ABSTRACT
The system elements are grouped chapter-wise as mechanical, electrical, fluid, and thermal, mainly as a matter of convenience. In practical applications we sometimes encounter systems which are essentially or entirely, say, mechanical or electrical, but we also find cases where several different forms occur in a single system. The classical area called "shock and vibration," for example, deals almost entirely with mechanical elements, while electric circuit analysis deals with electrical elements. The practical design of automatic control systems for industrial processes and machines, on the other hand, often involves simultaneous consideration of mechanical, electrical, fluid, and thermal elements. In such "mixed" systems we find, in addition, energy conversion devices which couple, say, a mechanical to an electrical element or subsystem. For example, an electric motor (an electromechanical energy converter) can be driven by current coming from an electrical circuit and can then provide torque to drive a mechanical system. Chapter 5 will discuss these energy conversion devices which couple elements of different physical types.
