we said earlier, everyone knows that we need water to sustain life, but what you may not real-
ize is that water could be thought of as a common engineering material! Water is used in all
steam power-generating plants to produce electricity. As we explained in Chapter 13, fuel is
burned in a boiler to generate heat, which in turn is added to liquid water to change its phase
to steam; steam passes through turbine blades, turning the blades, which in effect runs the gen-
erator connected to the turbine, creating electricity. The low-pressure steam liquefies in a con-
denser and is pumped through the boiler again, closing a cycle. Liquid water stored behind
dams is also guided through water turbines located in hydroelectric power plants to generate
electricity. Mechanical engineers need to understand the thermophysical properties of liquid
water and steam when designing power plants.
We also need water to grow fruits, vegetables, nuts, cotton, trees, and so on. Irrigation
channels are designed by civil engineers to provide water to farms and agricultural fields. Water
is also used as a cutting tool. High-pressure water containing abrasive particles is used to cut
marble or metals. Water is commonly used as a cooling or cleaning agent in a number of food
processing plants and industrial applications. Thus, water is not only transported to our homes
for our domestic use but it is also used in many engineering applications. So you see, under-
standing the properties of water and how it can be used to transport thermal energy, or what it
takes to transport water from one location to the next, is important to mechanical engineers,
civil engineers, manufacturing engineers, agricultural engineers, and so on. We discussed the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards for drinking water in Chapter 3.17.4 Some Common Fluid Materials 573
Celeste Baine
I decided to become an engineer because
I knew it would be challenging and the
idealist in me wanted to make the world
a better place. Engineers were problem
solvers and I always had a creative solution
for whatever was happening in my life. In
high school, I wasn’t the best student in math and sci-
ence but I really enjoyed the classes and knew that I
could do anything that I set my mind to. I visited the
biomedical engineering department of a local hospital
and knew I was hooked before the tour was over.
After a particularly hard calculus test my sophomore
year, I had a moment that set my course. I was struggling
with my classes and it seemed that everyone was doing
better than me with less effort. I went to my advisor’s
office and told him that I didn’t think I would make a
good engineer because I wasn’t like everyone else. I was
worried that all employers only wanted to know your
GPA. Was a 3.4 good enough? He said, “Celeste, theworld needs all kinds of engineers. You don’t need to be
like everyone else.” I felt myself lift on his words and sud-
denly I realized that I could communicate better (speak-
ing and writing) than a large majority of the class. I
realized that I had skills that were almost impossible to
learn from a book. I could be one of the most valuable
types of engineers because I knew how to work with
people and how to manage my strengths and weaknesses.
Currently, I am the director of the Engineering
Education Service Center. I work on numerous proj-
ects that help promote engineering to the K-12 market.
I develop multimedia presentations and books that
show engineering as a fun, satisfying, and lucrative
career. I am the editor of thePre-Engineering Timesand
the author of “Is There an Engineer Inside You? A
Comprehensive Guide to Career Decisions in Engi-
neering”, “The Fantastical Engineer: A Thrillseeker’s
Guide to Careers in Theme Park Engineering”, and
“High Tech Hot Shots: Careers in Sports Engineering.”Professional Profile
Source:Courtesy of Celeste Baine
Copyright 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s).圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀圀圀圀⸀夀䄀娀䐀䄀一倀刀䔀匀匀⸀䌀伀䴀