During the past 20 years, the field of mechanical engineering has undergone enormous changes. These changes have been driven by many factors, including: the development of computer technology worldwide competition in industry improvements in the flow of information satellite communication real time monitoring increased energy efficiency robotics automatic control increased sensitivity to environmental impacts of human activities advances in design and manufacturing methods These developments have put more stress on mechanical engineering education, making it increasingly difficult to cover all the topics that a professional engineer will need in his or her career. As a result of these developments, there has been a growing need for a handbook that can serve the professional community by providing relevant background and current information in the field of mechanical engineering. The CRC Handbook of Mechanical Engineering serves the needs of the professional engineer as a resource of information into the next century.