The importance of modelling in advanced planning of projects is here related to high technology in a detailed account of the current state-of-the-art in computer-aided design and surface modelling. This book addresses problems arising from the generation of meshes to model surfaces, the fitting of meshes to real surfaces, analysis of the effects of changes to the shape of surfaces, and the analysis of the degree of accuracy of the fitting process. The opening section addresses general surface modelling and considers the generation of meshes to cover a surface. In this way a surface can be "fed" into a computer as a set of segments. The importance of lubrication and wear of surfaces is reviewed, with emphasis on the changes in their shape and smoothness. The application of the type of theoretical work discussed earlier to practical situations precedes an in-depth look at the statistical problems associated with the reliability of data. The book derives from the Polymodel XII conference held at Newcastle upon Tyne in May 1989, whose main aim is to integrate and promote industrial and academic collaboration in mathematical modelling and simulation.
