Profile

ESDU (Engineering Sciences Data Unit) provides validated, up-to-date engineering analysis to design engineers and teachers of design in aerospace engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, process engineering and structural engineering. The IHS website shows ESDU International PLC's headquarters as London, (England) UK.

The analysis methods, include methodologies, guidance, equations and software, and are accompanied by a unique advisory service that enables engineers to discuss their requirements and data application directly with ESDU staff.

Uniquely, ESDU's professional engineering staff are assisted and guided in their work by independent Committees or Working Parties of specialists drawn from industry, research and academia worldwide. They are responsible for ensuring the technical quality of the work and for presenting the data in a clear, concise, authoritative manner. They also determine the future direction of the work, taking into account the views of users.

History

In 1940 the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) responded to a critical need to expand the aircraft industry. It knew this expansion would require engineers from other industries who might lack the specialised knowledge required for aircraft design. To meet this challenge, the Society established a Technical Department to bring together the best available knowledge and present it in an authoritative and accessible form – a working tool for engineers.

To ensure the authority and quality of the work of the Technical Department, a Technical Committee was established, and permanent staff appointed for each subject matter area. The combination of a professional staff working closely with voluntary specialists creates ‘validated’ data. This unique philosophy remains the guiding principle for ESDU today. It is essential if the best and most appropriate data are to be produced in a form that best meets industry needs.

Towards the end of the 1960s, the political climate changed and it became clear that the Government would expect industry to pay for the services it needed and grant aid was withdrawn. As such ESDU became a fully commercial entity and is now part of IHS Inc., which is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, United States.

Websites

IHS ESDU

IHS Inc.

Engineering Topics Covered

Aerodynamics Aircraft Noise Composites Dynamics Fatigue Fracture Mechanics Fluid Mechanics Heat Transfer Mechanisms Aircraft Performance Physical Data, Chemical Engineering Physical Data, Mechanical Engineering Process Engineering Technology Sound Propagation Stress and Strength of Components Structures Transonic Aerodynamics Tribology Vibration and Acoustic Fatigue Wind Engineering