ME Magazine May 2012

VOL.134/NO.5 MAY 2012 | WWW.ASME.ORG

THE MAGAZINE OF ASME

Gas turbines break barriers

ASME-IPTIgoes global

Maybe diesel andwater do mix

RUNNINGON EMPTY

As oil prices soar, a simpleformula may determine

which energy options are worth pursuing.

MayCoverFINAL.indd 1 4/6/12 12:51 PM

This fl agship event will include more than 700 technical presentations and panel sessions, tutorials, keynote addresses and pre-conference workshops.

The exhibit and sponsorship program is expected to draw more than 60 vendors and representatives from utilities, industry, government and academia around the world.

For more information about this event, including a list of tracks and important deadlines, please visit the conference Web site at:

www.asmeconferences.org/Icone20Power2012For information regarding exhibits and sponsorship, contact

Nick Ferrari at 212-591-7534.

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Contents0512C.indd 1 4/4/12 11:48 AM

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6 Editorial 8 Letters 10 News & Notes 14 Global Window 15 Washington Window 16 Computing 20 Software Exchange 22 Tech Focus Materials & Assembly

62 New Products 66 Positions Open 69 Ad Index 70 ASME News

26 Bang for the BuckEnergy return on energy investment is a powerful metric for weighing which energy systems are worth pursuing.by Frank Kreith

t 32 Breaking the BarriersAs gas turbines are ever more widely used, they are achieving new heights of performance.By Lee S. Langston

Focus on Environmental Engineering38 knocking the nox out of BiodieselA demonstration of emulsified B20 fuel sets a new benchmark for a renewable fuel component.By Tom Houlihan

42 Patent WatchWeather ControlBy Kirk Teska

44 the s-curves are everyWhereby Adrian Bejan and Sylvie Lorente

72 inPut outPutNew Betts for OldBy James Pero

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2 mechanical engineering | May 2012

05 12VOLuME 134 /NO.5

In this issue: special supplementasMe-iPti 49-60

PETROLEUM DIVISION ......................................................................................49

PIPELINE SYSTEMS DIVISION ...........................................................................58

OCEAN OFFSHORE AND ARCTIC ENGINEERING DIVISION ...............................58

PETROLEUM DIVISION

On March 17, 2012, the Mr. Charlie platform, the

industry’s fi rst submersible drilling rig, was offi cial-

ly recognized as an ASME Historical Mechanical

Engineering Landmark. The ceremony, conducted

at Mr. Charlie’s permanent mooring in Morgan

City, Louisiana, was attended by members of the

IPTI’s Petroleum Division Collegiate Council

responsible for its nomination, ASME’s History

and Heritage committee members and members of

the Petroleum Division’s Executive Committee, and

representatives from the International Petroleum

Museum & Exposition (a non-profi t organization

created by the men who worked on or around

Mr. Charlie).

The Meaning of the LandmarkThe primary reason Mr. Charlie was selected as an

ASME landmark is the signifi cance that offshore

drilling has had on the evolution of the energy indus-

try and its impact on today’s society, not to mention

the economic stability of the entire Gulf Coast region

and other areas of offshore E&P activity around the

world. Its extensive documented history and easy

accessibility to the landmark and training facility by

offshore workers, as well as the general public, also

positions the world’s fi rst submersible drilling rig as a

particularly inspiring engineering landmark.

The Dawn of Offshore Drilling

INSERT-3-PROP-12.indd 1

3/28/12 3:34 PM

Contents0512C.indd 2 4/3/12 4:48 PM

©2012 COMSOL. COMSOL, COMSOL Multiphysics and LiveLink are either registered trademarks or trademarks of COMSOL AB. AutoCAD and Inventor are registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and other countries. LiveLink for AutoCAD and LiveLink for Inventor are not affi liated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or supported by Autodesk, Inc., and/or its affi liates and/or subsidiaries. MATLAB is a registered trademark of The Mathworks, Inc. Pro/ENGINEER and Creo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Parametric Technology Corporation or its subsidiaries in the U.S. and in other countries. SolidWorks is a registered trademark of Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. CATIA is a registered trademark of Dassault Systémes. SpaceClaim is a registered trademark of SpaceClaim Corporation.

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Contents0512C.indd 3 4/4/12 12:22 PM

Americans have grown to accept their telephones as a necessity, seldom realizing the vastness of the system and the spirit of service in the large organization constantly striv-ing to maintain and improve a means of communication already unexcelled. Seldom is it realized that the equipment in the home or offi ce is only a very small part of the facilities required in this business of telephoning. A network of wire literally covering the nation from coast to coast, and intricate switching devices for interconnecting the telephones throughout the nation and most of the world all combine to transmit the spo-ken word quickly and faithfully. ...

The development of full automatic or dial systems, which could insure, during all hours, service of uniform speed and accuracy under the most-severe conditions, required the solution of many diffi cult problems. ...

Briefl y, an automatic (or dial) central offi ce must be capable of serving up to 10,000 subscribers with suffi cient switches, trunks, and associ-ated circuits to complete calls promptly under peak loads of traffi c. ...

A new automatic switching system, known as the crossbar, was therefore developed in which contact is established by moving springs equipped with small bits of precious metal,

affording the advantage of reduced time in establishing connections and providing satisfactorily quiet tele-phone circuits with lower maintenance. In addition, the new system introduces many other desirable features, including yet greater fl exibility in trunking circuits.

This system has been manufactured now for several years and most of the new telephone exchanges in the larger cities are of this type.

“70 years ago this month in Mechanical Engineering magazinefrom the vault May

1942

Some Mechanical Aspects of Telephone ApparatusBy J.D. Tebo (Bell Telephone Laboratories, New York) and H.G. Mehlhouse (Western Electric Co., Chicago)

4 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | May 2012

Mechanical Engineering (ISSN 0025-6501) is published monthly by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Three Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990. Periodicals postage paid at New York, N.Y., and additional mailing offi ces. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Mechanical Engineering, c/o The American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 22 Law Drive, Box 2300, Fairfi eld, NJ 07007-2300. Return Canadian undeliverable addresses to P.O. BOX 1051, Fort Erie, On, L2A 6C7. PRICES: To members, annually $32 for initial membership subscription, single copy $7; subscription price to nonmembers available upon request. COPYRIGHT © 2012 by The American Society of Mechanical Engineers. Canadian Goods & Services Tax Registration #126148048. Printed in U.S.A. Authorization to photocopy material for internal or personal use under circumstances not falling within the fair use provisions of the Copyright Act is granted by ASME to libraries and other users registered with the Copyright Clearance Center Transactional Reporting Service, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923. Request for special permission or bulk copying should be addressed to Reprints/Permissions Department.

ASME.ORG | ON.FB.ME/MEMAGAZINE | MEMAGAZINEBLOG.ORG ON.FB.ME/MEMAGAZINE

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>> “The World’s Fastest Four-Legged Robot. This year, Boston Dynamics’ robotic cheetah broke the land speed record for fastest four-legged robot. It can hit a sprint of 18 mph, and it doesn’t get tired. >> Podcast: “Flight of Autonomous Robots.” Vijay Kumar, UPS Foundation Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Pennsylvania, talks about his work on autonomous fl ying robots. One day they may take part in search and rescue missions and other tasks.

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contents0512p2.indd 5 4/3/12 2:47 PM

■■ Graphical Software

■■ Sensor Connectivity

■■ Signal Analysis

■■ Control Algorithms

■■ Custom Timing

■■ Custom Triggering

■■ Actuator Connectivity

■■ Embedded Storage

■■ Industrial Networks

■■ Expansion Systems

All the Tools you Need for Embedded Measurements and Control,

in one rugged box.

The NI CompactRIO hardware platform can handle your embedded measurement and control applications, and do it in a way that outperforms other off-the-shelf systems so you don’t have to spend time developing a custom solution. The range of high-quality measurements, coupled with an extremely rugged design and the ability to modify the hardware using NI LabVIEW system design software, gives you all the benefits of customization with the convenience of an off-the-shelf platform.

>> To learn more about CompactRIO, visit ni.com/compactRIO 800 891 2755

©2012 National Instruments. All rights reserved. CompactRIO, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 05311

05311 cRIO Ad.indd 1 3/6/12 1:13 PM

edito

rial MAYBE IT WAS meant as an early

observance of April Fools’ Day, but a few weeks ago a Dutch fi lmmaker created quite a stir among those of us who follow the latest technology news when he posted online an amazing video clip of himself soaring like a bird, fl apping carbon-reinforced fabric wings strapped to his arms. He complemented the hoax by touting this magnifi cent feat on a website, along with an equally fabricated set of data.

The exploit was splendid indeed—in terms of fi lm illusion—but technologists and others who dream big sulked when they found out the accomplishment wasn’t true.

A few weeks later, something just as astonishing went viral: MIT and the University of Pittsburgh developed an oscillating gel that could give robots the potential ability to feel. Haptics on steroids, I immediately thought. This has nothing to do with haptics technology, however, but with the development of an oscillating gel that when it is mechanically compressed has far-reaching potential. This breakthrough paves the way for numerous applications and, like the birdman, stimulates our imagination. Developing a robot that can “feel” has been the Holy Grail in robotics.

It’s remarkable to see how much we, even as adults, want to believe that anything is possible—Walt Disney must be smiling. Apparently the last few years have taught us that nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Steve Jobs helped make us think di� erently about how we read a book and a newspaper, how we listen to music and how to conduct business; Mark Zuckerberg showed us a new way to socialize with friends, family, even business associates.

More than ever, we’re open-minded about accepting the

possibilities of sensational innovations. We want to believe that we can fl y like a bird, even when the facts are sketchy; and we believe that robots will be able to feel gentle touches—and now we have hard proof that it could really happen.

“The life of every successful innovation—whether it is an idea or a technology—has a remarkably similar trajectory,” say Adrian Bejan and Sylvie Lorente, the authors of “The S-Curves Are Everywhere,” in this issue. “In the beginning, when familiarity is confi ned to a few, acceptance spreads slowly to a wider population. At some later point, the spread of the innovation reaches critical mass and begins a sharp rise in the rate of new adopters. Finally, there is a saturation point, and the rate of spreading tails o� when the total number of adopters appears to have hit a ceiling.”

The point that Bejan and Lorente are making is similar to what author Malcolm Gladwell referred to as “epidemics.” In his popular book, The Tipping Point, published a few years ago, Gladwell described as epidemics the ideas and products and messages and behaviors that spread, just as viruses do.

There is a lot to the responsibility of verifying what’s possible and what’s not. The ability to handle the tension between creative thinking and pragmatic development is one of the things that sets engineering and engineers apart. Here’s to the pragmatists, who have the creative foresight to dream the impossible dream.


Editor-in-Chief John G. Falcioni

Executive EditorHarry Hutchinson

Associate EditorsAlan S. Brown, Jean Thilmany,Jeffrey Winters

Electronic Publishing EditorBenedict Bahner

Art & Production DesignerTeresa M. Carboni

Director, Advertising Sales and Publishing DevelopmentNicholas J. Ferrari

Marketing and Promotion ManagerAnthony Asiaghi

Classifi ed and Mailing List Manager(212) 591-7534

Circulation CoordinatorMarni A. Rice

Managing Director, Publishing & Unit Support Philip V. DiVietro

Online www.asme.org(212) 591-7783; fax (212) 591-7841E-mail: [email protected]

The American Society of Mechanical EngineersPresident Victoria A. RockwellPresident Elect Marc W. GoldsmithPast President Robert T. SimmonsGovernors Richard C. Benson, Betty L. Bowersox, Julio Guerrero, Said Jahanmir, Robert N. Pangborn, Thomas D. Pestorius, Edmund J. Seiders, J. Robert Sims Jr., Charla K. Wise

Executive DirectorThomas G. Loughlin

Deputy Executive DirectorMichael K. Weis

Secretary and TreasurerWilbur J. Marner

Assistant SecretaryJohn Delli Venneri

Senior Vice PresidentsStandards & Certifi cation Kenneth R. BalkeyInstitutes Dilip R. BallalKnowledge & Community Thomas G. LibertinyPublic Affairs & Outreach Stacey Swisher Harnetty

ME Editorial Advisory BoardRobert E. Nickell, Chairman; Harry Armen; Leroy S. Fletcher; Richard J. Goldstein; Thomas G. Libertiny

For reprints, contactEdward Kane, (866) 879-9144, [email protected]

Opinions expressed in Mechanical Engineering magazine do not necessarily refl ect the views of ASME.

WHAT’S REAL AND WHAT’S NOT

John G. Falcioni, [email protected]

twitter.com/johnfalcioni


editorial0512.indd 6 4/5/12 10:26 AM

■■ Graphical Software

■■ Sensor Connectivity

■■ Signal Analysis

■■ Control Algorithms

■■ Custom Timing

■■ Custom Triggering

■■ Actuator Connectivity

■■ Embedded Storage

■■ Industrial Networks

■■ Expansion Systems

All the Tools you Need for Embedded Measurements and Control,

in one rugged box.

The NI CompactRIO hardware platform can handle your embedded measurement and control applications, and do it in a way that outperforms other off-the-shelf systems so you don’t have to spend time developing a custom solution. The range of high-quality measurements, coupled with an extremely rugged design and the ability to modify the hardware using NI LabVIEW system design software, gives you all the benefits of customization with the convenience of an off-the-shelf platform.

>> To learn more about CompactRIO, visit ni.com/compactRIO 800 891 2755

©2012 National Instruments. All rights reserved. CompactRIO, LabVIEW, National Instruments, NI, and ni.com are trademarks of National Instruments. Other product and company names listed are trademarks or trade names of their respective companies. 05311

05311 cRIO Ad.indd 1 3/6/12 1:13 PM


editorial0512.indd 7 4/3/12 2:28 PM


lettersHeadquartersASMEThree Park AvenueNew York, NY 10016-5990(212) 591-7722fax: (212) 591-7674www.asme.org

Customer CareASME22 Law DriveFairfield, NJ 07007(973) 882-1170; fax: (973) 882-1717In U.S., toll-free (800) THE-ASME;international (973) 882-1167e-mail: [email protected]

ASME Washington Center1828 L St., N.W., Suite 906Washington, DC 20036-5104(202) 785-3756fax: (202) 429-9417www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations

ASME InternationalGas Turbine Institute6525 The Corners Parkway, Suite 115Norcross, GA 30092-3349(404) 419-1646fax: (404) 847-0151http://igti.asme.org/

ASME InternationalPetroleum TechnologyInstitute11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 865Houston, TX 77079-1733(281) 493-3491fax: (281) 493-3493www.asme-ipti.org

ASME Europe Field OfficeAvenue De Tervueren, 3001150 Brussels, Belgiumphone: (32-2) 743-1543 fax: (32-2) 743-1550

ASME Asia Pacific LLCUnit 09A, EF Floor, East Tower of Twin Towers No. B12, Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District Beijing, 100022 Peoples Republic of China(86-10) 5109-6032fax: (86-10) 5109-6039

India Officec/o Tecnova India Pvt.Ltd. 335, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon 122 015 (Haryana) (91-124) 430-8413 Fax (91-124) 430-8207 [email protected]

To the Editor: I compliment you as editor-in-chief of a very informative Mechanical Engineering magazine.

I was a little disappointed that the article “Drawn to Bigger Things” (February) did not mention that Emily Warren Roebling and Washington Roebling were 1857 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute graduates. Both have been elected to the Rensselaer

Alumni Hall of Fame. As the article states, he changed the way suspension bridges were designed and constructed.

KEnnETh A. DEGhETToLivingston, n.J.

‘Gasified’ Too LiGhTweiGhTTo the Editor: The article “The Revolution May Well Be Gasified” in the February 2012 issue was inappropriate for a professional magazine. In my opinion, the insufficient technical content of the article and the article’s general approach are more suited to publications for the general public such as Popular Science. Otherwise, I enjoyed the magazine (as I have since 1966).

DouG WErnErWestminster, CoLo.

PaTenT aPProvaLTo the Editor: I have communicated with Kirk Teska earlier regarding his other interesting articles in ME. Mr. Teska has done it again (“Patent Watch: Who’s on First?” February). Very timely and informative.

Also, I read his book Patent Project Management (ASME Press), and being a patent searcher, I went directly to the search-related chapter. Enjoyed it, and I feel it is a good read for many practicing/aspiring engineers.

Looking forward to more such articles.rADhAKrishnAn ChAnDEr

AnnAndALe, vA.

Roeblings at RPI


Letters to the EditorMechanical EngineeringThree Park Avenuenew York, nY 10016-5990

fax: (212) 591-7841e-mail: [email protected]

The editors reserve the right to edit letters for clarity, style, and length. We regret that unpublished letters cannot be acknowledged or returned.

letters to the editor Mechanical Engineering welcomes comments from our readers. Letters can be typewritten or e-mailed, and must include the author’s full name, address, and telephone number. Address your submission to:

+

Letters0512.indd 8 4/2/12 10:19 AM

HeadquartersASMEThree Park AvenueNew York, NY 10016-5990(212) 591-7722fax: (212) 591-7674www.asme.org

Customer CareASME22 Law DriveFairfield, NJ 07007(973) 882-1170; fax: (973) 882-1717In U.S., toll-free (800) THE-ASME;international (973) 882-1167e-mail: [email protected]

ASME Washington Center1828 L St., N.W., Suite 906Washington, DC 20036-5104(202) 785-3756fax: (202) 429-9417www.asme.org/NewsPublicPolicy/GovRelations

ASME InternationalGas Turbine Institute6525 The Corners Parkway, Suite 115Norcross, GA 30092-3349(404) 419-1646fax: (404) 847-0151http://igti.asme.org/

ASME InternationalPetroleum TechnologyInstitute11757 Katy Freeway, Suite 865Houston, TX 77079-1733(281) 493-3491fax: (281) 493-3493www.asme-ipti.org

ASME Europe Field OfficeAvenue De Tervueren, 3001150 Brussels, Belgiumphone: (32-2) 743-1543 fax: (32-2) 743-1550

ASME Asia Pacific LLCUnit 09A, EF Floor, East Tower of Twin Towers No. B12, Jianguomenwai Avenue, Chaoyang District Beijing, 100022 Peoples Republic of China(86-10) 5109-6032fax: (86-10) 5109-6039

India Officec/o Tecnova India Pvt.Ltd. 335, Udyog Vihar, Phase IV, Gurgaon 122 015 (Haryana) (91-124) 430-8413 Fax (91-124) 430-8207 [email protected]

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Letters0512.indd 9 4/2/12 10:26 AM

The U.S. Department of Energy awarded more than $5 million to two projects intended to lower the costs of advanced fuel cell

systems. Each three-year project will work to meet specific cost metrics and improve the performance of fuel cell systems for both vehicles and stationary applications.

Eaton Corp. and the 3M Company will each lead one of the projects.

According to the DOE, its fuel cell research and development efforts have led to about 30 products reaching the market and has produced more than 300

patents. One result is that, according to the DOE, the costs of fuel cells have been reduced by 80 percent since 2002 and the platinum content of the cells has fallen by a factor of five.

Within the next five years, the depart-ment has targets for vehicle-borne fuel cells that include reaching a peak efficiency of 60 percent and a cost of $30 per kilowatt.

3M, in collaboration with General Motors and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, received $3.1 million from the DOE to develop a durable, low-cost, and high-performance membrane

electrode assembly for use in mass-produced fuel cell electric vehicles. The technology will integrate a nanostruc-tured thin film catalyst developed by 3M with a fuel cell membrane electrode.

Eaton, together with Ballard Power Sys-tems and Electricore Inc., received $2.1 million to develop and demonstrate an efficient fuel cell air management system that’s derived from Eaton’s existing twin vortices series advanced blower super-charger. The hope is that it will provide more power and better fuel economy per volume than existing fuel cell air manage-ment systems.


$5 Million for Fuel Cell Development

news&notes

Three-dimensional printers have been able to print nanoscale objects for quite a while. But they couldn’t do it quickly.

Now, researchers at the Vienna University of Technology said they’ve built a 3-D printer that runs orders of magnitude faster than other models, opening up new areas of applica-tion. The printer speeds up the traditional method of nano 3-D printing, which uses a technique called two-photon lithography.

Because of the dramatically increased speed, much larger objects—well above the nanoscale—can now also be created in a shorter time, said Jürgen Stampfl, a professor in the Institute of Materials Science and Technology at the university in Vienna, Austria, who led the printer development.

The traditional 3-D nanoprinting technique uses a liquid resin, which is hardened at precisely the correct spots by a focused laser beam. The focal point of the laser beam is guided through the resin by movable mirrors and leaves behind a line of solid polymer, just a few hundred nanometers wide, Stampfl said.

This high resolution enables the creation of intricately structured sculptures as tiny as a grain of sand, he said.

“Until now, this technique used to be quite slow,” Stampfl said. “The printing speed used to be measured in millimeters per second. Our device can do five meters in one second.”

To prove it, in March 2011 the team behind the speeded-up device printed a 285-micrometer-long Formula One-style

racing car just four times the width of a human hair in four minutes, eight seconds, he said. A video is at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=5y0j191H0kY&feature=player_embedded.

To gain such speeds, the researchers combined several new ideas, including improving the control mechanism of the mir-rors and creating a special resin.

The mirrors are continuously in motion during the print-ing process. Acceleration and decelera-tion have to be tuned very precisely to achieve high-resolution results at a high speed, said Jan Torgersen, a project assistant at the institute.

On the resin side, a team of chemists led by Robert Liska, a researcher in the Institute of Applied Synthetic Chemis-try at the university, developed initiators as part of a specially developed resin, Torgersen said.

“The resin contains molecules which are activated by the laser light. They

induce a chain reaction in other components of the resin, so-called monomers, and turn them into a solid,” Torgersen said.

These initiator molecules are activated only if they absorb two photons of the laser beam at once—and this only hap-pens in the very center of the laser beam, where the intensity is highest. Also, in contrast to conventional 3-D printing techniques, solid material can be created anywhere within the liquid resin rather than on top of the previously created layer only. Therefore, the working surface does not have to be specially prepared before the next layer can be produced, which saves a lot of time, Torgersen added.

Nano Precision


s Researchers printed a toy car, 285 μm long, in four minutes, eight seconds.

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"I am so pleased with your wide selection and availability of products.”– Newark element14 customer


COMMUNITY: element14.comWEBSITE: newark.comPHONE: 1.800.463.9275LEARN MORE: newark.com/together

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COMPLETE ENGINEERING

SOLUTIONSStart here.Newark element14 connects you to the brands and products

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COMMUNITY: element14.comWEBSITE: newark.comPHONE: 1.800.463.9275LEARN MORE: newark.com/together

HOW MAY WE HELP YOU TODAY?

COMPLETE ENGINEERING

SOLUTIONSStart here.Newark element14 connects you to the brands and products

engineers trust from bench to board. Our direct relationships

with world-class brands means you get access and information

fi rst, with our engineers actively sourcing global and niche

manufacturers to provide you with the best choices.

Technology, services and solutions start at Newark element14.

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Newark/element14 has entered a partnership with PCB Assembly Express to provide its quick design and assembly prototyping services to North American customers. The services, primarily for printed circuit boards, are accessible through a section of the ele-ment 14 website called the Knode. /// The AK Steel Zanesville Works has been recognized by the Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation for outstanding safety performance. The plant was recognized for operating all of 2011 without a lost-time injury or illness, and also for operating 3,932,145 hours without a lost-time injury between April 21, 2003, and Dec. 31, 2011. /// Caterpillar Logistics Inc. has added a parts distribution center in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The facility, which will employ up to 150 people, is expected to be operational in 2013. According to Caterpillar, “This investment represents the first of many aimed at enhancing parts distribution operations in Central and South America.”

BrIEfLy NOtEd

When most people in the developed world think of electric vehicles, they envision the Nissan Leaf or perhaps a golf cart. But battery-powered electric bicycles are a huge market. And Pike

Research, a market research firm in Boulder, Colo., fore-casts that by 2018, electric bike sales will approach 48 mil-lion units. That compares to the global market in 2012 of 30 million units.

China is currently the largest market for electric bikes, and Pike expects that country to account for sales of more than 42 million bicycles in 2018. By contrast, the North American market will only grow to 340,000 units, from

just over 100,000 this year.According to Pike, urbanization and the need for low-cost

personal transportation is driving the growth of electric bicycles in the developing world. In Asia, the most popular design is a throttle-controlled, scooter-style vehicle with a sealed lead-acid battery. The bikes are relatively cheap, with the average price in China running about $167. (Elec-tric bicycles in North America, by contrast, average more than $800.)

Lithium-ion battery packs for electric bikes are forecast to become more common. But even by 2018, Pike expects Li-ion batteries to power less than 12 percent of the market.

two engineering firms have entered an agreement to work together in providing site hazard evaluation and probabilistic risk assess-ment services to the U.S. nuclear power sector.

According to the companies, URS Corp. and Scientech, their combined resources make them able to address all external hazards. They say they can provide utilities with solutions to emerging needs and requirements, including responding to near-term task force recommendations, requirements of Generic Issue 199 (Implications of

Updated Probabilistic Seismic Haz-ard Estimates in Central and Eastern United States on Existing Plants), Post-Fukushima requests meeting the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Regulatory Guideline 1.200, Rev. 2 expectations, and the ASME/ANS PRA Standard (RA-Sa-2009).

Scientech, owned by Curtiss-Wright Flow Control Co., has provided risk assessment services for more than 25 years. URS Corp. provides engi-neering, construction, and technical services to public agencies and private sector companies.

Chinese Manufacturer to Build U.S. Pipe Plant

A manufacturer based in Tianjin, China, Tianjin Pipe (Group) Corp., has hired Jacobs Engi-neering Group Inc. to provide

project management consulting services for a new pipe rolling mill near Corpus Christi, Texas.

The estimated of the total program’s value is about $1 billion.

Jacobs said its Houston and Shanghai operations will be responsible for the project management consulting servic-es. Jacobs is expected to assist Tianjin Pipe with the coordination and manage-ment of engineering, procurement, and construction, which are expected to draw on professional services, materi-als, and labor from the United States, Europe, and China.

The mill, located in Gregory, Texas, near the Port of Corpus Christi, is scheduled to be delivered with phased completions between December 2012 and end of 2014.

NEWS & NotES

Annual Electric Bike Sales Expected to Climb

PRA, Hazard Analysis for Nuclear Utilities

A Canadian developer of natural gas-fueled engines has pur-chased assets of an Australian company that has designed

electronic fuel injection and engine-management technologies.

Westport Innovations Inc., based in Vancouver, British Columbia, said the purchase covers “certain assets” of Advanced Engine Components Ltd. of Perth, Western Australia, involving a payment in cash and assumption of liabilities. The transaction was made through a subsidiary, Westport Innova-tions (Australia) Pty Ltd.

Westport acquired AEC’s Austra-lian business assets including its intellectual property, key contracts, inventory, and fixed assets. Westport also assumed AEC’s Australian leased facility and hired almost a dozen of AEC’s employees.

Advanced Engine Components will

retain inventory and contracts for its business in China, its principal mar-ket for natural gas vehicle systems. AEC’s engine component products are aimed at optimizing engine perfor-mance while lowering vehicle emis-sions and costs.

Original equipment manufacturers that currently use AEC products include Tata Motors Ltd.

Engine Developer Buys Australian Company

News0512.indd 12 4/4/12 11:09 AM


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News0512.indd 13 4/2/12 4:36 PM

The government of India has been considering action to protect the country’s capital goods sector, according to a report in Business Standard, an Indian national business daily. India’s domestic industry has been hurt by imports, the newspaper reported.

The paper cited unnamed sources reporting that a proposal for a non-

tariff measure had circulated among government agencies, including the National Manufacturing Competi-tive Council and the Department of Heavy Industry. The plan would set quality standards, and imports of used machinery, which is largely sold to India’s construction, textiles, and machine tool sectors.

The newspaper said production in the

capital goods industry in India declined 2.9 percent for the first nine months of the current fiscal year. Production declined 16.5 percent in December.

The paper added that imports of new equipment, primarily because of low prices from Chinese manufacturers, are also cutting into the market for domestic machinery, especially in the power sector.

India Considers Protection for Capital Goods Sector

China expects to increase its annual coal production capacity by 740 megatons during the current Five-Year Plan period, which ends in 2015, according to a report carried by People’s Daily.

Citing information from China’s National Energy Administra-tion, the newspaper said the country’s coal production capac-ity will rise to 4.1 gigatons by 2015. Annual coal output will be controlled at approximately 3.9 gigatons, 660 megatons more

than was produced in 2010. Much of the planned 3.9 gigatons of coal produced in 2015 will be used for generating electricity and producing high-quality coke, the paper said.

