Past Monthly Meetings
October 2011 Meeting
Frac Water Osmosis by John Swayer of Liberty Hydro
July 2011 - Annual Planning Meeting
April 2011 Student Competition
Joint sponsored with IEEE - Write-up and pictures.
The three finalists were:
- Colin Hoylman - Space Vector Modulation Voltage Source Inverter Variable Frequency Drive
- Robbie Armstrong - Maximum Power Point Tracker for Photovoltaic Arrays
- Derrick Dolson - Three Phase DC to AC Inverter
April 2011 Tour
Alcon Research, Huntington WV
Host: Greg Bush
A hidden jewel of manufacturing in the area. Trip Report by Wesley Lucas.
March 2011 Meeting
Aircraft Instrumentation Part 1
Speaker: Bill Motsinger
Hanger 9 Aviation LLC
If you were asked to design a mobile differential pressure instrumentation system that could be used from sea level to over 30,000 feet, from over +100 degrees F to less than -50 degrees F, measure airspeeds from 35 MPH to over 1,500 MPH, all in a period of less than 30 minutes of going from one extreme to the other, be highly accurate and be entirely mechanical what would you submit? This is the challenge that has faced aircraft designers through the years. Even with electronic systems now available every aircraft is required to have a mechanical backup. Failures of these systems has cost hundreds of lives. This presentation will provide information on the design and use of basic aircraft flight instrument systems. Slides (pdf - 600K)
February 2011 Meeting
Precision GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems)
Speaker: Pete Dailey
Rahall Transportation Institute
Precision GNSS is being used for industrial applications where automated land measurements require an accuracy of a few centimeters. The presentation discussed types of systems and their errors and what is required to meet the precision requirements. Slides (pdf - 5.4 M)
January 2011 Meeting
Electronic Flow Computers
Speaker: Tushar Shah
Eagle Research Corporation
Electronics are changing our daily and work lives. As Natural Gas moves from well to the burner
tip, there are several electronic devices used
along the way for the measurement and
control. Slides (pdf - 8.8 M)
November 2010 Meeting
Process Networking
Speaker: Scott Cloherty
Carnegie Strategic Design Engineers, LLC
The presentation was on the different types of process networks available. This includes the advantages and disadvantages of each. Slides (pdf - 1.7 M).
October 2010 Meeting
Steam Control
Speaker: Bob George
Jabo
The presentation was on common installation mistakes with steam heaters. Temperature control is a function of heat transfer rate not on valve size. Common installation problems include over sizing the valve and flooding the tubes. Once the tubes are partially flooded then when steam is added there will be water hammer and the tubes will be damaged over time.
The discussion was very informative.
February 2010 Meeting
Fuel Cell: An Alternative Distributed Generator
Speaker: Kouroush Sedghisigarchi, Assistant Professor
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department, WVUTech
Abstract:
Fuel cells are very useful as power sources in remote locations,
such as spacecraft, remote weather stations, large parks, rural
locations, and in certain military applications. A fuel cell system
running on hydrogen can be compact and lightweight, and have
no major moving parts. Because fuel cells have no moving parts
and do not involve combustion, in ideal conditions they can
achieve up to 99.9999% reliability. This equates to around one
minute of down time in a two year period.
One of the most common types of fuel cells is Polymer Exchange
Membrane (PEM). A PEM fuel cell is an electrochemical
device that converts hydrogen fuel into energy and water
without combustion.
A PEMFC operates at temperatures of 60-100° C. PEMFC
applications include electric utilities, portable power, and transportation.
The solid electrolyte reduces corrosion, operates at
low temperatures, and delivers quick start-up. The cell requires
expensive catalysts and the cell has high sensitivity to fuel impurities.
PEMFC control requires certain sequences and steps.
Fuel cell model can be used for dynamic and transient stability
studies. The fuel cell model based on electro-chemical and thermal
equations, accounts for temperature dynamics and output
voltage losses.
Fuel cell principles, operations and types will be addressed. Fuel
cell dynamic response for fast and slow perturbations will be presented.
A developed control strategy including several tasks will
be presented. This control method manages fuel cell monitoring,
start-up, production, protection and shut-down procedures.
Some of the ongoing research activities focusing alternative energy
technologies at ECE Dept of WVU Tech will be discussed.