Module 1

Introduction to Energy and its Conversion

Role of Mechanical Engineering in Industries and Society

A Mechanical Engineer creates/designs and manufactures

components/structures/machines/vehicles useful for mankind. An engineer is responsible for
feasibly and optimally utilizing available sources of energy and converting it into useful
product or process or services. Mechanical engineering plays a critical role in manufacturing
from pins to rockets. lt enables us to do many daily activities with ease and efficiency.
Mechanical engineers work in various manufacturing industries, in building and designing
nuclear plants, automobiles, railway equipment, spacecraft, etc. These mechanical engineers
are sometimes called nuclear engineers, automotive engineers, railway engineers, and
aerospace engineers.

Mechanical Engineers play a vital role in the sustainable development of the industry
and the society. Starting from the conceptualization of the product to the design,
manufacturing, sales and service to the end of life of a product. Studying the design, laying
out the tooling for the production and optimizing the raw material consumption in the
manufacturing a component requires huge skills.

Mechanical Engineer also place a vital role in the logistics. Procuring the materials for
the production, maintaining the adequate material in the stores, dispatching the finished
products to the Consumer is the role of a Logistic Engineer. Mechanical Engineer also works
as a safety Engineer in an Industry. Taking care of the human resources, machineries,
equipment’s and planning out the safer working conditions and ensuring the safety of the
operations is the responsibility of the safety engineer.

Mechanical Engineer plays a vital role in the overall growth of the economy as well as
the Society. Designing a product for longer product life cycle and reutilization/ recycling the
product reduces the dependency of the materials by the industry. Also, developing newer
equipment’s, devices for harnessing the renewable sources energy reduces the dependencies
on the fossil fuels. This in turn contribute to the green energy, low or no emission of carbon
and its compounds.
 Following are few of the areas where in Mechanical Engineer play his role in an
industry: Design Engineer, Production Manager, Safety Engineer, QA Engineer, Logistic
Manager, Data analyst, Sales Executive/Manager, HRM, etc.,

Emerging trends and technologies in different sectors

Marine

Energy
Renewable
Storage

Emerging Trends
& Technologies

Manufacturing Aerospace

Automotive

Trends in Renewable Energy: Renewable is one of the emerging trends in energy sector. This
Renewable energy trend helps to safeguard the environment by emitting little to no harmful
pollutants. The fundamental premise of renewable energy is to obtain it from a consistent
source in the environment, such as the sun, wind, or geothermal sources. The source is then
converted into useful power or fuel. A variety of technologies that address various facets of
generating power and heat from renewable sources is one of the latest technology trends in
renewable energy. This involves lowering the cost of building renewable infrastructure and
enhancing the efficiency of power generation. Sources available in Sun, Wind, Tides, etc are
utilized for useful power generation & other works.

Aerospace Sector: Aerospace collectively refers to the atmosphere and outer space; it's a
diverse industry with a multitude of commercial, industrial, and military applications.
Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics (Building and flying aircrafts) and astronautics
(Space travel and exploration) and the research, design, production, operation, or
maintenance of aircraft and spacecraft. The trending sectors in Aerospace engineering
technology are;
1. Zero-Fuel Aircraft
2. Structural Health Monitoring (SHM)
3. Advanced Materials
4. Smart Automation and Block chain
5. Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)
5. Supersonic Flights
7. More Resilient and Dynamic Aerospace & Defence (A&D) Supply Chains
8. Artificial intelligence (Al)
10. Autonomous Flight Systems

Automotive Sector: Electric and Autonomous vehicles are the two important areas witnessed
nowadays. The automotive industry has been experiencing a great deal of change. More
software is being added to vehicles, along with a greater number of electric and autonomous
vehicles are in production and on the road.
Some of the most common automotive trends are;
• A Greater Amount of Al/Machine Learning and Connectivity
• An increase ln Electric and Autonomous Vehicles
• Software Security Has Become a Top Concern
• Electrification
• Human-Machine-interface

Manufacturing Sector: Robotics and 3-D, 4-D printing are the domains which are in demand.
Al, robots,3Dprinting and the like are all the latest manufacturing trends in manufacturing
Technology. Robots on the factory floor are growing at warp speed, thanks to their declining
cost and increasing capabilities

Energy Storage: Energy systems offer diverse set of technological solutions for improving
power supply methods like batteries, thermal, mechanical and hydrogen energy. Energy
storage is one of the effective energy industry emerging trend. Energy storage permits steady
pricing by proactively maintaining demand from consumers. ln response to shifting energy
demands and technological advancements, the energy storage business has evolved,
adapted, and innovated during the last century. Energy storage systems offer a diverse set of
technological solutions for improving the power supply to build more resilient energy
infrastructure and save money for utilities and customers.
Energy storage methods can be classified into five categories based on their technology;
• Batteries
• Thermal
• Mechanical
• Pumped hydro
• Hydrogen
It has the potential to save consumers money while also improving dependability and
resilience, integrating power sources, and reducing environmental impacts

Marine sector: Advances in ship building and propulsion are the areas in Marine sector which
demands more focus currently. Advances in shipbuilding, propulsion, smart shipping,
advanced materials, big data and analytics, robotics, sensors and communications in
conjunction with an increasingly skilled workforce are all having monumental shifts in how
the maritime industry is approaching new challenges and opportunities.

IoE and Blockchain: IoE helps in Automotive power infrastructure in manufacturing and for
energy production. ln the traditional method, during the time of construction, the electric
power system uses the central architecture and this poses a number of obstacles to the
industry. Here IoE comes into the frame. lt helps to recognize some of the challenges and
accordingly proposes the best efficiency and optimal design to build an energy system.
Technology trends in the energy industry refer to automate the power infrastructure to
reduce insufficiency, make the transmission of energy more productive, reduce the expenses
and decrease the wastage of energy.
Blockchain technology combines all energy stakeholders under a single system.
Blockchains or distributed ledgers are emerging technology trends in the energy industry that
has drawn significant interest from energy supply firms, start-ups, financial institutions,
governments, technology developers and the academic community'. Block chain technology
proposes to combine all energy stakeholders under a single decentralized system. Electricity
producers, metering operators, distribution network operators' and traders potentially avail
from utilizing smart contracts. These agreements ensure that all energy-related transactions
are routed through a safe and immutable network, reducing the risk of losses. Block chain
also has the ability to achieve some degree of equity between energy generators and
consumers.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

It is a measure of the Economy of a country. It is the value of Goods and Services
produced minus the value of goods and services needed to produce them. It helps in knowing
the employment status. ln economics, it is widely accepted that technology is the key driver
of economic growth of countries, regions, and cities. Technological progress allows for the
more efficient production of more and better goods and services, which is what prosperity
depends on. The Indian Manufacturing sector currently contributes 16-17% to GDP and gives
employment to around l2% of the country's workforce. Various studies have estimated that
every job created in manufacturing has a multiplier effect in creating 2-3 jobs in the services
sector. Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP) in India was reported at 12.96 % in 2020,
according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially
recognized sources