There will be several large coal producers with annual capacities ranging from 50 to 100 megatons each, and the total number of coal companies will be limited through mergers and acquisitions to 4,000, with an average annual coal output of more than 1 megaton.


Coal Capacity Increases in Five-Year Plan

GLOBAL windOw

A BIg ForeCAst For IndIA

The world’s largest economies

India will be the largest national economy in the world in 2050, according to The Wealth Report 2012, a joint publication of Knight Frank, an international real estate services firm based in London, and Citi Private Bank, a division of Citigroup Inc. that provides banking services to wealthy families and individuals. Gross domestic product, stated in tril-lions of U.S. dollars, is calculated by purchasing power parity. The Wealth Report 2012 is available online at http://www.thewealthreport.net/.

A 300-meter section of China’s new high-speed rail network was damaged, apparently by heavy rain,

and needed to be rebuilt. The damaged section of track was in Hubei Province and lies on the Hanyi High-Speed Rail-way, which links the provincial capital Wuhan and Yichang city.

The line is scheduled to open this month.

According to People’s Daily, workers called in to carry out the emergency repairs said heavy rain may have caused the collapse.

Meanwhile, China News Center reported that as much as 7.2 kilometers of track may have subsided more than safe use permits. Repairs, according to that story, could take as long as a month.

A collision of two high-speed trains last summer in Zhejiang Province killed 40 people. Lightning caused power outages last summer on the Beijing-Shanghai line, causing delays and raising doubts about the reliability of the technology.

The high-speed rail project in China also has been the subject of conflicting reports concerning funding and con-struction. Two stories quoted the same official, Wang Mengshu.

People’s Daily quoted him to say that work would resume on 6,000 km of halted railway projects this year, and that money would be allocated gradually. Then, according to a Beijing-based reporter for The Telegraph of the U.K., Wang said the rail ministry “has already taken 240 billion yuan of loans, and if it takes much more, how can it pay the interest?”

The reporter, Charles Moore, wrote that the high-speed rail program was out of money and would be scaled back this year.

In a later report, by the news agency Xinhua, Wu Qiang, director of the transportation unit of the Ministry of Railways, said, “Investment in railways will total 500 billion yuan ($79.37 billion U.S.) this year, and the money used for railways under con-struction is assured.”

High-Speed Rail Repairs

2010 GDP $tn1 U.S. 14.122 China 9.983 Japan 4.334 India 3.925 Germany 2.916 Russia 2.207 Brazil 2.168 U.K. 2.169 France 2.1210 Italy 1.75

2050 GDP $tn1 India 85.972 China 80.023 U.S. 39.074 Indonesia 13.935 Brazil 11.586 Nigeria 9.517 Russia 7.778 Mexico 6.579 Japan 6.4810 Egypt 6.02

GlobalW0512.indd 14 4/2/12 10:18 AM

May 2012 | mechanical engineering 15

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has introduced a bill that could move forward the plan to store nuclear waste at Yucca Mountain, or lead to rebates of several billion dollars from the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund back to utilities and their customers. “The Nuclear Waste Fund Relief and Rebate Act” sets a short deadline for the president to confirm Yucca Mountain as the repository for the nation’s high-level nuclear waste, and failure to comply would trigger rebates.

Graham, a Republican, was backed by four Republican co-sponsors—Jim DeMint of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

Among its provisions, the bill requires

that within 30 days of passage, the pres-ident must certify that Yucca Mountain remains the preferred choice to serve as the federal repository for spent nuclear fuel and defense-related nuclear waste. If the president fails to make the certifi-cation, or revokes it later, all funds cur-rently in the Nuclear Waste Trust Fund are to be rebated back to the utilities. Three-quarters of the amount rebated would be returned to customers, and the rest used to make security and stor-age upgrades at nuclear power plants.

In order to help mitigate the risk associated with the indefinite storage of defense waste, the legislation autho-rizes payments of up to $100 million per year if defense waste has not begun to have left the states by 2017.

washington window

Yucca Mountain or Your Money Back

These stories are condensed from “Capitol Update,” a weekly report prepared by ASME Government Relations. More information is available a www.asme.org/kb/newsletters/capitol-update.

Praise for DOE

ARepublican Senator voiced praise for some of the research programs of the Department of Energy during budget hearings.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu was questioned by the Senate Appropria-tions Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water.

Ranking member Lamar Alexander, Republican of Tennessee, praised several DOE programs, including the Innovation Hubs and the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy pro-gram. He also asked the Secretary about the support for small modular reactors in the DOE Office of Nuclear Energy. SMRs received about $100 million in fiscal 2012, but the 2013 request is for $65 million. The DOE has committed to help fund a five-year and $452 million program for SMR reactor concepts.

The administration has requested a 3.2 percent increase in the DOE budget to $27.2 billion for fiscal 2013.

William Brinkman, the DOE’s assistant secretary and director of the Office of Science, appeared before the House Appropriations Energy and Water Subcommittee.

During his opening statement, Rodney Frelinghuysen, a Republican of New Jersey, commended Brinkman for bringing forward what he felt was a more reasonable budget request. The Office of Science budget request for fiscal 2013 is $5 billion, a 2.4 percent increase over fiscal 2012.

President Obama has proposed an initiative focused on strengthening and ensuring the long-term competitive-ness and job-creating power of U.S. manufacturing.

The proposal would build a network of up to 15 Institutes for Manufacturing Innovation, serving as regional hubs of manufacturing excellence to help make the nation’s manufacturers more competitive and encourage investment in the United States. The president’s budget for fiscal 2013 proposes a $1 billion investment to create a National Network for Manufacturing Innovation within the National Institute of

Standards and Technology. The president also said his administration will take immediate

steps to launch a pilot institute for manufacturing innovation. The pilot institute will be funded from $45 million of exist-ing resources from the Departments of Defense, Energy, and Commerce, and the National Science Foundation, and will be selected from a competitive application process.

The National Network for Manufacturing Innovation will work to leverage new investment from industry, state, and local gov-ernment, and from the research community.

Proposal for Manufacturing Innovation

A bipartisan group of Senators has introduced legislation proposing a two-year extension of the wind energy production tax credit, which is scheduled to expire at the end of the year. Three Republicans—Chuck Grassley of Iowa, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, and Dean Heller of Nevada—have joined four Democrats—Mark Udall of Colorado, Tom Harkin of Iowa, Ron Wyden of Oregon, and

Michael Bennet of Colorado—to intro-duce the “American Energy and Job Promotion Act,” which would bridge a lapse in the tax credit. The Senators say that, without an extension, as many as 37,000 jobs nationwide could be lost.

Grassley authored the first-ever wind production tax credit in 1992. The incentive was designed to give wind energy the ability to compete against coal-fired and nuclear energy.

Bipartisan Backing for Wind poWer

WashingtonW0512.indd 15 4/3/12 10:51 AM

COMPUTING This section was written by Associate Editor Jean Thilmany.

TIM

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m This Easter egg, featuring layers of mesh and apertures, was created

via additive manufacturing

Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have devised a com-puter algorithm that enabled them to swiftly sort through millions of reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to fi nd previously unidentifi ed drug side e� ects.

The method uncovered unsuspected interactions between pairs of drugs. Notably, it found that antidepressants called SSRIs interact with a common blood pressure medica-tion to signifi cantly increase the risk of a potentially deadly heart condition, said Russ Altman, a professor of bioengineering, genetics, and medicine at Stanford. He helped design and test the algorithm.

Clinical trials are meant to show that a drug is safe and e� ective. But even the

largest trials can’t identify irksome or even dangerous side e� ects experienced by a tiny proportion of people taking them, Altman said.

They also aren’t designed to study how drugs interact with one another in the human body—a consideration that becomes increasingly important as

people age.“The average

70-year-old is tak-ing seven di� erent prescription medica-tions,” Altman said. “The FDA has a data-base for patients and physicians to report possible adverse drug

events, but it’s very di� cult to uncover true side e� ects because people vary in their medical histories, conditions, and drug regimens.”

And many of the 4 million reports in that database, the FDA Adverse Event

Reporting System, are little more than anecdotal, he added.

Nicholas Tatonetti, Altman’s gradu-ate student, developed a way to run a study of the database data, matching up groups of people alike as possible, with the exception of one drug variable.

If signifi cantly more of the people on the drug reported an adverse event, such as headaches or vomiting, than did those who were not taking the drug, it is likely that the varied drug was the culprit, Tatonetti said.

After analyzing results, the researchers have created two publicly available databases of their work: O� sides and Twosides.

So far, the O� sides database includes an average of 329 new adverse events for each of the 1,332 drugs included in the system. The average number of adverse events listed on a drug’s pack-age insert is 69, Altman said.

The Twosides database identifi es 1,301 adverse events, resulting from an analy-sis of 59,220 pairs of drugs.

Drug Test

l Some medica-tions have side effects only a few experience.

Laser Egg

Some of the hunters at the Fabergé Big Egg Hunt in London this spring may have been scratching their heads as to how one particular egg was made.

The public egg hunt, which took place during six weeks

from February to April, was a treasure hunt and charity event during which hunters sought more than 200 fi berglass eggs designed by artists and hidden in nooks and crannies throughout the city.

The hunt organizers hoped to raise more than $3 million for two charities: Action for Children and Elephant Family.

One egg in particular featured an intricate three-dimensional construct with layer upon layer of mesh and apertures. That egg was impossible to manufacture by any method but laser-sintering, an additive manufacturing process.

Daniel Welham, who conceived the laser-sintered egg, is an architect with the fi rm Fourfoursixsix of London. Architects at

the fi rm designed the egg. “We decided to consciously move away from

the development of a merely surface treatment to the egg,” Welham said. “The geometry pro-vided us with the perfect platform to apply a set of architectural principles to the overall form. Through this process we played with structure,

light, and shadow, and began to develop a three-dimensional architectural terrain.”

The egg was manufactured via the laser sintering process. For laser sintering, the CAD model is digitally sliced into thin layers, then the geometry is manufactured layer by layer

First, a thin powder layer of plastic, metal, or molding sand is applied. A focused laser beam solidifi es the powder, according to the cross-sectioned CAD model. Once a layer is completed, the process starts all over again until the product is complete.

The architectural fi rm used a laser-sintering machine from EOS of Munich, Germany.

“Our egg aims to show the potential of 3-D design and pro-duction methods,” Welham said.

Comp0512B.indd 16 4/2/12 4:48 PM


Make Way for Robots

Robots could one day navigate through constantly changing surroundings with virtually no input from humans, or blind people could make their way unaided through crowded buildings.

That hope comes with the development of a hardware and software system that allows robots to build and continuously update a three-dimensional map of their environment using a low-cost camera and on-board algo-rithms. Researchers at Massa-chusetts Institute of Technology are at work on the system in the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory.

To explore unknown environ-ments, robots need to be able to map them as they move around—estimating the distance between themselves and nearby walls, for example—and to plan a route around any obstacles, said Mau-rice Fallon, a researcher at the lab. He’s developing the system with John Leonard, professor of mechanical and ocean engineer-ing at the university, and Hordur Johannsson, a graduate student. Seth Teller, head of the robotics, vision, and sen-sor networks group at the MIT lab, is principal investigator.

While a large amount of research has been devoted to developing maps that robots can use to navigate around an area, these systems cannot adjust to changes in the surround-ings, Fallon said.

“If you see objects that were not there previously, it is difficult for a robot to incorporate that into its map,” he said.

The new approach, based on a tech-nique called simultaneous localiza-tion and mapping, or SLAM for short, will allow robots to constantly update a map as they learn new information over time, he said.

As the robot travels through an unexplored area, a low-cost sen-sor’s visible-light video camera and infrared depth sensor scan the sur-roundings, building up a 3-D model of the walls of the room and the objects within it. Then, when the robot passes through the same area again,

the system’s software compares the features of the new image it has created—including details such as the edges of walls—with all the previous images it has taken until it finds a match, Fallon said.

At the same time, the system constantly estimates the robot’s motion, using on-board sensors that measure distance accord-ing to rotation of the wheels. By combining the visual informa-tion with this motion data, it can determine where within the building the robot is positioned. Combining the two sources of information allows the system to eliminate errors that might creep in if it relied on the robot’s on-board sensors alone, he said.

Once the system is certain of its location, any new features that have appeared since the previous picture was taken can be incor-porated into the map by combin-ing the old and new images of the scene, he said.

Ultimately, the algorithms could allow robots—or the blind—to

plan their own routes through buildings, or other unknown environments and constantly changing obstacles.

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m An MIT-built robot can navigate through always-changing landscapes without hitting anything.

Analysts at CIMdata of Ann Arbor, Mich., a product lifecycle manage-ment consulting and research firm, recently published a report that highlights body-in-white analysis and addresses how simulation manage-ment and computational fluid dynam-ics, when linked, can reduce product turnaround time.

This report is based on a presenta-tion made at the firm’s PLM Road Map conference held in fall 2011. The pre-sentation was made by Walter Bauer, manager of vehicle thermal manage-ment at Daimler AG, and Thomas Walker, manager of CAE custom tools worldwide engineering services at CD-adapco of New York.

Daimler has integrated a simula-tion management system into a PLM

environment, Bauer said. Customized add-on modules for the simulation make it easier for those who aren’t overly familiar with computer-aided engineering or CFD software to per-form the work, Bauer said.

The integration allows data to be shared across the engineering pro-cess. Geometry and material data are imported into the system, which then generates temperature results and makes recommendations for placing thermocouples for physical testing, according to the report.

“Simulation Management: A Vision of PLM-to-Simulation Workflow Supported by Customized Software Modules” is available for download at: https://plmforesight.cimdata.com?download=SimulationManagement.

Shared Sims

Comp0512B.indd 17 3/30/12 4:23 PM

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”

Improving Lives through InnovationTM

As the leading manufacturer of OEM pumps and compressors, our innovation in design and technology has helped our customers create new innovative products and become leaders in their marketplace.

For more information on how Thomas innovation can help you lead your industry, go to gd-thomas.com/me5.

- Steve Jobs

850-815 Thomas_penguin_me.indd 1 3/26/12 9:28 AM


Comp0512B.indd 18 4/4/12 11:59 AM

COMPUTING

Fracture Fighter

Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp. recently deployed the fi rst stage of a product lifecycle management system. The two vehicle makers are subsidiaries of Hyundai Motor Group.

The system enables the companies’ engineers to work on designs and prod-ucts concurrently and to keep abreast of rapidly changing vehicle requirements,

no matter where they’re located, said ChangKy Kang, executive vice presi-dent and head of the company’s Vehicle Development Center 4.

The PLM system is the Windchill solution from PTC of Needham, Mass.

In late 2011, the system was opened to users on key car programs. It will be soon be expanded and adopted for all vehicle programs, Kang said.

PLM for Vehicles

AB

AQ

US

Close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. It doesn’t count at all in design, espe-cially of hand grenades.

The weapon needs proven reliability and predictable performance even when handled roughly or accidentally dropped. Design simulation via fi nite element analysis can be a good way to establish those safeguards.

At the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center, or ARDEC, at Picatinny Arse-nal in New Jersey, design

engineers evaluated the extended fi nite element method environment included within the Abaqus/Standard FEA sys-tem, according to Abaqus.

The software looks at fracture failure—a mode of material breakage under a load—even when the cracks don’t follow element boundaries.

A standard FEA model generally only simulates cracks as they propagate

along element boundaries. The extend-ed fi nite system models cracks between elements, according to Abaqus.

The Abaqus software is from Simulia, a Dassault Systèmes brand.

For the most complete picture of fracture failure, the ARDEC designers turned to a technique called co-simu-lation—simultaneously running two di� erent solvers on the same model. This gave them extended-fi nite-system

simulation and simulation over time.To prove their approach, the

engineers simulated a drop test of an M67 fragmentation

grenade—the type currently used by the U.S. military. In

physical tests, the grenade is dropped in several orienta-tions to ensure safety and functionality.Looking for a worst-case

scenario, the ARDEC engineers ran a simulation over time and dis-

covered that the highest stress occurred when the grenade hit the ground on the upper corner of the safety handle.

According to Abaqus, co-simulation enabled the ARDEC engineers to retain their simulation over time environment for transient analyses and augment it with the fracture failure capabilities now o� ered within the software.

The run-time savings will help ARDEC continue to explore the potential of using co-simulation in the future. In addition to simulating drop tests with XFEM, ARDEC engineers hope to use it for concrete penetration, gun launch, and other tests.

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.”


As the leading manufacturer of OEM pumps and compressors, our innovation in design and technology has helped our customers create new innovative products and become leaders in their marketplace.

For more information on how Thomas innovation can help you lead your industry, go to gd-thomas.com/me5.

- Steve Jobs

850-815 Thomas_penguin_me.indd 1 3/26/12 9:28 AM


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• Compact – 3.6” x 1.66” x 4.34”

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• Lightweight – only 1.16 lbs.

• 12V or 24V models available

For more information on the innovative 135 Series DC pump, go to gd-thomas.com/me5.


m An M67 hand grenade and a drop-test simulation using Abaqus FEA software, which confirmed physical test results.

At the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development, and

ARDEC, at Picatinny Arse-

This gave them extended-fi nite-system simulation and simulation over time.

To prove their approach, the engineers simulated a drop

test of an M67 fragmentation grenade—the type currently

used by the U.S. military. In physical tests, the grenade is dropped in several orienta-tions to ensure safety and

scenario, the ARDEC engineers ran a simulation over time and dis-

Comp0512B.indd 19 4/2/12 4:49 PM


Composites toolCapability: SwiftComp Micromechanics version 3.0—also known as Vamuch—is a general-purpose micromechanics tool used for composites with complex microstructures. The program predicts effective multiphysical properties with one analysis and recovers detailed local fields. It can handle arbitrary microstructures and all the common physical properties. For instance, it can be used to calculate the complete set of effective fully coupled multiphysical properties—including thermal, elastic, electric, and magnetic—for arbitrary heterogeneous materials with arbitrary microstructure. Hardware: PC running multiple op-erating systems, including Windows, Linux, and Mac.Developer: Utah State University; mar-keted by AnalySwift LLC, 570 Research Park Way, Ste. 101, North Logan, UT 84341; (801) 599-5879; fax (435) 797-9612; www.analyswift.com. Cost: Free.www.me.hotims.com/40246-71 or circle 71

materials researCh Capability: Avizo Fire, 3-D visualization and analysis software for nondestruc-tive testing, industrial inspection, and materials research, has been upgraded to version 7. This version introduces several automated workflows to help users perform complex analyses. Upon loading 3-D images, the software program now automatically computes

the threshold of each material phase and displays the resulting levels in each visualization module. Hardware: PC running Windows XP, Vista, or 7.Developer: Visualization Sciences Group, 35 Corporate Drive, 4th Floor, Burlington, MA 01803; (781) 685-4855; fax (781) 685-4601; www.vsg3d.com. Cost: $13,500, starting; academic re-search pricing available.www.me.hotims.com/40246-72 or circle 72

Video instruCtionCapability: Users of Inventor Publisher software can take advantage of an upgrade that allows manufacturers to publish 3-D instructional videos directly to YouTube or Facebook. The “Publish to Social” option allows us-ers to publish product how-to guides online.Hardware: PC running Inventor Publisher.Developer: Autodesk, 111 McInnis Pkwy., San Rafael, CA 94903; (800) 964-6432; usa.autodesk.com.Cost: Free.www.me.hotims.com/40246-73 or circle 73

data renderingCapability: KeyShot, recently upgraded to version 3, renders data from 3-D models into photorealistic images. Files that can be directly imported include BIP files, Alias, Creo, Rhinoceros, SketchUp, SolidWorks, SolidEdge, Pro/Engineer, IGES, STEP, OBJ, 3ds, Collada, and FBX. New within this version is a metallic paint material choice and a feature for real-time editing of the lighting environments. Material templates are customizable, so users can automatically assign materials to any model or import. Also included in this version is a network feature that queues jobs to be rendered and spreads the jobs across multiple computers. KeyShot includes 2.1 megapixel real-time resolution, 4.1 megapixel offline rendering resolution. KeyShot Pro offers unlimited real-time resolution, unlimited offline rendering resolution, and the capability to render in separate processes. The versions are also available with animation included; or animation can be purchased for an additional cost.Hardware: PC running the Windows or Macintosh operating systems.Developer: Luxion, 18201 Von Karman Ave., Ste. 970, Irvine, CA 92612; (949) 274-8871; fax (949) 266-9523; www.keyshot.com.Cost: KeyShot, $995; KeyShot Pro, $1,995; animation add-on, $500.www.me.hotims.com/40246-70 or circle 70

software exchange

Describe the software program in detail, following the format shown here. You may include artwork. Send your submissions to:

Software ExchangeMechanical EngineeringThree Park AvenueNew York, NY 10016-5990fax: (212) 591-7841e-mail: [email protected]

ME does not test or endorse any software program described in this section.

+submissions for software exchange

Lux

ion

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p Import a 3-D model into the Keyshot rendering system, paint it, choose the appropriate lighting and background, and create an image with photographic realism.

p the visualization and analysis software, avizo fire version 7, analyzes multi-modal 3-D information.

software0512.indd 20 3/28/12 3:50 PM

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software0512.indd 21 4/4/12 11:52 AM

General Motors and NASA are designing a wearable robotic glove that gives humans a stronger grasp while potentially reducing the risk of repetitive stress injuries. The device is a spinoff of a humanlike robotic hand developed for the Inter-national Space Station’s Robonaut 2 robot.

The Robonaut hand represented a radical departure from most robotic grippers. Instead being limited to specific, robot-ready tools, the Robonaut hand is designed so that the Robonaut could work alongside astronauts and share the same box of tools. That means grasping and manipulating a variety of tools in ways that mimic at least some of the human hand’s dexterity.

It is no surprise, then, that the Robonaut hand has 14 degrees of freedom, plus sensors to check how well it grasps an object.

The Robonaut hand consists of three seg-ments. First, there is a 4-in. diameter, 8-in. long forearm which houses all 14 motors and the 12 circuits to control and drive them. Then comes a wrist with two degree of freedom. Finally, there is a hand with five fingers shock-mounted into a palm. It has 12 degrees of free-dom, and is divided into two functional working groups.

The first is the dexterous work set for precision manipulation. It consists of two fingers (index and middle) and an opposable thumb; all three fingers have three degrees of freedom each.

Then there is the grasping set, which stabilizes the grasp while the hand manipulates or actuates an object. It consists of two fingers (ring and pinkie) and a palm. All three units have one degree of freedom.

The new Robot-Glove builds on the Robonaut design. Finger actuators, embedded in the forearm portion of the glove, supply grasping support for human fingers. Pressure sensors, similar to those on the Robonaut hand, detect when a user grasps a tool. This activates cables acting as synthet-ic tendons, which retract automatically to pull the fingers into a gripping position. The hand holds this position until human grasp relaxes, which signals the sensor to release the grip.

According to GM, research shows that gripping a tool continuously can fatigue hand muscles within a few minutes.

“When fully developed, the Robo-Glove has the potential to reduce the amount of force that an auto worker would need to exert when operating a tool for an extended time or with repetitive motions. In so doing, it is expected to reduce the risk of repetitive stress injury,”

said GM's manufacturing engineering director, Dana Komin. GM and NASA have filed 21 patent applications for the

Robonaut hand, and four for the Robo-Glove. According to the Robonaut 2 project manager, Ron Diftler, the

Robo-Glove is the first of several inventions the team plans to spin off from the project. Another is the robotic arms that NASA will use on its multimission space exploration vehicle.


techfocus This section was edited by Associate Editor Alan S. Brown

Materials & Assembly

Robo-Glove

NA

SAm A robotic exoskeleton, based

on a Robonaut hand.

Industrial networking is exploding, according to The World Market for Industrial Networking by Britishmarket analysis firm IMS Research. It estimated that manufacturers installed 31 million new fieldbus and Ethernet nodes in 2011. It projects the number of new nodes will grow 10 percent annually, to 45 million in 2015.

Servo and inverter drives are pac-ing the growth, as the percentage of network-enabled drives rises, according to IMS's Graham Brown. Manufactur-ers see networked drives as an effective way to boost factory efficiency.

Drive growth varies with both industry and region. “The adoption of medium-voltage drives, for example, is growing in the oil and gas industry. Growth in shipments of servo drives is in the machine-tool industry,” Brown said.

In the Europe-Middle East-Africa region and the Americas, networking is growing fastest in servo and inverter drives. At 12 percent annual growth IMS projects network connections for 3.5 million inverter drives and 0.8 mil-lion servo drives in 2015.

Networked devices are growing even

faster in the dynamic Asia-Pacific region, 15 percent per year. This is because the region is building so many new plants, and manufacturers want the most productive equipment they can buy. This goes beyond drives.

“Heavy spending on industrial and infrastructure projects means that markets for several industrial prod-ucts, particularly operator terminals and industrial PCs, are also growing quickly at over 14 percent per year. This suggests that the strong growth already seen in automation and in turn indus-trial networking in Asia Pacific is likely to continue,” Brown said.

Drives Drive Industrial Networking

tech0512B.indd 22 4/3/12 4:08 PM

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Rockwell Automation’s acquisition of SoftSwitching Technologies, a Middleton, Wis., company that ensures industrial power quality, underscores again the way automation is changing the role of electrical power in

manufacturing.SoftSwitching Technologies specializes in correcting brief dips

in power called voltage sags. In 1999, the Electric Power Research Institute found that sags caused 96 percent of all manufacturing power problems.

According to SoftSwitching, nearly all of them last less than 2 sec-onds, and 60 percent of them less than 0.1 second. In today’s highly automated factories, that is long enough to shut down control sys-tems, freeze machinery, and cause precision instruments to fail.

“Brief power disruptions account for up to 70 percent of all unscheduled downtime in manufacturing today,” said Bob Len-non, Rockwell’s vice president of industrial components.

What makes voltage sags especially galling is that they hap-pen fast and leave so little evidence behind. Engineers can waste hours searching for phantom machinery or software issues.

The economic impact can be staggering. SoftSwitching estimated that major automakers su� er production loses of 10 to 30 cars per voltage sag, and sags occur 10 to 20 times per year at each plant. Factories lose millions of dollars when sags during drawing opera-tions cause optical fi ber cables to snap. Semiconductor manufac-turers that shut down while fabricating nearly fi nished wafers have to throw the wafers away, and that costs millions of dollars, too.

SoftSwitching provides two solutions. The fi rst is a family of dynamic sag correctors. These use the company’s patented double-conversion inverter technology. According to Rockwell, they have cost and performance advantages over other power quality technologies, such as batteries, three-phase uninterrupt-ible power supplies, and constant voltage transformers.

The company also operates a network that monitors the power grid and alerts manufacturers about disruptions.

“This acquisition provides the necessary resources to extend all SoftSwitching Technologies’s unique technologies into many more applications through the Rockwell Automation global chan-nels network,” said Jason Doescher, SoftSwitching Technologies' chief fi nancial o� cer.

Rockwell Takes on Dirty Power

l Automated factories need clean power to run productively.

GE

NE

RA

L M

OTO

RS

tech0512B.indd 23 3/30/12 4:27 PM

Sales of robots and manufacturing technology rose sharply in 2011 and look solid going into 2012. The data suggest that industries around the world are investing in automation to reduce labor costs and

also to improve product quality.Sales of industrial robots in 2011 rose 30 percent, to

150,000 units, a new record, according to initial data from International Federation of Robotics.

“We were sure about a good year in 2011 but the results have been far better than the expectations,” said Arturo Baroncelli, the organization’s vice president. As recently as September, the organization was predicting an 18 percent increase in 2011.

"In a still unclear worldwide economic scenario one thing is certain: the use of robots always guarantees fast return of investments and dramatic improvements in terms of qual-ity. And this is true both in car and general industry, both in emerging countries and nations having a long industrial tradition," he added.

Robot sales plummeted 47 percent in 2009 as the Great Recession rolled over the world’s economies. They bounced back in 2010, with sales nearly doubling to 118,337 units.

The automotive industry, which historically absorbed the vast majority of robots, led the rebound. The recovery also benefi tted as China, South Korea, and other Asian nations more than doubled their investment in robots.

The trend broadened in 2011. “Growth in the automotive sector continued unabated and was strongly supported by an increased uptake in growth segments such as electron-ics, solar, and food and beverage,” according to Per Vegard Nerseth, head of ABB Robotics. Asia continued to grow in 2011, and he expects this will continue through 2012.

