OVERVIEW

Although experienced engineers know where to find information and how to make accurate computations, they also keep a minimum body of information readily available, made largely of shortcuts and rules of thumb. This compilation is such a body of information from the material in this book and is, in a sense, a digest of the book.

Rules of thumb, also known as heuristics, are statements of known facts. The word heuristics is derived from Greek, to discover or to invent, so these rules are known or discovered through use and practice but may not be able to be theoretically proven. In practice, they work and are most safely applied by engineers who are familiar with the topics. Such rules are of value for approximate design and preliminary cost estimation, and should provide even the inexperienced engineer with perspective and whereby the reasonableness of detailed and computer-aided design can be appraised quickly, especially on short notice, such as a conference.

Everyday activities are frequently governed by rules of thumb. They serve us when we wish to take a course of action but we may not be in a position to find the best course of action.

Much more can be stated in adequate fashion about some topics than others, which accounts, in part, for the spottiness of the present coverage. Also, the spottiness is due to the ignorance and oversights on the part of the authors. Therefore, every engineer undoubtedly will supplement or modify this material (Walas,...