Mechanical engineering
Overview
Welcome to the Mechanical Engineering Subject Pages
Use the tabs to navigate to the different resources we have to support Mechanical Engineering.
Alternatively, this 1-page guide summarises some of the information to get you started.
For other types of resource, consult:
- the Market Research page for company, industry, market research data.
You may also find it useful to browse the subject pages for:
Highlighted resources
British Standards Online
Provides access to the full text of more than 50,000 British and adopted European and international standards. It is updated daily. Alternative access to BSOL is given below using a unique username and password given on the password page on our intranet. Please do not share these credentials with anyone.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Construction Information Service (CIS)
CIS provides up-to-date construction information and legislation from more than 150 national organisations, including BSI - The British Standards Institution, BRE, BSRIA, CIOB - The Chartered Institute of Building, CIBSE, CIRIA and The Institution of Structural Engineers. CIS provides either full text or abstract access to current regulations, standards, technical advice and a vast array of related news and briefings. CIS also provides access to limited versions of Engineer-it, Specify-it and SCI Blue Book (requires Internet Explorer).
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Proceedings
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) proceedings published between 2001 to date. Also inlcuded is the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) archive which contains every peer-reviewed technical paper published between 1836 and 2001.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Journals Collection
Provides access to the full text of 18 IMechE journals. Also includes the IMechE archive, giving access to the full text of all IMechE journals from 1847 to date.
Shazia Arif
Subject Liaison Librarian
School of Engineering and Design
Tel: +44(0)1895 266145
Email Shazia
Databases
For a general search across multiple databases, search Summon.
Individual databases offer a more detailed comprehensive search. Those most relevant to your subject area have been selected below. For guidance on more specific types of information, such as Market Research, Raw Data, Standards and Patents, please see the links on our Research page.
Access to these e-resources is restricted to the students and staff of Brunel University for licensing and technical reasons. Some licence agreements may exclude access to databases and their contents from certain countries. It is your responsibility to comply with the terms and conditions of the relevant licence agreements - for more information see the copyright web page on databases - contact copyright@brunel.ac.uk if you have any questions.
British Standards Online
Provides access to the full text of more than 50,000 British and adopted European and international standards. It is updated daily. Alternative access to BSOL is given below using a unique username and password given on the password page on our intranet. Please do not share these credentials with anyone.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Construction Information Service (CIS)
CIS provides up-to-date construction information and legislation from more than 150 national organisations, including BSI - The British Standards Institution (NB: full text access is on BSOL not CIS), BRE, BSRIA, CIOB - The Chartered Institute of Building, CIBSE, CIRIA and The Institution of Structural Engineers (either full text or abstract access). CIS also provides access to limited versions of Engineer-it, Specify-it and SCI Blue Book (requires Internet Explorer).
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
IEEE/IET Electronic Library
Provides access to all IEEE and IET transactions, journals, magazines and conference proceedings published since 1988, plus IEEE standards. The database and journal collection are updated weekly.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) Proceedings
Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) proceedings published between 2001 to date. Also inlcuded is the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE) archive which contains every peer-reviewed technical paper published between 1836 and 2001.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Journals Collection
Provides access to the full text of 18 IMechE journals until 2012. Also includes the IMechE archive, giving access to the full text of all IMechE journals from 1847 to date now published by SAGE (the alternative link takes you to the homepage of SAGE Online). Please note: from 2013 only part P of the Proceedings - Journal of Sports Engineering and Technology will be available by subscription.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Nature Publishing Group Journals
Provides access to 19 Nature branded journals and Oncogene, covering subjects across the life, physical and applied sciences and, most recently, clinical medicine. Content encompasses daily news, expert opinion, practical methodology, and high impact research and reviews.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
SAE Technical Papers
Technical papers published by the Society of Automotive Engineers are available from 1990 onwards in the SAE Digital Library (SAE DL). The new SAE DL references thousands of papers covering the latest advances and research in all areas of mobility engineering including ground vehicle, aerospace, off-highway, and manufacturing technology. Brunel's institutional login is required for access. NB: To search abstracts of papers published by external institutions you should deselect the default setting: "Limit to Full Text". Abstract records are indicated by the lack of a PDF icon within the results. If such a paper is not available in print format in the Library catalogue then it may be purchased from the Inter-Library Loan Service. Chrome users may find that their browser prevents SAE DL from working - switch to another browser if so.