Reshoring may have boosted robot sales in the United States, according to John Dulchinos, president of Adept Technology. “I think another factor we saw in 2011 was the decision by many U.S. manufacturing companies to keep manufacturing at home by automating, and in some cases, bringing back manufacturing that had previously been sent overseas.”

Other indicators point to continued U.S. investment in factory productivity. According to the Association for Manufacturing Technology, manufacturing technology orders rose by 66 percent in 2011, to $5.5 billion.

The association’s defi nition of “manufacturing technol-

Robot, Technology Sales Rise

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tech0512B.indd 24 3/30/12 4:43 PM

ogy” includes invest-ment in domestic and imported machine tools and related equipment. Since the vast majority of factory machinery today uses electronic controls and is often networked, the defi ni-tion captures invest-ment in technology.

The association’s pres-ident, Douglas Woods, said 2011 was the stron-gest year in more than a decade. “The 66 percent increase is nearly 20 points higher than forecasters predicted, which is great news in terms of reducing the foreign trade defi cit. Manu-factured goods represent more than 65 percent of trade, so the rise of U.S. manufactured products will help reduce our reliance on imports and support growth in exports,” he said.

The upward arc appears to have fl attened at the end of 2011. Through October, orders had been running more than 80 percent ahead of 2010. Going into 2012, January

orders were up 8 percent from January 2011, but down 27 percent from December 2011.

Still, Woods has reason to be optimistic going into 2012. While many factories are investing in new equipment, oth-ers held o� . As a result, the average age of U.S. factory machinery rose to 13.5 years in 2011, from 9 years in 2007. With manufacturing booming, companies have begun to invest,

and they are turning to completely new technologies.More companies are buying multioperation machines to

boost productivity. Water-jet cutting and hydroforming are growing rapidly because they o� er productivity similar to traditional processes without distortion or deformation. Other hot trends include the growth of additive manufacturing (such as 3-D printing), nano machining, composites, powder metallurgy, and collaborative or “cloud” manufacturing.

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May 2012 | MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 25

m Factories are increasingly investing in robots and automated equipment. Here, a Dürr robot installs a window.

tech0512B.indd 25 4/4/12 12:34 PM

Energy return on energy investment is a powerful metric for weighing which

energy systems are worth pursuing.By Frank krEith

Renewables4.indd 26 4/5/12 1:10 PM

Frank Kreith is professor emeritus of engineering at the University of Colorado in Boulder and an ASME Honorary Member. He served as chief scientist and ASME Legislative Fellow at the National Conference of State Legislatures from 1988 to 2001 and was senior research fellow at the Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Kreith is the author of more than 100 articles and books, most recently Principles of Sustainable Energy (CRC Press, 2011). ASME established an award in his name in 2005.

Engineers are still trying to under-stand how the concept of sustainability fits in with our profession. It’s reasonable that engineers would have trouble with something like sustainability: There are no equations to solve that can optimize it and no widely agreed upon standards to which we can adhere. In fact, the concept is so nebulous that it fails the “know it when we see it” test.

In spite of this difficulty, no subject is more important to the engineering profes-sion or the wider world that we live in. The first decades of this new century have pre-sented us with four interlocking crises—a growing global population, depletion of natural resources, degradation of the envi-ronment, and economic instability—that cry out for a new way forward. This is espe-cially true in the field of energy.

The global energy system is mostly based on fossil fuels—coal, petroleum, and natural gas—that are burned to power heat engines, to fuel automobiles, or to provide sensible heat. These fuels have been abundant enough to bring civilization to its present condition. Indeed, according to data from the Energy



Information Administration, oil, coal, and gas account for around 84 percent of the world’s primary energy consump-tion in 2011.

But it is becoming clear that, for a variety of reasons, it would be foolish to depend on them as we progress through this century. For one thing, the overwhelming scientific con-sensus is that emissions from burning fossil fuels are harming the environment: They are trapping atmospheric heat, chang-ing the pH of the oceans, and altering rainfall patterns. What’s more, even if there were not these harmful side effects, there is an even more compelling reason to begin developing alternatives: Fossil fuels will eventually become too de-pleted to use profitably.

A friend of mine once quipped that anyone who believes you can sustain ex-ponential growth in a finite world is either a madman or an economist. And energy use has grown exponentially while fossil fuels are decidedly finite: They arise from the geologic processing of organic sediments over tens of millions of years. One can argue over just how much of those resources remain to be exploited, and some geologists contend that we are approaching the peak rate at which oil can be extracted. It is, however, obvious that the coal, oil, and natural gas supplies which were the easiest to extract have already been extracted, and that as time goes on, and deeper, more difficult, more remote fields are developed, it will become more expensive to produce these fuels. Even new technologies, such as the hydraulic fracturing of geologic deposits, cannot permanently alter that trend.

So in the face of the four major crises of sustainability, fossil fuels are intimately involved with three—resource depletion, economic instability, and environmental degradation. And as a consequence, fossil fuels cannot meet the demand of a grow-ing global population nor can they ensure economic stability. A sustainable energy system, then, is going to be one that re-lies upon some other source of energy.

There are plenty of alternatives. Unfortunately, not every alternative is worth pursuing. What is needed is a metric by which to judge these alternatives in order to know which to invest in and which to ignore.

When planning for a future that is sustainable over the long term—that is, not a horizon that’s defined by the next financial quarter or the next election year, but that extends a generation or more—it’s im-portant to judge energy systems by two metrics. One is traditional economics: how much it costs in dollars and cents. The other is more obscure but no less important: energy return on energy investment, also known as EROI.

EROI is the net energy produced during the life of a system divided by the total energy input to build and run the system.

Energy return on energy investment is a concept that’s de-rived from the world of finance. For an investor who is only interested in a monetary return, there is a simple gauge for determining the viability of a business venture: Return on

investment. That figure is calculated by dividing the net profit yielded by the total amount invested. By that measuring stick, a business venture that provides a $1,000 profit on a $2,000 investment (for an ROI of 50 percent) is better than one that yields $10,000 from a $100,000 investment (and ROI of 10 percent). Since none of us have access to unlimited funds, the return on investment is a useful metric for weighing the rela-tive merit of competing choices for money.

For energy systems, however, money isn’t the only limiting factor. The amount of energy available to run civilization at

any given time, now and in the future, is also limited, and it’s critical to reduce the amount of energy devoted to finding more energy.

One simple analogy is to think of a single organism that needs inputs of food to provide the nutrients to run

its bodily functions and excess calories to enable growth. Ide-ally, access to food would be sufficient that little effort would be needed to get its fill and the organism would grow larger. But the conditions may change to require greater effort to get the same quantity food; the extra energy expended in that effort is energy that can’t be devoted to growth. In the worst-case scenario, the effort required to get food is actually greater than the energy content of the food.

For a more concrete view of energy return on energy in-vestment, you can devise a simple model of society’s energy budget. In that model, the energy input streaming in from all sources—fossil fuels, hydropower, nuclear reactors, every-thing—is divided into four main uses: running the existing economy, maintaining of the infrastructure, replacing de-pleted energy supplies, and growing the economy or adding social amenities. Efficiency in the infrastructure and ease in replacing depleted fuel supplies enable growth. Conversely, the more energy devoted to replacing depleted fuel sources, the less that’s available for amenities or growth.

To calculate EROI properly, it is necessary to be as inclusive as possible: take the total energy that is produced over the lifetime of the system and divide it by the cumulative energy required to build and sustain the energy system. Finding the

numerator is straightforward—the energy produced over the life of a solar panel or a gas turbine or a nucle-

ar power plant is readily calculated. Finding the denominator, however, can be a

headache. If the energy system consumes fuel, the energy content of that fuel must be accounted for.

But so must the electricity that keeps the lights on in the power plant and the diesel that powers an oil drilling

rig. And then one must expand the boundaries to account for the energy consumed elsewhere in the economy to pro-duce the capital equipment needed to build the energy sys-tem, everything from the hydropower that runs aluminum smelting operations to the gasoline in the cars of factory workers. It’s a complicated business, and when looking at individual processes, the results can vary depending on the

Energy return from system operationsEnergy to extract fuel and build plant and infrastructure

EROI =

EnERgy REtuRn On EnERgy InvEstmEnt

For energy systems, money isn’t the only limiting factor.the amount of energy available is also limited, and it’s critical to

reduce the amount devoted to finding more energy.



assumptions you make in your analysis. Fortunately, there is an alternative method that

routes around the tedious accounting of every step in production. Prior economic analysis has been able to map out the fl ows of money and material from each sector of the national economy to every other sector. The result is a vast matrix known as an input-output table. Such tables are computed as money fl ows, but they can be converted to energy fl ows by looking at gross energy consumption in a sector of an economy and then assigning that energy proportionally to the economic output of that sector to fi nd its energy intensity. So instead of trying to calculate the total energy needed to produce a power plant by tracing each material and labor input back to the soil itself, you can sum up the input from each sector of the national economy, multiply each dollar fi gure by that sector’s energy intensity, and that sum should provide the total energy needed to construct the plant.

Tables exist of the computed energy intensity of various goods and services, and they are about as inter-esting as econometric tables can be. One will fi nd, for example, that the services that have grown rapidly in the 21st century economy, such as real estate, banking, and medicine, require very little in the way of energy in-put. But the great in-dustries of the last cen-tury—steelmaking and motor manufacturing and plastics—are all relatively energy intensive, as are the concrete, heavy ma-chinery, and electrical hardware needed to build the national energy infrastructure.

FOSSIL FUELS PROVIDED AN ENORMOUS energy return for the energy invested in fi nding them when they were fi rst exploit-ed. In the 1930s, for instance, petroleum exploration required the investment of the equivalent of just one barrel of oil to produce 100 barrels. Similarly coal had an EROI greater than 80. The comic premise of the old television show, The Beverly Hillbillies—that a stray bullet unleashed a gusher of oil—was an exaggeration, but not by much.

Such returns were revolutionary. For most of human his-tory, energy returns of invested energy were abysmal, though accounting is made di� cult because much of the energy input came in the form of human or animal labor. The old rule of thumb that about a third of a farm’s acreage needed to be set aside to feed draft animals is suggestive of the EROI of that form of power.

Exploiting fossil fuels, however, provided an enormous en-ergy surplus. With only a small percent of the energy extract-

ed needing to be reinvested into energy development, society had the kind of windfall needed to make huge strides not only in raising the standard of liv-ing but also in increasing the population capable of receiving a high standard of living. No one who lived

through the 20th century would call it a paradise, but more people were lifted out of subsistence peasantry

during those 100 years than in any time in history.But even before that century concluded, serious problems

were becoming apparent. Some of these have received a great deal of attention—pollution and population over-shoot especially—while others have been somewhat hid-den. One such hidden problem is the decline in EROI from fossil fuel production.

It is only natural that when fossil fuels were fi rst discovered, the most readily available and least expensive resources were developed fi rst. But when the coal seams closest to the surface and the oil fi elds that were most accessible became depleted—as all fossil fuel deposits must—then mining and drilling oper-

ations had to go deeper and further afi eld to fi nd new resources.

New technology made that feasible, just as a ladder makes pick-ing the not-so-low-hanging fruit possible, but the added technol-ogy and infrastructure increased the amount of energy investment needed for production. What’s more, the new fi elds and coal seams were often smaller or of inferior quality fuels

than the earlier ones. The combination of a higher denomina-tor of invested energy and a lower numerator of lifetime pro-duction led to a lower EROI over time.

For petroleum, the drop in EROI has been dramatic, ac-cording to researchers such as Cutler Cleveland at Boston University, Charles Hall at the State University of New York at Syracuse, and Carey King at the University of Texas at Austin. “The EROI for fi nding oil and gas has decreased from over 1000 in 1919 to 5 today,” said Hall, “while the EROI for producing oil and gas has declined from about 30 in 1970 to 10 today.” Oil derived from tar sands, such as those exploited in Alberta, can have EROIs as low as 3.

Conventional natural gas has had a similar decline. And the EROI for coal mining declined considerably by the 1980s, but the increasing use of surface mining, while producing environmental problems, has returned the fi gure to what it was in the 1950s, according to some calculations. It should be noted that when gas and coal are converted into electric-ity, their EROIs are reduced further by the inverse of the plant e� ciency�as little as 35 percent for some coal-fi red plants�and the energy embedded in the power plant itself.

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

100 80 60 40 20 1

Energy Return

Energy Investment

Finding petroleum in 1930

1970

2012

1990

100 80 60 40 20 1 Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROI) Energy Return on Energy Investment (EROI)

Energy Return

Nuclear

Ethanol

Wind Energy

Conservation

CoalMining Solar

Energy Investment

When the EROI of a system falls below 10 or so, the net energy return begins to fall rapidly when compared to the amount of energy investment. Petroleum seems to

be in terminal decline, while wind, solar and conservation look promising.



New technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing can increase oil and gas production in the short term, as it has in places such as the Bakken Formation of North Dakota and the Marcellus Shales of Appalachia. But they will not stem the decline in EROI. And because every incremental decline in EROI means less net energy available for new energy and economic growth, there is a point below which an energy source is not sustainable.

By some calculations, an EROI in the 3-to-5 range does not supply enough surplus energy to sustain modern civilization. Some oil production is already below that standard, and over time, it is expected that oil’s EROI will only decline further as petroleum companies drill in deep oceans and the Arctic. Con-sidering the central role that oil plays in the modern economy, finding alternative energy sources or reducing consumption must be a goal of supreme importance.

As importAnt As it is to find an alternative to petroleum, it’s vital that whatever new energy source we choose is itself sus-tainable over the long term. Fossil fuels such as coal and natu-ral gas might be useful during the transition away from oil, but the finite nature of each resource and the inherent problems of continued environmental degradation and carbon emis-sions means that we shouldn’t expect either coal or natural gas to be a sustainable energy solution.

Another issue is scalability. The amount of energy needed is enormous: the United States alone consumes around 100 quadrillion Btu each year, the energy equivalent of two-thirds of a cubic mile of oil. One alternative, biomass, is a generally low-cost energy source that is well understood and can pro-vide both direct heat and fuel for transportation or electrical generation. But according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the maximum annual harvestable biomass yield for the U.S. is 1.3 billion tons, which represents only about 22 quadrillion Btu.

Just as important, however, is the EROI. Even on that score, biomass doesn’t hold up as a sustainable option. Over the past 25 years, a number of research groups have looked at the is-sue of corn-based ethanol as a motor fuel. The results have been controversial, since the ethanol program in the U.S. is wrapped up in politics, but even the most optimistic studies have found that the energy return for corn-based ethanol is less than 2—too low to be considered sustainable. Other etha-nol feedstocks, such as raw cellulose and sugarcane, may do somewhat better.

While biomass is problematic from an EROI standpoint, other renewable energy sources do much better. A study by Scott W. White of the University of Kansas and Gerard L. Kulcinski of the University of Wisconsin looked at the energy invested in the construction and maintenance of a wind farm built in Minnesota in 1994. White and Kulcinski found that the 25 MW wind farm requires an initial energy investment of nearly 212,744 GJ, or almost 60 million kWh. Nearly a quarter of that energy is tied up in the support tower alone. But in the more than 17 years since the first phase of that farm went online, it has generated an estimated 900 million kWh of elec-tricity. That’s an EROI greater than 16; by the time the tur-

sAmple eroi CAlCulAtionIn a 1998 study of wind farms in the Midwest, Scott W. White (now at the University of Kansas) and Gerald L. Kulcinski of the University of Wisconsin conducted an

analysis of the net energy return for energy investment of the Buffalo Ridge Wind Farm in southwestern Minnesota. (White updated the study in 2007.) The energy investment data presented below is

from their original paper; the energy return and EROI calculations have been updated.

BuffAlo ridge Wind fArm (phAse i)energy investment to construct and maintain a 25 mW wind farm

initiAl energy AnnuAl energy investment (gJ) investment (gJ/gWy)

Blades 6,363 4.76

nacelles 17,499 13.08

inverter 12,385 9.26

Wiring 696 0.52

tower 49,431 36.94

foundation 13,694 10.23

materials total 100,068 74.79

transportation to site 15,094 11

Construction 15,305 11

operation/maintenance 74,625 56

decommissioning 7,652 6

totAl energy investment 212,744 gJ plus 158.79 gJ/gWy

energy return from 25 mW Wind fArm (estimAted)

rated power output 25 mW

Capacity factor 25.6 percent (measured from 1994 to 1998)

hours of operation ~153,000 (since 1994)

Conversion factor 3,600 J/Wh

totAl energy return ~3,500,000 gJ

energy return on energy investment

net energy 3,500,000 gJ

energy investment 212,744 gJ

eroi since 1994 16.5

eroi over 25-year operation 23.5

Data: S.W. White and G.L. Kulcinski, “Net Energy Payback and CO2 Emissions from. Wind-Generated Electricity in the Midwest.” December 1998 (UWFDM-1092); S.W. White. “Net Energy Payback and CO2 Emissions from three Midwestern Wind Farms: an Update.” Natural Resources Research/ 2007 DOI:10.1007/s11053-007.



bines are decommissioned, the EROI should be 23 or higher. Other recent studies of wind farms have found EROIs rang-

ing from 14 to 25. And the technology keeps improving: while the average EROI for systems built in 1983 was a mere 2.5, by 1999 the average for new systems had increased to 23.

Solar power is another renewable technology that has kept improving. In some ways, solar power is a misleading term, since the principles and operation of solar thermal power systems are quite distinct from photovoltaics or passive solar heating. But each has followed a curve of greater efficiency and lower costs as mate-rial science and engineering has improved. Thermal applications—both for heat and for power—have improved, so that their EROIs are around 10 for active systems and between 20 and 40 for passive systems, de-pending on the system details and location.

Photovoltaics are still rapidly improving, encompass a wide range of materials and approaches, and are dependent on a number of site-specific factors. Depending on the assumptions made in the calculation, present-day photo-voltaic systems have EROIs ranging from 4 to as high as 20 for a utility-scale installation. Photovoltaic technologies that are more efficient in their use of energy-intensive materials, such as thin film PV, are expected to perform even better.

Other renewable energy technologies are difficult to assess in terms of sustainability. Hydropower can produce enor-mous returns—EROIs in the neighborhood of 100—but the number of optimal sites for new dams is small. And ocean thermal and wave energy systems have not been deployed widely enough to make an assessment.

Nuclear energy is a particularly problematic case. Its opera-tion provides baseline power and doesn’t produce greenhouse gases, and the marginal cost of electricity from a nuclear plant can be quite low after the initial investment has been repaid. But the amount of energy tied up in the construction and eventual decommissioning of the plants can be enormous, so much so that the EROI calculations can be surprisingly low. In the 1970s, for instance, Oak Ridge National Labora-tory conducted an economic analysis of commercial nuclear power plants that determined their EROI to be about 6. More recently, Ceedata, a consultancy in the Netherlands, released a report on the total cost of nuclear power that concluded the EROI was only about 2.3 for an unrealisitcally short life of 30 years; that latter figure was hotly disputed by the World Nuclear Association and other groups.

A more optimistic assessment for nuclear’s EROI is on the order of 10, but that does not include the final safe deposit of spent fuel and decommissioning. The number is also greatly influenced by the operating life of the plant: if a nuclear plant could be safely and reliably run for 60 years, that would increase the EROI, since the net energy return would accu-mulate while the energy investment would not grow substan-tially. Further study is warranted, but it does not appear that the EROI for nuclear power is clearly superior to wind, solar, or hydropower.

EnErgy rEturn on EnErgy invEstmEnt should not be the sole metric by which we measure the sustainability of energy sources. Straight economics are important, as is the net en-ergy gain and the scalability of the resource.

But EROI does provide something of an indicator of the most promising ways forward. Given the limits that the U.S. has placed on energy research and development, we ought not pursue R&D on energy conversion technologies, be it renewable or nonrenewable, that do not promise an EROI

of 5 or greater. Government support, whether in the form of tax credits or di-rect subsidy, should be similarly limited to those best performing technologies. And an estimate of the expected EROI should be part of every grant proposal for energy R&D.

The direction of energy research ought to be toward material science that can ex-

tend the life and lower the cost of renewable energy systems, rather than toward highly theoretical analyses that have over-the-horizon payoffs. Science is important, but it alone won’t make any renewable energy system a success; it must be combined with sound engineering system analysis.

Additionally, the planning for a smooth transition from fossil-based to sustainable energy must include a side-by-side analysis of the economics as well as the EROI of each poten-tial system. The EROI analysis would ensure the long-term viability of the technology, and the commercial analysis would show how much the system will cost and, thereby, provide an estimate of the money required for the installation in the transition period.

There’s one final suite of technologies that must be ad-opted as we move toward a sustainable future: Energy conservation. The payback on even the most mundane energy-saving steps, whether it’s insulating water heaters or installing more efficient light bulbs, can create very large EROIs. Conservation measures in the U.S. have the poten-tial to reduce energy consumption substantially—perhaps

by as much as 50 percent—without negatively impact-ing our standard of living.

That level of energy reduction might seem im-possible, but thanks to conservation measures taken in the aftermath of the Fukushima Daiichi

nuclear plant accident, the Japanese economy ad-justed to an immediate drop of nearly 30 percent in

electricity supply because of the temporary shutdown of the nuclear power sector for safety inspections. Spreading the reduction in energy use over a number of years would lessen the hardship.

The transition from the oil- and coal-based economy we have now to a sustainably based future will not be easy. It must be started now, while our EROI is still relatively high, and it will require a change in lifestyle, sustained political support, and continuing technological improvements. But taking advantage of the low-hanging fruit of conservation and energy efficiency will make that transition easier and much less painful. n

science is important, but it alone won’t make any renewable energy system a

success; it must be combined with sound engineering

system analysis.


Breaking

BarriersTHE

Turbines2.indd 32 4/2/12 10:53 AM


Breaking

Lee S. Langston is an ASME Fellow and professor emeritus of the Mechanical Engineering Department at the University of Connecticut in Storrs. He is a member and a past chair of ASME’s International Gas Turbine Institute.

As gas turbines are ever more widely used, they are achieving new heights of performance.

By lee S. langston

The Swedish runner Gunder Hägg set a number of middle-distance running records in the 1940s. In fact, he set the record for the mile run twice in 1942 and once in 1945.

During the nine years that Hägg’s 1945 record stood, it became something of an obsession for some to see it broken, since, at 4:01.4, it stood tantalizingly close to the four-minute mark.

When finally, in 1954, a 25-year-old medical student named Roger Bannister completed a mile in 3:59.4 at Oxford University’s Iffley Road Track, the jubilation was all out of proportion to the two-second improvement. There was worldwide press coverage of the man who broke the four-minute barrier, and Bannister was eventually knighted for his achievement.

We get hung up on round numbers. Auto racing fans cheered in 1977 when Tom Sneva broke the 200-mile-per-hour barrier for a single qualification lap at the Indianapolis Speedway, as did investors when the Dow Industrials blasted through the 10,000 mark in 1999. And 2003. And 2009.

Last year, the gas turbine electric power industry had a consequential barrier broken. For some years, gas turbine combined cycle power plants had been approaching—but never quite reaching—an overall thermal efficiency of 60 percent, which is almost double that of other power plants. On May 19, however, Siemens announced that its new SCC5-8000H gas turbine combined cycle plant at Irsching, Germany, had just reached a thermal efficiency

The new champion: Siemens’s SgT5-8000h, shown

during assembly (left), is a 375 mw gas turbine that reached a thermal efficiency of 60.75 percent as part

of a combined cycle plant in irsching, germany.

Sie

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of 60.75 percent with an electrical output of 578 MW. This new record-setting combined cycle power plant, fueled by natural gas, has the world’s largest gas turbine, rated at 375 MW (and itself 40 percent efficient), that provides exhaust heat to drive a steam turbine to provide more electrical power.

To be sure, there was nothing magical about the 60 percent efficiency mark for a heat engine. And it seems likely that manufacturers such as General Electric, Mitsubishi, and Siemens itself will surpass 60.75 percent efficiency as they continue to produce enormous H and J class turbines. But it would have been nice if the record-setting run at Irsch-ing had gotten even a fraction of the hoopla that Bannister received in 1954, especially considering he only ran at about 20 percent efficiency.

The efficiency mark at Irsching wasn’t the only re-cord set this past year in the gas turbine industry.

Production values, considered a more accurate benchmark than sales figures, for the industry as a whole were up on an inflation-adjusted measure for the third straight year, and the aviation sector, which accounts for two-thirds of the industry, has never been bigger.

Forecast International in Newtown, Conn., uses computer models and an extensive database to record value of pro-duction for both the aviation and non-aviation gas turbine markets. According to analyst Bill Schmalzer of FI, the value of production for all gas turbines was $47.9 billion in 2011, up 10.2 percent from 2010. Currently then, the gas turbine market represents about a $50 billion global business, and FI projects that in 2012 the global industry will surpass the inflation-adjusted peak of $50.47 billion set in 2001, during a short-lived spike in sales of gas turbine generating sets driven by electricity deregulation.

Projecting out to 2016, FI predicts the global market will reach almost $65 billion.

The value of production for aviation gas turbines—the jet engines that are the major source of propulsion for military and commercial aircraft—was $32.0 billion, up 16.7 percent from 2010. The largest segment of this market was engines for commercial airliners, of which $26.6 billion worth of gas turbines were produced in 2011.

Forecast International projects that by 2016, the entire aviation market will see a value of production of $47.7 billion, nearly the value of all worldwide gas turbines in 2011. That’s a huge jump, but it’s not hard to see where they are getting their bullishness. Boeing, in a 2011 forecast of the total com-mercial airplane market to 2030, estimated that the number of airplanes (currently 19,400) in the worldwide air transport fleet will grow at an annual rate of 3.6 percent over the next 20 years. Such growth would add nearly 20,000 airplanes to the worldwide fleet, and the company’s outlook predicts that airplane deliveries, for fleet growth and replacement of ag-ing airplanes, will total 33,500 over the 20-year period with a value of about $4 trillion.

Consider that one rule of thumb is that a quarter of the cost of a commercial airplane goes to its engines, and one can see that this would represent a bonanza to the manufacturers of aviation gas turbines.

The most lucrative market for engine manufacturers is the single-aisle, narrow-body jet airplane. These SANBs (as they are known) are the workhorses of the world’s airlines; with a nominal seating capacity from 100 to 210 seats, they are more versatile than their wide-body, jumbo cousins. According to Airbus, for aircraft above 100 seats, 87 percent of all routes flown and 78 percent of all seats offered globally are in single-aisle, narrow-body airplanes.

SANBs such as Boeing’s 737 and Airbus’s A320 families, powered by twin 30,000-pound-thrust engines from CFM In-ternational (a collaboration of General Electric and Snecma) or from International Aero Engines (a collaboration of Pratt & Whitney, Rolls-Royce, MTU, and Japanese Aero Engines Corp.), are ubiquitous. About 7,000 Boeing 737s, introduced in 1969, and about 5,000 Airbus A320s (first produced in 1988) have been delivered.

1990 1995 2000 2005 2011 2016

Aviation

Non-Aviation

Total

Projected

2016 2007 2011

Commercial Aviation

Military Aviation

Electric Generation

Mechanical Drive

Marine Power

Projectedbillion dollars (2011) billion dollars (2011)

Value of Gas Turbine Production by SectorValue of Gas Turbine Production

Data Courtesy Bill Schmalzer, Forecast International Data Courtesy Bill Schmalzer, Forecast International

10

30

50

70

10

20

30

40

The gas turbine industry has had its ups and

downs over the past 20 years, but the production

of engines for commercial aircraft has become the

source for most of its growth of late. By 2016,

commercial aviation is projected to account for nearly $48 billion of the $65 billion in global gas

turbine production.



Now, because of the size of the SANB market and its forecast growth, three other airframe companies are challenging the Boeing/Airbus duopoly. Canada’s Bombardier CSeries, Chi-na’s Comac C919, and Russia’s Irkut MS-21 are all new SANB aircraft under development and scheduled for first delivery in or before 2016.

To fend off these challenges, Airbus has begun offering an

A320 with a new engine option that promises a 15 percent reduction in fuel consumption and an 8 percent reduction in operating costs. This A320neo will be delivered beginning in 2015, and already there are more than 1,200 on order. Boeing was reluctant at first to follow suit, but last August it launched its own re-engined SANB airplane, the 737 MAX, with first deliveries scheduled for 2017.

