Dynamics: Engineering Mechanics 3

by Ralf Müller, Dietmar Gross, Wolfgang Ehlers

With this 3rd volume of the Formulas and Problems series we provide further material for studying the basic courses in Engineering Mechanics.

Experience shows that the field of Dynamics is particularly difficult for students. Now, in addition to the concept of force also kinematic quantities occur. They must be brought into relation with each other and with the forces. Therefore, with numerous purely kinematical problems, we tried to deepen the understanding of the relevant geometric quantities and their description in different coordinate systems. Likewise, only by exercises, i.e. by an independent treatment of problems, one can gain experience, which basic principle leads to the solution in the simplest way. Often there are several approaches possible. There- fore, we demonstrate this frequently so that the reader can realize the advantages and disadvantages of the alternatives.

As in the 1st and 2nd volume, we deliberately placed the emphasis on the principal way how to to apply the theory and not in numerical results. The correct formulation of the relevant basic equations and their solution is in the beginning much more important than numerical calculations without a deeper understanding of the background.

Experience also shows that it is an illusion to believe that simply reading and trying to comprehend the presented solutions leads to an understanding of the theory. Neither does it improve the problem solving skills. Therefore, we strongly recommend that the reader first tries to solve the problems independently, possibly by using other approaches. Let us emphasize that a collection of formulas and examples is only an additional aid when studying mechanics and it cannot replace a textbook. When the reader is not familiar with one or the other formula or concept, it is necessary to brush up the theory with the help of a textbook; a number of titles can be found in the list of references.

Kindle Edition

Published August 9, 2023

About the author

Ralf Müller is Professor of Project Management at BI Norwegian Business School. In parallel he is the managing director of PM Concepts, a Sweden based Management Consultancy, which advises larger enterprises in project, program and portfolio management. He lectures project management, project leadership, project governance and research methodology. His research focuses on project, program and portfolio management improvement from an organization-wide and leadership perspective. His research studies have appeared in more than 120 publications and he is frequent speaker at global researcher and practitioner conferences. As a consultant he worked in 47 different countries, for the improvement of project related practices in large organizations. He also managed national, international and global IT projects and consulting organizations. Dr Müller is a member of the Editorial Review Board of several international academic journals. He is a member of the Consortium for Research in Emotional Intelligence in Organizations, and a co-founder of PMI's Frankfurt and Munich Chapters, as well as contributor to the PMI Standards for Organizational Project Management Maturity (OPM3), Program Management, and Portfolio Management.