bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
How Much Are You Worth?
Authors: Netel Noel
Published: July 2018

This article reviews a survey that is compiling hard data on engineering pay scales. The national average pay for an engineer in the United States last year was just under $95,000, according to a survey being conducted by ASME and two other professional societies. The income and salary survey is an open-ended poll that will gather information continually to keep abreast of compensation trends and to analyze them according to a range of demographic and geographic information. Pay scales vary among engineering disciplines, regions of the country, levels of experience, and other distinctions. The survey is creating a searchable database that will allow subscribers to identify patterns in engineers’ compensation according to a range of criteria. Full-time salaried median income shows an increase from smaller organizations to larger organizations, based on employee size. Individuals and companies can subscribe for online access to request custom reports from the database. A custom report enables users to select up to nine demographic and professional criteria for their income data analysis. Subscriptions are based on the number of report runs allowed and are tailored to both individual and corporate needs.
Buyer & Seller
Authors: Nichol Jamie
Published: July 2018

This review discusses that an effective relationship with a respectable supplier can be a considerable strategic asset to a business. It can reduce cost, improve quality, and increase production volumes. In an effective relationship, a supplier can be a valuable source of expertise, contacts, and ideas. An effective relationship is a two-way street, benefiting both buyer and supplier. As with most things, while there might not be a single best way to create a healthy supplier relationship, there is an infinite variety of ways to foster a bad relationship. Feedback from someone in the business can be very valuable, and changing a part design to fit a supplier’s processes can create value for seller and buyer. Knowledgeable, reputable suppliers provide expertise, and understand the strengths and limitations of their processes. A solid supplier network, like a well-trained staff, is a valuable asset. Also, exceptional suppliers, like exceptional employees, cost less in the long run, even if they do not cost the least up front.
Traced Back To The Watch
Authors: Hutchinson Harry
Published: July 2018

This paper explores the increase in micromanufacturing in diverse Swiss industries. Switzerland Trade and Investment Promotion, in collaboration with the promotional bureaus of Geneva and other cantons, arranged a tour through several of the country’s micromachining businesses and laboratories. A tour of Swiss precision manufacturing included visits to institutions engaged in research and development of micromachining. The technology they are developing into new fields is grounded in the watch business. Oerlikon Space AG in Zurich makes a variety of high-tech products for space programs, including the payload fairings for vehicles that carry cargo into space. In order to qualify as Swiss made, the major parts of a watch must be assembled in Switzerland, and at least half the tiny parts of the movement have to be made in the country. To do that, the Swiss need an industry that can make things that small, and do it reliably.
Accessible Vision
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This article explores benefits of vision system and role it can play in manufacturing industry and beyond. Vision systems rely on cameras and image processing software with interfaces to perform manufacturing tasks. The article also highlights that manufacturing insiders see an ever-expanding number of uses for vision technology in the not-too-distant future. Vision systems can be programmed to perform narrowly defined tasks such as to count objects on a conveyor or to search for defects in a product or in packaging. The vision systems, through software joined to other equipment and devices, can be used to help make decisions about—and act upon—what they see. Machine vision systems are also making their way into biomedical applications. Progress in biomedical research has been highly dependent on engineering techniques and these types of vision systems have immense potential to return unprecedented information for cellular biology.
All at Sea
Authors: Winters Jeffrey
Published: July 2018

This article explores oil production options in the American waters. Survey shows that there is significant oil production in the waters of the North Sea and the Bight of Bonny in Nigeria, as well as the Gulf of Mexico. However, the figure published for proved reserves is generally far lower than what geologists believe is available. Proved reserves are restricted to oil and gas that can be commercially recovered from known fields using existing methods under prevailing government regulations. The Minerals Management Service tries to estimate the amount of recoverable energy found in the wind, waves, and tides. The Department of the Interior report makes use of data from the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, which has estimated the wind resource both on land and at sea, as well as other recent studies. The Department of the Interior's report suggests that the biggest offshore energy source is wind, not oil. It remains to be seen whether calls to exploit that resource will be catchy.
A Shift in Engineering Offshore
Authors: Brown Alan S.
Published: July 2018

