Solution Stories

A theater is setting up a light metal platform to support lights and equipment. A stage engineer must determine the dimensions of the components and the load on the cables. In this solution story, we’ll walk through a step-by-step use case showing you how Knovel Math can help design the platform.

A major energy company is engaged in a new project transporting oil sands. An engineer must prevent sand from settiling in the pipeline during transportation. Follow this user-submitted problem step-by-step to learn more about how you can use and apply Knovel to your everyday work.

In this solution story, we walk through designing a product to customer specifications using Knovel. Follow each step a metallurgist at a steel mill takes- from custom request to material selection and the optimized solution.

Vibrations in mechanical systems are often signals that there may be a problem within a component. A mechanical engineer working on a transmission was hearing high vibration noises within the gearbox whenever the engine was running. Upon further inspection he found that the bearings were in need of replacement. He replaced the bearings, but after awhile the problem arose again. Check out this problem and how Knovel was able to help solve it.

After a few years of operation, major failures are detected throughout an oil sands pipeline. It has been established that corrosion and erosion have occurred at an unexpectedly high rate due to the failure of a natural rubber pipeline lining. It was decided that the old pipeline should be dismantled and that a new pipeline be constructed. An engineering team must address the failure by finding a replacement lining and an approximate material cost for the new lining in comparison to the old. The team also needs to provide a reasonable and quantitative explanation as to why and how the previous pipeline, made of seamless carbon steel pipes, failed. Find out how Knovel can be used to solve this problem.

Whether your job title is "industrial engineer” or not, you may be tasked with improving processes and finding better ways to design, develop, produce, deliver or service products. In this issue, we'll walk you through a case where an engineer working for a chemical manufacturer is asked by his manager to find a way to optimize the flow rate of acrylonitrile from a tank.

Millions of tons of plastic packaging and other plastic waste are hauled to over-flowing landfills every year around the world and will remain there for a very long time. The plastics industry is continuously searching for solutions to this problem by implementing “green” technologies, including the development of biodegradable plastics. Knovel recently helped one engineer who was looking into utilizing soybeans in the manufacture of biodegradable plastics.

Greenfield, a town in Upstate New York is considering an environmentally friendly wind farm as a sustainable source of electricity for the community. An engineering firm is hired to research turbines, confirm the needs, and estimate the cost of electricity per kilowatt-hour produced by turbines. In this story, read how Knovel could help power a town with wind turbines

International and government standards and regulations require that companies reduce or eliminate waste at the source by modifying production processes, implementing conservation techniques, and re-using materials rather than putting them into the waste stream. We walk through the steps an engineer takes to investigate, troubleshoot, and make recommendations for a complete solution to complying with OSHA standards.