Mechanical Engineering – Basic Interview Notes
(Short Definitions)
Mechanics
• Force: An external action that changes or tends to change the state of rest or motion of a body.
• Moment: Turning effect of a force about a point or axis.
• Torque: Moment of a force causing rotation.
• Work: Product of force and displacement in the direction of force.
• Power: Rate of doing work.
• Momentum: Product of mass and velocity.
• Equilibrium: State where net force and net moment are zero.
• Friction: Resisting force opposing relative motion between surfaces in contact.
Strength of Materials
• Stress: Internal resisting force per unit area.
• Strain: Deformation per unit original dimension.
• Elasticity: Property of material to regain original shape after unloading.
• Hooke’s Law: Stress is proportional to strain within elastic limit.
• Young’s Modulus: Ratio of normal stress to normal strain.
• Shear Stress: Stress acting parallel to the surface.
• Bending Moment: Moment that causes bending of a beam.
Thermodynamics
• System: Quantity of matter or region under study.
• Surroundings: Everything outside the system.
• Heat: Energy transfer due to temperature difference.
• Work: Energy transfer other than heat.
• Internal Energy: Energy stored within a system.
• First Law of Thermodynamics: Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.
• Entropy: Measure of disorder or randomness.
Heat Transfer
• Conduction: Heat transfer through a solid due to temperature gradient.
• Convection: Heat transfer between surface and fluid.
• Radiation: Heat transfer by electromagnetic waves.
• Heat Flux: Heat transfer per unit area.
• LMTD: Log mean temperature difference in heat exchangers.
• NTU: Number of transfer units indicating heat exchanger effectiveness.
Manufacturing
• Casting: Process of pouring molten metal into a mold.
• Forging: Shaping metal by compressive force.
• Machining: Material removal process.
• Welding: Joining metals by fusion.
• Sand Blasting: Surface cleaning by high velocity abrasive particles.
• CNC: Computer numerical control of machine tools.
Machines
• Machine: Device that transmits or modifies force.
• Efficiency: Ratio of output to input.
• Gear: Toothed wheel used to transmit power.
• Bearing: Machine element supporting rotating shaft.
• Flywheel: Stores rotational energy.