This paper discusses the impact of the transfer of research and development (R&D) resources to low-wage countries. This transfer may promise major changes for engineers in developed nations. Offshoring is reaching critical mass in many engineering fields. Offshore engineers are bright, highly motivated, and have climbed the skill ladder rapidly. Multinational companies believe that offshoring enables them to reduce costs to consumers, increase market share, and use profits to create more high-paying jobs. European and Japanese engineers tend to have more job protection than American engineers, and US corporations are believed to be in the forefront of offshoring. The paper also highlights that for many companies, offshoring engineering is an extension of outsourcing, a business model that calls for companies to concentrate on core businesses and contract peripheral projects to vendors. Classical economists defend offshoring by calling on a centuries-old principle called comparative advantage. It states that countries are better off when they trade without restrictions, so each trading partner can specialize in what it does best rather than try to hang onto floundering industries.
Hydrogen Horizon
Authors: Kandlikar Satish G. , Sergi Jacqueline , LaManna Jacob , Daino Michael
Published: July 2018

This review focuses on the role of hydrogen technologies in transition from petroleum production to new fuel to power transportation system. At present, the looming crisis caused by the decline in petroleum production and the need to control greenhouse gas emissions exemplifies the need for new energy solutions. The key component of a hydrogen-powered transportation sector will be the proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell. PEM fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to generate electricity, with water and heat as by-products of the electro-chemical reaction. The review also discusses that to compete favorably with internal combustion engines and hybrid cars, PEM fuel cells need to address several issues, including performance, durability, and cost. Hydrogen from natural gas could provide a firm stepping stone as the energy system evolves away from petroleum.
Renewable Sea Power
Authors: McCormick Michael E. , Ertekin R. Cengiz
Published: July 2018

This article discusses various aspects of research funding that seeks to use waves, tides, and thermal in different useful ways. The Department of Energy (DOE) program is set to explore technology that aims to harness some of the ocean’s energy and put it to work. It also presents a conception of a field of water mills designed by Marine Current turbines that turn the currents of tides into electricity. The researchers believe that the tidal energy resource is both reliable and predictable. With the escalating costs of oil and natural gas, it will become a viable resource soon. The DOE’s new program in marine renewable energies is an attempt to tap into a vast resource. Electrical utilities and private companies have made early commitments to participate in the centers. While conducting their own research, the universities will assist in the establishment of ocean field-testing sites and help the DOE keep a recently created marine renewable energy data base up to date.
Plowing New Ground
Authors: Langston Lee S.
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of the gas turbine industry. The annual value of production provides the vital signs for the industry. Forecast International in Newtown, Connecticut, uses its computer models and extensive database to monitor value of production for both the aviation and the non-aviation gas turbine market. The largest segment in the industry is aviation—jet engines and turboprop engines for commercial and military manned aircraft—with $21.4 billion in production. While aviation is the largest market for gas turbines, the non-aviation segment is the broadest. General Electric’s new LMS100 gas turbine is one example firmly on the cutting edge. Introduced in 2005 and rated at 100 MW, the LMS100 is the first modern production electric power gas turbine to have an intercooler. The LMS100 is aimed at the mid-merit and daily cycling segments of the electrical market—the difficult-to-predict, must-be-ready-to-start electrical peak and intermediary power providers.
A Firm Grip
Authors: Winters Jeffrey
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of the Peg Restrained Intrinsic Muscle Evaluator (PRIME) device developed by a team of students at the Rice University to measure the strength of a hand affected by nerve or muscle damage. Members of the PRIME team started work on the device in the fall of 2008. Up to that time, doctors commonly used a manual muscle test to measure hand strength. In this test, a patient is asked to lift each finger while the doctor presses gently down on it. Such a measurement is crude at best and totally subjective. The research team realized that it was important for their new device to rotate freely in the x–y plane and translate freely along the z-axis. Because of this freedom of movement, when the patient pulls on the load cell, the sensor can swivel so that the full force vector is measured. This project won the Innovation Showcase competition, and the team members received $10,000 in seed money.
Sharing the Passion
Authors: Chklovski Tara
Published: July 2018

This article talks about Iridescent’s “Engineers as Teachers” program that has been designed to teach professional and student engineers how to share their research with the public. Iridescent is a nonprofit educational organization operating since July 2006. Iridescent's mission is to inspire girls and minorities to pursue careers in science and engineering, to lift up their communities, and to tackle some of the world's biggest problems. In the past 12 years, Iridescent has delivered more than 120 multisession courses on real-world topics that reached more than 4000 under-served children and their parents. The courses are made possible by volunteer engineers who worked with Iridescent to develop their communication and curricular skills so they could teach and inspire children. Through Iridescent’s training program, engineers learn how to communicate complex principles in engaging, simple ways. This not only helps them inspire children, but also improves the ability of engineers to communicate the essence of their work to nontechnical professionals.
A Turn of the Crank
Authors: Woods Robert O.
Published: July 2018

ASME is reviewing this article to reflect current historical scholarship on the subject. Please check back soon for an update.

