What are the 3 major fields of electrical engineering?

When we are stepping into a digital world, we can see the increased implications of electrical engineering all around us. Even in the academic field, more students are taking up electrical engineering as their major courses. The high number of requests for electrical engineering assignment help confirms this fact. However, here we discuss some salient features and little-known facts about electrical engineering that you may not find online in any electrical engineering course. Read along –

Electrical engineering is essentially creating, designing and managing electricity to meet the huge demand for electricity around the world. Students pursuing electrical engineering need to master two important aspects of science – mathematics and physics. The basics of these two subjects play a large role in electromagnetism and electronics on both small and large scales. This subject has been further subdivided into numerous minor subfields like –

• Robotics
• computer engineering
• Signal processing
• Power Electronics
• Mechatronics
• Electrochemistry
• Nanotechnology
• Renewable energy

There are several other subjects that can be included as a subfield of electrical engineering. However, if we look past these minor subfields, there are 3 major subfields –

1. CONTROL ENGINEERING

Control engineering or control system integration is extremely important for automation in industrial processes. Any employee with a basic idea of system integration can confirm that the isolation process is gradually becoming obsolete. Most control system integrators try to offer value to their clients by designing a system following the system prescribed parameters instead of following any customized specifications. The five factors that play a role in integrating control engineering are –

• Software infrastructure

Any modern automation system is not just limited to configuration and monitoring problems. The engineers treat software infrastructure as important for system integration because they need to integrate the applications as well. The client application can display all the data of a server application in open software architecture. OPC-UA technology is an example where you can experience a simpler browsing experience along with historical and real-time data exchange.

• Process database

A database uses three elements mostly to process its data – one or multiple tables for data entry, a query language like SQL, and forms for entering and displaying data. It also includes several customized pages for data viewing and reporting. It acts as a relational database that collects more data items and organizes them to be accessed in any way necessary. SQL works in tandem with DBMS to store, modify and retrieve data in this system.

• Human-machine interface

The HMI or human-machine interface allows its users to monitor the current state in a control engineering process and command instructions to change the control objective. This system can also be used in emergencies to manually override automated controls. In addition, HMI is abundantly used to prepare alarms, reports, historical trends, scripts, and many more.

• Alarm management

Alarms are the distinguishing factor between normal and abnormal conditions in a control process. Its primary objective is to alert the operators about any anomalies within the facilities. Alarm management is crucial in organizations where alarm systems are essential for time-based and priority-based jobs.

• Network security

Network security works within a complex environment and shares information between industrial or business systems using an ICSS or integrated control and safety system. Apart from this, a network security system also relies on PLCs, COTS Technologies like TCP/IP and Ethernet, safety systems and Microsoft Windows for critical or generic functions.

 PROJECT ENGINEERING

Project engineering oversees the top-to-bottom operations of a venture, starting from its budgeting and planning to execution. A project engineer looks at all the aspects of a project to ensure the whole work is completed efficiently within the deadlines. Here are the four factors you need to ensure successful project completion.

• Intelligent People

To do a project, the first thing you need is manpower. Recruiting a team of capable people is something a project engineer does before starting the project. It is a part of the project engineering process to ensure that the whole team shares the same enthusiasm and zeal to achieve the project goal.

• Comprehensive planning

The success of a project originates from an immaculate plan. Project engineering starts with setting a realistic time frame. Then the team decides on the budgets, documentation, and milestones. Having every aspect clear in front of the eyes ensures a seamless project transition. The project engineer also implements systems to notify you during resource scarcity. This alerts the teams during any lapse.

• Open communication

An open and transparent communication system is crucial for successful project completion. When a big team works together, a clear communication chain ensures everyone knows what is happening in the project. All the employees know about the progress, eliminating any chance of making promises the team cannot meet.

• Risk management

It is impossible to execute a project by guaranteeing zero risks. There can always be certain issues that can hamper the project’s speed and accuracy. Project engineering means considering these unforeseen risks and creating suitable backups to safeguard those losses. A project engineer also ensures the stakeholders are well-informed about any risk and maintains a log to record any risk.

 TEST ENGINEERING

Test engineering method includes several testing methods to evaluate the performance of new software or application. There are five methods that are mostly used across industries –

• Black box testing

In this method, the tester cannot see the internal structure of the source codes. They simply focus on the inputs and expect a certain output without knowing how the application will work. This method is used to check if the app is performing according to the specified user demands.

• White box testing

This is just the opposite of black box testing, where the testers have full visibility of the internal system codes. However, in this method, the tester needs to clearly understand how the engineers implemented the software and how it works. This method ensures more security, betterment of design, and usability.

• Agile testing

Agile testing is just another name for checking for any defects after a holistic checking process. The tester checks for any issues quickly and gives feedback accordingly for the betterment of the app.

• Grey box testing

This is a combination of both black and white box testing. This method provides the tester with limited information about the internal structure. The tester needs to assess the app functions based on this partial information. This method is used at the integration level.

• Ad-hoc testing

Ad-hoc of Monkey testing is a testing method that happens randomly. These surprise tests are conducted to find out any defects from a very neutral viewpoint since no one has any expectations from these tests.

 Summing Up:

These are three of the major subfields of electrical engineering. Read this blog to know in-depth knowledge about the various factors and sub-parts of these three major elements of electrical engineering.

jamesbal

See Full Bio