Machine Science

a discipline that encompasses a body of scientific investigations dealing with the most general questions of machine building, regardless of the classification and purpose of the machines. Machine science includes the general theory of machines and the theory of mechanisms, both of which deal with their dynamics under varying conditions of use to produce rational models based on kinematic and dynamic analysis and synthesis of mechanisms; branches of science devoted to studying the properties of materials used in machine building (for example, physical metallurgy) for selection of the proper materials for construction of certain types of machines; disciplines that make possible determination of the strength and load-carrying capacity of assemblies and parts under various operating conditions and calculation of their dimensions from such data; the theory of friction and study of the wear of parts in assemblies, which are used in solving problems dealing with improved efficiency, increased service life, and surface-quality requirements for mated parts; the study of optimum manufacturing methods; studies of reliability in terms of providing the required properties and high-quality performance of the required operations by the machine and of maintaining such properties in continuous operation; and problems in the rational use of energy; and problems of increasing machine output and, in the final analysis, of improving their economy of operation.

Because of the increasing use of automatic machines in various areas of the national economy, a great deal of attention in machine science is devoted to problems of automatic control (the use of control equipment; the structural features of machines and mechanisms that simplify control methods). At the current stage of the scientific and technological revolution, the increasing complexity of machine operation in various environments dictates the need for expansion of research in the branches of machine science listed above. The speeds of movement are increasing, the operational temperature range of machines is expanding, force loading is increasing and some machines are operating in vacuum and at high radiation levels. Therefore, the development of machine science requires that researchers maintain close, continuous contact with advances in many other sciences, such as automation, thermodynamics, physical chemistry, electronics, electrical engineering, aerodynamics, gas dynamics, and hydrodynamics. In turn, the requirements of machine science contribute to the solution of a number of problems in various areas of knowledge, thus stimulating their development and facilitating the building of new machine equipment required for experimental research. Machine science is one of the main areas of science that determine the progress of technology.