Book Description

In today's rapidly changing global economy, business managers must have the tools and know-how to quickly evaluate the economic viability of potential solutions to engineering problems. An entire field of study has evolved to meet this need, yet there are few straightforward texts that outline the basics of engineering economics. Fundamentals of Engineering Economics is an accessible, comprehensive guide to the fundamental principles, concepts, and methods of engineering economics. Utilizing detailed case studies and exercises reflecting current trends and issues in economics, this book introduces students to a variety of key concepts, including estimation of the time value of money, evaluation of a single project, decision analysis, depreciation and taxes. This is an ideal textbook for Economic Analysis and Technical Applications students, or anyone seeking to gain an understanding of the core concepts of engineering economics. Fundamentals of Engineering Economics is organized into the following topical chapters: - Overview of Engineering Economy - Fixed and Variable Costs - Time Worth of Money - Five Methods for Evaluation of Capital Project - Comparison of Alternates and Decision Analysis - Depreciation and Replacement Analysis - Taxes, Tariffs, and Duties - Public Sector Initiatives and Benefit-to-Cost Ratio - Break-Even Analysis and Spider Plots Kal Renganathan Sharma serves as Adjunct Professor of Chemical Engineering at the Roy G. Perry College of Engineering at Prairie View A&M University. He received his B.Tech. from the Indian Institute of Technology (1985, Chennai, India) and his MS and Ph.D degrees from West Virginia University (1987, 1990, Morgantown, WV). All three degrees are in chemical engineering. Dr. Sharma is the author of 10 books, 4 book chapters, 21 journal articles, 528 conference papers and 108 other presentations. He is the recipient of several prestigious honors and awards, including the Outstanding Student of the Penultimate Year from the Rev. Brothers of St. Gabriel at RSK Higher Secondary School (Trichy, India) and an Honorary Fellowship from the Australian Institute of High Energetic Materials (Melbourne, Australia).