines and gas turbines—was mainly the result of engineering
research and development, although advances in engine and turbine materials
benefited from scientific research in physics and chemistry. Recent advances in
high-strength, high-stiffness fiber composite materials flowed initially from
engineering research.

Improved problem-solving and conceptualization: When tasked with finding a

solution to a problem, research helps identify, evaluate and collate all the
engineering information you may find. ... Developing a competitive edge:
Research is a crucial component of innovation and key to developing a company's
competitive edge

The development of practical electronic computers was also aided by

engineering research, along with mathematics (programming concepts and
software development) and solid-state physics (transistors). The most
significant recent advances in computers have followed from the development
of integrated circuits and microprocessors, both products of engineering
research. The sequence was: transistor, 1948; integrated circuit, 1959;
microprocessor, 1972. Transistors, integrated circuits, and microprocessors
have not only had a profound influence on computers but, through
engineering application as components, have also brought about major
advances in a broad spectrum of products and services, from
telecommunications to transportation and industrial manufacturing and
process control.

In generally research in field of engineering importance were;

Improved problem-solving and conceptualization: When tasked with finding a

solution to a problem, research helps identify, evaluate and collate all the
engineering information you may find. This can be used for breaking down
concepts into main ideas and then applying strategies and techniques you may have
learned towards creating workable solutions. This is where experience with
research during your engineering education makes all the difference. Being able to
differentiate between and evaluate all the data improves conceptualization,
translating to effective and efficient ideas.
Developing a competitive edge: Research is a crucial component of innovation
and key to developing a company’s competitive edge. This is even more vital in
today’s economy where customers constantly demand newer and better products.
From pharmaceutical and chemical companies to automotive and technology firms,
manufacturers are investing billions of dollars to stay ahead of the curve. After all,
persistent research is what has helped convert many problems into profitable
breakthrough products and technologies. More importantly, it keeps organizations
away from risky investments.
Testing and quality assurance: Quality control is essential to building a successful
business that delivers products that meet or exceed customers’ expectations. It
also forms the basis of an efficient business that minimizes waste and operates at
high levels of productivity. On the flip side, lack of research can result in
disappointing setbacks caused by dead ends or irreproducible results. Simply put,
brand image, loyalty and growth depend on the quality of your product and
research
 1.3 characteristic of engineering research
As opposed to scientific research, engineering research is not concerned with
discovering how the word works, but rather than how thing can be made to
function for a given purpose.

Such research might involve much scientific study; however, as engineering

work to create design solution to real world problems. The development part
of engineering research refers to the attempt to build the final product; many
stage of development, each with various degrees of readiness, may be
required for design to succeed.

1.3.1 Features of engineering research

In a first step, we extracted nine characteristics of engineering design processes
from the literature and in a second step validated the findings using results from
our survey among academic and industrial ED process modelling experts. In a
third step, we added a further nine characteristics from personal experiences in
the Language Engineering Domain to capture the pragmatic perspective. We
arrive at a comprehensive set of 18 characteristics grouped into 6 challenges for
process modelling in the engineering design domain.
1.3.1.1 introduction
1.3.1.2 Methodological procedure and structure of the paper
1.3.1.3 Literature review
1.3.1.4 Engineering design process modelling community survey
1.3.1.5 Language engineering in process-focused domains
1.3.1.6 Discussion: domain comparison and implications
1.3.1.7 Contributions and future direction
1.3.1.8 Conclusion
1.3.1.9 Recommendation
1.3.1.10 action

1.4Nature of engineering research

Engineering is the application science to design and development of products
intended for usefulness of social purpose. Engineering research consists of wide
variety ranging from study of material properties for possible future application to
the testing necessary to establish design parameters or to verify the adequacy of
new design concepts. professors of engineering are expected to conduct
research , preferably in the “Engineering science”;(e.g. thermodynamics,
metallurgy), to publish their results, and find their own source of findings. Many
private corporates maintain department of research and development, the
finding of which are often propriety and not subjected to peer review. Managers
of engineering research projects are attempt to assure the quality of their result
by “instruments”; or “organizational”; methods. Instrumental method ensure
accuracy in data collection and processing while organization methods maintain a
work environment conductive to creativity and integrity among researchers.
Organizational conditions can affect research quality adversely, by giving rise to
ethical problems associated with conflicts between corporate interests and those
of individual