Will Sailing Ships Rule the Seas Again?

As part of the worldwide pursuit to bring "green" technology to maritime shipping, a German company is planning to build a 560-foot cargo ship driven primarily by wind power. Named the Quadriga, it will have four gigantic sails, constructed of what appears to be rigid material, however strongly reminiscent of sailing days of old. A four-masted ship designed to carry as many as 2,000 cars, it will have backup diesel-electric engines and an auxiliary battery system when needed.

As the saying goes, if you wait long enough, history will repeat itself. This ship is a perfect example, wind power born out of the shortcomings of current fossil fuel technology, where current fossil fuel technology was born out of the shortcomings of wind power.

I invite you to watch the short informational video at the Maritime Executive. At the end, there is a great quote by Albert Camus, a French writer who won the Nobel Prize in 1957, "Anyone who is willing, will find ways, anyone who isn't, will find reasons not to." - Dr. Tom

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Giveaway Deadline Is Only 1 Month Away!

Don’t wait until the last minute. Enter the DTC Fall Giveaway now, and you’ll have time to look through the sample lessons and see how our courses work. You’ll also get discount code for 10% off on a DTC PE Exam Review, just in case you don’t win. That’ll save you $75 to $95 right there. Then if you are one of our lucky winners, you could receive a Free or Half-Price Civil or Mechanical Review for the April 2018 PE Exam. Here at DTC headquarters, we love helping people pass the PE Exam. So what are you waiting for? The deadline is September 30. Enter today and start sampling!

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NYC - Forget Uber, Bicycles Are What’s Hot

In the city where cars and taxis rule, bikes have mounted a comeback according to this NY Times article. In the past 12 years, daily bike trips have nearly tripled from 170,000 to 450,000, and along one section of Hoyt Street, you'll occasionally see more bicycles than cars. Transportation engineers in the city have designed and striped more than 1,000 miles of bike lanes. It just goes to show you what can happen when you provide the right infrastructure!

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TESTIMONIAL OF THE WEEK - Problem Identification - A Key to Success

“Dr. Tom's 20-week review course was very helpful at breaking down the mountain of information that is Mechanical Engineering into small bite-sized pieces. I had taken the PE twice before, and my biggest concern was problem identification and time management. I knew that these two strategies are critical to passing. On previous exams, I often times would not be able to quickly identify the question type and, therefore, wouldn’t know how to begin to solve it. I believe this was the main reason I did not pass before, and the other review course I took did not help out much with that.

It was apparent early on in Dr. Tom’s 20-Week Review course that problem identification was one of the main focuses. With the way the course topics were divided, as well as with use of the Personalized Resource Notebooks, I was able to identify problem types significantly faster than before. I believe this was the main reason I passed. Dr. Tom seems to really care about his students and course attendees, and I’m grateful his devotion has lead to such an effective review course. Dr. Tom’s course was much more effective than the other review course I took, and I would recommend Dr. Tom's 20-Week Review to others preparing for the ME PE Exam, without a doubt.”

William Allred, PE, LEED AP BD+C, RS&H
Merritt Island, Florida

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PROBLEM OF THE WEEK - Civil AM: Transportation NCEES Problem 128

We're reviewing Civil AM: Transportation Problem 128 in the NCEES Civil Practice Exams together because we typically solve vertical curve problems to find elevations along a curve (such as the elevation at a particular point or the high/low point). The key for this problem is to recall that taking a derivative of an equation will provide the slope, so by taking the derivative of the parabolic equation and using the given information, the slope at the given point can be determined. Give it a try, then watch the video.

Dr. Daniel Findley’s Solution to NCEES Civil AM: Transportation Problem 128

DTC recommends that anyone taking the PE Exam purchase the NCEES Practice Exam for the exam they are taking. It is an essential exam review resource. https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/

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A Well-Designed Gearbox is a Beautiful Thing

ASME's Mechanical Engineering magazine’s column, "As the Turbine Turns,” for September 2017 is about one of the most important devices in a multitude of mechanical systems. In this 21st century technological world, it is surprising that this device does not have any electrical or electronic components. It's a gearbox, and in particular the article discusses a key component of the "geared turbofan" (GTF) jet engine, a planetary gearbox. Without it, velocities at the tip of the fan would easily approach supersonic speeds with all the associated problems that would cause.

In my first job as a mechanical engineer at Scientific-Atlanta, the electrical and RF engineers, the "sparkies," outnumbered the mechanical engineers, the "sledgies," by at least 20:1, maybe more. This article brought back fond memories of being one of the select "sledgies," where nothing defines us better than a well-designed gearbox.
- Dr. Tom

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A Sneak Peak, a Great Discount, AND a Chance to Win!

We know you’re curious. What are the DTC courses really like? How do they work? Enter our Fall Course Giveaway, and you’ll get to see examples of lessons in a free sampler of our courses. You’ll also get discount code for 10% off on a DTC PE Exam Review! That’ll save you $75 to $95 right there. Then if you’re one of our lucky winners, you could receive a Free or Half-Price Civil or Mechanical Review for the April 2018 PE Exam. Here at DTC headquarters, we love helping people pass the PE Exam. So what are you waiting for? The deadline is September 30. Enter today and start sampling!

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Off the Rails - Chinese Elevated Bus Project Fraud

It seemed too good to be true, and it was. When the Transit Elevated Bus was unveiled in China in 2010, it instantly went viral. It was touted as transit's solution to congestion. Experts, however, immediately questioned the ability of the bus to handle corners, bridges, and tall vehicles, but the project went forward. Now, seven years after it was introduced, China has made arrests. Full Story on NPR.