This article elaborates the social impact of the invention of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin. Before introduction of the gin, cotton had been a mildly interesting but barely productive crop. That changed dramatically with the advent of the gin. Prior to the gin's introduction, cotton fiber could only be separated from the sticky, embedded seeds by a manual operation. The procedure was so slow that cotton was just barely commercially attractive. So little could be produced that the greatest application was in such specialized little things as candle wicks. An individual would work 10 hours to separate a pound of fiber from seeds. Production increased by a staggering amount with the introduction of the cotton gin. A team of two or three could then process 50 pounds of cotton in a single day. Cotton growing suddenly became lucrative, and an unexpected tidal wave of cotton fields sprang up. It soon became by far the major export of the South.
Grooming the Fleet
Authors: Borchardt John K.
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of a robotic system, named Hull BUG, designed to remove deposits from the undersides of ships. The robot is the product of SeaRobotics, a company in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA, that develops unmanned vessels for jobs including deep-water research and coastal surveillance. The current developmental model of the Hull BUG uses a negative pressure vortex regenerative fluid movement assembly to attach itself to the hull. The robot is designed to work without using cleaning chemicals. It measures about 2-feet wide, 2-feet long, and 1-foot high. Weighing 30 pounds, it is designed to be neutrally buoyant in seawater, so it needs less propulsion to negotiate a ship’s hull underwater. The Hull BUG requires no human operator. Onboard sensors provide obstacle avoidance, path planning, and navigation capabilities. These capabilities include a biofilm detector that can distinguish between fouled and groomed surfaces. The Hull BUG has already been tested on many pieces of steel having different types of structures and shapes to model sections of ship hulls.
Turn Down the Volume
Authors: Schneider Eric
Published: July 2018

This article elaborates the design options that engineers have for low-volume productions. Designing complex products for low-volume production usually involves some degree of compromise. However, that does not mean that the available processes are going to be inadequate. By understanding the limitations of each process, an engineer can tailor the design to make great parts with low-volume techniques, for instance, by adding compliance features to reduce the need for tight tolerances, reinforcing the walls with ribs, or combining processes. While the enclosure may be best suited for cast urethane, other components may be better suited for machined aluminum and sheet metal to increase strength or to create a high-tolerance internal frame. Moreover, while it is likely that a product only has one enclosure, other components may qualify as high quantities. A designer can amplify the part count by making the left and right sides the same or by using the same part in multiple places. The principles of design for manufacture extend to all processes.
Custom Model
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This article explains how Hypertherm Inc. of Hanover, N.H., a maker of plasma metal cutting equipment, is using customized manufacturing to allow its customers choose product configurations online. Hypertherm Inc. recently started allowing its customers to choose online from 10 CNC Edge Pro product configurations, up from three configurations in the former product line. Hypertherm customers are now able to pick among many more features than in the past, and-in tandem with the company's lean manufacturing process-the product is assembled shortly after the time of request, making for a customized manufacturing approach. The original plasma cutting model featured 12 inputs and outputs, while newer models feature 24 or 48 inputs and outputs. Input numbers are defined by the board circuitry. The company reuses the same product body design. The circuit boards and electrical interfaces inside change depending upon customers' requirements. This helps speed assembly. The Edge Pro product can now be assembled in half the time of the original product using 27% fewer parts: from 315 to 230.
Helping the Lights Stay On: Cofiring biomass with coal is a relatively inexpensive way to extend U.S. energy resources.
Authors: Mahr Daniel
Published: July 2018

This article explains the process of cofiring biomass with coal that could be a relatively inexpensive way to extend energy resources in the United States. While biomass-fired plants have been a part of the scene for some time, they are relatively small, 25–50 MW, and often address specialized local conditions. In California, they are helping to reduce air pollution by replacing the open field burning of agricultural residue. Adapting coal-fired units to cofire biomass requires additions and modifications, but compared to starting a new plant from scratch, it is a relatively low-cost, low-risk method to add renewable energy to the plant fleet. In a cofiring application for a pulverized coal plant, biomass can replace 20% of the coal being used. With cofiring, power generation is not dependent upon biomass, so there is a lower risk of technology entry than with other renewable energy options. Biomass can be used when supplies are available.
U.S. Navy Experience with SSS (Synchro-Self-Shifting) Clutches
Authors: Hendry Morgan , B. Michael Zekas
Published: July 2018

