Role of EC in Core Engineering
Electronics Technology in Core Engineering Applications
As technology is advancing in all engineering disciplines, there is hardly any area of core engineering left without the utilization of electronics & communication in design and implementation of systems. Thus, whenever technology enhances, ECE is bound to enhance inevitably. Following are some examples of usage of ECE in various engineering disciplines.
a) Role of Electronics in Mechanical engineering
Mechatronics are all around us, from computer hard drives and robotic assembly systems to washing machines, coffee makers, and medical devices. Electronics that control mechanical systems account for much of the value of the average automobile, managing everything from stability control and antilock brakes to climate control and memory-adjust seats.
b) Role of Electronics & Communication Technology in Civil engineering Civionics is the combination of civil engineering with electronics engineering, in a manner similar to avionics (aviation and electronics) and Mechatronics (mechanical engineering and electronics). An emerging discipline, the main application area of civionics is currently the use of electronics for structural health monitoring (SHM) of civil structures, particularly photonics (Fiber Optic Bragg Grating).
In SHM, Civionics will provide engineers with feedback necessary to aid in optimizing design techniques and understanding infrastructure performance, behavior and state of condition. The successful integration of intelligent sensing of innovative structures will allow civil structural engineers to expand the design envelope by taking risks to introduce new design concepts, materials and innovation in civil engineering.
c) Role of Electronics in Electrical engineering:
Power electronics is the application of solid-state electronics to the control and conversion of electric power. It also refers to a subject of research in electronic and electrical engineering which deals with the design, control, computation and integration of nonlinear, time-varying energy- processing electronic systems with fast dynamics.
d) Role of Electronics & Communication in Automobile engineering:
Automobile is one of the fastest growing sectors in India. There is a constantly growing requirement for environment protection. Also, the end users are demanding greater fuel efficiency, security and safety. This has greatly contributed to the rapid development of the technology that
can be employed in the automobiles. Cars, which used to be only mechanical, now contain more than 1000 electronic components most of which happen to be sensors and microcontrollers.
The engine is the heart of a car. The circuit that automates how much fuel should enter the engine is governed by the electronic control unit (ECU). Multiple sensors are involved in this setup. The common ones include:
- Vehicle speed sensor. It sends different frequencies to the ECU to determine the rotational speed of the engine. This input from the sensor lets the ECU decide when the gear change should take place.
- Throttle position sensor. This sensor is connected to the gear shaft, and informs the ECU about the current gear that been engaged by the driver (or automatically).
- Turbine speed sensor. It provides real-time information on how the air intake system is functioning at a given time.
- Transmission fluid temperature sensor. It measures the temperature of oil, fuel, and water or engine coolant and provides a signal to the power train control module.
- Anti-lock brake systems (ABS) are becoming increasingly popular in cars. The ABS has four major parts, namely, speed sensors, controllers, valves and pump. The first two are assisted by electronics.
- Dashboard is the portion with which the driver of a car interacts the most. The dashboard of a car can also have the GPS, audio systems, air-conditioner controls, etc.
- Parking sensors: These are among the latest features being included in Indian cars, especially the high-end ones. You can also buy them off-the-shelf from markets like Palika Bazaar (New Delhi) or Lamington Road (Mumbai) and get them installed.
- Auto-sensing wipers: If your car has the auto-sensing wiper system, its wipers will turn on the moment they detect rain. In fact, the speed of your wiper blades increases with the intensity of rain.
- Auto-sensing lights: The fundamental behind it is the light-dependent resistor (LDR) or optical sensors used in the circuit of the headlamp. So as the light intensity decreases to reach a certain value, the circuit triggers the headlights to turn on.
(e) Role of Electronics in Avionics:
Avionics are the electronic systems used on aircraft, artificial satellites, and spacecraft. Avionic systems include communications, navigation, the display and management of multiple systems, and the hundreds of systems that are fitted to aircraft to perform individual functions. These can be as simple as a searchlight for a police helicopter or as complicated as the tactical system for an airborne early warning platform
(f) Signaling Systems for Safe Railway Transport
Trains could not run safely without signaling devices. Electronics & Communication engineering is the only branch which ensures railway safety in Japan: block systems, train control systems, train traffic control systems, and wireless communications devices.
Some digital control systems provide the ability to independently control all aspects of operating a model railway using a minimum of wiring, the rails themselves can be the only wiring required. Other systems are truly wireless. Control is achieved by sending a digital signal as well as power
down the rails or wirelessly. These digital signals can control all aspects of the model trains and accessories, including signals, turnouts, lighting, level crossings, cranes, turntables, etc. Constant power is supplied to the track and digital signals are sent which require electronic decoders to be fitted to locomotives and other devices to interpret the commands.
(g) Role of electronics in Computer Science Engineering
Realization of computers has been possible only because of Electronics engineering. The ALU, Processors, RAM, ROM, Microcontroller, Microprocessor, SMPS which make the complete body of a computing device are all fabricated by electronics engineers only. The electronic chip Industry, Smart Phones, laptops, Tablets, Palmtops, iWatches and all bugging devices, defense equipments all rely upon Electronics.