ESDU Engineer

INTERACTIVE GRAPHS

The real-life performance of engineering systems often varies considerably over ranges of operating requirements. The performance of a complex system is the sum of the parts of its individual components. When studying system performance, these individual contributions are often masked by the overall behaviour. The engineer must understand the variation of the performance of individual system components to ensure that maximum overall performance is achieved over the entire operating envelope.

The traditional technique of representing parameter variations graphically remains one of the engineer’s most powerful tools. Graphs show the engineer a wealth of information: for example, they highlight the likely maximum and minimum variations of parameter values, and indicate regions of unacceptable or unpredictable operation.

Reading data points from graphs is usually done by eye. In almost all practical cases, the engineer must interpolate between presented graphical lines or curves. The actual design points must be superimposed onto the graph, often carefully by hand. The process of incorporating modified graphs into project reports is time-consuming and prone to error.

IHS ESDU’s vast engineering design data collection contains many thousands of design graphs. Many result from the unique distillation of measured and predicted design data, both published and unpublished. Their use is widespread in engineering design worldwide, from aerospace to petrochemical applications.

Recognising the limitations of traditional paper and on-screen graphs, IHS ESDU has now released a unique web-based system for presenting its engineering graphs as interactive, but fully annotated on-screen objects. The engineer can now interrogate a graph to read off precise co-ordinates, perhaps by zooming in on regions of interest. Lines or curves of known parameter values can be automatically superimposed to interpolate between presented values. Permanent electronic copies can be made and inserted into documents. The IHS ESDU Interactive Graphs are a new way to improve data accuracy, save the engineer time, and improve the quality of project reports.

For a demonstration of the benefits of Interactive Graphs, please go to www.ihsesdu.com/activegraph.

If you have any questions regarding Interactive Graphs please contact your local IHS account manager or IHS ESDU Customer Support on +44 (0)1344 328150.