This article discusses the experience of the US Navy with Synchro-Self-Shifting (SSS) clutches. The US Navy has nearly 40 years of experience using SSS clutches in main reduction gears of gas-turbine-driven ships and propulsion systems with combinations of gas turbines and diesel engines or electric motors, and in steam-turbine propulsion plants for use with electric motor drives. Over 900 SSS clutches have been installed in 14 different classes of US Navy ships, with some having been in service for over 30 years. SSS clutches have accumulated approximately 15,278,000 hours of operation. Mean Time Between Failures in Hours for US Navy clutch applications is relatively high (271,550 hours) based on the operational hours accumulated and the total number of failures that have occurred. The maintenance and repair strategy used for US Navy SSS clutches is similar to a Performance Based Logistics arrangement, where the Navy maintains a rotatable pool of ready-for-issue clutches, and in the event of a problem or failure, the clutch is changed out with an available spare.
Low Emission Gas Turbine Technology for Hydrogen-rich Syngas
Authors: Bjorqivst Christer
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of H2-IGCC research project. This project focuses on developing gas turbine (GT) technology optimised for the next generation. The H2-IGCC project is coordinated by the Brussels-based European Turbine Network (ETN)—an association with members of all stakeholders across the GT technology development value chain. ETN promotes environmentally sound gas turbine technology with reliable and low-cost operation. The objective of the H2-IGCC project is to provide and demonstrate technical solutions for state-of-the-art, high-efficiency, low-emissions GT technology that can be employed to IGCC applications. More specifically, the goal is to enable combustion of undiluted hydrogen-rich syngas with low NOx emissions and also allowing for high fuel flexibility. The challenge is to operate a stable and controllable GT on hydrogen-rich syngas with emissions and processes similar to current state-of-the-art natural GT engines.
Annual Insight into Blade Mechanics in the Foothills of the Swiss Alps
Authors: Szwedowicz Jaroslaw
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of the Blade Mechanics Seminar hosted annually in Winterthur by Zurich University of Applied Sciences. This seminar is co-organized by the Swiss Section of the ASME and focuses on the common need for knowledge base analyses. It offers a platform for know-how and experience exchange between engineers from various turbomachinery companies. The Blade Mechanics Seminar aims to answer the participants' needs that arise in their daily work regarding axial and radial bladed discs of aero-engines and industrial turbines. A one-hour keynote speech given by an expert from the industry opens the one-day seminar that also includes a few presentations followed by comprehensive discussions on the understanding of the presented problems and their solutions. As a discussion forum, this seminar highlights many dimensions of the state of the technology and methodology applied to blade analysis. In 2010, non-destructive testing of component properties was demonstrated at Alstom's booth, providing practical experience for finite element analysts.
Personalities into Teams
Authors: Wilde Doug
Published: July 2018

This article discusses the significance of psychologically diverse individuals in the success of a team. As technology advances, products are increasingly being designed in the commercial world by teams of skilled collaborators. Each team member is chosen to bring a specific range of skills and experience to bear on the mission, and each contributor is essential to a successful outcome. Some studies suggest that performance improves when a team pays attention to its individual personalities. The basic principle learned, which may apply in corporations as well as universities, is that in the long run teams do better when they are composed of people with the widest possible range of personalities, even though it takes longer for such psychologically diverse teams to achieve smooth communications and good cooperation. Before diverse team members can be integrated into a cooperative unit, they must not only cultivate an openness to opposing opinions, but also recognize the value of exploring a problem from various angles. Sharing personality information about each other facilitates this essential awareness.
Multiphysics: All at Once
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This study presents an overview of multiphysics software, whose implementation simulate physical phenomena in tandem to depict real-life behavior on a virtual prototype. In order to give engineers access to multiphysics packages, many vendors’ focus now is on speeding the applications and making them intuitive to use. Multiphysics software analysis is helping to reduce feedback noise in hearing aids made by Widex of Copenhagen, Denmark. Engineers at hearing aid maker Widex use Comsol multiphysics software to simulate vibrations within the ear, and thus to reduce hearing-aid noise and feedback. Meanwhile, engineers at steelmaker ArcelorMittal of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, turned to multiphysics modeling to help them find the most corrosion-resistant steel possible. Developers of multiphysics software say they are addressing the reality that physical phenomena do not operate singly in nature. They believe that solving for multiple phenomena can make simulations more realistic. And they are designing software packages to be easier to use and more accessible, to put them into the hands of more engineers.
The Drone Warriors
Authors: Brown Alan S.
Published: July 2018

