Preface
Contemporary engineering requires that practitioners specialize. There is simply too much to know for any one individual to deal with all of the technical aspects of most engineering projects. Still, real-world engineering problems are almost never neatly divided into mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, and other categories. Thus, there is a need for all engineers to have at least a basic knowledge of the full spectrum of specialties throughout the engineering profession, not to mention consideration of economics and environmental, political, and social issues. It is paradoxical that while we need an ever-increasing depth of knowledge in our particular field, we also need an ever-broadening general education. This book presumes to present the fundamentals of electrical engineering. It is recommended to those who seek an understanding of the fundamentals of electrical engineering, separated from important, but nonessential, digressions into detailed technical analyses that are essential to in-depth specialized studies. This is not to say that the material is written in the EE for dummies style, which is so popular in contemporary writing. The fundamentals are treated with the same scientific and mathematical rigor as one would rightfully expect in any engineering textbook. It is just that many topics which are necessary for one to learn in order to claim the title of expert are intentionally omitted. The book is intended as the beginning, and not the end, of EE study. Of necessity, the content is colored by the judgment of the authors as to just what these fundamentals are, based on their personal experience with a combined 73 years of teaching and practice. Still, a conscious effort has been made to include the many suggestions and constructive criticisms of colleagues within and outside of electrical engineering. xii Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering In the context of contemporary engineering curricula, this book is recommended as a textbook for two types of courses:
A Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering course which would be taken by EE majors and offered at institutions which prefer to give their students an overview of EE before in-depth EE courses are required. One benefit of such a course is that much of the time spent on the fundamentals in specialty courses could be then reduced.
A course which would be taken by non-EE majors to provide an understanding of EE fundamentals and a general appreciation of just what EE is all about.
Outside of academia, the book is recommended to anyone, but especially practicing engineers of all specialties, who seek an understanding of the fundamentals of electrical engineering. The book assumes an engineering background on the part of readers, with appropriate undergraduate competencies in science and mathematics. On the other hand, an understanding of advanced mathematics and science is not required.
There are two fundamental applications of electromagnetic phenomena:
The processing and transmission of energy
The processing and transmission of information
Thus, the book is divided into two parts:
Fundamentals of electrical energy processing (Chapters 1 through 5)
Fundamentals of electrical information processing (Chapters 6 through 9)
These two parts match the authors spheres of expertise (Professor Gross the former, and Professor Roppel the latter). The case for the study of EE is strong.
The necessity to control energy is essential to modern civilization, and energyin the electrical form is an important part of that. The capabilities and applications of electronic information processing surpass even the imaginations of most science fiction writers.
A proposed catalog description of a course for which this book would serve as an appropriate textbook might be as follows:
Electrical Engineering Fundamentals Prerequisites: engineering physics and mathematics. A presentation of the fundamentals of electrical engineering.
Preface xiii
Part I, fundamentals of electrical energy processing, includes a comprehensive discussion of electrical energy, generators, motors, transformers, and loads, with several contemporary applications such as electrical vehicles and wind machines. Part II, fundamentals of electrical information processing, includes a discussion of electrical components such as transistors, diodes, and operational amplifiers, with contemporary applications such as robotics.
The table of contents serves as a recommended first draft of a course syllabus, and is essentially self-explanatory. Instructors should be able to tailor this outline to their individual needs. Appendix A provides a convenient reference for SI units and selected conversion factors. Appendix B provides data for the SN7400 series TTL NOR Gate.
Experienced engineering educators know that students need to solve relevant problems to solidify their understanding of technical material. End-of chapter problems are provided for that purpose. Each problem has its own unique set of educational objectives, and is intended to reinforce and augment the material of that chapter, as well as provide continuity to earlier material in previous chapters. Therefore, it is recommended that all problems be assigned. If it is desired to change the answers from term to term to prevent students from copying solutions from files, it is a simple matter to change certain key data elements to generate a different set of answers to every problem.
We agree that the order of authorship in no way ranks the relative contributions by each author. This was a mutual effort, with both authors contributing equally to the work. Furthermore, no book is entirely the product of two individuals, as certainly is the case with this work. Dozens of individuals have contributed in many ways, including, but not limited to, Chris Roberts, Tom Burch, P. K. Raju, Bruce Tatarchuk, Ram Gupta, and Sandy Johnson.
The cooperation and support of many companies and institutions, including general Electric, the Alabama Power Company, the Southern Company, Reliance Electric, Rockwell, ABB, and Siemens, are gratefully acknowledged.
Finally, the sacrifices made by our families, but particularly our wives Dodie Gross and Tammy Roppel, are gratefully noted.
Features
- Offers a concise explanation of the fundamentals of electrical engineering
- Integrates coverage of practical applications and theoretical fundamentals
- Maintains mathematical and scientific rigor to the point that it remains useful in real-world applications
Summary
Real-world engineering problems are rarely, if ever, neatly divided into mechanical, electrical, chemical, civil, and other categories. Engineers from all disciplines eventually encounter computer and electronic controls and instrumentation, which require at least a basic knowledge of electrical and other engineering specialties, as well as associated economics, and environmental, political, and social issues.
Co-authored by Charles Gross—one of the most well-known and respected professors in the field of electric machines and power engineering—and his world-renowned colleague Thad Roppel, Fundamentals of Electrical Engineering provides an overview of the profession for engineering professionals and students whose specialization lies in areas other than electrical. For instance, civil engineers must contend with commercial electrical service and lighting design issues. Mechanical engineers have to deal with motors in HVAC applications, and chemical engineers are forced to handle problems involving process control.
Simple and easy-to-use, yet more than sufficient in rigor and coverage of fundamental concepts, this resource teaches EE fundamentals but omits the typical analytical methods that hold little relevance for the audience. The authors provide many examples to illustrate concepts, as well as homework problems to help readers understand and apply presented material.
In many cases, courses for non-electrical engineers, or non-EEs, have presented watered-down classical EE material, resulting in unpopular courses that students hate and senior faculty members understandingly avoid teaching. To remedy this situation—and create more well-rounded practitioners—the authors focus on the true EE needs of non-EEs, as determined through their own teaching experience, as well as significant input from non-EE faculty. The book provides several important contemporary interdisciplinary examples to support this approach. The result is a full-color modern narrative that bridges the various EE and non-EE curricula and serves as a truly relevant course that students and faculty can both enjoy.
Table of contents :
Ch. 1. What is engineering? --
ch. 2. Electrical circuit concepts --
ch. 3. Electrical energy --
ch. 4. Electrical generation and transmission --
ch. 5. Electrical loads --
ch. 6. Semiconductor devices --
ch. 7. Sensors and instrumentation --
ch. 8. Digital logic --
ch. 9. Robots.
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