Biomedical Applications of Vibration and Acoustics in Imaging and Characterizations

Edited by Mostafa Fatemi and Ahmed Al-Jumaily. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990. 2008. 320 pages. Members, $111; list, $139. ISBN 978-0-7918-0273-1.

The primary objective of this book is to compile the latest research topics on biomedical imaging and tissue characterization techniques that use vibration and acoustics. The volume has two parts. The first one, made up of eight chapters, is dedicated to imaging. Seven of those chapters focus on methods that use acoustic radiation force. The eighth covers magnetic resonance elastography. The second part of the book, consisting of five chapters, covers the applications of vibration and acoustics in tissue characterization. The first two of those five chapters are on characterization of arterial vessels, using either pressure waves or radiation force of ultrasound. The next two chapters discuss tissue motion detection and estimation of tissue viscoelasticity. The last chapter in this segment is on characterization of bone using elastic waves. Since most methods presented in this book are based on ultrasound, an appendix has been included on ultrasound bioeffects as well as safety standards and guidelines for the practice of diagnostic ultrasound.

The Theory of Critical Distances: A New Perspective in Fracture Mechanics
  
David Taylor. Elsevier, 30 Corporate Dr., Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803. 2007. 306 pages. $102.50. ISBN 978-0-08-044478-9.

Critical distance methods are quite useful for predicting fracture and fatigue in engineering components. They also represent an important development in the theory of fracture mechanics. Although the methods have been in use for over 50 years in some fields, there has never been a book about them until now, according to the publisher. So why now? Because the increasing use of computer-aided stress analysis (by FEA and other techniques) has made these methods easy to use in practical situations. This, in turn, has prompted researchers to reexamine the underlying theory with added interest. Author David Taylor begins with a general introduction to mechanical failure in materials. After an explanation of how to use critical distance methods and a more detailed exposition of the methods, including their history and classification, there are examples of how critical distance approaches can be used to predict fracture and fatigue in different classes of materials. This book is useful for design engineers in companies making any type of mechanical components.

Competing for the Future: How Digital Innovations Are Changing the World

Henry Kressel, with Thomas V. Lento. Cambridge University Press, 32 Ave. of the Americas, New York, NY 10013-2473. 2007. 416 pages. $32. ISBN 0-521-86290-6.

A real difference in the modern world is how much faster the globalization process has become, largely due to advances in digital technology. But how many people really understand the drivers behind the technology—the significance of going digital, the miniaturization of circuit boards, the role of venture capital in financing the revolution, the importance of research and development? Author Henry Kressel, who has great experience in the semiconductor industry and holds 31 U.S. patents, seeks to offer answers to those questions. He also provides strategies for how the nation that invented much of this technology—namely, the United States—can keep its industrial base viable against lower-wage competition from around the world. This book traces the spread of electronics manufacturing and innovation to emerging Asian economies. It also assesses the extent of this transformation and its effects, both good and bad, on developed and developing countries.

Nanofluids Science and Technology

Sarit K. Das, Stephen U.S. Choi, Wenhua Yu, and T. Pradeep. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., MS 8-01, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774. 2008. 406 pages. $125. ISBN 978-0-470-07473-2.

Nanofluids are attracting a great deal of interest with their potential to provide enhanced performance properties, particularly with respect to heat transfer. Here, the authors cover both the chemical and physical methods for synthesizing nanofluids, explaining the techniques for creating a stable suspension of nanoparticles. They provide an overview of the existing models and experimental techniques used in studying nanofluids, as well as challenges and problems associated with some of these models. They also discuss the heat transfer applications of nanofluids, including microelectronics, fuel cells, and hybrid-powered engines.

Dam

Trevor Turpin. Published by Reaktion Books Ltd., London. Distributed by the University of Chicago Press, 1427 E. 60th St., Chicago, IL 60637. 2008. 224 pages. Softcover. $27. ISBN 978-1-86189-328-4.

There are now more than 45,000 large dams worldwide, according to the publisher, many of which have been built to generate electric power, although they are also crucial for irrigation, flood protection, water supply, the navigation of rivers and canals, and other requirements. Their frequently monumental appearance is testament to the engineers who construct them, work that often is undertaken in remote and inhospitable places. In this book, Trevor Turpin, a visiting lecturer at the University of Bath and a veteran of water and environmental management for more than three decades, traces the development of dams from the Industrial Revolution to the present. He explores themes such as environmental and climate changes, the controversies or cooperative commitments between communities or countries that dams can incite, engineering in Victorian India and Africa, and the modern contributions made by landscape architects and ecologists throughout the world. Among the dams cited are the Hoover on the Colorado River, the Aswan on the Nile, the Nurek in Tajikistan, and the Three Gorges on the Yangtze River in China.

System Verification

Jeffrey O. Grady. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, 30 Corporate Dr., Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803. 2007. 342 pages. $79.95. ISBN 978-0-12-374014-4.

Systems engineering—an interdisciplinary, multistage-driven approach to the design and implementation of any large-scale or complex engineered product or service—has found its way from aerospace into general manufacturing as well as the services industry. Following the author’s previous book, System Requirements Analysis, this work sets out the steps and procedures needed to implement a quality check of the system being proposed or designed—the “verification” stage of a full systems engineering program. Systems engineering usually begins with defining a product that will satisfy a customer need and than rationally building a set of required components, personnel, and financial resources. The testing and evaluation of a proposed design solution is known as “verification.” This will guide the engineers and their teams in setting up the detailed protocols for a step-by-step quality control check of each stage of a proposed system design.

Dynamics of Microelectromechanical Systems

Nicolae Lobontiu. Springer Science+Business Media LLC, 233 Spring St., New York, NY 10013. 2007. 408 pages. $129. ISBN 978-0-387-36800-9.

This work presents a systematic view of the dynamics of MEMS and microstructures, and their responses. The focus here is on the mechanical/structural micro domain, and the compliant nature of mechanical transmission. Features of the work include an in-depth treatment of problems that involve reliable modeling, analysis, and design; analytical models with correct dependences on service dimensions; canilever-based systems for nanofabrication researchers and designers, and dynamics of complex spring and beam microsystems.