This article explores the role of robots in military operations in the coming future and challenges posed by it. Military personnel believe that robots may not replace soldiers; however, as automated systems become more capable, they will certainly supplement human troops. On the ground, soldiers deploy robots to search dangerous locations, and to find and defuse roadside bombs. New models that carry weapons have already entered service. Robotic warfare is open-source warfare; enemies cannot only probe robots for technological vulnerabilities, but they can also build robots themselves. Some commanders worry that distancing soldiers from the results of their actions makes it easier to commit war crimes. Robot-based warfare might well change the types of skills the military looks for in future soldiers. While it takes years to train an F-15 pilot, drone pilots achieve comparable results with just months of training, and they pilot far cheaper aircraft. The development of robot-based warfare has been a great asset to the American military. However, there is a profound risk inherent in this technology should some other force discover a better way to employ robot warriors.
Protecting the Water Supply
Authors: Morley Kevin M. , Brashear Jerry P.
Published: July 2018

This article highlights various features of risk and resilience standard developed by the ASME-ITI and American Water Works Association. The American Water Works Association and ASME Innovative Technologies Institute have jointly developed an American National Standard to enhance the security and resilience of drinking water and wastewater systems. The ASME-ITI, under the Department of Homeland Security’s sponsorship, initiated discussions with the water sector to consider the development of sector-level guidance based on RAMCAP Plus. The RAMCAP Plus process is composed of seven interrelated analytic steps, which provides a foundation for data collection and interpretation, analysis, and decision making valuable for understanding and managing risk and resilience. The process is designed to guide the selection of options that reduce risk and increase resilience, including informing funding decisions. The joint standard fulfils the need identified in the water sector-specific plan. It facilitates the reduction of risk and the enhancement of resilience at water and wastewater systems across America.
More Weight on the Job
Authors: Hutchinson Harry
Published: July 2018

This article discusses that new methods and heavier equipment are expected to hasten the nuclear waste transfer at the Hanford Site’s tank farms. The site includes old processing plants, groundwater that exceeds safe levels of radioactivity, and high-level radioactive waste held in 149 aging tanks—some more than 60 years old—that lie underground just 10 miles from the Columbia River. The objective is to remove the highly radioactive waste from the old tanks, which have a single shell construction, and transfer it to 28 newer, more-secure double-shell tanks nearby, where the waste will safely reside until it can be treated in facilities now under construction. There are approximately 53,000,000 gallons of nuclear and chemical waste stored in the tanks at the Hanford Site. Bechtel National Inc., another of the prime contractors for Office of River Protection, is building a treatment plant that will process the wastes being stored in the underground tanks into a stable glass form for permanent disposal in a federal geological repository.
Assembling Knowledge
Authors: Brown Warren , Neely Clyde , Rossi Steven J.
Published: July 2018

This article highlights various topics covered in ASME Standard and Certification’s Guidelines for Pressure Boundary Bolted Joint Assembly. This major revision focuses on significant additions to capture proven assembly knowledge, which impacts safety, efficiency, best practice, and cost reduction. In addition, the revision recommends that gaskets be not reused. This inclusion was made based on field experience with joint leakage or flange facing damage where gaskets, in particular RTJ gaskets, are reused. Appendix P provides guidance and a series of checklists designed to guide the user through an investigation of joint leakage. ASME PCC-1-2010 represents a step change in the level of detail provided for guidance on bolted joint assembly and will represent a significant body of work for the international improvement of the integrity of bolted flanged joints. The undertaking and commitment by the subcommittee members was significant; however, it is believed that the benefit to industry from this revision will be commensurate.
Too Good to Leave on the Shelf
Authors: LeBlanc David
Published: July 2018