Scopus
Scopus is the largest ever bibliographic database and indexes over 20,000 titles from science, technology, medicine and the social sciences. This abstract only database is updated daily. Use Article Linker (AL - link to full text) to check for full text online sources.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Web of Knowledge
Indexes journals and conference proceedings in the arts and humanities, social science and science and technology, providing abstracts to the majority, from 1970 to date. This abstract only database is updated weekly. Use Article Linker (AL) to check for full text online sources.
Alternative link (if above doesn't work)
Web Resources
General Guidance - read more
Chemical Database Service
The Chemical Database Service (CDS) provides on-line access to a variety of quality databases in the field of chemistry, plus support, training and advice. The Service is available free of charge to academics in the UK via the Internet, though some packages may have further restrictions on use.
The results of research using the Chemical Database Service may be published through the normal academic channels. Evidence of the scientific value of this Service is crucial when decisions about funding are made. Please acknowledge use of the Service, when appropriate, by citing the following publication: The United Kingdom Chemical Database Service, Fletcher, D.A., McMeeking, R.F., and Parkin, D., J. Chem. Inf. Comput. Sci. (1996), 36, 746-749. and using the following phrase: We wish to acknowledge the use of the EPSRC's Chemical Database Service at Daresbury.
Control Engineering Virtual Library
Searchable gateway providing links to societies, resources and services
Intute: Science, Engineering and technology
Offers links to a wide range of engineering information sources, replaced EEVL in July 2006. It covers the physical sciences, engineering, computing, geography, mathematics and environmental science. Can be keyword searched or browsed by subject
WWW Virtual Library Mechanical Engineering
Searchable gateway providing links to societies, resources and services
PSIgate
PSIgate is a free service that offers access to high quality Web resources in the physical sciences; there are resources in astronomy, chemistry, earth sciences, materials sciences, physics, and science history and policy
Scicentral
Gateway to the best scientific research news sources – Engineering
SCIRUS
Scirus is a science-specific search engine which searches over 167 million science-specific Web pages.
TechXtra
TechXtra is search engine which facilitates access to the freely available full-text content of millions of articles, key websites, theses and dissertations, books, industry news, new job
Technical reports
Computer science technical reports
Provides access to over 45,000 research papers culled from the archives of nearly 300 university and research institutions around the world.
E Print Network
Scientific or technical documents circulated electronically to facilitate peer exchange and scientific advancement.
IET guide to technical report writing
W ritten by Joan van Emden and the late Jennifer Easteal.
Los Alamos E-Print Archive
A fully automated electronic archive and distribution server for research papers in the areas of physics and related disciplines, mathematics, nonlinear sciences and computer science. Retrieve papers from the archive either through the web interface, or by sending commands to the system via email. Also has a current awareness service.
National advisory committee for aeronautics (NACA)
Networked Computer Science Technical Reference Library
NCSTRL is a federation of digital libraries providing computer science materials.
Yahoo technical reports search
The Virtual Technical Reports Center
Links to organisations/universities that provide EPrints, Preprints, & Technical Reports on the Web
Research & Development
R&D Scoreboard
The Department for Trade and Industry provide information on R&D investment levels for the top 750 UK companies and top 1000 global companies
Research and Open Access - read more
Journals
Brunel Library subscribes to 4 out of the top 5 journals with the highest Impact Factors for Mechanical Engineering
The journals are:
- Progress in Energy and Combustion science
- Journal of Microelectromechanical systems
- International Journal of plasticity
- Journal of Aerosol Science
Subject Specific - read more
Resources
AERADE
The AERADE portal provides integrated access to key aerospace and defence information sources
AIAA Electronic Library
Searches all publications (books, meeting papers, journals and standards) produced by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. The full text is not available from the database, use in conjunction with the E-Journals Gateway and the Library catalogue.
Control of Substances Hazardous to Health - COSHH
Advice and leaflets
Engineering.com
Online resources for all disciplines of the worldwide engineering community.
