In this blog post, we’ll explore why mechanical and aerospace engineering is called the foundation of modern engineering by examining its core principles and various applications.
Since the late 2000s, interdisciplinary and convergent research—which combines multiple fields—has become increasingly important in academic research, and today, this approach has established itself as a standard research method in various fields, including engineering.
Before delving into the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, let’s answer the following question.
While watching the freestyle finals at an international competition, you found yourself closely examining the high-tech swimsuits worn by the athletes. You suddenly recalled that the surface of the swimsuits was modeled after shark scales, and your interest went beyond simply watching the competition—you developed an academic curiosity. However, it’s difficult to resolve this curiosity with only the fragmented explanations readily available online, such as “shark scales help swimmers move quickly through the water.” So, if you were to seek out an expert in this field at one of South Korea’s top universities, which department’s professor should you visit?
While there isn’t a single definitive answer, one of the most appropriate choices would be to visit a research lab specializing in biomimetics within the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. If you aren’t majoring in mechanical engineering, you might wonder what the connection is between mechanical and aerospace engineering and swimsuits. The surfaces of competitive swimsuits worn by athletes feature microscopic protrusions called “riblets”; these structures help water flow more smoothly along the surface, thereby reducing surface drag. A typical riblet structure is triangular in shape, inspired by shark scales.
Riblets reduce surface resistance by altering the behavior of small fluid vortices that form near the swimsuit’s surface, thereby decreasing frictional drag. Ultimately, the key to riblets lies in understanding the fluid flow and vortices that form around the swimsuit, and the discipline that explains this is fluid mechanics—a core field of mechanical and aerospace engineering. Furthermore, the study of various fluid dynamic phenomena found in nature—such as those in shark scales—is also one of the key research areas within mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Not only people who haven’t majored in engineering but even those who have may find the relationship between mechanical and aerospace engineering and fluid dynamics unfamiliar. This is because most people immediately think of cars or airplanes when they hear the term “mechanical and aerospace engineering.” However, as seen in the example of high-tech swimsuits, mechanical and aerospace engineering cannot be described simply as a discipline that studies only cars and airplanes. Therefore, to properly understand mechanical and aerospace engineering, it is more important to grasp the core academic fields that form its foundation—such as fluid mechanics—rather than merely examining its various end products.
The disciplines that form the foundation of mechanical and aerospace engineering are commonly referred to as the “four major mechanics”: fluid mechanics, solid mechanics, dynamics, and thermodynamics. To understand these disciplines, let’s first examine the meanings of the terms “fluid,” “solid,” “motion,” and “heat.” A fluid refers to a substance that flows and includes both liquids and gases, such as water and air. A solid refers to an object that retains its shape, such as a brick or a piece of wood. “Dong” (動) means movement and refers to the motion of an object. “Heat” (熱) is a concept that indicates degrees of hot and cold, but essentially refers to the state of energy possessed by a substance. And “mechanics” (力學), which unites these concepts, is the discipline that studies force and motion.
Therefore, fluid mechanics and solid mechanics are disciplines that study how fluids and solids, respectively, move and deform when subjected to forces. Kinematics is a field that focuses on the motion of objects themselves to predict and analyze movement, while thermodynamics is the study of the generation, transfer, and conversion of energy, as well as the relationships between energy, force, and motion.
Let’s examine the four major branches of mechanics in a bit more detail using cars and airplanes as examples. Since cars and airplanes are solid structures made of various materials, solid mechanics is used to analyze how these structures deform and fail under externally applied forces. Furthermore, because both vehicles move through a fluid—in this case, air—phenomena such as lift, drag, and pressure distribution resulting from their interaction with the air are analyzed using fluid mechanics. Since both automobiles and airplanes are machines designed for movement, the relationships between speed, acceleration, rotational motion, changes in position due to changes in attitude, and the forces acting on these motions are analyzed through dynamics. Finally, since the power sources that drive automobiles and aircraft utilize energy sources such as fuel or electrical energy, thermodynamics is used to analyze how energy is converted, how efficiently it is used, and the thermal energy generated during that process.
As such, mechanical and aerospace engineering is a discipline that encompasses nearly all areas covered by the four fundamental branches of mechanics that form its foundation. Because the scope of application for these four branches of mechanics is extremely broad, mechanical and aerospace engineering is not limited to mechanical systems familiar to us, such as automobiles and airplanes; rather, its scope of application is expanding across the entire spectrum of high-tech industries. Prominent examples include the development of advanced materials—such as carbon nanotubes and composite materials—using solid mechanics, as well as research on intelligent structures utilizing shape-memory alloys and smart materials. Additionally, research on motion optimization for industrial robots and collaborative robots—which combines dynamics and solid mechanics—and the development of biomimetic robots that mimic animal movements are also important research areas in mechanical and aerospace engineering.
In the field of fluid mechanics, active research is being conducted on improving the performance and reducing the noise of wind turbines, aerodynamic analysis of supersonic and hypersonic aircraft, and the flight stability of drones. In fields that combine thermodynamics and fluid mechanics, research on eco-friendly heating and cooling systems, thermal management systems, aerospace propulsion systems, and next-generation energy systems is continuously advancing.
Furthermore, as technological convergence has become increasingly active in recent years, fields such as mechatronics—which combines electrical and electronic engineering with computer engineering—intelligent robot systems that integrate artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics technology, biomedical engineering—which fuses medicine and engineering—as well as autonomous driving technology, smart mobility, smart manufacturing, and digital twin technology are rapidly emerging as important application areas within mechanical and aerospace engineering.
Ultimately, mechanical and aerospace engineering can be described as a discipline that plays a pivotal role in nearly every industrial sector, building upon the broad scope covered by the four fundamental branches of mechanics that form its foundation. In other words, mechanical and aerospace engineering is a discipline that can be called the cornerstone of engineering. From the cutting-edge sports equipment seen on television to the smartphone you use first thing in the morning, from the cars and subways you take to school or work to the beverage cans and home appliances you use in your daily life—the principles of mechanical and aerospace engineering are woven into all of these. In this way, mechanical and aerospace engineering enhances the quality of life in every aspect of our daily lives and serves as the core foundation driving the development of future industries, new technologies, and, ultimately, human civilization.