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TESTIMONIAL OF THE WEEK - Rebuild Knowledge, Gain Confidence

“Dr. Tom's 20 Week course helped me learn everything I needed to pass the Mechanical: Thermal & Fluid Systems exam on the first try. He did a better job of explaining the material than most of my professors. He was always very friendly and easy to understand. The best part about the 20 Week review is that you develop a weekly schedule of what you need to work on. Material is not crammed into a 3 or 4 week review like some other PE courses. With the 20 week review, you gradually rebuild and strengthen what you learned in college so you can take on the PE exam with confidence. The Exam Day Companion is worth it's weight in gold! I have already recommended my coworker to the course, and I will encourage other ME's to take the course. It was also the cheapest course I was able to find. I just wish I could shake Dr. Tom's hand and tell him thank you for everything!”

Michael Noll, PE
Delmar Systems, Houston, TX

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PROBLEM OF THE WEEK - Mech: TFS NCEES Problem 114

NCEES TFS Problem 114 in the NCEES Mechanical Practice Exam for Thermal and Fluid Systems is a classic mixing chamber problem, however the first equation given in the NCEES solution makes it look like you get the answer by “averaging” the enthalpies, but could have used any of the other intensive properties like specific volume, specific internal energy, or specific entropy. But you cannot. What is missing in the NCEES solution is the application of both Conservation of Mass and Conservation of Energy, meaning the 1st Law for Open Systems. In this video Dr. Tom shows those missing steps, an how the magnitudes of the mass flow rates given and that only enthalpy can be used determines the answer. He also provides you with a general equation that would apply to similar problems with any given mass flow rates. This is a perfect example of the application of the Dr. Tom Method and its effectiveness in solving classes of problems.

Dr. Tom's Solution to NCEES TFS Problem 114

 
DTC recommends that anyone taking the PE Exam purchase the NCEES Practice Exam for the exam they are taking. It is an essential exam review resource. https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/

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Bullet Proof Origami!

Origami is one of my favorite activities. A recent ASME article titled "Origami Provides Unexpected Inspiration" highlights research at Brigham Young University in using the techniques of origami to create bullet-proof shields for law enforcement applications. Made of already proven Kevlar, the deployable single officer unit weighs about 50 lb, and has already been shown to stop some high caliber rounds. It is really quite amazing that the art of paper folding might save the life of a public safety officer. - Dr. Tom

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Everything to Gain and Nothing to Lose!

It costs you nothing to enter the DTC Fall Giveaway, and look what you have to gain... First, everyone who enters gets 10% off on a DTC PE Exam Review! That’ll save you $75 to $95 right there. You also get to see how our courses work and see sample lessons. Then if you’re one of our lucky winners, you could receive a Free or Half-Price Civil or Mechanical Review for the April 2018 PE Exam. And most importantly, you could be a PE! Here at DTC headquarters, we love helping people pass the PE Exam. So what are you waiting for? The deadline is September 30. Enter today!

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Connected and Autonomous Vehicles - Coming Soon?

Connected and autonomous – these are two terms used to describe the rapidly advancing technology of automobiles. Connected refers to a vehicle's ability to communicate with the driver, other vehicles, roadway infrastructure, and a larger communication network. Autonomous refers to a vehicle's ability to drive itself. Both of these characteristics will be important to improve our roadway system - most notably through improved safety and decreased congestion, which severely impact public health and quality of life. The biggest questions seem to be about WHEN the transition will happen (including how much of the vehicle fleet will transition and how quickly), not IF. Several automobile manufacturers have aggressive goals to begin releasing autonomous vehicles and transportation agencies are working quickly to provide the necessary hardware and software to connect to these vehicles.

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TESTIMONIAL OF THE WEEK - The Method Makes the Difference!

“Just wanted to let you know that I successfully passed the PE exam on my second attempt. I went in much more confident and I can thank your class for that. The binders that we made from the class proved to be a lifesaver and I was able to answer most of the questions simply from them alone. This saved a ton of time as I wasn't constantly flipping through the MERM and the other mountains of books desperately looking for an answer or random equation.

I feel like the biggest advantage that your class brings to the table is that you structure all of the information you need in a way that is much easier to find. I feel that any competent engineer should be able to answer just about every question the PE throws at them if given enough time, but the exam forces you to be fast and efficient. Even if you are the most well-versed engineer in the world if you don't have a method in place to quickly find the equation or topic that you are looking for it can make for a really tough test day.

I will definitely recommend your class to peers who are considering taking the PE in the future. Thanks for everything!”

Brandon F., PE
Dallas, TX

 

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PROBLEM OF THE WEEK - Mech: MDM NCEES Problem 510

NCEES Problem 510 in the 2016 NCEES PE Mechanical: Machine Design and Materials Practice Exam is a classic 2D equilibrium problem involving a mechanical device to hold up a weight by friction based forces. However, the solution presented by the NCEES is incorrect. In the application of one of the equilibrium equations to the free-body diagram of one of the two major pieces, two terms are missing. In the NCEES solution these two terms supposedly cancel when in fact they do not.  One the shortfalls of the NCEES solution is that the free-body diagram of the piece in question is not provided.  In this Instructional Companion, the Dr. Tom Method provides the necessary free-body diagrams and associated equilibrium equations. Try it on your own first, then watch the video.

Dr. Tom's Solution to NCEES MDM Problem 510

DTC recommends that anyone taking the PE Exam purchase the NCEES Practice Exam for the exam they are taking. It is an essential exam review resource. https://account.ncees.org/exam-prep/
 

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