ESDU – a fantastic resource for engineers!
07/12/2016
This is the first of a series of blog posts in which we will highlight some of our more specialist resources for engineers.
This one is all about ESDU. If you’re the kind of person who needs to find out how to calculate the strength of lugs under oblique load, or the lift-curve slope of swept and tapered wings, ESDU is the resource for you. It really is one of our ‘hidden gems’. It’s one of my favourite resources as it has helped me answer many tricky enquiries, and it gets such a great response when customers find the solution to their engineering design problem on it.
When I first started my Cranfield working life in the Kings Norton Library, ESDU stood for ‘Engineering Sciences Data Unit’ and comprised thousands of ‘data sheets’ which were filed away in hundreds of ring binders. Each time there was an update to a data sheet, ESDU sent us a new one and we would laboriously find the old version, throw it out and replace it with the new. Thankfully times have moved on and the service is now available online and is always up to date.
It contains fantastic information for engineers that really isn’t available elsewhere, and certainly not for free via a Google search. It’s a great place to go if you have an engineering problem that you want to solve, and it can save you lots of time and research by providing methods, worked examples and data. Its work is overseen by independent committees of technical experts (some of whom work at Cranfield), and is endorsed by the Royal Aeronautical Society, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and the Institution of Chemical Engineers.
It contains equations, interactive graphs and software organised into 18 series. Experience has shown me that the best way to find what you need is to select the ‘Explore the ESDU series’ option and then browse to the information that you need.
‘Explore the ESDU Series’ and ‘Aerospace Materials Data’ options highlighted on the ESDU home page
The series are: aerodyamics, aircraft noise, composites, dynamics, fatigue – endurance data, fatigue – fracture mechanics, fluid mechanics (internal flow), fluid mechanics (internal flow – aerospace), heat transfer, mechanisms, performance, phyiscal data (chemical engineering), stress and strength, structures, transonic aerodynamics, tribology, vibration and acoustic fatigue and wind engineering.
Alongside the data sheets is another handy resource. The Metallic Materials Data Handbook (MMDH) can be found behind the ‘Aerospace Materials Data’ link and is a great source of metals property data for aerospace engineers, bringing lots of information that has been evaluated and meets design requirements together in one place.
ESDU itself provides videos and help and I am always happy to advise you and answer your questions. Contact me at e.turner@cranfield.ac.uk.
Public domain image from Unsplash.com
Categories & Tags:
Leave a comment on this post:
You might also like…
Systematic Literature Review – Identifying your search terms and constructing your search strings
Our previous posts on the systematic review have looked at getting started and selecting your sources. In this post we will look at the next fundamental stage: Identifying your search terms and constructing your search ...
Navigating the World of Robotics: My Journey at Cranfield University
Hey there, I'm Manideep, and I'm thrilled to share my experience pursuing an MSc in Robotics at Cranfield University. Let me take you through my journey and how Cranfield became the ...
Exploring safer and smarter airports with the Applied Artificial Intelligence MSc group design project
Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies have experienced rapid development in recent years, spanning from large language models (LLMs) to generative artificial intelligence (GAI). These cutting-edge advancements have significantly impacted various aspects of ...
My aerospace manufacturing journey at Cranfield University
Hey there, I'm Abhishek and I wanted to share my journey into aerospace manufacturing, guided by my experiences at Cranfield University. Let's dive into how this remarkable institution shaped my career ...
Changes to Library Services over Easter, 29 March – 1 April
Libraries on the Cranfield site Both Kings Norton Library and the School of Management Library (Building 111, first floor) will be open 24/7 over the Easter weekend. You will be able to use the study ...
How to present well as a group
You will have put a lot of work into your research or project and want to show everyone what you have achieved or discovered, so you need to impart this knowledge as clearly as possible. ...