This re-engining is happening now because of a combina-tion of high fuel prices and new technology that promises greater efficiency.

Pratt & Whitney’s recent introduction of its new geared turbofan engine is an example of the primacy of engine tech-nology in aviation. P&W has been developing this new engine, the PW1000G, since the 1980s. As I detailed in these pages in May 2008, the PW1000G has a hub-mounted planetary gearing system that drives the fan at lower speeds, permitting up to 16 percent fuel savings, higher bypass ratios, and much

lower fan noise. Pratt & Whitney’s new engine has been ad-opted on the Bombardier CSeries airplane, one factor that prompted Airbus to introduce the A320neo. It’s also featured on the Irkut MS-21 and the new Mitsubishi MRJ regional jet.

In answer to the P&W geared fan engine, CFM Internation-al has introduced the LEAP-X (an acronym for Leading Edge Aviation Propulsion) as a successor to its best-selling CFM56

for single-aisle narrow-body jets. The LEAP-X will have a high bypass ratio of 12:1, a higher compression ratio of 22, and significant weight savings, all to yield fuel savings in the 15 to 16 percent range, along with lower noise.

The LEAP-X will be powering the 737 MAX and the Comac C919. The A320neo will come with either the LEAP-X or the PW1000G.

Many advances in commercial aviation gas turbine tech-nology are first developed under military contracts, since jet fighters push their engines to the limit. But military engines, while profitable, are a small portion of the industry. In 2011 the value of production of military engines was $5.3 billion, down 6.1 percent from the year before.

ready for closer inspection: pratt & Whitney’s pW1000g promises both fuel savings and less noise.

Pr

att

& W

hit

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y



The biggest story in military aviation last year was the en-gine for the supersonic Joint Strike Fighter, now known as the F-35 Lightning II. Nine countries are involved with the development of the Pratt & Whitney F135, the most advanced military gas turbine, capable of 40,000 pounds of thrust. De-velopment started more than ten years ago. There are three variations: F-35A for conventional air force operation, the F-35B for short takeoff and vertical landing, and the F-35C for naval carrier operation.

In October, two F-35B aircraft were flown on and off the LMD-class amphibious assault ship Wasp in Hampton Roads sea trials. Videos available on the Internet show the truly impressive F-35B vertical landings on the deck of the assault ship and the gazelle-like takeoffs—all made possible by the F135’s separately clutched lift fan and vectored engine ex-haust nozzle. During vertical flight, the Rolls-Royce lift fan generates about 20,000 lbt, half of the output of the F135.

An alternative engine for the F-35, the F136, had been developed by General Electric and Rolls-Royce, but faced with calls from budget cutters in Washington for econo-mizing the JSF program, the companies ended their joint program in December.

The other segment of the gas turbine market meets demand in non-aviation uses: Marine power and

propulsion for naval and cruise ships, mechanical drive gas turbines that are found driving compressors for natural gas pipelines and for liquefying natural gas, and turbines for generating electricity. That last use is the largest, accounting for some 83 percent of the non-aviation market, but overall that segment was flat with the value of production for non-aviation turbines coming in at $16 billion.

Gas turbines used to generate electricity come in all sizes, from the 2.6 kW IHI Dynajet portable generator to the record-breaking Siemens 340 MW H class machine. The turbine at Irsching weighs 489 tons, more than a fully fueled Airbus A380.

It’s hard to know exactly what accounts for Siemens’s break-through this year, or why in 2003 General Electric’s similarly large combined-cycle plant at Baglan Bay, Wales, never broke 60 percent efficiency. (Companies tend not to detail their failures or give away too many secrets of their successes.) But in general, many gas turbine improvements can be chalked up to advanced materials and heat transfer research, which has yielded long-lived film-cooled superalloy turbine blades and vanes. They can operate for tens of thousands of hours in gas path flows at temperatures greatly exceeding alloy melt-ing points. Work in fluid mechanics, heat transfer, and solid mechanics has led to continued advances in compressor and turbine component performance and life. And gas turbine combustion is constantly being improved through chemical and fluid mechanics research.

I also suspect that for this combined-cycle application, Siemens paid special attention to the steam cycle half of

the combination.It’s likely that the 60.75 mark set at Irsching won’t be the

last word. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, for instance, is aim-ing for 64 percent efficiency in its J series turbine, under de-velopment, using higher turbine inlet temperatures. A simple calculation shows that if the Brayton (gas) cycle efficiency could be raised to 50 percent—highest now is 46 percent—and a Rankine (steam) cycle to 40 percent, a CCGT could reach 70 percent efficiency.

Whether that would be practical remains to be seen. The gas surging into the American market from shale gas plays has raised the importance of natural gas in the electricity mar-ket; already it fuels 22 percent of electricity generated in the United States (and 46 percent in the United Kingdom). The superstar gas turbine combined cycle plants are in the 100 to 600 MW range. But many electric power gas turbines are derived from aviation engines. Called aeroderivatives, they are noted for their ability to start and go to full load quickly, so they can provide backup power in minutes, rather than for their use for baseload power.

A recent addition to this gas turbine family is General Elec-tric’s LMS100, derived from the company’s CF6 jet engine. (The low compressor is from their 6FA heavy frame gas tur-bine, making it a hybrid rather than a pure aeroderivative.) That machine has an intercooler between the low and high compressor, the net effect of which results in a 46 percent thermal efficiency (the highest for a simple cycle gas turbine) at an output of 100 MW.

At the Power-Gen trade show in December, Pratt & Whit-ney announced development of its latest aeroderivative, the FT4000, derived from the PW4000 used on the Airbus A330 and Boeing 777. It will have an output of 60 MW and a ther-mal efficiency of 41 percent, with a high enough exit tempera-ture to be used in combined cycle configurations.

Distributed generation and cogeneration, where the ex-haust heat is used directly, are other frontiers for gas tur-bines. Microturbines can be found in such places as waste-water treatment plants, hospitals, breweries, and data cen-ters. And they are now being used extensively at gas pipeline compression stations for station electrical power and pipe cathodic protection, and for shale oil and gas drilling rigs, turning flare gas into electricity.

Capstone Turbines, a major player in the microturbine field, has produced close to 7,000 units in the 30 kW to 200 kW range. Turbines such as these have thermal efficiencies of be-tween 26 percent and 33 percent; using the available exhaust heat for thermal applications raises the efficiency calculation even higher. A cleverly designed co-gen plant, such as the 25 MW one we have at the University of Connecticut in Storrs, can use almost every unit of available energy from the sup-plied natural gas.

Distributed power has another advantage: during two storms in 2011, the campus had full power when much of the state was black. The State of Connecticut is now looking into the possibility of having more independent cogeneration plants scattered across the state to abate the effects of future grid blackouts.



Unlike records for athletic achievements, which are pursued for their own sake, ef-

ficiency improvements have the added benefit of providing something of value to the rest of humankind. No matter how much gas can be extracted from the shale plays found under various parts of the world, it makes sense to use this energy source as wisely as possible. And the surest way to conserve valuable energy resources is to increase the ther-

mal efficiency of energy converters.Since their beginnings in 1939 as the youngest of prime

movers, the gas turbines on aircraft, in power plants, and elsewhere have gone from efficiencies of 18 percent to the 40 to 60 percent levels now achieved. Maybe raising those levels even higher won’t provide cause for general hoopla, but it will provide the means by which we can do more and use less. n

ready to jump: one variant of the F-35 is capable of gazelle-like takeoffs and vertical landings, thanks to its engine’s

separately clutched lift fan and vectored exhaust nozzle.

Loc

kh

ee

d M

ar

tin



KNOCKING THE

OUT OF BIODIESEL

There are plenty of arguments to support the use of biodiesel fuel blends in the U.S. fuel supply. And of course, we have all heard arguments

against it. You can make a biodiesel fuel blend from many base biofuel sources—waste animal fat, used cooking oil, and many di� erent kinds of plants. Many of the biodiesel fuel blends used in the United States contain a base biofuel made from soybeans. In other countries, primary sources of base biofuels range from palm oil to sunfl owers.

Biodiesel fuel blends deliver benefi ts in reduced engine emissions of particulate matter. When a base biofuel is burned in a mixture with a conventional petroleum-based diesel fuel, the amount of particulate matter in engine exhaust decreases as the biofuel component of the blend increases.

What’s more, since passage of the 2005 Energy Policy Act, the U.S. government has looked toward biofuels—not only biodiesel, but also ethanol, which

Thomas Houlihan is senior engineer at Alternative Petroleum Technologies,

an environmental technology company based in Reno, Nev. He was

an ASME White House Fellow in the Clinton administration.

A demonstration of emulsifi ed B20

fuel sets a new benchmark for a

renewable fuel component.

By Thomas Houlihan

NONONOxxxOUT OF xOUT OF xOUT OF xOUT OF

Biofuel.indd 38 3/30/12 4:46 PM


is mixed with gasoline—as a means of reducing emissions of greenhouse gases. The act set targets for the amount of biofuel that must be mixed with transportation fuels sold in the United States. The target is 7.5 billion U.S. gallons in 2012.

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 extend-ed the target to 36 billion U.S. gallons by 2022. The Renewable Fuel Standard included in the 2007 bill was a notable fi rst step toward reducing global warm-ing pollution from our nation’s transportation fuels. By setting standards for renewable fuels, the legislation unlocked the po-tential to lower global warming pollution from cars and light trucks by as much as 6 percent as of 2022, while displacing up to 15 percent of projected U.S. gasoline consumption.

Of course, no change comes without controversy. Not ev-eryone agrees that the burning of fossil fuels is contributing to global climate change. Howev-er, curbing greenhouse gases is not the only reason for consid-ering the use of biodiesel fuel blends. The base biofuels in biodiesel fuel blends also replace petroleum that must be imported to produce fuel. Although they probably will not replace petroleum-based fuels entirely and so create energy independence, base biofuels in biodiesel fuel blends can help reduce demand in the U.S. for imported oil. That could have signifi cant economic as well as political benefi ts for the country.

BASE BIOFUEL CHARACTERISTICS

Questions have been raised about the e� ciency of pro-ducing and consuming base biofuels, chiefl y: Does production of the base biofuels consume more en-

ergy than the fuels will provide? A University of Minnesota study—published in the July 2011 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences—has shown that both corn grain ethanol and soybean biodiesel produce more energy than is needed to grow the crops and convert them into biofuels. According to the study, soybean biodiesel returns 93 percent more energy than is used to produce it, while corn grain ethanol currently provides 25 percent more energy than production consumes

So far, it looks like a clear win for biodiesel fuel blends. But there is one side e� ect of the fuels that presents a serious

potential problem: the burning of biodiesel fuel blends pro-duces more nitrogen oxides than the burning of petroleum-based fuels. Most of the biodiesel fuel blends in use today are a mixture of 20 percent biofuel and 80 percent petroleum. Par-ticulate matter emissions from this biodiesel fuel blend, often called a B20 biodiesel fuel, are about 12 percent lower than those from a petroleum-derived diesel fuel. However, NOx emissions from this regular B20 biodiesel fuel are 2 percent higher than those from a petroleum-derived diesel fuel.

NOx emissions are precursors in the formation of smog and acid rain. Much has been done to date to reduce NOx emis-sions from vehicles and factories. So the question arises: Would increasing the use of biodiesel fuels take us a step back-wards in our NOx emission reduction e� orts?

In 2010, my company—Alternative Petroleum Technolo-gies—completed a successful demonstration at the Port

of Los Angeles that shows a means of addressing the NOx issue associated with biodies-el fuels. APT fi eld-tested the use of an emulsifi ed B20 bio-diesel fuel—with a 6.5 percent water content—in diesel-pow-ered equipment at the port waterfront. The emulsifi ed B20 biodiesel fuel neutralized the NOx emissions normally generated by regular B20 bio-diesel fuel while decreasing particulate matter emissions by 40 percent.

The demonstration at the port, combined with results from laboratory tests, showed that emulsifi ed biodiesel fuels

not only could be used safely in diesel engines, but also that emulsifi ed biodiesel fuels could o� er signifi cant benefi ts for air quality. In order to understand this dual e� cacy of emulsi-fi ed B20 biodiesel fuel, it is necessary to review the principles of fuel combustion and examine how water in emulsifi ed fuel can a� ect the process.

Combustion of liquid hydrocarbon fuels in a power system requires the fuel to be atomized. Atomization breaks fuel into small droplets that can be more readily ignited. When droplets enter the high-temperature combustion zone, they begin to burn in a charring fashion—from the surface of the droplet inward.

The high pressure of the atomization system, whether it is the injector in a diesel engine or a fuel nozzle in a boiler, gives the fuel droplets high momentum—and therefore a high ve-locity. As a consequence of this high velocity, burning is often not completed before the fuel leaves the high-temperature combustion zone. As a result, unburned fuel products (par-ticulates) enter into the fl ow of power system exhaust gases.

Simultaneous with this generation of particulate emissions, the generation of NOx proceeds from the exposure of nitrogen in the fuel and in the combustion air to the high temperature refi ning atmosphere of the combustion zone.

Water in an emulsifi ed fuel produces two profound e� ects upon combustion. First, water in the atomized fuel immedi-ately evaporates into steam as it enters the combustion zone. In a process that has been called a “micro-explosion,” this production of steam disrupts the surrounding fuel medium, which breaks up and forms micro-scale droplets. Breaking into smaller droplets increases the total surface area of the fuel mass subjected to combustion. Hence, the chance of

One of the top-handlers used in

a demonstration of emulsifi ed B20 fuel

at the Port of Los Angeles.

Biofuel.indd 39 4/3/12 10:56 AM


unburned particles of fuel oil es-caping from the combustion zone is significantly reduced, and the production of particulate emis-sions is thereby decreased.

The second effect of water on the combustion process arises from the high heat capacity of the water in the emulsified fuel that tends to decrease the tempera-ture of the combustion zone. This decrease in temperature leads to a less energetic oxidation of ni-trogen in the fuel and in the com-bustion air and therefore inhibits NOx generation. These determi-nations on NOx reduction were realized in several applications of emulsified diesel fuel products that were based upon Alternative Petroleum Technologies’ emul-sion technology developments.

Believing that emulsion technol-ogy could likewise alleviate the NOx increases shown in the com-bustion of biodiesel fuels, APT ap-plied to the Technology Advance-ment Program of the Ports of Long Beach/Los Angeles to test the hypothesis.

The subsequent effort was accomplished in three phases. The first two phases involved laboratory testing of regular and emulsified biodiesel fuel blends. The last phase featured real-time operations with emulsified biodiesel fuels at the Port of Los Angeles waterfront.

Laboratory tests

First, fuel screening tests were conducted at the South-west Research Institute laboratories in San Antonio, Texas. The test engine was a Detroit Diesel (DDEC-60)

inline, six-cylinder engine rated for 365 hp at 1,800 rpm. It was turbocharged and used a laboratory water-to-air heat ex-changer for a charge air intercooler.

A series of test fuels—ranging from an ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel (designated B0) to a set of biodiesel fuel blends (B6, B20, B50, B100)—were emulsified with various water contents (2.7 percent to 18.5 percent by volume)—and run in the test en-gine, which was subjected to a Federal Test Procedure loading pattern on an eddy-brake dynamometer. Engine emissions (NOx, PM, THC, CO, and CO2) were monitored continuously throughout the FTP test cycles. Twenty five test runs were recorded during the fuel screening test period, each one in triplicate, for a total of 75 individual test runs.

Test data showed that NOx emissions for emulsified bio-diesel fuels diminished as the water content increased and converged to a value of 4 g/bhp-hr for a 20 percent water content. Likewise, PM emissions for emulsified biodiesel fu-els decreased with increasing water content and converged

asymptotically to around 0.07 g/bhp-hr for almost all the fuels. An exception was neat biodiesel fuel, B100, for which PM emissions were so low that the addition of water had virtually no effect.

Previous operations with high-water content (e.g., 20 percent) emulsified diesel fuels showed that the power loss experienced with such fuels was prohibitive. Hence, in the spirit of doing no harm to the environment, a 6.5 percent water content (by mass) was chosen for use in subsequent field demonstra-tions of emulsified B20 fuels. This water content insured that the NOx emissions of emulsified B20 fuels were equal to those of ultra-low sulfur diesel fuels and thus effec-tively neutralized the NOx emission increases normally experienced with regular B20 fuels.

Additional testing showed that the inclusion of a diesel oxidation catalyst unit further decreased PM emissions and virtually eliminated

hydrocarbon emissions. As such, the screening tests inher-ently proved that three technologies—fuel emulsion, biodiesel (B20) fuel, and a DOC after-treatment unit—could be effec-tively combined to significantly decrease engine emissions without causing harm to an operating engine.

A second study was conducted at the Olson-EcoLogic En-gine Testing Laboratories in Fullerton, Calif. The test engine was a Tier 2 model year 2004 Cummins QSM 11C engine rated for 330 hp at 2,100 rpm. The EPA and ARB standards for this engine are 4.9 g/bhp-hr for NOx emissions and 0.15 g/bhp-hr for PM emissions. The same model engine would be used in the demonstrations at the waterfront in Phase 3.

Using pure diesel fuel as a baseline of 100 percent, PM emis-sions fell stepwise to 81 percent with a regular B20 fuel, to 71 percent with a 6.5 percent emulsified B20 (EB20) fuel, and to 60 percent with an EB20 fuel and an installed DOC unit. This progression indicates that biodiesel fuel, water emulsion, and DOC after-treatment technologies are truly complementary PM reduction techniques.

on the WaterFront

the waterfront demonstration compared the perfor-mance of three top-handler units operating on regu-lar B20 fuel, three units operating on emulsified B20

fuel, and one on emulsified B20 fuel with a diesel oxidation catalyst unit. The demonstration began on August 12, 2010, when biodiesel fuel was loaded into three 2008 model Tay-lor top handler units at the Western Basin Container Ter-minal in the Port of Long Beach. Each unit was powered by a 330 hp Cummins QSM11 diesel engine.

0

.05

.10

.15

.20

.25

PERCENT CHANGE IN PM AND NOX EMISSIONS

% Ch

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30

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Dies

el B

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sifie

d B2

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EB20

with

DOC

Dies

el B

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d B2

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EB20

with

DOC

95 95 95100

B20

B20

124

8875

100

NOX PM

100% PM = PM emissions with diesel (B0)-0% biodeisel and 0% water

■ B0■ B20■ B50■ B100

■ B0■ B20■ B50■ B100

PM EMISSIONS VS WATER CONTENT

PM Em

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/bhp

-hr)

Water (% Mass)5 10 15 20

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

100% NOX = NOX emissions with diesel only (BO)-0% biodeisel and 0% water

NOX EMISSIONS VS WATER CONTENT

NOx E

miss

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(g/b

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r)

Water (% Mass)50 10 15 20

0

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DOC

Dies

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DOC

95 95 95100

B20

B20

124

8875

100

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■ B0■ B20■ B50■ B100

■ B0■ B20■ B50■ B100


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Water (% Mass)5 10 15 20

3.5

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Water (% Mass)50 10 15 20

Screening tests of emulsified fuels at Swri found that nOx emissions for ultra-low sulfur diesel and various biodiesel blends decreased as the water content increased.

Particulate matter emissions for various emulsified fuels studied by Swri decreased with additional water content to about 20 percent by mass—except for B100.



Regular fueling practices were maintained during all sub-sequent operations at the waterfront. The three units oper-ated a total of 697 hours over 27 days and consumed 2,908 gallons of soy-based B20 biodiesel. That averaged 4.17 gal-lons per hour, 4.3 percent more than the average of 4.0 gallons per hour for ultra-low sulfur diesel fuel use reported for the port top handler fleet of 140 vehicles.

Operations using emulsified B20 fuel began on Sept. 3. For this dem-onstration, the three top handlers ran 2,742 hours over 118 days and used 12,300 gallons of soy-based emulsified B20 fuel. That comes to 4.48 gallons per hour of a fuel that was 6.5 percent water by mass. Ad-justed for water’s heavier specific gravity and for the presence of the emulsion additive, total consumption of B20 fuel was 11,316 gallons, or an average of 4.12 gallons per hour. That is only 3 percent more than the average of 4.0 gallons per hour for the port’s top handler fleet.

By achieving NOx neutrality, emulsified biodiesel fuel al-lowed the full benefits of a biofuel to be realized. Not only were PM emissions reduced, but so were CO2 emissions. Using the emissions calculator at the National Biodiesel Board website, it was found that 12,300 gallons of emulsi-fied B20 fuel (containing 11,316 gallons of regular B20 fuel) reduced total carbon dioxide emission levels on the order of 36,500 pounds during the demonstration period of 118 days. Extending the calculation to a period of one year, the total reduction in CO2 emissions for the three top-handlers would come to 112,867 pounds.

The introduction of water into the combustion process by the utilization of emulsified fuels results in the generation of a “triple crown” of benefits—the reduction in emissions of NOx, particulate matter, and greenhouse gases. These results sug-gest that emulsified fuel technology is an effective and cost-

beneficial emission-reduction technology. It is readily avail-able to accommodate future requirements for hydrocarbon emissions and greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

The introduction of water into the combustion process has an added benefit from an energy efficiency viewpoint for boiler sys-tems. The added heat content of the water introduced into the com-bustion zone by an emulsified fuel means that the exhaust gases of the combustion process are more “en-ergetic” than those of conventional fuels. Hence, as these more “ener-getic” combustion gases traverse the boiler heat transfer zones, they are able to transmit more heat by convection to the steam generating tubes resulting in an increase in fuel efficiency. This enhancement

of system fuel efficiency leads to a reduction in hydrocarbon emissions and also to less formation of carbon dioxide.

Alternative Petroleum Technologies is very enthusiastic about the results of the port demonstration. However, no one is suggesting, of course, that the country should start a head-long conversion of its transportation system to biofuels. As we know, market forces—which include everything from the hard reality of production costs to arbitrary preferences based on old habits—will prevent that kind of drastic change any time soon. It probably would not be technically advisable either, as long as biodiesel continues to encounter problems involving cold weather performance and material compatibility. It is noteworthy that with its 2011 models, GM became the last of the Big Three to announce that new diesel engines would be fully compatible with a B20 biodiesel fuel.

Considering the number of trucks, trains, and other diesel-powered vehicles in use, biodiesel fuels—with a little twist of water—have the potential to make a significant contribution to improving both the air quality and perhaps the national economy of the United States. n

The following publications discuss in more detail the combustion of emulsified fuels.

“Emulsified Biodiesel Fuel Effects on Regulated Emissions,” P. Grimes, W. Hagstrand, A. Psaila, J. Seth, J. Waldron. DIESELNET Report, http://www.dieselnet.com/papers/1112grimes.pdf.

“Combustion and Micro-Explosion of Freely Falling Multi-Component Droplets,” C.H. Wang, Q. Liu, C.K. Law. Combustion and Flame 56, 175-197 (1984).

“Combustion Characteristics of Water-in-Oil Emulsion Droplets,” C.K. Law,

C.H. Lee, N. Scrinivasan. Combustion and Flame 37, 125-143 (1980).

“Maximizing the Effectiveness of Water Blended Fuel in Reducing Emissions by Varying Injection Timing or Using an After-Treatment Device,” D.A. Langer, N.K. Petek, E.A. Schiferl. SAE Paper No. 2001-01-0513.

“Comparative Assessment of Shell Aquadiesel,” T. Beer, T. Grant, D. Olaru, H. Hatson. CSIRO Report H90A/2/F3.6X, Australian Greenhouse Office, December 2003.

TVA Technology Advancements Report, “Colbert Combustion Turbine Unit

Number 1: A-55 Clean Fuels Test Burn,” 4 December 1997.

“Verification Testing of Emissions From the Combustion of A-55 Clean Fuels in a Fire-Tube Boiler,” C.A. Miller. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Report EPA-600/R-98-035, April 1998.

“A-55 Emulsion Reburning Pilot Scale Tests and Design Studies,” P.K. Maly, D.K. Moyeda, M.S. Sheldon, B.A. Folsom. Energy and Environmental Research Corp. Report, 13 August 1998.

(NOTE: A-55 was a predecessor company to Alternative Petroleum Technologies.)

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95 95 95100

B20

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124

8875

100

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■ B0■ B20■ B50■ B100

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PM Em

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/bhp

-hr)

Water (% Mass)5 10 15 20

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4.0

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NOx E

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Water (% Mass)50 10 15 20

nOx emissions (left) of emulsified B20 were on par with those of ultra-low sulfur diesel. There was a stepwise reduction in Pm emissions.

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A device to be towed by a plane at 400 knots is intended to dissipate the energy of violent storms.

Men have long thought about controlling what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature.

Let’s take a look at a few patents on the fringe of environmental engineering

involving weather control.There are many patents, both old and new, on the topic of producing rain. The earliest

I could fi nd is No. 462,795 issued in 1891. Liquefi ed carbonic acid gas is placed in a shell, shot into the atmosphere,

and exploded. The gas evaporates and in so doing allegedly cools down the atmosphere producing moisture

in a cloud and ultimately rain. The wildest rainmaking patent is No. 1,103,490, dated July 14, 1914.

The inventor, J.M. Cordray, describes numerous balloons released into the atmosphere and then a lot of

explosions. Some balloons include bags of water (to moisten the air);

others include “fi nely crushed bone and concentrated sulphuric acid”

(you know, to produce nitrogen); stillKirk Teska is the author of Patent Project Management

(ASME Press) and Patent Savvy for Managers (Nolo), is an adjunct law professor at Suffolk University Law School, and

is the managing partner of Iandiorio Teska & Coleman, an intellectual property law firm in Waltham, Mass.

Men have long thought about controlling what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature. what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature. what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature. what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature. what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature. what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature. what, so far, they cannot: Mother Nature.

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PatentWeather.indd 42 4/2/12 10:17 AM


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balloons include canisters of “giant powder” (a type of blasting pow-der), and “chlorid [sic] of potash” (rea-son unclear); and yet still another set of balloons includes oil burners and a tank of water in order to produce steam. The claimed method of producing rain in-volves “violently disturbing the air above the earth, then heating the air and sup-plying moisture and nitrogen into the air.”

In 1911, retired Rear Admiral Franklin Drake wrote patent No. 990,121 for a device which dissipates fog. While in com-mand of the U.S.S. Albatross, Drake “en-gaged in making deep sea explorations and observed that in the great fog generating belt of the Behring Sea, in the Japan and gulf streams, as well as in the polar currents, the fog is suspended in barely perceptible air cur-rents near the surface of the water and does not reach to the higher altitudes at all.” In his fog-dissipating machine, an acetylene gas and air mixture is ignited and the resulting explosion produces an upwardly moving column of hot air resulting in convection currents which lift the fog.

Tornadoes have been a particular problem of late and there are a few patents proposing di� erent ways of handling them. No. 4,362,280 (Dec. 7, 1982) describes a “fl uid dynamic converter” towed by a plane at 400 knots into the “clear air infl ow region” of a violent storm to supposedly disrupt the normal fl ow of the storm system and upset its balance, and thereby contribute to the dissipation of the storm’s energy. In patent No. 7,810,420, a drone delivers liquid nitrogen into a tornado to cool it and allegedly “choke” the tornado.

Similarly, there are patents covering ideas designed to pre-vent typhoons, cyclones, and the like. Patent No. 7,832,657, for example, shows a bunch of long pipes and pumps in the ocean pumping the cooler deep water to the surface to reduce the temperature of the sea surface and thereby weaken a

typhoon. Patent No. 7,798,419 has a background section that discusses many di� erent attempts, some patented, some not, to defeat cyclones. The idea disclosed in this patent is to pump several hundred thousand or even millions of tons of seawater up into the eye of a cyclone to destroy the storm.

Some people are not content with just changing some weather. They want to control it all. Patent No. 5,762,298, proposes a satellite weather modifi cation system. From what I can gather, satellites are used to refl ect sunlight to locations that don’t usually receive much and to convert solar energy into “energy beams.”

If you’d like to research additional weather control patents and pending patent applications, check out the U.S.P.T.O. classifi cation 239 and sub-classifi cations 2.1 and 14.1 titled “weather control.” ■

Balloons carrying

various substances,

including explosives,

were proposed as a method to

make rain.

PatentWeather.indd 43 4/2/12 10:17 AM

Invasion Consolidation

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Line-shaped invasion, followed by consolidation by transversal diffusion. The predicted history of the area (A) covered by diffusion reveals the S-shaped curve, which is due to the evolution of the design. The actual flow can proceed in either direction: from point to area or volume (spreading flows), or from volume to point (collecting flows). The steepest portion of the S-curve occurs at the time (tin) of transition from invasion to consolidation.

