Engineering data information source

Available for manual searching are abstracts that typically provide the name of the autlior, a brief abstract of the article, the title of the article, and identify where the article was published. Alphabetical author and subject indexes are usually provided, and an identifying number is assigned to refer to the abstract. Many abstracts are published monthly or more frequently. Annual cumulations are available in many cases. A comprehensive listing of abstracts and indexes can be found in Ulrich s International Periodical Directory (annual from R. R. Bowker, New York). 

Most of the major indexes and abstracts are now available in machine-readable form. For a comprehensive list of databases and online vendors see Information Industry Market Place (International Directory of Information Products Services from R. R. Bowker, New York). The names of online databases ffequendy differ fi-om their paper counterparts. Engineering Index (monthly from Engineering Information Inc.) for 

Many of the professional societies producing online databases will undertake a literature search. A society member is frequently entitled to reduced charges for this service. In addition to indexes and abstracts, periodicals, encyclopedias, and handbooks are available online. There seems to be virtually no limit to the information that can be made available online or on CD-ROM s, which can be networked in large institutions with many potential users. The high demand for quick information retrieval ensures the expansion of this service. In addition to the online indexes, several library networks and consortia, such as OCLC, the Online Computer Library Center, located in Columbus, Ohio, produce online databases. These are essentially equivalent to the catalogs of member hbraries and can be used to determine which library owns a particular book or subscribes to a particular periodical. 

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Chapter 4—Data Bases, Sources, and Studies Summarizes and characterizes several generic data resources available to risk analysts and process engineers in the CPI. It includes a discussion of the resource search and selection process and the presentation format for the information on resources. 

The same basic arguments apply to engineering applications. In these applications, the buffer function of data warehousing may be even more important. Research results are often obtained by expensive simulations or even more expensive laboratory experiments, such that analytic processing on demand from information sources is only possible with exceptional effort. 

Data have been selected from evaluated sources wherever possible, in particular the lUPAC Solubility Data Series. Many values come from experimental measurements reported in the Journal of Chemical and Engineering Data and the Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics, as well as critical review papers in the Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data. The primary source for each value is listed in the column following the solubility values additional references of interest are sometimes given. Many of the references contain solubility data at other temperatures and pH values and in the presence of other compounds. The user is cautioned that wide variations of data are found in the literature for the lower solubility compounds. The references should be consulted for more information on these compounds. 

Volumes of engineering data on OTEC subsystem and components requirements, performance, and costs were developed by the proposal teams. However, when OTEC support was discontinued in 1982 the proposal material was destroyed because it contained proprietary information that DOE could not protect. Part of the material was made available to JHU/APL and is the source of the following discussion of the U. S. OTEC engineering status. Information on French and Japanese programs is taken from Avery and Wu (1994) and Kalina (1987). 

Two avenues of access to information are provided. A complete table of contents is provided at the front of the book. An index is provided at the end of the book. The CRC Handbook of Engineering Tables provides answers to most engineering data with reference to the original source. The reader may find it valuable to refer to the original source for a fuller discussion of the underlying theory. We hope that this handbook will be ready at hand to provide data on engineering methods, devices, materials, chemistry, and mathematics. 

Carvill, J. 1994. Mechanical Engineers Data Handbook. Boston Butterworth-Heinanann. Per the author s preface, this work is designed to be a ... compact but comprehensive source of information. The title is large format, contains many illustrations in support of the concepts presented, and stiU contains nearly 350 pages of data. Text is kept to a minimum and the focus is on equations and data. 

Unfortunately, there are many heterogeneous data models used in these information sources, for example, geometric and kinematic models, wiring plans, behavior specifications, and software programs in various representations. The variety of data sources is a major challenge that may prevent the sufficiently effective and efficient data exchange between engineering applications and their users. 

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