engineering

Peter A. Cundall

Peter A. Cundall is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Peter A. Cundall rather than just read about it. In short: Peter Alan Cundall is an engineer and one of the founders of the Itasca Consulting Group. Together with Otto D.

Key takeaways

Peter A. Cundall belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Peter A. Cundall to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Peter A. Cundall from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Peter Alan Cundall is an engineer and one of the founders of the Itasca Consulting Group. Together with Otto D. L. Strack, he introduced the Discrete Element Method. He studied for a PhD in Rock Mechanics at Imperial College London, graduating in 1971 with a thesis titled "The measurement and analysis of accelerations in rock slopes". In 1979, he published "A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies", with Otto Strack, which was the most-widely cited paper in the journal Géotechnique, and which set the ground for the development of the DEM method. He served as Faculty member at the University of Minnesota for some time and then he went on to form Itasca Consulting Group. In 2008, Cundall was elected as a member into the National Academy of Engineering for fundamental contributions to understanding of rock deformation and failure processes, and development of innovative computational procedures in rock mechanics.

References

External links A discrete numerical model for granular assemblies Itasca International - Peter A. Cundall profile Imperial College PhD Imperial College PhD

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Peter A. Cundall

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Peter A. Cundall claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Peter A. Cundall before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Peter A. Cundall ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Peter A. Cundall

In research: Peter A. Cundall appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Peter A. Cundall in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Peter A. Cundall is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Alumni of Imperial College London, Engineering educators, Living people, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Peter A. Cundall outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Peter A. Cundall in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Peter A. Cundall means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Peter A. Cundall out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Peter A. Cundall in simple terms?

Peter Alan Cundall is an engineer and one of the founders of the Itasca Consulting Group. Together with Otto D.

Why does Peter A. Cundall matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Peter A. Cundall?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Peter A. Cundall.