S Curves.indd 44 3/30/12 4:48 PM


The life of every successful innovation—whether it is an idea or a technology—has a remarkably similar trajectory. In the beginning, when familiarity is confined to a few, acceptance spreads

slowly to a wider population. At some later point, the spread of the innovation reaches critical mass and begins a sharp rise in the rate of new adopters. Finally, there is a saturation point, and the rate of spreading tails off when the total number of adopters appears to have hit a ceiling.

We can see this flow, from its point source to the big area, and we see it morphing in time, invading and wetting an area. This flow is like the Okavango delta, which grows every year and then “hits the wall” in the Botswana desert, months after the rainy season upstream in Angola. There is no wall in the desert, just empty space, lots of it. Yet, the spreading of the delta stops.

This slow-fast-slow spreading history lies at the heart of the design of nature at

The S-curveS are everywhere

Adrian Bejan is J. A. Jones distinguished professor of mechanical engineering at Duke University. Sylvie Lorente is professor of civil engineering at the University of Toulouse, INSA, France.

By AdriAn BejAn And Sylvie lorente

The seasonal advance and retreat of the Okavango delta in Botswana is an example of the S-curve in nature.

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the scale of the landscape. The flow of the Okavango delta is part of the inanimate world, unlike the spreading of human-ity, with its ideas and technology, on the globe.

When it is graphed, the history of the covered area or vol-ume follows an S-curve. Here is how to predict it:

When a heat pump cools a home during the hot and hu-mid season, it must dump heat into the ambient. Where the human settlement is sparse, the dumping of the heat is not a critical design feature. The atmosphere—the big sew-er in the sky—does the job. The same environment serves the heat pump during the cold season, when the heat pump must suck heat from the ambient and inject it (multiplied)

into the home. What was sewer in sum-mer is manna from heaven in winter.

It is not nearly as easy when the human settlement is dense. No one wants to live in somebody else’s ex-haust. In this evolutionary direction, which, by the way, is the future of all humanity, the “environment” is as dear as the plot of land on which the home is built. The heat pumps of the future must dump heat to the ground and suck heat from it.

• • •How to spread heat from one river mouth (the heat pump) to a finite-size delta (the soil around the home) is a design problem that we solved. First, the heat must be spread by fluid flow through pipes, throughout the territo-ry. During this initial “invasion” phase, the volume of the heated soil around the pipes is small, but it increases at a growing rate. Second, after the hot fluid has invaded all the channels on the territory, the heat is transmitted from the channels perpendicularly to the neighboring soil. This is the con-solidation phase: the root “solid” in “consolidation” suggests how heat is filling the soil interstices held between neighboring channels.

We found that the history of the vol-ume of heated soil versus time follows an S-shaped curve that is entirely deterministic, i.e. predictable. Ev-erything about this S-curve is known because both phases, the invasion and the consolidation, are known. We also predicted that when the invading channels are tree-shaped as opposed to single pipes, the entire flow from point to volume occurs faster, more easily, along a steeper S-curve.

The S-curves of nature are history records of tree-shaped spreading on

areas and volumes that are eventually filled during con-solidation by transversal diffusion.

When anything spreads on a territory, the curve of territory size versus time is S-shaped: slow initial growth is followed by much faster growth, and finally by slow growth again. The corresponding curve of the rate of spreadings versus time is bell-shaped. This phenomenon is so common that it has generated entire fields of research that seem unrelated: the spreading of biological populations, cancer tumors, chemical reactions, contaminants, languages, news, information, inno-vations, technologies, infrastructure, and economic activity, and the evolution of technology performance versus cumula-

Tree-shaped invasion, showing the finger-shaped regions covered by diffu-sion in the immediate vicinity of the invasion lines. The longest finger is the one that surrounds the invasion path that started as the trunk. Each invasion-con-solidation pattern of a spreading or collecting flow has its own S-shaped history curve. The tree-shaped pattern is prevalent in nature because it facilitates flow from point to volume and from volume to point, and consequently is responsible for the fact that the S-curves of natural phenomena are the steepest.


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tive R&D spending (as in Mechanical Engineering, December 2009). The S-curve phenomenon is also visible in the history of citations received by every publication, and is responsible for the increase, as time passes, in the h-index of every author.

The S-curve is a natural phenom-enon, not the mathematical expres-sion of a particular S-shaped curve. In fact, by analyzing the invasion-consolidation fl ow we showed that the S-shaped curves are not unique. The natural phenomenon is the observation that in many and highly diverse fl ow systems the covered territory increases in time according to a curve that resembles an S.

The prevalence of S-curve phenomena in nature rivals that of tree-shaped fl ows, which also unite the animate, inanimate, and human realms. This is no coincidence. Both phenomena are manifestations of the natural tendency to generate evolving designs that fl ow more easily. This ten-dency is the constructal law.

These predictions apply equally to the behavior of col-lecting fl ows, which draw streams from areas or volumes and carry them to discrete points. For collecting fl ows, the scales of the S infl exion point indicate the all-important re-gime of peak production rate, known as the “Hubbert peak” in oil extraction. It is not a coincidence that oil extraction technology has evolved from single-line invasion (the single well) to tree invasion.

The S-curve phenomenon and its physics principle unite the spreading fl ows with the collecting fl ows, and the ani-mate fl ows with the inanimate fl ows. In the human realm,

they unite the designs for urban infrastructure with the underground architectures for mining (coal, metals, etc.), and teach the physics basis of “limits to growth” and when a spreading population and technology can be expected to “hit the wall.” They also cover the periodic phenomena of spreading and collecting, such as respiration (inhaling, ex-haling), drug delivery, excretion, rainwater (from river basin to delta), and blood circulation.

• • •There is a lot of doomsday talk today about the world being in an “explosion” phase, or on an “exponential growth” curve. In view of the constructal-law origin of the S-curve, all such talk is about the fi rst part of an S-curve phenomenon. What looks like explosion today will look like hitting the wall tomorrow.

This is how a new technology spreads. The invasion-con-solidation scenario happens naturally, not because industry and government leaders dictate it. Decades ago, only a few countries made autos. Now it seems that autos are made everywhere, but the advanced countries make them better, with more modern designs and methods. Each such design is the start of its own S-curve of how it spreads on the globe.

All these phenomena are described in their own language by the constructal-law prediction of the S-curve. If translated correctly, the S-curve reveals when “exponential growth” must end and be replaced by “hitting the wall.” ■

Next month in Mechanical Engineering: An excerpt from “Design in Nature: How the Constructal Law Governs Evolution

in Biology, Physics, Technology, and Social Organization,” a new book written by Adrian Bejan and J. Peder Zane.

TO LEARN MORE● A. Bejan and S. Lorente, “The constructal law origin of the logistics S-curve,” Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 110, 2011, 024901.

● A. Bejan and S. Lorente, “The physics of spreading ideas,” International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, Vol. 55, 2012, pp. 802-807.

● A. Bejan and S. Lorente, “The constructal law of design and evolution in nature,” Physics of Life Reviews, Vol. 8, 2011, pp. 209-240.

● www.constructal.org

This research was supported by a grant from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden, Colo.


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S-curve phenomena everywhere: the growth of brewer’s yeast, the spread of radios and TVs, the growth of the readership of one scientifi c publication.

The evolution of human made volume-to-point fl ow underground: drilling and oil extraction pattern under the Empty Quarter of Saudi Arabia. This tree-shaped design is an icon of all mining that occurs worldwide: coal, gas, metals, minerals.C

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48 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | March 2012

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S Curves.indd 48 4/2/12 10:34 AM


PETROLEUM DIVISION ......................................................................................49PIPELINE SYSTEMS DIVISION ...........................................................................58OCEAN OFFSHORE AND ARCTIC ENGINEERING DIVISION ...............................58

PETROLEUM DIVISION

On March 17, 2012, the Mr. Charlie platform, the

industry’s fi rst submersible drilling rig, was offi cial-

ly recognized as an ASME Historical Mechanical

Engineering Landmark. The ceremony, conducted

at Mr. Charlie’s permanent mooring in Morgan

City, Louisiana, was attended by members of the

IPTI’s Petroleum Division Collegiate Council

responsible for its nomination, ASME’s History

and Heritage committee members and members of

the Petroleum Division’s Executive Committee, and

representatives from the International Petroleum

Museum & Exposition (a non-profi t organization

created by the men who worked on or around

Mr. Charlie).

The Meaning of the LandmarkThe primary reason Mr. Charlie was selected as an

ASME landmark is the signifi cance that offshore

drilling has had on the evolution of the energy indus-

try and its impact on today’s society, not to mention

the economic stability of the entire Gulf Coast region

and other areas of offshore E&P activity around the

world. Its extensive documented history and easy

accessibility to the landmark and training facility by

offshore workers, as well as the general public, also

positions the world’s fi rst submersible drilling rig as a

particularly inspiring engineering landmark.

The Dawn

of Offshore

Drilling

INSERT-3-PROP-12.indd 1 3/28/12 3:34 PMIPTILayout0512.indd 49 3/30/12 4:13 PM

PETROLEUM DIVISIONAbout the Mr. Charlie Rig MuseumMr. Charlie is moored in Morgan City,

Louisiana, as a tribute to the pioneers of

the offshore oil and gas industry. Today,

the once transportable rig serves as a

permanent monument to the industry’s

culture of initiative, perseverance,

creativity and hard work – a living

reminder of the positive contributions,

technological innovations and advance-

ments, and the worldwide infl uence of

the Petroleum and Mechanical Engineer-

ing disciplines. The owners of the Mr.

Charlie Rig Museum and the Interna-

tional Petroleum Museum and Exposi-

tion work to educate the general public

on the signifi cance of the oil and gas

industry and its impact on local, state,

national and global economies.

Through the museum’s effort, the com-

plexities and issues of the industry and

life in the offshore oilfi eld become real.

The story is told from the participants’

perspectives, detailing and demonstrat-

ing the hardships and heroism, the

problems and solutions, the challenges

and achievements. Through the efforts

of the International Petroleum Museum

and Exposition, Mr. Charlie provides us

with an accurate depiction of the history

of the offshore oil business.

For more information on the history of Mr.

Charlie and the offshore oil industry, please

visit www.rigmuseum.com.

At bottom from left

to right: Alden “Doc”

Laborde, Morgan

City Mayor Tim

Matte and

Reggie Vachon from

the ASME Presi-

dent’s offi ce posing

with the offi cial

plaque designating

Mr. Charlie as an

ASME Historical

Mechanical Engi-

neering Landmark

(March 17, 2012).

See article on page

56.

The Mr. Charlie rig in its

current state as a museum

and a working training facil-

ity at its permanent mooring

in Morgan City, Louisiana.

INSERT-3-PROP-12.indd 2 3/28/12 11:32 AM

PETROLEUM DIVISION

Dedicated to the Industry The Petroleum Division (PD)

of ASME was founded in 1924

to serve mechanical engineers

choosing a career in the oil & gas

industry. As a member division

of IPTI, the division plans and

delivers conferences, events and

continuing education for mechani-

cal engineers working primarily in

the upstream industry. We have a

number of long-standing confer-

ences that we deliver or co-sponsor

each year, including the Offshore

Technology Conference (OTC),

and several networking/fundrais-

ing events such as our OTC Golf

Tournament, the ASME/University

of Houston Crawfish Boil and our

Sporting Clays Tournament. We

strive to keep our members current

with the latest developments in our

industry by organizing specialty

events such as this year’s Subsea

Integrity Management Forum

and participating in the two new

OTC events, the Arctic Technol-

ogy Conference and OTC Brasil.

Additionally, our Continuing

Education short courses feature the

industry’s leading professionals and

experts focusing on cutting-edge

technology.

The Arthur Lubinski Best

Paper Award:

OTC 23223

Compact Separation

Technologies and Their Applicability

for Subsea Field Development in Deep

Water

A. Hannisdal, R. Westra, and M.R.

Akdim, FMC Technologies Inc.

A. Bymaster and E. Grave, ExxonMobil

Upstream Research

D. Teng, Woodside Energy Ltd.

Abstract

Offshore deepwater discoveries have

driven the development of new compact

separation technologies, a core aspect

of subsea processing. Compact separa-

tors are much smaller than conventional

separators and have the potential to

significantly reduce capital expenditure

for deepwater developments. Unfortu-

nately, reducing the size of separators

generally reduces the separation per-

formance and the robustness to handle

fluctuations in flow rate and composi-

tion. It is therefore essential to find an

acceptable balance between the realized

reduction in overall capital expenditure

and reduced tolerance to fluctuating

conditions. To maximize the economics

of a subsea development, it is impor-

tant to understand how the technology

selection impacts performance, risks,

costs, and ultimately the attractiveness of

deepwater subsea processing. Proactive

technology screening and qualification

are required. This paper presents one of

several ongoing joint industry projects to

develop and screen separation tech-

nologies for deepwater applications, the

DEMO 2000 project: Next Generation

Deepwater Subsea Gasliquid Separa-

tion System. An overview of available

technologies for separation in deep water

is disclosed, including cyclonic separa-

tors, compact gravity-type separators,

and slug dampening technologies. Their

characteristics, typical performance and

maturity level are discussed. Finally, the

program activities are explained and

some highlights from the separation test

program are shared.

About the Award

Once per year, the Petroleum Divi-

sion honors the best petroleum me-

chanical engineering paper presented at

the Offshore Technology Conference

(OTC). The award is given to encourage

high standards of quality in the papers

presented at the conference. The origina-

tor of the ASME Study Committee for

the Exchange of Offshore Information

that led to the formation of the OTC

was Arthur Lubinski, recipient of the Pe-

troleum Division award for his work in

1968 and for whom this award is named.

The ASME OTC Technical Committee

selects each year’s winning paper from all

papers submitted at OTC. There is no

application process.

Copyright 2012, Offshore Technology Conference - This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, Texas, USA, 30 April–3 May 2012. This paper was selected for presenta-tion by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not nec-essarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference, its officers, or members. Electronic repro-duction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of OTC copyright.

INSERT-3-PROP-12.indd 3 3/28/12 11:32 AMIPTILayout0512.indd 50 3/30/12 4:15 PM


PETROLEUM DIVISIONAbout the Mr. Charlie Rig MuseumMr. Charlie is moored in Morgan City,

Louisiana, as a tribute to the pioneers of

the offshore oil and gas industry. Today,

the once transportable rig serves as a

permanent monument to the industry’s

culture of initiative, perseverance,

creativity and hard work – a living

reminder of the positive contributions,

technological innovations and advance-

ments, and the worldwide infl uence of

the Petroleum and Mechanical Engineer-

ing disciplines. The owners of the Mr.

Charlie Rig Museum and the Interna-

tional Petroleum Museum and Exposi-

tion work to educate the general public

on the signifi cance of the oil and gas

industry and its impact on local, state,

national and global economies.

Through the museum’s effort, the com-

plexities and issues of the industry and

life in the offshore oilfi eld become real.

The story is told from the participants’

perspectives, detailing and demonstrat-

ing the hardships and heroism, the

problems and solutions, the challenges

and achievements. Through the efforts

of the International Petroleum Museum

and Exposition, Mr. Charlie provides us

with an accurate depiction of the history

of the offshore oil business.

For more information on the history of Mr.

Charlie and the offshore oil industry, please

visit www.rigmuseum.com.

At bottom from left

to right: Alden “Doc”

Laborde, Morgan

City Mayor Tim

Matte and

Reggie Vachon from

the ASME Presi-

dent’s offi ce posing

with the offi cial

plaque designating

Mr. Charlie as an

ASME Historical

Mechanical Engi-

neering Landmark

(March 17, 2012).

See article on page

56.

The Mr. Charlie rig in its

current state as a museum

and a working training facil-

ity at its permanent mooring

in Morgan City, Louisiana.


PETROLEUM DIVISION

Dedicated to the Industry The Petroleum Division (PD)

of ASME was founded in 1924

to serve mechanical engineers

choosing a career in the oil & gas

industry. As a member division

of IPTI, the division plans and

delivers conferences, events and

continuing education for mechani-

cal engineers working primarily in

the upstream industry. We have a

number of long-standing confer-

ences that we deliver or co-sponsor

each year, including the Offshore

Technology Conference (OTC),

and several networking/fundrais-

ing events such as our OTC Golf

Tournament, the ASME/University

of Houston Crawfish Boil and our

Sporting Clays Tournament. We

strive to keep our members current

with the latest developments in our

industry by organizing specialty

events such as this year’s Subsea

Integrity Management Forum

and participating in the two new

OTC events, the Arctic Technol-

ogy Conference and OTC Brasil.

Additionally, our Continuing

Education short courses feature the

industry’s leading professionals and

experts focusing on cutting-edge

technology.

The Arthur Lubinski Best

Paper Award:

OTC 23223

Compact Separation

Technologies and Their Applicability

for Subsea Field Development in Deep

Water

A. Hannisdal, R. Westra, and M.R.

Akdim, FMC Technologies Inc.

A. Bymaster and E. Grave, ExxonMobil

Upstream Research

D. Teng, Woodside Energy Ltd.

Abstract

Offshore deepwater discoveries have

driven the development of new compact

separation technologies, a core aspect

of subsea processing. Compact separa-

tors are much smaller than conventional

separators and have the potential to

significantly reduce capital expenditure

for deepwater developments. Unfortu-

nately, reducing the size of separators

generally reduces the separation per-

formance and the robustness to handle

fluctuations in flow rate and composi-

tion. It is therefore essential to find an

acceptable balance between the realized

reduction in overall capital expenditure

and reduced tolerance to fluctuating

conditions. To maximize the economics

of a subsea development, it is impor-

tant to understand how the technology

selection impacts performance, risks,

costs, and ultimately the attractiveness of

deepwater subsea processing. Proactive

technology screening and qualification

are required. This paper presents one of

several ongoing joint industry projects to

develop and screen separation tech-

nologies for deepwater applications, the

DEMO 2000 project: Next Generation

Deepwater Subsea Gasliquid Separa-

tion System. An overview of available

technologies for separation in deep water

is disclosed, including cyclonic separa-

tors, compact gravity-type separators,

and slug dampening technologies. Their

characteristics, typical performance and

maturity level are discussed. Finally, the

program activities are explained and

some highlights from the separation test

program are shared.

About the Award

Once per year, the Petroleum Divi-

sion honors the best petroleum me-

chanical engineering paper presented at

the Offshore Technology Conference

(OTC). The award is given to encourage

high standards of quality in the papers

presented at the conference. The origina-

tor of the ASME Study Committee for

the Exchange of Offshore Information

that led to the formation of the OTC

was Arthur Lubinski, recipient of the Pe-

troleum Division award for his work in

1968 and for whom this award is named.

The ASME OTC Technical Committee

selects each year’s winning paper from all

papers submitted at OTC. There is no

application process.

Copyright 2012, Offshore Technology Conference - This paper was prepared for presentation at the Offshore Technology Conference held in Houston, Texas, USA, 30 April–3 May 2012. This paper was selected for presenta-tion by an OTC program committee following review of information contained in an abstract submitted by the author(s). Contents of the paper have not been reviewed by the Offshore Technology Conference and are subject to correction by the author(s). The material does not nec-essarily reflect any position of the Offshore Technology Conference, its officers, or members. Electronic repro-duction, distribution, or storage of any part of this paper without the written consent of the Offshore Technology Conference is prohibited. Permission to reproduce in print is restricted to an abstract of not more than 300 words; illustrations may not be copied. The abstract must contain conspicuous acknowledgment of OTC copyright.



Jean-Francois Saint-Marcoux –

An International Perspective

Jean-Francois Saint-Marcoux considers ASME to be

vitally important to the sharing of technology and technical

advancement in the energy industry, particularly in subsea

development. Having spent major portions of his education

and career in Europe and the USA, he’s intimately acquainted

with the challenges of working in a global industry. There-

fore, he willingly volunteers to promote the society’s inter-

national agenda in such forums as the Offshore Technology

Conference and other industry programs. He sees value in

participation.

“The oil industry is very segmented,” he explained. “Pro-

viding comprehensive answers to our customers requires that

we draw from a greater professional experience beyond that

of a single company or continent.” He finds ASME-IPTI to

be a mechanical engineering catalyst for global discourse. “It’s

important to meet others, peers and colleagues, who share the

same appetite for learning,” he said.

As examples, Saint-Marcoux referred to the training

courses and conferences, particularly MCE

and OMAE, organized and offered by IPTI,

as well as the support given to the ASME

OTC programming committee, which he

chaired. In particular, he noted the successful

collaboration and organization of nine ses-

sions at OTC 2012 and the selection of the ASME-sponsored

Arthur Lubinski Best Mechanical Engineering Paper Award.

Saint-Marcoux also offered a bit of sage educational advice

to the up and coming class of mechanical engineers about the

value of participating in industry workgroups.

“Invest in a broader understanding of codes and standards.

Learn why they were developed and discover how they can be

improved,” he said. “Bridge yourself the gap between the sci-

ence you were taught and how the technologies and products

we apply are designed, manufactured and used –real-world

engineering. Keep learning. ”

Jean-Francois Saint-Marcoux is currently Corporate Technology

Development Manager at Subsea 7 in Paris, France.

you should leave the world a better place with all that you

do – in this case through engineering, which fits in with his

passionate dedication to ASME’s commitment to energy

workplace development and global impact.

Aside from the obvious conundrum of a wealth of oppor-

tunities and a dearth of resources to take advantage of them,

Wells believes there are two significant challenges for ASME-

IPTI. First is the time commitment required to organize and

offer events and activities that offer industry relevance and

insight. He knows, however, that it takes time to do it right.

The second challenge is the fact that there will always be

many more ideas and initiatives to accomplish than there is

available support, which can be frustrating to the volunteers.

But, in a very real sense, it’s a pretty good problem to have.

He also believes that there is much more value to volun-

teering than staying young and involved. Wells points to the

many people he’s met through his involvement with ASME

over the years.

“These are people I know I can trust and work with,” he

says. “It comes back to the reputation you build through

your involvement in worthwhile activities and endeavors that

inspires others to do the same.” He strongly advises students

and recent grads to get involved, pursue committee assign-

ments where they can actively participate, be creative, lead

by example, innovate and learn how to succeed on their own

terms.

In the end, all the activities, courses, conferences, technolo-

gy development and knowledge transfer just wouldn’t happen

without the volunteers committed to making them happen.

As Don Wells says, “Volunteers are the heart of any profes-

sional organization. You always get back more than you give.”

He should know. In 2011, he was chosen by the ASME-

IPTI staff to receive their ASME Exceptional Volunteer

Award.

Don Wells is currently Senior Subsea Engineering Advisor, E&P

Technology at Hess Corporation in Houston, Texas.

PETROLEUM DIVISION


Don Wells –

A Lifelong Commitment

As the Immediate Past Chair of the Petroleum Division

Executive Committee, Don Wells knows a thing or two

about ASME-IPTI membership, its long-term benefits and

the value of volunteerism. He joined ASME right out of

Texas A&M and remained committed to the organization

more or less throughout his career. He served as the commit-

tee chair for the creation of the association’s popular Sporting

Clays tournament and remains involved today, particularly

with Student and Early Career Committees, offering advice

and inspiring the next generation of mechanical engineers to

pursue careers in the energy industry. Altruistic, certainly, but

Wells also derives a great sense of personal

satisfaction hanging around with the “kids.”

“It recharges my batteries,” he explains. “I

find it inspiring to interact with the young

folks, particularly in Collegiate Council

activities.” It fits in with his core belief that

PD Volunteer Focus:

PETROLEUM DIVISION

A Fine Crop of Top OTC Papers

The following papers were recognized

as the remaining top six finalists in the

Lubinski paper competition:

OTC 23417-PP

Marlim 3 Phase Subsea Separation

System: Subsea Process Design and

Technology Qualification Program

Carlos A. Capela Moraes; Fabrício S. da

Silva; Luiz Philipe M. Marins; André

S. Monteiro; Dennis A. de Oliveira;

Rafael M. Pereira; Rogério da S. Pereira;

Amadeu Alves; Gelmirez M. Raposo;

Laura Figueiredo and Rene Orlowski,

Petrobras; Heloisa Folhadela; Rene

Mikkelsen; Jostein Kolbu; Lachlan

McKenzie; Zabia M. F. Elamin, and

Ole Thomas McClimans, FMC Tech-

nologies.

OTC 23500-PP

Ultra Deepwater Mooring & SCR

Solution for Disconnectable FPSOs

Hugh Banon, BP Americas; Philippe

Lavagna, Xavier Connaulte, Single

Buoy Moorings

OTC 22908-PP

HIPPS-Based Design of Flowlines

and Risers

Nikolaos Politis, Hugh Banon, Christo-

pher Curran, BP America Inc.

OTC 23552


System – Challenges and Solutions

for the Subsea Separation Station to

Cope with Process Requirements

R.T.C. Orlowski, M.L.L. Euphemio.

F.G. Castro, C.A. Andrade, F.M.F.

Guedes, L.C.T. da Silva, R.G. Pestana

and G.C. de Cerqueira, Petrobras; I.

Lourenco, A. Pivari, A. Witka, H. Fol-

hadella, L. Pacheco, S. Kronemberger

and J. Vilela, FMC Technologies.

OTC 23096-PP

Mechanically Lined Pipe: Installation

by Reel-Lay

Gregory A. Toguyeni, Subsea 7 and

Joachim Banse, Butting

OTC 23048

Riser VIV Axial Fatigue Analysis and

Mathieu Instability Mitigation

Libang Zhang, Ayman Eltaher and Paul

Jukes, MCS Kenny



Jean-Francois Saint-Marcoux –

An International Perspective

Jean-Francois Saint-Marcoux considers ASME to be

vitally important to the sharing of technology and technical

advancement in the energy industry, particularly in subsea

development. Having spent major portions of his education

and career in Europe and the USA, he’s intimately acquainted

with the challenges of working in a global industry. There-

fore, he willingly volunteers to promote the society’s inter-

national agenda in such forums as the Offshore Technology

Conference and other industry programs. He sees value in

participation.

“The oil industry is very segmented,” he explained. “Pro-

viding comprehensive answers to our customers requires that

we draw from a greater professional experience beyond that

of a single company or continent.” He finds ASME-IPTI to

be a mechanical engineering catalyst for global discourse. “It’s

important to meet others, peers and colleagues, who share the

same appetite for learning,” he said.

As examples, Saint-Marcoux referred to the training

courses and conferences, particularly MCE

and OMAE, organized and offered by IPTI,

as well as the support given to the ASME

OTC programming committee, which he

chaired. In particular, he noted the successful

collaboration and organization of nine ses-

sions at OTC 2012 and the selection of the ASME-sponsored

Arthur Lubinski Best Mechanical Engineering Paper Award.

Saint-Marcoux also offered a bit of sage educational advice

to the up and coming class of mechanical engineers about the

value of participating in industry workgroups.

“Invest in a broader understanding of codes and standards.

Learn why they were developed and discover how they can be

improved,” he said. “Bridge yourself the gap between the sci-

ence you were taught and how the technologies and products

we apply are designed, manufactured and used –real-world

engineering. Keep learning. ”

Jean-Francois Saint-Marcoux is currently Corporate Technology

Development Manager at Subsea 7 in Paris, France.

you should leave the world a better place with all that you

do – in this case through engineering, which fits in with his

passionate dedication to ASME’s commitment to energy

workplace development and global impact.

Aside from the obvious conundrum of a wealth of oppor-

tunities and a dearth of resources to take advantage of them,

Wells believes there are two significant challenges for ASME-

IPTI. First is the time commitment required to organize and

offer events and activities that offer industry relevance and

insight. He knows, however, that it takes time to do it right.

The second challenge is the fact that there will always be

many more ideas and initiatives to accomplish than there is

available support, which can be frustrating to the volunteers.

But, in a very real sense, it’s a pretty good problem to have.

He also believes that there is much more value to volun-

teering than staying young and involved. Wells points to the

many people he’s met through his involvement with ASME

over the years.

“These are people I know I can trust and work with,” he

says. “It comes back to the reputation you build through

your involvement in worthwhile activities and endeavors that

inspires others to do the same.” He strongly advises students

and recent grads to get involved, pursue committee assign-

ments where they can actively participate, be creative, lead

by example, innovate and learn how to succeed on their own

terms.

In the end, all the activities, courses, conferences, technolo-

gy development and knowledge transfer just wouldn’t happen

without the volunteers committed to making them happen.