Engineering Ethics
Online resources covering the topic of ethics
Engineering online - Aerospace
A news service containing features and new products for aerospace engineers
Engineering online - Automotive
A news service containing features and new products for automotive engineers
Higher Education Academy - Engineering Subject Centre
How stuff works, a wholly owned subsidiary of Discovery Communications, is an award winning source of credible, unbiased and easy to understand explanations of how machines, mechanisms and processes work, The resource is mainly geared toward school age users with science and technology projects. However, the simplified explanations and illustrations may help as an introduction to new topics. This is a commercial website, please take care to avoid the banner advertising links.
Kellysearch Industry and Business Directory
You can browse this freely accessible directory of companies using keywords to describe the product/service or the name of the company. Full contact information and a description of the business is given in each entry with links to company website and publications where available.
Maths, numeracy and statistics
Links to useful websites to improve/refresh your knowledge.
SAE rules and documents
Including Formula SAE competition rules
Safe working with flammable substances
Leaflet produced by the Health and Safety Executive
STAR
Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports (STAR) is an online publication listing citations and abstracts of NASA and worldwide aerospace-related research
The Virtual Library - Control Engineering
A collection of control engineering-related resources maintained by the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge.
Materials
Institute of Materials Minerals and Mining
Mat Web
Searchable database of material data sheets.
PGM Database
The PGM Database helps you to find materials based on their properties.
Substech is a free and open knowledge source on Materials Engineering. It contains a wide range of illustrated articles on metals, ceramics, polymers, composites and lubricants including their properties, applications and technologies for their maunfacture.
Statistics
Road traffic statistics
Compilied by the Department of Transport
General transport statistics
Compliled by the Office for National statistics
Patents
A patent is a document, which describes a new invention. It is a legal document conferring exclusive rights to a person or organisation for a process or product for a limited period of time in return for the disclosure of the invention and various payments.
More information and sources available from the Patents webpage
Organisations
American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), and its predecessors, has been the principal society of the aerospace engineer and scientist for more than 70 years.
American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
BSRIA
Building Services Research and Information Association
Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers
CIBSE is an international body which represents and provides services to the building services profession.
The Chartered Institute of Patent Agents (CIPA)
DSTL
Custodians of the MOD collection of unpublished scientific and technical reports
Energy Institute
The Energy Institute (EI) is the professional body for the energy industries
Engineering Council
This website offers information about the Engineering Council and its services.
Engineering Technology Board
Organisation that works with business and industry, Government, and education to improve the perception of science, engineering and technology (SET) in the UK.
Institution of Mechanical Engineers
This website offers information on the "Information and Library Service" provided by the Institution. There is also information about membership, publications and other services.
International Civil Aviation Organization
A specialised agency of the United Nations,
NASA
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Royal Academy of Engineering
The Academy brings together engineers from all engineering disciplines. Their aim is to promote excellence in engineering for the benefit of the people of the United Kingdom.
Royal Aeronautical Society
The Royal Aeronautical Society is "the one multidisciplinary professional institution dedicated to the global aerospace community". The RAeS is the world's only professional body which caters for the entire aerospace community.
Society for Automotive engineers (SAE)
American non-profit educational and scientific organization founded in 1905, publishes papers, books and standards
Society of Manufacturing engineers
USA society founded in 1932
Using Other Libraries
When conducting specialist research, Brunel Library may not always stock everything you need. If this happens, you have a number of options:
- Join SCONUL. This scheme will give you access to print resources in other university libraries in the UK and Ireland. More information…
- Find out which university has the book you need. More information…
- Apply for an InterLibrary Loan. More information…
Before you visit another library
If you do plan to visit another library, please check first of all that we do not have the item you need. Advice on using the library can be found on our Finding Resources page. Alternatively, please ask a member of staff at the Helpdesk or contact the Subject Liaison Librarian for your School.
Remember, if the item you need is on a reading list, we will make every effort to purchase this for the Library, so please let us know the details.
Where there are specific libraries of interest for your subject, these will be listed below.
Research
As well as the resources listed under the Databases and Web Resources tabs of this subject page, we have a number of other resources that could be of relevance to your research, such as:
Additionally, you may wish to refer our general Research page which comprehensively lists all of our Research Resources.
If you need help with using any of these resources, please contact the Subject Liaison Librarian for your School, details of which can be found from the Overview tab.
