EVERYDAY HEAT TRANSFER PROBLEMS: SENSITIVITIES TO GOVERNING VARIABLES
M. Kemal Atesmen. ASME Press, Three Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990. 2009. Softcover. 212 pages. ASME members, $47; list $59. ISBN: 978-0-7918-0283-0

The author uses everyday practical examples to illustrate sensitivities of heat transfer problems to governing variables in a concise and readable format. Problems increase in complexity through the text. The author begins with a consideration of heat loss from the walls of houses, which are assumed to be large planar surfaces requiring one-dimensional heat transfer rate equations. The first chapters deal with steady-state heat transfer mechanisms in rectangular coordinates; then chapters deal with cylindrical coordinates. The text proceeds to unsteady-state problems, in one-dimensional rectangular coordinates first and then in cylindrical coordinates. The final six chapters address various special heat transfer problems, including frictional heating of sliding surfaces. The author intends the book for professionals in a wide range of fields, from electronics packaging and power generation to equipment design and manufacturing, who want to develop a better understanding of applied heat transfer issues in their work.

MECHANICAL BEHAVIOR OF MATERIALS. SECOND EDITION
Marc Meyers and Krishnan Chawla. Cambridge University Press, 32 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10013. 2008. 858 pages. $90. ISBN 978-0-521-86675-0.

In this book, authors Marc Meyers and Krishnan Chawla take a balanced mechanics-materials approach to coverage of the latest developments in biomaterials and electronic materials. They have kept the text mathematically simple, assuming no extensive background in materials. Every chapter has been revised and reorganized to incorporate modern materials, while maintaining a logical flow of theory. There is a new chapter on environmental effects, describing the key relationship among conditions, microstructure, and behavior. The authors emphasize the fundamental mechanisms that operate at micro and nanometer levels across a range of materials.

DESIGN WITH CONSTRUCTAL THEORY
Adrian Bejan and Sylvie Lorente. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. 2008. 552 pages. $135. ISBN 978-0-471-99816-7.

A past Mechanical Engineering contributor, Adrian Bejan (“The Many and the Few,” July 2007), has combined with a colleague, Sylvie Lorente, to produce a book based on a design course they developed at Duke University. The book starts with basic principles and then shows how these principles are applied to understanding and designing increasingly complex systems. The authors offer a new approach based on physics for understanding and predicting the designs that arise in nature and engineering, from the trees and forest to the cooling of electronics, urban design, decontamination, and vascular smart materials. This design theory unifies our understanding of natural systems, thermal dissipaters, communication networks, heat sinks, multiscale porous media, high-density exchangers, and more, according to the authors.

BOUNDARY ELEMENTS AND OTHER MESH REDUCTION METHODS XXX
P. Skerget and C.A. Brebbia, Editors. WIT Press, c/o Computational Mechanics Inc., 25 Bridge St., Billerica, MA 01821. 2008. 288 pages. $190. ISBN 978-1-84564-121-4.

This book contains papers presented at the 30th International Conference on Boundary Elements and Other Mesh Reduction Methods. The proceedings contain papers on practically all major developments in boundary elements, including the most recent MRM techniques, grouped under the following topics: meshless techniques, advances in mesh reduction methods, advanced formulations, advanced structural application, heat and mass transfer, fluid flow, computational techniques, dynamics and vibrations, and damage mechanics and fracture, to name a few. This material should be of interest to those in the areas of numerical analysis, boundary elements, and meshless methods.

ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS MANUFACTURING
Myer Kutz. John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River St., Hoboken, NJ 07030. 2007. 346 pages. $120. ISBN 978-0-471-72637-1.

The second volume of the Wiley Series in Environmentally Conscious Engineering, this book demonstrates how to design and implement manufacturing processes and systems that are environmentally friendly and conform to regulations. Based on their hands-on field experiences, experts offer detailed coverage of such critical issues as metalworking and metalworking fluids, metal finishing and electroplating processes, and particulate emissions and air quality. There is also information on satisfying key business objectives, such as maximizing profits and productivity, while meeting environmental objectives at the same time.

COMBUSTION. FOURTH EDITION
Irvin Glassman and Richard A. Yetter. Academic Press, an imprint of Elsevier, 30 Corporate Dr., Suite 400, Burlington, MA 01803. 2008. 782 pages. $54.95. ISBN 978-0-12-088573-2.

Combustion engineering, a topic generally taught at the upper undergraduate and graduate level in most mechanical engineering programs and many chemical engineering programs, is the study of rapid energy and mass transfer, usually through the common physical phenomena of flame oxidation. This book covers the physics and chemistry of the combustion process and the engineering applications for the generation of power, such as the automobile engine and the gas turbine engine. Renewed concerns about energy efficiency and fuel costs, along with continued concerns over the toxicity and particulate emissions, have kept interest high in this vital area of engineering, and brought about new developments in knowledge of flame and combustion physics, as well as new technologies for flame and fuel control.

RADIOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
Edited by John E. Till and Helen A. Grogan. Oxford University Press, 198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016-4308. 2008. 704 pages. $125. ISBN 978-0-19-512727-0.

According to the publisher, this is the first book to merge insight from the diverse disciplines needed to estimate the public risk when radioactive materials are released into the environment. Intended as a textbook, this volume seeks to guide the reader through the steps of the risk assessment process, beginning with the source term and ending with the estimation of human health risk. In addition to presenting commonly used mathematical assessment methods, data are included to assist readers in understanding how the calculations are made. Each chapter is written by a recognized expert in the field, and includes examples and working problems.