As Don Wells says, “Volunteers are the heart of any profes-

sional organization. You always get back more than you give.”

He should know. In 2011, he was chosen by the ASME-

IPTI staff to receive their ASME Exceptional Volunteer

Award.

Don Wells is currently Senior Subsea Engineering Advisor, E&P

Technology at Hess Corporation in Houston, Texas.

PETROLEUM DIVISION


Don Wells –

A Lifelong Commitment

As the Immediate Past Chair of the Petroleum Division

Executive Committee, Don Wells knows a thing or two

about ASME-IPTI membership, its long-term benefits and

the value of volunteerism. He joined ASME right out of

Texas A&M and remained committed to the organization

more or less throughout his career. He served as the commit-

tee chair for the creation of the association’s popular Sporting

Clays tournament and remains involved today, particularly

with Student and Early Career Committees, offering advice

and inspiring the next generation of mechanical engineers to

pursue careers in the energy industry. Altruistic, certainly, but

Wells also derives a great sense of personal

satisfaction hanging around with the “kids.”

“It recharges my batteries,” he explains. “I

find it inspiring to interact with the young

folks, particularly in Collegiate Council

activities.” It fits in with his core belief that

PD Volunteer Focus:

PETROLEUM DIVISION

A Fine Crop of Top OTC Papers

The following papers were recognized

as the remaining top six finalists in the

Lubinski paper competition:

OTC 23417-PP


System: Subsea Process Design and

Technology Qualification Program

Carlos A. Capela Moraes; Fabrício S. da

Silva; Luiz Philipe M. Marins; André

S. Monteiro; Dennis A. de Oliveira;

Rafael M. Pereira; Rogério da S. Pereira;

Amadeu Alves; Gelmirez M. Raposo;

Laura Figueiredo and Rene Orlowski,

Petrobras; Heloisa Folhadela; Rene

Mikkelsen; Jostein Kolbu; Lachlan

McKenzie; Zabia M. F. Elamin, and

Ole Thomas McClimans, FMC Tech-

nologies.

OTC 23500-PP

Ultra Deepwater Mooring & SCR

Solution for Disconnectable FPSOs

Hugh Banon, BP Americas; Philippe

Lavagna, Xavier Connaulte, Single

Buoy Moorings

OTC 22908-PP

HIPPS-Based Design of Flowlines

and Risers

Nikolaos Politis, Hugh Banon, Christo-

pher Curran, BP America Inc.

OTC 23552


System – Challenges and Solutions

for the Subsea Separation Station to

Cope with Process Requirements

R.T.C. Orlowski, M.L.L. Euphemio.

F.G. Castro, C.A. Andrade, F.M.F.

Guedes, L.C.T. da Silva, R.G. Pestana

and G.C. de Cerqueira, Petrobras; I.

Lourenco, A. Pivari, A. Witka, H. Fol-

hadella, L. Pacheco, S. Kronemberger

and J. Vilela, FMC Technologies.

OTC 23096-PP

Mechanically Lined Pipe: Installation

by Reel-Lay

Gregory A. Toguyeni, Subsea 7 and

Joachim Banse, Butting

OTC 23048

Riser VIV Axial Fatigue Analysis and

Mathieu Instability Mitigation

Libang Zhang, Ayman Eltaher and Paul

Jukes, MCS Kenny



PETROLEUM DIVISION

Mission: Improve your shooting skills while hav-ing a blast with customers, friends and associates.

At ASME-IPTI, we believe the way

to predict the future is to create it.

The proceeds of this annual shooting

tournament benefit the society’s student

programs. Please help with your contin-

ued support of these programs through

committee involvement, donations of

raffle prizes or sponsorships. We’d like

to thank our sponsors and participants

for making the 2012 shoot a success!

The date of our next shoot is January

25, 2013. Mark your calendars!

For more information about the

ASME-IPTI Annual Fun Team Pistol

Shoot, please visit www.asme-ipti.org/

pistol-shoot.

2012 Sponsors

Cameron

Control Flow, Inc.

Delta Marine Technologies, Inc.

FMC Technologies, Inc.

Stress Engineering Services, Inc.

2012 Participating

Companies

AGR Subsea, Inc.

Anadarko Petroleum

Anderson & Associates, Inc.

Auto Fire & Safety

Consultants, Inc.

Baker Hughes

Bassdrill

Cal Dive International

Cameron

CEVA

Chevron

Control Flow, Inc.

Core Laboratories

Crest Industrial Chemicals, Inc.


Devasco

Diamond Offshore Drilling

Drill Right Technology, Inc.

Engineering Dynamics, Inc.

Fairway Resources


Geospace Offshore

Horizon Marine, Inc.

Horton Wison Deepwater

JP Kenny,

M-Wessel, Inc.

Marathon Oil

McDermott International

MI SWACO

National Oilwell Varco

Nelson Associates

Nexen, Inc.

Noble Energy

Oxy

Oil States International, Inc.

PCCA

Petrofac

Pinnacle Engineering

Raytheon Company

Seadrill Ltd.

Seawell Americas, Inc.

Shell

Sprint Pipeline Services

Statoil

Stingray Oil Company, Inc.

Thomas Tools

TransCanada Pipelines, Inc.

Valerus Compression Services

Veolia Environmental Services

Waldemar S. Nelson

Walter Oil & Gas

W.O.M., Inc.

taining and socializing, involvement

in these events continues to increase

and, as a result, is broadening our Early

Career Committee. A networking event

will also be held at OTC 2012. These

events are free and open to all early

career engineers.

If you’d like more information on the

Petroleum Division Early Career Com-

mittee or any of its events, please visit

www.asme-ipti.org/petroleum-division/

early-career-engineers.

4th Annual Fun Team Pistol Shoot, January 20, 2012, Conroe, Texas


PETROLEUM DIVISION

Early Career Committee: Spreading the Word

Over the past year the Early Career

(EC) Committee of the ASME Petro-

leum Division has been busy spreading

the word about ASME-IPTI, encourag-

ing membership and promoting the

benefits of being involved in a premier

industry society. Starting with a kick-off

reception at OTC 2011, the EC hosted

quarterly events focusing on presen-

tation topics specific to early career

development. Each event was centered

on networking and development with

the goal of attracting a broad range of

attendees from across the petroleum

industry. Guest speakers have included

David Howell, director of licensing for

the Texas Board of Professional Engi-

neers, and Sean Ferguson, assistant dean

for MBA programs at Rice University.

Topics included:

• Why you should get involved with

ASME and how to get started.

• PE License: Why, how and what are

the training opportunities?

• Getting your MBA: How, when and

why?

In addition to these events, the group

also hosted social events in conjunction

with OTC and National Engineers’

Week. Intended for networking, enter-

Paying It Forward: Kyle Richter, Texas A&M, 2010.

Getting involved is not something that Kyle Richter has a

problem with. Nor is staying involved. Not only was he presi-

dent of the ASME Texas A&M student chapter, but he was

also one of the graduates of ASME Petro-

leum Division’s Collegiate Council program

responsible for nominating Mr. Charlie for

designation as a Historical Mechanical Engi-

neering Landmark. Today he remains active

in supporting the Early Careers initiatives.

Giving Back

Richter’s commitment to his chosen field is so strong and

he is so inspired by the dedication and values put into action

by the ASME Petroleum Division that he created and began

funding an endowment for a mechanical engineering scholar-

ship at Texas A&M University. As part of the university’s

“Operation Spirit and Mind” fundraising initiative conducted

between January 2007 and August 2011, Richter along with

many other recent grads, campus organizations and boosters

helped raise more than $308 million.

Drawn to Engineering: Madeleine Kopp,

Texas A&M, 2010.

Engineering is in Madeleine Kopp’s blood. Following her

father into the discipline, when she got involved with the

student chapter of ASME at Texas A&M several years ago,

little did she know that the benefits she’d reap would extend

beyond networking with like-minded engineering students

and potential employers. From the outset, she threw herself

into volunteering for events, attended as many speaker meet-

ings as she could and then, when she decided she wanted to

do even more, applied for and became the Publicity Chair for

the student chapter.

At an ASME Speaker Meeting in Spring

2011, she learned about fellowship op-

portunities available to her as a Mechani-

cal Engineering graduate student. So she

applied for the $10,000 ASME fellowship in

early May 2011.

It all happened quite rapidly. In June, she was asked to sub-

mit her résumé and by mid-July, she had been selected to re-

ceive the fellowship. In late August, the Engineering Depart-

ment at Texas A&M had received a formal letter and check

for the first half of the award. Kopp was officially recognized

and presented with her fellowship check at the department’s

annual Scholarship Banquet in September. When asked what

she planned to do with the fellowship, she said that the funds

had already gone toward education and living expenses as she

pursues a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D.

The fellowship funds are a blessing, but Kopp knows that

the real benefit of ASME-IPTI membership is the networking

opportunity, as she realized again when she attended the 2012

Pistol Shoot.

“At a time when I’m starting to look for a full-time job, the

personal connections I’ve made are invaluable,” she con-

cluded.



PETROLEUM DIVISION

Mission: Improve your shooting skills while hav-ing a blast with customers, friends and associates.

At ASME-IPTI, we believe the way

to predict the future is to create it.

The proceeds of this annual shooting

tournament benefit the society’s student

programs. Please help with your contin-

ued support of these programs through

committee involvement, donations of

raffle prizes or sponsorships. We’d like

to thank our sponsors and participants

for making the 2012 shoot a success!

The date of our next shoot is January

25, 2013. Mark your calendars!

For more information about the

ASME-IPTI Annual Fun Team Pistol

Shoot, please visit www.asme-ipti.org/

pistol-shoot.

2012 Sponsors

Cameron

Control Flow, Inc.



Stress Engineering Services, Inc.

2012 Participating

Companies

AGR Subsea, Inc.

Anadarko Petroleum

Anderson & Associates, Inc.

Auto Fire & Safety

Consultants, Inc.

Baker Hughes

Bassdrill

Cal Dive International

Cameron

CEVA

Chevron

Control Flow, Inc.

Core Laboratories

Crest Industrial Chemicals, Inc.


Devasco

Diamond Offshore Drilling

Drill Right Technology, Inc.

Engineering Dynamics, Inc.

Fairway Resources


Geospace Offshore

Horizon Marine, Inc.

Horton Wison Deepwater

JP Kenny,

M-Wessel, Inc.

Marathon Oil

McDermott International

MI SWACO

National Oilwell Varco

Nelson Associates

Nexen, Inc.

Noble Energy

Oxy

Oil States International, Inc.

PCCA

Petrofac

Pinnacle Engineering

Raytheon Company

Seadrill Ltd.

Seawell Americas, Inc.

Shell

Sprint Pipeline Services

Statoil

Stingray Oil Company, Inc.

Thomas Tools

TransCanada Pipelines, Inc.

Valerus Compression Services

Veolia Environmental Services

Waldemar S. Nelson

Walter Oil & Gas

W.O.M., Inc.

taining and socializing, involvement

in these events continues to increase

and, as a result, is broadening our Early

Career Committee. A networking event

will also be held at OTC 2012. These

events are free and open to all early

career engineers.

If you’d like more information on the

Petroleum Division Early Career Com-

mittee or any of its events, please visit

www.asme-ipti.org/petroleum-division/

early-career-engineers.

4th Annual Fun Team Pistol Shoot, January 20, 2012, Conroe, Texas


PETROLEUM DIVISION

Early Career Committee: Spreading the Word

Over the past year the Early Career

(EC) Committee of the ASME Petro-

leum Division has been busy spreading

the word about ASME-IPTI, encourag-

ing membership and promoting the

benefits of being involved in a premier

industry society. Starting with a kick-off

reception at OTC 2011, the EC hosted

quarterly events focusing on presen-

tation topics specific to early career

development. Each event was centered

on networking and development with

the goal of attracting a broad range of

attendees from across the petroleum

industry. Guest speakers have included

David Howell, director of licensing for

the Texas Board of Professional Engi-

neers, and Sean Ferguson, assistant dean

for MBA programs at Rice University.

Topics included:

• Why you should get involved with

ASME and how to get started.

• PE License: Why, how and what are

the training opportunities?

• Getting your MBA: How, when and

why?

In addition to these events, the group

also hosted social events in conjunction

with OTC and National Engineers’

Week. Intended for networking, enter-

Paying It Forward: Kyle Richter, Texas A&M, 2010.

Getting involved is not something that Kyle Richter has a

problem with. Nor is staying involved. Not only was he presi-

dent of the ASME Texas A&M student chapter, but he was

also one of the graduates of ASME Petro-

leum Division’s Collegiate Council program

responsible for nominating Mr. Charlie for

designation as a Historical Mechanical Engi-

neering Landmark. Today he remains active

in supporting the Early Careers initiatives.

Giving Back

Richter’s commitment to his chosen field is so strong and

he is so inspired by the dedication and values put into action

by the ASME Petroleum Division that he created and began

funding an endowment for a mechanical engineering scholar-

ship at Texas A&M University. As part of the university’s

“Operation Spirit and Mind” fundraising initiative conducted

between January 2007 and August 2011, Richter along with

many other recent grads, campus organizations and boosters

helped raise more than $308 million.

Drawn to Engineering: Madeleine Kopp,

Texas A&M, 2010.

Engineering is in Madeleine Kopp’s blood. Following her

father into the discipline, when she got involved with the

student chapter of ASME at Texas A&M several years ago,

little did she know that the benefits she’d reap would extend

beyond networking with like-minded engineering students

and potential employers. From the outset, she threw herself

into volunteering for events, attended as many speaker meet-

ings as she could and then, when she decided she wanted to

do even more, applied for and became the Publicity Chair for

the student chapter.

At an ASME Speaker Meeting in Spring

2011, she learned about fellowship op-

portunities available to her as a Mechani-

cal Engineering graduate student. So she

applied for the $10,000 ASME fellowship in

early May 2011.

It all happened quite rapidly. In June, she was asked to sub-

mit her résumé and by mid-July, she had been selected to re-

ceive the fellowship. In late August, the Engineering Depart-

ment at Texas A&M had received a formal letter and check

for the first half of the award. Kopp was officially recognized

and presented with her fellowship check at the department’s

annual Scholarship Banquet in September. When asked what

she planned to do with the fellowship, she said that the funds

had already gone toward education and living expenses as she

pursues a Mechanical Engineering Ph.D.

The fellowship funds are a blessing, but Kopp knows that

the real benefit of ASME-IPTI membership is the networking

opportunity, as she realized again when she attended the 2012

Pistol Shoot.

“At a time when I’m starting to look for a full-time job, the

personal connections I’ve made are invaluable,” she con-

cluded.



PETROLEUM DIVISION

Twenty aspiring engineers in their

senior year of high school from the

Greater Houston area were given

the opportunity to visit Texas Tech

University’s Edward E. Whitacre, Jr.

College of Engineering last October,

courtesy of the ASME-IPTI Petroleum

Division. The Division donated funds

so these deserving students could

experience a weekend on a college

campus, while exploring their passion

for engineering.

Diane Bollom, Manager of the Texas

Tech University Houston Regional

Center, said they were overwhelmed

with the positive response of more than

100 applications received from stu-

dents regarding the ASME-sponsored

trip.

“We were so excited to see students

express such an interest in Texas Tech

University, as well potential careers in

engineering. We are very thankful for

the generosity and support of ASME.

Together, we’re helping students’ engi-

neering dreams become reality,” Bollom

said.

While on campus, the students met

with the Associate Dean for Under-

graduate Studies, Dr. J. Walt Oler, cur-

rent engineering students and profes-

sors, attended a presentation and went

on tours of engineering

labs. The students also

experienced local res-

taurants, a prospective

student tailgate party

and a homecoming

football game.

Leslie Lopez, a senior at Pasadena

Memorial High School, attended the

trip to Lubbock. She said her teachers

and mentors have always told her to

visit college campuses to determine if

they are a right fit.

“I definitely did not have the slightest

idea what they meant until I visited

Texas Tech University. I immediately

fell in love with the school and every-

thing about it,” Lopez said.

Many of these students will be the

first in their family to attend a four-

year university, and some had never

been to a college campus before this

trip. Bianca Giron, a senior from Pope

John XXIII High School, said her

favorite part of the trip was visiting the

Texas Tech campus.

“This trip made me realize how seri-

ous and dedicated I am about becom-

ing an engineer,” Giron said.

Crystal Torres, a senior from

Eisenhower High School, said if she

hadn’t had the opportunity to attend

the campus visit, she would not have

considered attending Texas Tech.

“I want to thank ASME for making

the trip to Texas Tech possible. I am

definitely studying engineering and

attending Texas Tech, something I was

not sure of before the trip,” Torres said.

When the students returned from

their trip, they had the opportunity

to meet some of the ASME IPTI PD

officers, to learn more about careers for

mechanical engineers in the oil and gas

industry. According to Justin White-

head, the newest member to ASME

IPTI Petroleum Division’s Executive

Committee, “It was great to see the

excitement of the high school students

and their families, and there was a great

atmosphere of collaboration between

area Engineering and the ASME Petro-

leum Division.”

The Petroleum Division hosted

a private reception for the event in

November. Students were encouraged

to bring their parents to the event

where they were reunited with their

new friends from the previous month’s

bus trip.

Gary Harrison, the Chairman of

the ASME IPTI Petroleum Division

Executive Committee, remarked, “The

sincerity of the students, and their

eagerness to learn, was compelling. I

believe a few engineers were made on

that Sunday afternoon.”

For more information on ASME

IPTI PD scholarships and programs

for aspiring and early career engineers

contact [email protected]

For more information

on the Texas Tech College

of Engineering contact

Dr. Walt Oler, Associ-

ate Dean, Undergraduate

Studies, [email protected],

806.742.3451.

Texas Tech Bus Trip: Giving Engineering School a Try-Out


Growing the Benefits of Involvement

During the ASME Landmark Cer-

emony for the Mr. Charlie submersible

drilling rig, held on March 17th at the

rig’s permanent mooring site in Morgan

City, Louisiana, the past met the present

and enabled the future.

Participating in the celebration were

“Doc” Laborde, who envisioned the

industry’s first redeployable, submersible

drilling rig and made it happen; mem-

bers of the Petroleum Division’s Colle-

giate Council who selected and nominat-

ed Mr. Charlie for landmark status; along

with Early Career professionals, ASME-

IPTI volunteers, local dignitaries, Reggie

Vachon from the ASME President’s

office and Terry Reynolds representing

the History & Heritage Committee.

The celebration honoring the engi-

neering legacy of Mr. Charlie and the

pioneers of the offshore oil & gas indus-

try inspired members of the Collegiate

Council and Early Career Program to

publicly recommit to their ongoing

participation in ASME to ensure the

society’s impact on the industry. In ad-

dition, “Doc” Laborde was so impressed

by the event that he pledged a donation

from his own foundation to further sup-

port ASME’s H&H efforts.

Don Wells, past Chair of the Petro-

leum Division Executive Committee and

ASME Landmark Ceremony attendee

summed up the flawless day, the efforts

and the achievement.

“Because of the Spirit, Energy and

Character of the volunteers and the sup-

port of the staff, we’ve gone full circle.

“Doc” gave us a design that advanced an

industry and now, he’s giving back to as-

sure that the spirit he lived by lives on.”

PETROLEUM DIVISION



PETROLEUM DIVISION

Twenty aspiring engineers in their

senior year of high school from the

Greater Houston area were given

the opportunity to visit Texas Tech

University’s Edward E. Whitacre, Jr.

College of Engineering last October,

courtesy of the ASME-IPTI Petroleum

Division. The Division donated funds

so these deserving students could

experience a weekend on a college

campus, while exploring their passion

for engineering.

Diane Bollom, Manager of the Texas

Tech University Houston Regional

Center, said they were overwhelmed

with the positive response of more than

100 applications received from stu-

dents regarding the ASME-sponsored

trip.

“We were so excited to see students

express such an interest in Texas Tech

University, as well potential careers in

engineering. We are very thankful for

the generosity and support of ASME.

Together, we’re helping students’ engi-

neering dreams become reality,” Bollom

said.

While on campus, the students met

with the Associate Dean for Under-

graduate Studies, Dr. J. Walt Oler, cur-

rent engineering students and profes-

sors, attended a presentation and went

on tours of engineering

labs. The students also

experienced local res-

taurants, a prospective

student tailgate party

and a homecoming

football game.

Leslie Lopez, a senior at Pasadena

Memorial High School, attended the

trip to Lubbock. She said her teachers

and mentors have always told her to

visit college campuses to determine if

they are a right fit.

“I definitely did not have the slightest

idea what they meant until I visited

Texas Tech University. I immediately

fell in love with the school and every-

thing about it,” Lopez said.

Many of these students will be the

first in their family to attend a four-

year university, and some had never

been to a college campus before this

trip. Bianca Giron, a senior from Pope

John XXIII High School, said her

favorite part of the trip was visiting the

Texas Tech campus.

“This trip made me realize how seri-

ous and dedicated I am about becom-

ing an engineer,” Giron said.

Crystal Torres, a senior from

Eisenhower High School, said if she

hadn’t had the opportunity to attend

the campus visit, she would not have

considered attending Texas Tech.

“I want to thank ASME for making

the trip to Texas Tech possible. I am

definitely studying engineering and

attending Texas Tech, something I was

not sure of before the trip,” Torres said.

When the students returned from

their trip, they had the opportunity

to meet some of the ASME IPTI PD

officers, to learn more about careers for

mechanical engineers in the oil and gas

industry. According to Justin White-

head, the newest member to ASME

IPTI Petroleum Division’s Executive

Committee, “It was great to see the

excitement of the high school students

and their families, and there was a great

atmosphere of collaboration between

area Engineering and the ASME Petro-

leum Division.”

The Petroleum Division hosted

a private reception for the event in

November. Students were encouraged

to bring their parents to the event

where they were reunited with their

new friends from the previous month’s

bus trip.

Gary Harrison, the Chairman of

the ASME IPTI Petroleum Division

Executive Committee, remarked, “The

sincerity of the students, and their

eagerness to learn, was compelling. I

believe a few engineers were made on

that Sunday afternoon.”

For more information on ASME

IPTI PD scholarships and programs

for aspiring and early career engineers

contact [email protected]

For more information

on the Texas Tech College

of Engineering contact

Dr. Walt Oler, Associ-

ate Dean, Undergraduate

Studies, [email protected],

806.742.3451.

Texas Tech Bus Trip: Giving Engineering School a Try-Out


Growing the Benefits of Involvement

During the ASME Landmark Cer-

emony for the Mr. Charlie submersible

drilling rig, held on March 17th at the

rig’s permanent mooring site in Morgan

City, Louisiana, the past met the present

and enabled the future.

Participating in the celebration were

“Doc” Laborde, who envisioned the

industry’s first redeployable, submersible

drilling rig and made it happen; mem-

bers of the Petroleum Division’s Colle-

giate Council who selected and nominat-

ed Mr. Charlie for landmark status; along

with Early Career professionals, ASME-

IPTI volunteers, local dignitaries, Reggie

Vachon from the ASME President’s

office and Terry Reynolds representing

the History & Heritage Committee.

The celebration honoring the engi-

neering legacy of Mr. Charlie and the

pioneers of the offshore oil & gas indus-

try inspired members of the Collegiate

Council and Early Career Program to

publicly recommit to their ongoing

participation in ASME to ensure the

society’s impact on the industry. In ad-

dition, “Doc” Laborde was so impressed

by the event that he pledged a donation

from his own foundation to further sup-

port ASME’s H&H efforts.

Don Wells, past Chair of the Petro-

leum Division Executive Committee and

ASME Landmark Ceremony attendee

summed up the flawless day, the efforts

and the achievement.

“Because of the Spirit, Energy and

Character of the volunteers and the sup-

port of the staff, we’ve gone full circle.

“Doc” gave us a design that advanced an

industry and now, he’s giving back to as-

sure that the spirit he lived by lives on.”

PETROLEUM DIVISION



OCEAN OFFSHORE AND ARCTIC ENGINEERING DIVISION

PIPELINE SYSTEMS DIVISION

September 24-28, 2012 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The IPC is internationally renowned

as the world’s premier pipeline confer-

ence. As a not-for-profit conference,

proceeds are allocated for the support of

educational initiatives and research in

the pipeline industry.

Registration for the 2012 IPC confer-

ence is underway. As of publication,

the organizers expect more than 1300

attendees from 43 countries. Industry

experts will present more than 300

papers, approximately 18 tutorials and

various panel sessions. The program

is structured to provide conference

attendees maximum interaction with

industry leaders to discuss a variety of

topics of interest.

To meet the needs for network-

ing, international cooperation and

international best practices, ASME is

proud to present the ASME India Oil

and Gas Pipeline Conference. This

conference takes place every other

odd year and was established in 2007.

The 2011 Conference was successfully

completed. Planning is starting for

the 2013 conference.

This exclusive event was designed

by ASME Members in India in coop-

eration with ASME Pipeline Systems

Division members globally. This

unique, not-for-profit event, designed

by engineers for engineers, provides a

forum for the transfer of best prac-

tices and standards in a global sense

securing India’s position as a leader

in pipeline technology. Organized by

the Pipeline Systems Division of the

American Society of Mechanical En-

gineers, the International Petroleum

Technology Institute, and the ASME

Standards and Certifications, the

Conference takes place in India and

brings together key corporate players

in the onshore and offshore pipeline

industry.

For the most up to date information

please visit the conference webpage.

http://asme-ipti.org/pipeline-division/

india/

2012 International Pipeline Conference

ASME India Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference

The 31st International Conference

on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engi-

neering (OMAE 2012) will be held in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Join your col-

leagues from industry, academia and

government from July 1-6, 2012.

OMAE 2012 is the ideal forum

for researchers, engineers, managers,

technicians and students from the

scientific and industrial communities

from around the world to meet and

present advances in technology and its

scientific support; to exchange ideas

and experiences while promoting tech-

nological progress and its application

in industry; and to promote interna-

tional cooperation in ocean, offshore

and arctic engineering. Following on

the tradition of excellence of previ-

ous OMAE conferences, more than

800 technical papers are planned for

presentation.

The 31st OMAE in Rio de Janeiro The New Technological Frontier: Deepwater Pre-Salt Reservoirs

INSERT-3-PROP-12.indd 10 3/28/12 3:36 PM


Rio Technical Program

Our program will follow the tradition of excellence stan-

dard in all previous OMAE conferences. Your host COPPE/

UFRJ is pleased to announce two special events that will

take place during OMAE 2012. The following 11 standard

symposia plus 2 special symposia are planned:

SYMP 1 Offshore Technology

SYMP 2 Structures, Safety and Reliability

SYMP 3 Materials Technology

SYMP 4 Pipeline and Riser Technology

SYMP 5 Ocean Space Utilization

SYMP 6 Ocean Engineering

SYMP 7 Polar and Arctic Sciences and Technology

SYMP 8 CFD and VIV

SYMP 9 Ocean Renewable Energy

SYMP 10 Offshore Geotechnics

SYMP 11 Petroleum Technology Symposium

SYMP 12 Ronald W. Yeung Honoring Symposium on Off-

shore and Ship Hydrodynamics

SYMP 13 Workshop on Pre-Salt Technology: Challenges

and Opportunities

– Plus a Workshop/Special Session on Verification &

Validation (V&V)

2013 – Nantes, France

2014 – San Francisco, CA, USA

2015 – St. John’s, Newfoundland

Is your city interested in hosting OMAE in 2016? Please visit

www.ooae.org for details.

This year’s recipients possess high

academic standards and excellence

in research skills and exhibit strong

interest in the offshore industry. The

Houston Section OOAE Scholar-

ships for the 2011 academic year were

awarded to:

Lixin Hu of Houston, Texas

Devendra Patil of Houston, Texas

Lei Wang of Galveston, Texas

To learn more about the OOAE Divi-

sions Houston Section annual academic

scholarships, please visit http://www.

ooae.org/houston-scholarships/

Each year, the Ocean, Offshore and

Arctic Engineering Division (OOAE)

of the IPTI hosts a specialty forum

at the International Conference on

Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineer-

ing (OMAE). The forum is designed

for students who may not be familiar

with the industry, as well as those

who have already specialized in the

area. Highlights of the forum include

presentations of the various technolo-

gies required (e.g., from geosciences to

mechanical/structural engineering and

project management), types of job op-

portunities and possible career paths,

as well as site tours. Networking and

team-building events not only educate

but make Outreach a fun experience.

You can find further information

about for the 2012 Outreach program

at OMAE in Rio de Janeiro on the

conference website.

http://www.omae2012.com

2012 Sponsors:

OOAE Division, Intecsea

Technip, MCS Kenny

2H Offshore

“It was an unforgettable experience being a member of Outreach program.”“The Outreach Forum has done a very nice job and I hope there is a chance to attend it

again and make some contributions to it one day.”– Comments from Outreach 2010 attendees

Outreach for Engineers Specialty Forum at OMAE

OOAE Division Houston Section Annual Academic Scholarships




PIPELINE SYSTEMS DIVISION

September 24-28, 2012 Calgary, Alberta, Canada

The IPC is internationally renowned

as the world’s premier pipeline confer-

ence. As a not-for-profit conference,

proceeds are allocated for the support of

educational initiatives and research in

the pipeline industry.

Registration for the 2012 IPC confer-

ence is underway. As of publication,

the organizers expect more than 1300

attendees from 43 countries. Industry

experts will present more than 300

papers, approximately 18 tutorials and

various panel sessions. The program

is structured to provide conference

attendees maximum interaction with

industry leaders to discuss a variety of

topics of interest.

To meet the needs for network-

ing, international cooperation and

international best practices, ASME is

proud to present the ASME India Oil

and Gas Pipeline Conference. This

conference takes place every other

odd year and was established in 2007.

The 2011 Conference was successfully

completed. Planning is starting for

the 2013 conference.

This exclusive event was designed

by ASME Members in India in coop-

eration with ASME Pipeline Systems

Division members globally. This

unique, not-for-profit event, designed

by engineers for engineers, provides a

forum for the transfer of best prac-

tices and standards in a global sense

securing India’s position as a leader

in pipeline technology. Organized by

the Pipeline Systems Division of the

American Society of Mechanical En-

gineers, the International Petroleum

Technology Institute, and the ASME

Standards and Certifications, the

Conference takes place in India and

brings together key corporate players

in the onshore and offshore pipeline

industry.

For the most up to date information

please visit the conference webpage.

http://asme-ipti.org/pipeline-division/

india/

2012 International Pipeline Conference

ASME India Oil & Gas Pipeline Conference

The 31st International Conference

on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engi-

neering (OMAE 2012) will be held in

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Join your col-

leagues from industry, academia and

government from July 1-6, 2012.

OMAE 2012 is the ideal forum

for researchers, engineers, managers,

technicians and students from the

scientific and industrial communities

from around the world to meet and

present advances in technology and its

scientific support; to exchange ideas

and experiences while promoting tech-

nological progress and its application

in industry; and to promote interna-

tional cooperation in ocean, offshore

and arctic engineering. Following on

the tradition of excellence of previ-

ous OMAE conferences, more than

800 technical papers are planned for

presentation.

The 31st OMAE in Rio de Janeiro The New Technological Frontier: Deepwater Pre-Salt Reservoirs

INSERT-3-PROP-12.indd 10 3/28/12 3:36 PM


Rio Technical Program

Our program will follow the tradition of excellence stan-

dard in all previous OMAE conferences. Your host COPPE/

UFRJ is pleased to announce two special events that will

take place during OMAE 2012. The following 11 standard

symposia plus 2 special symposia are planned:

SYMP 1 Offshore Technology

SYMP 2 Structures, Safety and Reliability

SYMP 3 Materials Technology

SYMP 4 Pipeline and Riser Technology

SYMP 5 Ocean Space Utilization

SYMP 6 Ocean Engineering

SYMP 7 Polar and Arctic Sciences and Technology

SYMP 8 CFD and VIV

SYMP 9 Ocean Renewable Energy

SYMP 10 Offshore Geotechnics

SYMP 11 Petroleum Technology Symposium

SYMP 12 Ronald W. Yeung Honoring Symposium on Off-

shore and Ship Hydrodynamics

SYMP 13 Workshop on Pre-Salt Technology: Challenges

and Opportunities

– Plus a Workshop/Special Session on Verification &

Validation (V&V)

2013 – Nantes, France

2014 – San Francisco, CA, USA

2015 – St. John’s, Newfoundland

Is your city interested in hosting OMAE in 2016? Please visit

www.ooae.org for details.

This year’s recipients possess high

academic standards and excellence

in research skills and exhibit strong

interest in the offshore industry. The

Houston Section OOAE Scholar-

ships for the 2011 academic year were

awarded to:

Lixin Hu of Houston, Texas

Devendra Patil of Houston, Texas

Lei Wang of Galveston, Texas

To learn more about the OOAE Divi-

sions Houston Section annual academic

scholarships, please visit http://www.

ooae.org/houston-scholarships/

Each year, the Ocean, Offshore and

Arctic Engineering Division (OOAE)

of the IPTI hosts a specialty forum

at the International Conference on

Ocean, Offshore and Arctic Engineer-

ing (OMAE). The forum is designed

for students who may not be familiar

with the industry, as well as those

who have already specialized in the

area. Highlights of the forum include

presentations of the various technolo-

gies required (e.g., from geosciences to

mechanical/structural engineering and

project management), types of job op-

portunities and possible career paths,

as well as site tours. Networking and

team-building events not only educate

but make Outreach a fun experience.

You can find further information

about for the 2012 Outreach program

at OMAE in Rio de Janeiro on the

conference website.

http://www.omae2012.com

2012 Sponsors:

OOAE Division, Intecsea

Technip, MCS Kenny

2H Offshore

“It was an unforgettable experience being a member of Outreach program.”“The Outreach Forum has done a very nice job and I hope there is a chance to attend it

again and make some contributions to it one day.”– Comments from Outreach 2010 attendees

Outreach for Engineers Specialty Forum at OMAE

OOAE Division Houston Section Annual Academic Scholarships



April 17

Engineering Ethics in Action

Houston, TX

April 24-25

IM & Reliability for

Subsea Systems

Houston, TX

April 26

Fundamentals of Deepwater

Riser Engineering

Houston, TX

April 27


Project Development

Houston, TX

July 1

Subsea Equipment

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

July 1

Marine Renewable Energy


July 1

Structural Reliability of

Offshore Structures


August 6-8

PE: Design & Selection

of Compressors


September 25


Houston, TX

October 15


Riser Engineering

Houston, TX

October 15

Flow Assurance

Houston, TX

October 16

Subsea Pipeline Design

Overview

Houston, TX

November 5-7

PE: Design & Construction

San Francisco, CA

November 5

PE: Stress Corrosion Cracking

San Francisco, CA

November 6-7

PE: Defect Assessment

San Francisco, CA

November 7-9


of Compressors

San Francisco, CA

November 8

PE: Integrity Management

San Francisco, CA

November 26


Project Development

Perth, Australia

November 26


Riser Engineering

Perth, Australia

November 26


Overview

Perth, Australia

December 4


Houston, TX

ASME-IPTI Training Events 2012

Collegiate Council Meeting - 2

16-18-Mar-2012

New Orleans, LA

MCE Deepwater

Development 2012

26-28-Mar-2012

CNIT, La Defense

Paris France

18th Annual ASME OTC.12

Golf Tournament

28-Apr-12

Wildcat Golf Club

Houston TX

24th Annual ASME / UH

OTC Crawfish

29-Apr-12

Houston TX

Offshore Technology Conference

30-Apr-3-May-12

Reliant Center, Houston TX

BMEA and Awards Reception

at OTC

30-Apr-12

Houston TX

Outreach for Engineers at

OMAE 2012

30-Jun-5-Jul-12

Rio de Janeiro

31st International Conference

on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic

Engineering (OMAE)

1-Jul-6-Jul-12

Rio de Janeiro

International Pipeline

Conference 2012

24-Sep-28-Sep-12

Hyatt Regency Hotel & Telus

Convention Centre

Calgary Alberta

Collegiate Council Meeting – 1

October 2012

Houston, TX

International Offshore

Pipeline Forum

October 2012

Houston, TX

ASME-IPTI Annual Sporting

Clays Tournament

19-Oct-12

American Shooting Center

Houston, TX

Arctic Technology

Conference (ATC)

3-Dec-5-Dec-12

George R. Brown Convention

Center, Houston TX

5th Annual Fun Team

Pistol Shoot

18-Jan-13

Shooter’s Station, Conroe TX

36th Annual ASME/ALRDC

Gas Lift Workshop

4-9-Feb 2013

Stavanger, Norway

ASME India Oil & Gas

Pipeline Conference

Feb 2013

India

ASME-IPTI Events Schedule 2012-2013


April 17


Houston, TX

April 24-25

IM & Reliability for

Subsea Systems

Houston, TX

April 26


Riser Engineering

Houston, TX

April 27


Project Development

Houston, TX

July 1

Subsea Equipment


July 1

Marine Renewable Energy


July 1

Structural Reliability of

Offshore Structures


August 6-8


of Compressors


September 25


Houston, TX

October 15


Riser Engineering

Houston, TX

October 15

Flow Assurance

Houston, TX

October 16


Overview

Houston, TX

November 5-7

PE: Design & Construction

San Francisco, CA

November 5

PE: Stress Corrosion Cracking

San Francisco, CA

November 6-7

PE: Defect Assessment

San Francisco, CA

November 7-9


of Compressors

San Francisco, CA

November 8

PE: Integrity Management

San Francisco, CA

November 26


Project Development

Perth, Australia

November 26


Riser Engineering

Perth, Australia

November 26


Overview

Perth, Australia

December 4


Houston, TX

ASME-IPTI Training Events 2012

Collegiate Council Meeting - 2

16-18-Mar-2012

New Orleans, LA

MCE Deepwater

Development 2012

26-28-Mar-2012

CNIT, La Defense

Paris France

18th Annual ASME OTC.12

Golf Tournament

28-Apr-12

Wildcat Golf Club

Houston TX

24th Annual ASME / UH

OTC Crawfish

29-Apr-12

Houston TX

Offshore Technology Conference

30-Apr-3-May-12

Reliant Center, Houston TX

BMEA and Awards Reception

at OTC

30-Apr-12

Houston TX

Outreach for Engineers at

OMAE 2012

30-Jun-5-Jul-12

Rio de Janeiro

31st International Conference

on Ocean, Offshore and Arctic

Engineering (OMAE)

1-Jul-6-Jul-12

Rio de Janeiro

International Pipeline

Conference 2012

24-Sep-28-Sep-12

Hyatt Regency Hotel & Telus

Convention Centre

Calgary Alberta

Collegiate Council Meeting – 1

October 2012

Houston, TX

International Offshore

Pipeline Forum

October 2012

Houston, TX

ASME-IPTI Annual Sporting

Clays Tournament

19-Oct-12

American Shooting Center

Houston, TX

Arctic Technology

Conference (ATC)

3-Dec-5-Dec-12

George R. Brown Convention

Center, Houston TX

5th Annual Fun Team

Pistol Shoot

18-Jan-13

Shooter’s Station, Conroe TX

36th Annual ASME/ALRDC

Gas Lift Workshop

4-9-Feb 2013

Stavanger, Norway

ASME India Oil & Gas

Pipeline Conference

Feb 2013

India

ASME-IPTI Events Schedule 2012-2013


May 2012 - AtlantaCH139 Conceptual Development and Capital

Cost Estimating May 21-22CH201 Spreadsheet Power May 21-22PD539 Bolted Joints and Gasket Behavior May 21-22CH203 Excel Programming/Spreadsheet Combo May 21-23CH501 PSM: Requirements and the Development

of Management Systems May 21-23PD146 Flow Induced Vibration with Applications

to Failure Analysis May 21-23PD349 Centrifugal Pump Design and Applications May 21-23PD410 Detail Engineering of Piping Systems May 21-23PD513 TRIZ: The Theory of Inventive Problem Solving May 21-23PD596 Developing a 10-Year Valve Inservice

Testing Program May 21-23CH758 Project Evaluation and Cost Estimating

Combo Course May 21-24PD010 ASME A17.1 Safety Code for Elevators

and Escalators May 21-24PD632 Design in Codes, Standards and Regulations

for Nuclear Power Plant Construction May 21-24PD013 B31.1 Power Piping Code May 21-25PD601 Bolting Combo Course May 21-25CH200 Excel Programing with VBA May 23PD386 Design of Bolted Flange Joints May 23CH140 Project Evaluation: Operating Cost Estimating

and Financial Analysis May 23-24CH024 Chemical and Bioengineering Fundamentals

for Technical and Scientific Professionals May 23-25PD593 FRP Piping Fabrication & Installation Processes May 24CH762 Control System Techniques in Equipment

Design and Operations May 24-25PD344 Elevator Control Technology May 24-25PD391 ASME B31.4 Pipeline Transportation Systems

for Liquid Hydrocarbons and Other Liquids May 24-25PD531 Leadership and Organizational Management May 24-25PD577 Bolted Joint Assembly Principles

Per PCC-1-2010 May 24-25PD606 NQA-1 Requirements for Computer Software

Used in Nuclear Facilities May 24-25

June 2012 - HoustonPD387 Understanding Chiller Performance,

Operation and Economics June 4CH032 Flow of Solids in Bins, Hoppers, Chutes

and Feeders, Level 1 June 4-5PD100 Introduction to Elevators and Escalators June 4-5PD570 Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing

Fundamentals 1 June 4-5CH004 Distillation in Practice June 4-6CH157 HAZOP Studies and Other PHA Techniques

for Process Safety and Risk Management June 4-6

CH173 Emergency Relief Systems (ERS) Design Using DIERS Technology June 4-6

PD359 Practical Welding Technology June 4-6PD389 Non-Destructive Examination - Applying ASME

Code Requirements (BPV Code, Section V) June 4-6PD398 Operation, Maintenance and Repair

of Plant Piping Systems June 4-6PD442 BPV Code, Section VIII, Division 1: Design

and Fabrication of Pressure Vessels June 4-6PD467 Project Management for Engineers

and Technical Professionals June 4-6PD474 BPV Code, Section I Power Boilers: Types,

Design, Fabrication Inspection and Repair June 4-6PD523 Quality Assurance (QA) Considerations for

New Nuclear Facility Construction June 4-6PD619 Risk and Reliability Strategies for Effective

Maintenance Management June 4-6PD631 Manufacturing, Fabrication and Examination

Responsibilities in Codes, Standards and Regulations for Nuclear Power Plant Construction June 4-6

PD014 B31.3 Process Piping Design June 4-7PD184 BPV Code, Section III, Division 1: Rules for

Construction of Nuclear Facility Components June 4-7PD603 GD&T Combo Course June 4-7PD657 HVAC Systems and Chiller Performance

Combo Course June 4-7CH759 HAZOP Studies, Other Hazard Evaluation Procedures

and Advanced Concepts for Process Hazard Analysis Combo Course June 4-8

PD192 BPV Code, Section XI: Inservice Inspection of Nuclear Power Plant Components June 4-8

PD581 B31.3 Process Piping Design, Materials, Fabrication, Examination and Testing Combo Course June 4-8

PD602 Elevator and Escalator Combo Course June 4-8PD629 Project Management Combo Course June 4-8PD443 BPV Code, Section VIII Division 1

Combo Course June 4-8PD027 Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning

Systems: Sizing and Design June 5-7CH033 Pneumatic Conveying of Bulk Solids June 6PD445 B31 Piping Fabrication and Examination June 6-7PD561 Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing Advanced

Applications with Stacks and Analysis June 6-7PD102 How to Perform Elevator Inspections

Using ASME A17.2 June 6-8CH754 Advanced Concepts for Process Hazard Analysis June 7-8PD441 Inspection, Repair and Alteration of Pressure

Equipment June 7-8PD496 Preparing for the Project Management

Professional Certification Exam June 7-8PD583 Pressure Relief Devices: Design, Sizing,

Construction, Inspection and Maintenance June 7-8PD457 B31.3 Process Piping Materials Fabrication,

Examination and Testing June 8

REGISTER NOW. 1.800.843.2763 or www.asme.org/education

Spring 2012 Training Courses for Engineers and Technical Professionals

ad7N-T&D-7x10-mar2012_Calendar-7x10 ad SPRING 2012 3/23/12 9:39 AM Page 1

IPTILayout0512.indd 61 4/5/12 1:26 PM

Threaded hole plugsHeyco, Toms RiveR, N.J. The new liquid tight threaded hole plugs with NPT, PG, and metric hubs are designed

specifically for hydraulic and pneumatic applications. The plugs provide a liquid-tight seal up to 70 psi, are IP 68

rated, and feature an integral sealing ring that provides a

superior seal at the mounting hole location to protect against

contamination and moisture. The plugs are constructed from electrically non-conductive nylon 6/6, are available to fit multiple hole sizes, and have a hex shaped head with slot for wrench or screwdriver installation. The plugs are also non-corrosive (resist salt water, weak acids, gasoline, alcohol, oil, grease, and common solvents), resist oil and heat up to 221°F (105°C), and provide a lower cost option over brass or steel plugs. www.me.HoTims.com/40246-40 oR ciRcle 40

Pressure switch/transmittersAuTomATioN DiRecT, cummiNg, gA. ProSense digital pressure switch/transmitters are designed for air, non-corrosive gas, and non-flammable gas applications. Fitted with a two-meter cable, the precision digital devices feature a three-color LCD display and provide two digital outputs and one analog output. Equipped with a lockable keypad, three operation modes, and six pressure unit conversions, these switch/transmitters have two vacuum to pressure ranges (-14.5 to 14.5 psi and -14.5 psi to 145 psi), selectable response times to eliminate chattering, and a fast zero reset. Priced at $69, the devices carry a two-year warranty. www.me.HoTims.com/40246-41 oR ciRcle 41

NewPRoDucTs



newproducts0512.indd 62 4/3/12 2:56 PM


newproducts


portable velocity flow meterHAcH co., LoveLAnd, coLo.Hach’s new FH950 simplifies the veloc-

ity measurement process for stream discharge

measurements, primary device

calibration, and sewer spot-check measurements.

Step-by-step instruc-tions guide the user through the flow profiling process, and with the ability to log velocity and entered depth infor-mation within the meter, field time is cut in half. Discharge calculations are available real-time and collected flow data is conveniently downloaded to a computer via the USB connection, eliminating post-site visit manual data transfer and calculations. The elec-tromagnetic sensor is disconnectable from the meter, has no moving parts and never requires mechanical main-tenance or calibration, making it a low maintenance solution for operators. The meter is a direct replacement for USGS type mechanical meters. www.me.Hotims.com/40246-42 or circLe 42

speed flow pumpvArnA products, cAmeron pArk, cALif. The TG-300 variable speed low flow pump is a positive displacement gear pump designed for smooth continuous flows from 0-to-400 ml/min (0-to-5 gal/hour),viscosity range of 30 cSt to 600 cSt, for fluids compatible with aluminum, steel, Viton and Teflon wetted materials powered by a 1/10

hp, 24VDC brushless motor with integral drive electronics. The TG-300 pump

flow can be set with a 0-to-5 volt analog signal. The compact TG-300 low-flow pump solution is suitable for a variety of applications, such as metering, dosing, bottling, medical, and chemical. This expands VARNA’s line of prelube and transfer pumps and is designed and built for quality and performance. www.me.Hotims.com/40246-43 or circLe 43

Arc flash protectionABB inc., new BerLin, wis. The TVOC-2 is a new generation of the manufacturer’s propri-etary Arc Guard System, which is designed to protect electrical equipment from arc flashes. TVOC-2 has upgrades and new functions to improve protection. It detects faults in low and medium volt-

age switchgear and disconnects power provided to the arc within 30 to 50 milliseconds, and so can prevent serious injury to person-nel and damage to

expensive equipment. TVOC-2 is UL listed, and when installed along with

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ABB’s Emax circuit breakers, carries a functional safety rat-ing of SIL-2 as certified by TÜV Rheinland, an independent global provider of safety analysis.www.me.hotims.com/40246-44 or circle 44

event data loggeromeGA enGineerinG inc., stAmford, conn. The OM-CP-EVENT101A event data logger interfaces to tipping bucket rain gauges and other devices with TTL pulse or contact closure output. Features include 10-year battery, 4 Hz read-ing rate, a multiple start/stop function, ultra-high speed download capability, 406,323 reading storage capacity, optional memory wrap, battery life indica-tor, and optional password protection. It is suitable for use in chemical, water, and semiconductor industries.www.me.hotims.com/40246-45 or circle 45

sidehead option mAG iAs, erlAnGer, Ky. A new sidehead option on MAG vertical turning centers utilizes a ram to deliver 34,000 N (7,600 pounds) thrust from the optimum angle for efficient turning of tall or flanged parts in vertical orientation. The sidehead option is available on machines with table sizes of 1,250 to 3,500 mm (49.2 - 137.7 inches). It is capable of handling parts up to 3,700 mm (145.6 inches) in diameter and 3,300 mm (129.9 inches) high. The sidehead provides a 1,250 mm (49.2 inch) x-axis span and 1,900 mm (74.8 inch) z-axis, with a traverse rate of 20,000 mm/min (787 ipm). It is equipped for automatic tool change with a 40-tool chain magazine. The approach angle of the sidehead minimiz-es bending forces on the part and machine components during maximum-thrust cuts to allow faster, more efficient metal removal. The sidehead also improves access for undercutting flanges or reaching features beneath them. www.me.hotims.com/40246-46 or circle 46

miniature accelerometersmeGGitt sensinG systems, sAn JuAn cApistrAno, cAlif. The Endevco model 256 series, a family of miniature piezoelectric accelerometers with integral electronics, is designed for modal and structural analysis and general vibration measurements on smaller structures and objects. Potential applications include shaker testing, package integ-rity testing, wind turbine vibration measurements, satellite ground testing, medical device testing, vehicle modal and

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CNC Machining for R&D

Product Information and online ordering at

Our PCNC 770 mill goes far beyond any desktop modeling mill, bringing serious capability to research and engineering workshops and at a size that fi ts any space and a price that fi ts any budget.

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structural analysis, and automotive component durability

testing. Models are offered in choice of adhesive (256) or thread mounted (256HX) versions, with available sensitivities of 10 mV/g (±500 g range) and 100 mV/g (±50 g range), both with milli-g resolution. Its lightweight (3.5-gram) design minimizes mass loading. The accelerometers incorpo-rate the use of Meggitt’s own propri-etary piezoelectric crystal sensing element, operating in annular shear mode, which provides highly stable output sensitivity over time.www.me.hotims.com/40246-47 or circle 47

high-performance strutsQrP inc., leland, n.c. High-performance struts are designed for hold-open and lock-in-place applications in the aerospace and military industries. All strut types have been engineered to offer solutions for engine cowlings, access panels, and maintenance doors, among other end-uses. QRP’s scissor struts in particular have been qualified for the JSFM62 and JSFM64 Joint Strike Fighter programs by meeting or exceeding JSFM specifications for tension, compression, and handling loads. In addition to scissor versions, the product lineup includes telescoping struts, fixed-length struts, spring struts, and hold-open rods. Depending on type, struts can be specified with automatic or manual lock-in features.

Secondary safety-locking features also can be provided. Custom support/mount hardware can be supplied to suit application requirements. www.me.hotims.com/40246-48 or circle 48

cnc controlesaB welding & cutting, Flor-ence, s.c. The Vision T5c control for retrofit onto cutting gantries is an updated version of ESAB’s Vision T5 CNC. Designed for ease of use and improved productivity, the Vision T5c features an ergonomic, wide-screen layout and an advanced touch-screen interface that offers twice the dis-play area of other CNC controls. The 18.5-inch touch-screen features an ergonomic layout intended to reduce vertical arm motion and improve operator comfort. Simple toggle switches provide intuitive operation of station lifters. They can be serviced or added in the field. Dual USB ports are positioned to prevent interference with the operator. www.me.hotims.com/40245-49 or circle 49

Pressure sensorKistler, novi, mich. Type 6215 is a quartz-based, high-precision

pressure sensor designed to meet the rigorous application demands of internal ballistics, closed bomb testing, weapons discharge and cartridge chamber testing, and other extreme high-pressure measurement requirements. The sensor incorporates a quartz crystal sensing element and front sealed diaphragm, packaged

together in a rugged, stainless steel housing. According to the manufacturer, this design allows for low mechanical and thermal stresses on the sensor, with no mounting gap and a largely reduced surface pressure in the sealing part. Small caliber weapons users have reported more than 20,000 rounds of extreme high accuracy results. Offered with a measurement range from 0 to 6,000 bar (0 to 87,000 psi), the Type 6215 features a high-impedance output and sensitivity of -1.4 pC/bar (-0.1 pC/psi) with a natural frequency of >240 kHz. Units can withstand 25,000 g shock.www.me.hotims.com/40246-50 or circle 50




positionsopen positionsopen positionsopen

Mechanical engineer: Dsgn/improve tor-tilla manufacture mechanical production lines; confer w/ other engrs to implmt operating pro-cedures, resolve system malfunctions; under-take feasibility analysis to improve production capabilities; prep regulatory compliance reports; we will pay prevailing wage; Bachelor’s deg in Mechanical & Electronic Engg, & 1 yr exp. Send resume to Ole Mexican Foods, Inc. 6585 Cres-cent Dr., Norcross, GA 30071

Dassault systèMes, the 3D experi-ence coMpany, provides business and peo-ple with virtual universes to imagine sustainable innovations. Its world-leading solutions trans-form the way products are designed, produced, and supported. Dassault Systèmes’ collabora-tive solutions foster social innovation, expand-ing possibilities for the virtual world to improve the real world. The group brings value to over 150,000 customers of all sizes, in all industries, in more than 80 countries. We are currently ac-cepting applications for a full time position for a Solution Architect - Automotive Industry. The successful candidate must be able to master and describe the Systems Design methodol-ogy spanning Requirements, Functional, Logi-cal and Physical domains. Define and document technical requirements; Interface with Dassault Systèmes maintenance, R&D and Competency Center organizations to bring critical issues and resolution; Provide detailed user case scenarios, requirements, constraints, and required behav-iors; Guarantee the final workability and relevan-cy of the Solution; Be a key customer partner during the entire project Lifecycle. Hands on

experience in engineering, designing and de-veloping complex multi-engineering systems; Experience working within a product delivery lifecycle (requirements analysis through design, implementation, testing, and cut-over through support); Experience delivering Knowledge Based solutions; Experience with Business pro-cess definition and re-engineering; Hands on experience with - Matlab, Simulink, or other 1D systems engineering tools; CAD and CAE tools; Requirements Management Systems (such as Doors, Rational-Raphsody, Requirements Cen-tral, Reqtify); Ability to decompose complex sys-tems using Systems Engineering methodology; Knowledge of Enovia Centrals and CATIA V5 & V6; Knowledge of other DS products such as Simulia and 3DVIA; Travel: 20-40%. Interested candidates should apply via email to [email protected].

university of WinDsor Mechanical, autoMotive anD Materials engineer-ing tWo assistant professor tenure-track positions in aerospace The University of Windsor, Faculty of Engineering, Department of Mechanical, Automotive and Ma-terials Engineering Department (MAME) invites applications for two tenure-track faculty posi-tions. Both positions will be at the rank of Assis-tant Professor in a newly established Aerospace Option in the Mechanical Engineering Program commencing in July 1, 2012. These positions are subject to final budgetary approval. Located at one of Canada’s major international intersec-tions, the University of Windsor plays a leading role in the future of the region and the province

of Ontario. With approximately 16,000 students, including 1,700 students in a broad range of masters and doctoral programs, the University of Windsor is Canada’s most personal comprehen-sive university. The successful candidates are expected to engage in establishing and leading an exciting and innovative undergraduate op-tion in Aerospace Engineering that is focused on airplanes and related systems manufactur-ing, repair, overhaul, and maintenance. In par-ticular, consideration will be given to applicants with teaching experience and expertise in areas including, but not limited to Aerospace Engi-neering Fundamentals, Flightworthiness, and Aerospace Controls and Avionics. Concurrently, we are interested in candidates whose research interests align with the above specified teaching need areas. It is expected that the successful candidates will establish a dynamic externally funded research program that complements existing Mechanical and Materials Graduate programs, offer graduate courses, supervise graduate students and engage in department and university service activities. The MAME De-partment is the largest department in the Faculty of Engineering. It offers a multi-faceted program that tackles real-world problems, interacts with local industry, and provides students ample opportunities for hands-on experience. Major research areas are in design and optimization of energy conversion systems focusing on au-tomotive applications; light-weight and low-wear materials; and design of innovative mechanical structures; and manufacturing processes. The Phase 2 move of the Faculty of Engineering into one of the most advanced engineering fa-

The Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University invites applications for a tenure-track Assistant/Associate Professor position in the area of thermal-fluid sciences. This position arises from a strategic plan for departmental faculty growth and renewal over the next three to five years. Although advertised at the junior level, truly exceptional senior candidates may also be considered for appointment at the level of Full Professor. We anticipate that the successful candidate will join the department between September 2012 and September 2013. An earned doctorate in Mechanical Engineering or a related discipline is required. Teaching and industrial experience are desirable. Candidates should demonstrate evidence of excellence in research, a strong commitment to teaching at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and good communication skills.

Recognized for its synthesis of theory and practice, the Department of Mechanical Engineering consists of 12 full-time faculty members, and has an enrollment of approximately 175 undergraduate students and 90 graduate students. See http://engineering.tufts.edu/me/ for more information.

The past seven years have been a period of extraordinary growth for the Tufts School of Engineering (SOE), witnessing recruitment of over half of its current tenured and tenure-track faculty members and a more than three-fold increase in research expenditures. The SOE distinguishes itself by the interdisciplinary and integrative nature of its engineering education and research programs within the environment of both a “Research Class 1” University and a top-ranked undergraduate institution. We offer the best of a liberal arts college atmosphere, coupled with the intellectual and technological resources of a major research university. As home to seven graduate and professional schools across three campuses, Tufts University prides itself on its culture of cross-School partnerships. Located on Tufts’ Medford/Somerville campus, only six miles from historic downtown Boston, SOE faculty members have extensive opportunities for academic and industrial collaboration, as well as participation in the rich intellectual life of the region.

Application reviews begin April 1, 2012 and will continue until the position is filled. Applicants should submit a cover letter, curriculum vitae, a vision for research and teaching, and the names and contact information for three references to Professor Anil Saigal, Search Committee Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155 or via email to [email protected] with copies to [email protected].

Tufts University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity employer, committed to excellence in teaching and scholarship, and to building a faculty that reflects the diversity of both its students and the world for which it is preparing them. Members of underrepresented groups and women are strongly encouraged to apply and are invited to identify this status in their cover letters.

Tenure Track Faculty Position2012-2013 ACADEMIC YEAR

posopps0512.indd 66 4/5/12 12:04 PM

International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research

The International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER) at Kyushu University, Japan is actively seeking candidates for open-rank faculty

and post-doctoral research associates.

OutlINE: The International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER) is a member of the World Premier International Research Center Initiative established by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Science and Technology (MEXT). Faculty members and researchers associated with I2CNER are dedicated to the Institute’s mission to contribute to the creation of a sustainable and environmentally friendly society by advancing fundamental science to reduce CO2 emissions and the realization of a hydrogen economy. The ITO Campus of the Kyushu University houses extensive state-of-the-art experimental and computational facilities.

QuAlIFICAtIONS & CuRRENt OPENINGS: All faculty members are expected to initiate and sustain vigorous research programs that both advance and are relevant to I2CNER’s mission. Candidates for senior faculty positions must have achieved national and international recognition for their research accomplishments. Post-doctoral research associates will join research groups relevant to their field of expertise and education.

1. I2CNER is seeking candidates with experimental or computational expertise in the physics, chemistry, mechanics, and materials science aspects of:

Hydrogen embrittlement (Mechanics, Fatigue and Fracture, Materials, Tribology ) Chemistry for efficient material transformation Basic science issues underlying CO2 separation/concentration Applied (and/or basic) science issues underlying geologic/sub-seabed/ocean CCS (CO2 capture and storage ) Thermophysical properties, heat and mass transfer, thermal engineering for highly efficient energy utilization Solar/Chemical hydrogen production (including steam electrolysis)

2. I2CNER is also accepting applications in the energy analysis research area. Emphasis will be given to the potential costs and use of low carbon energy systems to meet the future energy demand.

SAlARy & StARtING DAtE: Salary will be commensurate with qualifications and experience. The starting date will be as soon as possible after the closing date.

APPlICAtION DEADlINE: Wednesday, June 6, 2012, 17:00 (Japan) *Interviews may take place prior to closing date; however, no final decisions will be made until after this time.

FOR mORE INFORmAtION tO APPly, PlEASE ChECk: http://i2cner.kyushu-u.ac.jp/en/recruit/recruit.php

INQuIRIES:[email protected]

International Institute for Carbon-Neutral Energy Research (I2CNER)kyushu university

744 Motooka, Nishi-ku, Fukuoka, Postal Code 819-0395, JAPANTEL: +81-(0)92-802-6932FAX: +81-(0)92-802-6939

Kyushu University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer. The administration, faculty and staff embrace diversity and are committed to attracting qualified

candidates who also embrace and value diversity and inclusivity.


positionsopen

cilities in Canada, the Centre for Engineering Innovation (CEI), www.uwindsor.ca/cei, is ex-pected for Fall 2012. Refer to www.uwindsor.ca/mame for more information about MAME. Applicants must have a doctoral degree, pref-erably from an aerospace engineering pro-gram; eligibility for a PEng registration; and a strong commitment to both teaching and research. Selection will be primarily based on applicants’ potential for excellence in teach-ing and research. Applications should include: • letter of application, including a statement of citizenship/immigration status; • a detailed curriculum vitae, • a concise statement of teaching (one page) and research interest (three pages) and how this relates to the needs of the Aerospace Engineering at the University of Windsor, • career objectives and accomplishments, • examples of material relevant to teaching experience, and • most significant research publications, and • three current letters of reference forwarded directly by the referees to the Department Head. To ensure consideration, applications should be submitted by March 1, 2012 to: Professor A. Sobiesiak, Department Head Faculty of En-gineering, Department of Mechanical, Auto-motive & Materials Engineering University of Windsor, 401 Sunset Ave, Windsor, Ontario, Canada N9B 3P4 Phone: 519-253-3000 Ext. 2616, Email: [email protected] For com-plete details and online application, go to: http://web4.uwindsor.ca/units/vpacademic/recruitment/forms.nsf/LivePositions/83F18B76E1BB352285257995000328DE

Visiting AssistAnt Professor, Me-chAnicAl engineering – new Mexico tech. Responsibilities include teaching un-dergraduate and graduate mechanical en-gineering courses and developing research programs. Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering or closely related field; college-level teaching experience and demonstrated scholarly re-search required. Visit http://www.nmt.edu/hr-jobs-at-nmt for full position description, quali-fications and application process and http://www.nmt.edu/ for more information about New Mexico Tech.

the DePArtMent of oceAn AnD resources engineering of the school of oceAn AnD eArth sci-ence AnD technology (soest) At the uniVersity of hAwAii At MAnoA invites applications for a full-time tenure-track position, at the rank of assistant or associate professor, in the field of coastal engineer-ing. Ocean and Resources Engineering is a graduate department offering MS and PhD degrees with strong commitment to teaching and mentoring graduate students, conducting extramurally funded research, and publishing scholarly materials. The ABET-accredited aca-demic program includes coastal engineering, offshore engineering, and ocean resources engineering. The successful candidate is expected to teach graduate courses and de-velop funded research projects in topic areas such as littoral processes, sediment transport, ocean observing, structural mechanics, and environmental fluid mechanics. In addition, the selectee will also have the opportunity to further develop the Kilo Nalu Nearshore Reef Observatory (http://www.soest.hawaii.edu/OE/KiloNalu/KN_RTData.htm). Applicants must have a PhD degree in Engineering, Ap-plied Mechanics, Fluid Mechanics or a closely related discipline received no later than June 30, 2012 Other requirements include excellent communication skills; demonstrated capabil-ity for creative, high quality research; and the demonstrated capability/experience and de-sire to contribute to teaching and mentoring of undergraduate and graduate students. At the associate professor level, the minimum qualifi-cations are as stated above, with four years of experience at the rank of assistant professor.

posopps0512.indd 67 4/3/12 4:50 PM

Coming in June

> Mechanical engineers advance nanomedicine

> Is SCADA still vulnerable to hackers?

> Marc Goldsmith, a conversation with ASME’s new president

Also:> Tech Focus: Instrumentation & Control


Practical experience in design of ocean struc-tures is highly desirable. For complete job an-nouncement and instructions to apply or ques-tions regarding this position, WEB SEARCH: workatuh.hawaii.edu 0084118. Questions call 808-956-7572. The University of Hawaii is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution

FACULTY POSITIONS DePArTmeNT OF meChANICAL eNgINeerINg TexAS A&m UNIverSITY AT QATAr Texas A&M Univer-sity at Qatar (TAMUQ) (http://www.qatar.tamu.edu/) invites applications for non-tenure track faculty positions in the Mechanical Engineer-ing Program with an anticipated starting date of September 1, 2012. Preference will be given to candidates in the areas of Thermal Science, Me-chanics and Materials and Engineering Design. Applicants must have an earned doctorate in Mechanical Engineering or a closely related field with excellent teaching and research records. TAMUQ prepares graduates that satisfy identi-cal requirements with, and receive degrees from Texas A&M University. Candidates are expected to have a strong commitment to teaching and a demonstrated research capability. Prior teach-ing experience in USA and familiarity with ABET accreditation are desirable. New faculty will also be expected to participate in departmental and college service efforts, to be active in the profession, to supervise and mentor students, and to interact with current faculty. Applicants will be evaluated based on current credentials as well as potential for future impact. Suc-cessful applicants will be offered a multi-year, renewable/rolling appointment at an appropri-

ate academic level.TAMUQ is located on the Hamad bin Khalifa University Campus in Doha, Qatar and was established in August 2003. It offers ABET accredited undergraduate pro-grams in chemical, electrical, mechanical, and petroleum engineering. More information about TAMUQ can be found at www.qatar.tamu.edu. The ABET accredited Mechanical Engineering Program (http://meen.qatar.tamu.edu/) has 12 faculty members and a total enrollment of about 127. Liberal allowances for professional travel and for relocation to Qatar are provided. Fringe benefits include free furnished housing in one of several gated communities, K-12 education for dependents, group health insurance, annual leave allowance, and a car allowance. Qatar has the third largest known natural gas reserve in the world and is the world’s largest exporter of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG). For more infor-mation about Qatar see: www.onlineqatar.com/living, www.ttelegraph.co.uk/expat/4205607/Guide-to-living-abroad-Qatar.html Applicants should electronically submit a complete resume, a one-page statement of research and teaching interests, and a list of three references (including their postal addresses, telephone numbers and e-mail addresses) via the Texas A&M Univer-sity MEEN departmental web site at: http://www.mengr.tamu.edu/Employment/employment.html Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until positions are filled. If elec-tronic submission is not possible, applicants may mail their application package to: TAMU Qatar Faculty Search Committee c/o Dr. Kalyan Annamalai ([email protected]) MEOB 307, Department of Mechanical Engineering Texas

A&M University, 3123 TAMU, College Station, TX 77843-3123, USA. Texas A&M University at Qatar is an Equal-Opportunity Affirmative Action Employer. Women, minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply.

TeNUre-TrACK FACULTY POSITION (FLUID meChANICS), meChANICAL eNgINeerINg, JOhNS hOPKINS UNIverSITY The Johns Hopkins University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, invites applications for a full-time, tenure-track, faculty position in fluid mechanics. All relevant areas will be considered, including, but not limited to, aerospace, bio fluids, environ-mental flows and thermal sciences. Applicants with specialization in computational, experimen-tal and theoretical methods may apply. The suc-cessful candidate must have a doctoral degree in a relevant field, and is expected to establish a strong, independent, internationally recognized research program as well as contribute fully to both undergraduate and graduate instruction. All applications should be submitted electronically as a single PDF document to: [email protected] with “Fluids” in the subject line. Applications should include a cover letter describing the prin-cipal expertise of the applicant, statements of teaching and research interests and experienc-es, complete Curriculum vitae, and the names of at least three references. The Department is committed to building a diverse environment; women and minorities are strongly encouraged to apply. The Johns Hopkins University is an EEO/AA Employer. Review of applications will start on April 15 (but no later than September 15, 2012), and will continue until the position is filled.

poSITIonSopEn poSITIonSopEn poSITIonSopEn

Applications are invited for:-Faculty of EngineeringProfessor(Ref. 1112/162(495)/2)The Faculty invites applications for a full Professorship post in its new undergraduate Energy Engineering Programme, which is scheduled to be launched in fall 2012. The appointee will concomitantly serve as the Programme Director and lead the development and promotion of the programme, staff recruitment and fostering partnership with industries, in addition to teaching and research in energy engineering.Applicants should have (i) a doctoral degree in a relevant engineering or scientific discipline related to energy engineering; and (ii) recognized leadership in the academic discipline. Appointment will normally be made on contract basis initially commencing August 2012, which, subject to mutual agreement, may lead to longer-term appointment or substantiation later.Salary and Fringe Benefi tsSalary will be highly competitive, commensurate with qualifi cations and experience. The University offers a comprehensive fringe benefi t package including medical care, a contract-end gratuity for an appointment of two years or longer, and housing benefi ts for eligible appointee. Further information about the University and the general terms of service for appointments is available at http://www.per.cuhk.edu.hk. The terms mentioned herein are for reference only and are subject to revision by the University.Application ProcedurePlease send full curriculum vitae, together with a cover letter describing how the applicant can bring signifi cant value to the programme, and contact information of three professional references, to the Dean, Faculty of Engineering by e-mail to [email protected]. Review of applications begins now, and will go on until the post is fi lled. The University reserves the right to fi ll the post by invitation. The Personal Information Collection Statement will be provided upon request. Please quote the reference number and mark ‘Application – Confi dential’ on cover.

posopps0512.indd 68 4/5/12 12:04 PM

Get free information by phone, fax, e -mail, or mail.For free literature or to purchase products, call the numbers below; circle the reader service numbers on the postage-paid Product Information Card following page 56 and mail it; or go to www.memagazine.org and click MechLink.

reaDerCompany paGe SerViCe no. Web Site phone

A&A Manufacturing Insert after 40 waww.aaman.com (800) 298-2066

ASME ICONE Power 2012 C2 www.asmeconferences.org/Icone20Power2012 (212) 591-7534

ASME Mentoring Program 21 go.asme.org/mentoring

ASME Spring Training Calendar 61 www.asme.org/education (800) 843-2763

ATI Industrial Automation 24 13 www.ati-ia.com/mes (919) 772-0115

Baldor 5 5 www.baldor.com (479) 646-4711

Bose Corp - Electroforce Systems C3 1 www.Bose.com/electroforce (800) 837-8464

Computational Dynamics (CD-Adapco) 25 14 www.cd-adapco.com (44) 20-7471-6200

Comsol, Inc. 3 4 www.comsol.com/conference/cd (781) 273-3322

Comsol (Webinar) 13 9 http://bit.ly/me-webinar-may17

Forest City Gear 65 20 www.forestcitygear.com (815) 623-2168

Marsh Affinity C4 2 www.asmeinsurance.com/pl (800) 289-ASME

Marsh Affinity 48 15 www.asmeinsurance.com/solutions (800) 289-ASME

MasterBond 64 19 www.masterbond.com (201) 343-8983

National Instruments 7 6 www.ni.com (800) 891-2755

Newark/element14 11 8 www.newark.com (800) 463-9275

Omega Engineering Inc. 1 3 www.omega.com (888) TC-OMEGA

Pointwise, Inc. 23 12 www.pointwise.com (800) 4PTWISE

Protolabs 9 7 www.protolabs.com (877) 479-3680

Quickparts 62 16 www.quickparts.com (770) 901-3200

Smalley Steel Ring Co. 63 17 www.smalley.com/getcatalog (847) 719-5900

Thomas Division 18, 19 10, 11 gd-thomas.com/me5 (920) 457-4891

Tormach 64 18 www.tormach.com (608) 849-8381

ConSultinG paGe

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Chinese University of Hong Kong 68

Kyushu University 67

Tufts University 66

Design Engineering Analysis 69


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complete CV should be addressed to Dr. SamuelGazit, Search Committee, Department of Me-chanical Engineering, Braude College, POB 78,Kermiel, Israel, [email protected].

THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA, DE-PARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEER-ING, is accepting applications for faculty posi-tions at the Instructor, Assistant, Associate, andFull Professor levels. Applicants must possess aPh.D. in Mechanical Engineering or closely relat-ed field. Preference will be given to candidateswith expertise in areas that fill current needs inthe department (fuel cells, photovoltaic power,heat transfer, nuclear engineering, and biomedi-cal engineering), but outstanding applicants inother areas will be given full consideration. Nom-inations or applications should be submitted bye-mail to [email protected]. Applicationpackages, in the form of a single PDF document,should include 1) vitae, 2) statement of researchplans, 3) statement of teaching interests, and 4)contact information for three references. The se-lection process will begin on October 1, 2008,and will continue until the positions are filled.The University of South Carolina is an Equal Op-portunity/ Affirmative Action Employer. Minori-ties and women are encouraged to apply.

FACULTY POSITIONS, MECHANICAL ENGI-NEERING DEPARTMENT, VANDERBILT UNI-VERSITY. The Department of Mechanical En-gineering at Vanderbilt University invites appli-cations for one or more faculty positions to beginFall 2009. Applications will be considered for po-sitions at all ranks commensurate with qualifi-cations. Applicants must possess a Ph.D. in Me-chanical Engineering or closely related disci-pline, and have expertise and research intereststhat are synergistic with existing research areasin the department, including combustion, mi-crofluidics, nanotechnology, mechatronics,portable power, and robotics. Successful candi-dates will be expected to build a strong, external-ly funded research program and make a signifi-cant contribution to the department’s researchactivities. The candidate should also have amarked interest in and talent for teaching in boththe undergraduate (B.E.) and graduate (M.S. andPh.D.) programs. Vanderbilt University is rankedamong the top 20 universities in the nation. TheDepartment of Mechanical Engineering offersB.E., M.E., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees and has astudent body of about 265 undergraduates and40 Ph.D. students. Applications consisting of acover letter, a complete curriculum vitae, state-ments of teaching and research interests, andthe addresses of four references (include e-mailaddress) should be sent to Professor R.W. Pitz,Chair, Search Committee, Department of Me-chanical Engineering, Vanderbilt University, Box1592, Station B, Nashville, TN 37235-1592 (orpreferably send electronically to: [email protected]). Vanderbilt University is anAffirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

POSTDOCTORAL RESEARCH ASSOCIATEPOSITION AT THE ADAPTIVE INTELLIGENTMATERIALS AND SYSTEMS (AIMS) CENTER.The Adaptive Intelligent Materials and SystemsCenter (http://aims.asu.edu) of Arizona StateUniversity, Tempe, Arizona, has an opening for apostdoctoral candidate with a strong backgroundin one or more of the following areas: Adaptivestructures and intelligent systems, structuralhealth monitoring/damage prognosis, multifunc-tional materials, autonomous systems, and infor-mation management and sensor design. Quali-fied candidates must have earned a Ph.D. inMechanical or Aerospace Engineering or a relat-ed field. The position involves interacting withfaculty from various departments. Experience inproposal writing and the ability to work in multi-disciplinary areas are desirable. Review of appli-cations will commence immediately and continueuntil the position is filled. E-mail complete curricu-lum vitae and three references (including e-mailaddresses) to: [email protected].

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Exploiting oil from deep offshore fields is a linchpin of the global energy industry. And the first submersible and fully transportable oil drilling rig to be deployed offshore, a vessel known as Mr. Charlie, received

recognition from ASME as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark in a ceremony in March.

The ceremony took place in Morgan City, La., where the rig is moored.

The earliest offshore drilling activity in the Gulf of Mexico was limited to marshes and other coastal wetlands situated in water depths of no more than 20 feet. Drilling consisted of the installation of a concrete caisson structure at the drill site, where workers had to pump out water to obtain a semi-dry floor to establish footing for the legs of the drilling platform.

Alden J. “Doc” Laborde, a young U.S. Navy engineer, observed these constraints and conceived a solution in the form of a floating barge that could be moved by tugboats. It operated in depths up to 40 feet of water.

Work on Mr. Charlie began in 1952 at a shipyard in New Orleans and it was placed into service in the Gulf of Mexico in 1954. With drills and other machinery onboard, the 220-foot barge was towed from one location to another in search for reserves in the oil-rich waters of the Gulf.

Once Mr. Charlie was situated over a drill site, its giant pontoons were flooded with seawater to allow the vessel to sit on the sand for safe drilling.

Mr. Charlie features a 500-ton hoist and durable-welded construction. During its service until its retirement in 1986, Mr. Charlie drilled hundreds of wells in the Gulf coast for Shell Oil and other companies. While it was transformative in its time, the rig became obsolete when the industry began to perform offshore Gulf Coast oil exploration in waters deeper than 40 feet. The current record is more than 8,000 feet. (See

“1300 Fathoms,” December 2010.)Mr. Charlie today is a museum exhibit and training

facility.Members of the ASME Committee on History and

Heritage as well as the Society’s International Petroleum Technology Institute joined together with representatives of the International Petroleum Museum and Exposition in a celebration of engineering achievement and local

history. In a bronze plaque that was presented to the International Petroleum Museum and Exposition at the March 17 ceremony, ASME stated that

“Mr. Charlie’s success initiated the modern offshore oil and gas industry.”

The nearly 250 ASME landmarks represent progress in the evolution of mechanical engineering and significance to society in general. These landmarks range from mills and steam engines to industrial processes and space rockets. ASME encourages the preservation of historically important works through its Landmarks Program.


asmenews Compiled from ASME Public Information dispatches.

First Floating Oil Rig Named ASME Landmark

asme Past President Reggie Vachon salutes alden “doc” Laborde (far right), the designer of mr. Charlie, a floating drill rig recently named an asme Landmark.

asmenews0512.indd 70 4/5/12 1:14 PM

Ten collegiate teams will be com-peting for top prizes at the 2012 ASME Innovation Showcase, an event that spotlights the

engineering designs, presentations, and entrepreneurial skills of undergraduate and graduate students.

The participants in the 6th Annual ASME IShow, which takes place on June 2, in Montreal, Quebec, include students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Johns Hopkins University, and Rensselaer Polytech-nic Institute. The ASME IShow will be held in conjunction with the ASME Annual Meeting at the Hilton Montreal Bonaventure.

Each ASME IShow team will present new product concepts that demonstrate the potential to improve the quality of life around the world. Some of the innovations include a portable Braille reader designed by students of the Indian Institute of Technology, a newly designed cervical collar to protect the spine from further injury created by a Rice University team, and an affordable water-purification system developed by Western New England College students.

Participants will engage in an eight-week online training series with Empact (formerly Extreme Entrepre-neurship Education) prior to the com-petition. The video chats will feature the country’s top young entrepreneurs sharing their best practices and lessons learned on a series of topics, from intel-lectual property and market strategy to business writing skills. The hope is that these training sessions will help the

students refine their product, develop a business model, and create a compelling product pitch.

A panel of successful innovators, intellectual property specialists, and industry experts will judge the entries. The winning teams must prove that they have a sustainable business model and a product that will bring improve-ments to the environment or to human health and safety.

ASME President Victoria Rockwell said, “A celebration of engineering, innovation, and the entrepreneurial spirit, the ASME IShow bridges the

gap between the areas of engineering design and business. This competition gives these hardworking and dedi-cated student teams the inspiration and resources needed to turn their ideas into products that could someday change the world.”

MiSUMi USA, a leading supplier of configurable and fixed components for the factory automation, press die, and plastic mold industries, sponsors the 2012 ASME IShow. In addition, the ASME IShow is supported by the ASME Foundation and Mechanical Engineering magazine.


The ASME Foundation was a presenting sponsor of the annual Celebration of Teach-ing & Learning that took place

in New York in March. The conference, which was presented by New York public television sta-tions WNET and WLIW, brought together more than 10,000 educators from around the world to discuss ways to improve classroom teaching as well as other major issues in education.

Experts invited to talk about ways to

improve science, technology, engineer-ing, and mathematics education includ-ed Stanford University mathematician and author Keith Devlin, NASA astronaut John Herrington, and Heidi Schwein-

gruber, deputy director for sci-ence education at the National Research Council.

ASME staff and volunteers were on hand to talk about ASME’s work in K-12 STEM education.

The ASME Foundation also

hosted two sessions of the “Balloon Blast! Hands-on Engineering for Middle Grades” workshop.

ASME Foundation Participates in Workshop

“Everybody Wins” is the name of a new referral drive intended to increase membership and support ASME’s work around the globe.

Launched in March, the drive has already begun to see positive results. Currently, there are more than 1,200 referrals to-date.

“The willingness of our members to get involved by sharing the value of ASME with their colleagues and

friends is remarkable,” said Michael Kreisberg, ASME’s director of Mem-bership Development. “This is just the beginning. If every member makes at least one referral, we’ll dramatically grow membership and help to fulfill ASME’s broader vision of providing solutions that will benefit human-kind.”

Current members can go online to a special referral drive web page, www.

go.asme.org/ReferralDrive, and refer their peers and colleagues who are not yet members. Their referrals receive a personalized e-mail invitation with a special offer to join, which includes a gift. Members can then select a free reward each time one of their eligible referrals joins, in addition to mul-tiple larger grand prizes that will be awarded after the conclusion of the drive on September 30, 2012.

Member Referral Drive Launched

IShow Finalists to Compete in Montreal

Volunteer Dora Nagy answered questions at the ASME booth at the Celebration of Teaching & Learning.

asmenews0512.indd 71 4/2/12 4:12 PM

ust about everyone in Western civiliza-tion knows the name Stradivarius. It is a prized stringed instrument made by Antonio Stradivari, who died in 1737. A few hundred of them exist. They sell for millions of dollars and are played by world-class musicians, including Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perelman.

Attempts have been made to copy them and market value has been an incentive for counterfeits.

Lately, the world has seen something else. Three men in the Twin Cities have used a combination of computed tomography and computer numerically controlled machining to reproduce a Stradivarius violin, specifi-cally the Betts violin, made in 1704.

The Betts is a museum piece, part of the U.S. Library of Congress collection at the Smithsonian Institution. It is named for Arthur Betts, a London instrument dealer who bought it sometime in 1820s.

Luthier John Waddle of St. Paul and radi-ologist Steven Sirr of Minneapolis, who is also an amateur violinist, had for several years been using computed tomography to examine stringed instruments. Then they were able to study CT images of the Betts made at the Smithsonian.

The images let them study the instru-ment’s physical properties—wood density, linear measure-ments, volumes, distribution of mass, and other important features such as cracks, patches, repairs, and holes.

They got in touch with Steve Rossow, another luthier from St. Paul, who converted the CT scans into 3-D stereo-lithography files to drive a computer numerically con-trolled machine. The CNC machine was able to carve an almost exact copy of the top, back, neck, and scroll of the original Betts violin.

Rossow had spent a year researching machines that could facilitate the building of violins, but he

couldn’t afford to buy one himself. So, he enlisted the help of a friend, Chris Ramirez, a welder, and together they created the CNC machine. The

machine itself is 4 ½ by 4 feet and cost about $5,000. The parts include a table and a steel frame, a mounted gantry router, and ball screws.

He and Ramirez completed the machine in 2007, and about year later, Sirr and Waddle brought him the

scans of the Betts Stradivarius. Three Stradivarius violins have been made

so far. While there are some slight differences between each Stradivarius replica that Ros-sow produces, he tries to match the wood as closely as he can to the wood that was used to create the original. Rossow said that there

are some nuances distinguishing each finished violin, but they are all quite similar. While he strives to make them identical, he can’t always make exact replicas of each, because

of the uniqueness of each piece of wood and application of varnish. Since the varnish is hand applied, it's like starting with a blank canvas, Rossow said.While he has several more violins in the

works, his next big project is to recreate a Stradivarius cello.

He is currently putting together the ste-reolithography files from CT scans. He said it has been a challenging process since the cello has undergone 300 years of string tension which has distorted the working parts of the instrument.

The violin replicas have been demonstrated at events, including a convention of radiologists. Although none has been sold, Rossow said several prospective buyers have expressed interest.

James Pero


inputoutput New Betts for Old

J

The original:The Betts violin in a 3-D volume

rendered movie.

in Progress:The reproduction of the front

next to the original violin.

ComPleTe:The reproduction of the

Betts stradivarius.

CT scan of the front of the stradivari Betts violin.

io0512B.indd 72 4/3/12 10:19 AM

This fl agship event will include more than 700 technical presentations and panel sessions, tutorials, keynote addresses and pre-conference workshops.

The exhibit and sponsorship program is expected to draw more than 60 vendors and representatives from utilities, industry, government and academia around the world.

For more information about this event, including a list of tracks and important deadlines, please visit the conference Web site at:

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ME Magazine May 2012

Documents

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