This article explores the use of molten salt reactors (MSR) as a source of cheap and limitless energy for nuclear power industry. Molten salt reactors contain no fuel pellets. MSRs run at near-atmospheric pressure, so the thick-walled pressure vessels found in light-water reactors are unnecessary. Since there is no water or sodium in the reactor fluids, there is zero possibility of a steam explosion or hydrogen production within the containment. The article also highlights advantages of using MSRs in nuclear-powered bombers. Many of the drawbacks to the molten salt reactor approach have been worked out. MSR designs have very strong negative temperature and void coefficients, which act instantly, aiding safety and allowing automatic load following operation. The Molten Salt Reactor Experiment showed that maintenance and repair could be carried out smoothly and that reactor control was highly stable. The article concludes that molten salt or liquid fluoride reactors will also take a large effort, but every indication points to a power reactor that will excel in cost, safety, long-term waste reduction, resource utilization, and proliferation resistance.
Air Race
Authors: Langston Lee S.
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of the existence and use of gas turbines in the past, present, and future. The article uses the data provided by Forecast International of Newtown, Conn., which covers both aviation and nonaviation gas turbine markets. The gas turbine has proven to be an example of technological evolution, where improvements in efficiency and reliability continue to amass, 70 years after its invention. Advanced technology developed in military jet engines has often migrated to commercial jet engines and nonaviation gas turbines, and improved their performance. Gas turbine combined-cycle power plants come in all sizes. The largest combined-cycle gas turbines are the H class machines made by GE and Siemens. Given the world’s current focus on sustainable or renewable energy, how do natural gas-fired gas turbines fit in? In some instances, renewable energy, such as solar or wind, just would not be practical without assistance from gas turbines. As power production moves tentatively into a low-carbon future, or as people look for more fuel-efficient ways to cross continents, it’s a sure bet that gas turbines will be there.
Development of a Standard for Verification and Validation of Software Used to Calculate Nuclear System Thermal Fluids Behavior.
Authors: Schultz Richard , Harvego Edwin , Crane Ryan
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on the need for development of a standard for verification and validation (V&V) of software used to calculate nuclear system thermal fluids behavior. The V&V 30 Committee has been established to develop an ASME standard for verification and validation of computational fluid dynamics and system analysis software that will be used in the design and analysis of advanced nuclear reactor systems, with an initial focus on high-temperature gas-cooled reactors. The processes and procedures that will be addressed in the new standard will be used in the design and analysis of advanced reactor systems to be licensed in the United States. Recently, the V&V20 standard was released: Standard for Verification and Validation (V&V) in Computational Fluid Dynamics and Heat Transfer. Because of similarities in the standards being developed by the V&V20 and V&V30 Committees, it is important to define the relationship between the work embodied in the V&V20 Standard versus the work that will be forthcoming in the V&V30 Standard, as noted in the V&V20 Standard.
Leadership, Sustainability and Clean Nuclear Technology
Authors: Duffey Romney
Published: July 2018

This article discusses the need for improved leadership, sustainability, and clear nuclear technology. Nuclear plants face many issues ranging from financing, cost, licensing, designs, and construction in a globally fragmented energy marketplace, to associated international proliferation, security of energy supply, climate change, and national pride issues. Despite the hurdles, costs, and glacial timeframes, many owners and operators are successfully extending the life of the old and also committing to the process of building new plants. The sustainability issues are (1) finite resources ultimately affecting price; (2) finite energy content that is not being replaced; and (3) lack of other resources in the places that need it. The article concludes that when we are prepared to foot the bill of increased cost for energy from renewable and sustainable resources, why would we not also foot the bill for an endless supply of nuclear fuel, that is used, recycled, and bred forever in advanced reactor designs.
The Unwritten Laws of Engineering
Authors: King W.J. , Skakoon James G.
Published: July 2018

This chapter discusses the trade version that has been added as a revision to the Unwritten Laws of Engineering book. The trade version focuses on what the beginner needs to learn at once. Promises, schedules, and estimates are necessary and important instruments in a well-ordered business. Many engineers try to dodge making commitments. One must make promises based upon best estimates for the part of the job, together with estimates obtained from contributing departments. The chapter points out that a good project manager probably knows which engineers are pessimistic and which are optimistic and tries to work the middle way. In dealing with customers and outsiders, remember that one represent’s the company, ostensibly with full responsibility and authority. A good project manager knows which engineers are pessimistic and which are optimistic and tries to work the middle way out. The chapter also highlights that risk management activities should be scheduled into a project right from the start; however, issues must be squeezed into the schedule as they appear.
Design in an era of Constrained Resources
Authors: Duclos Steven J. , Otto Jeffrey P. , Konitzer Douglas G.
Published: July 2018

This article emphasizes that as global competition for materials strains the supply chain, companies must know where a shortage can hurt and then plan around it. Advancements in material science are required to design materials that minimize the use of elements that are not sustainable, without losing the properties that enable product integrity. The article also highlights that elements that are determined to be high both in impact to the company and in supply and price risk require a plan either to stabilize their supply or to minimize their usage. The article also presents several examples that demonstrate the intelligent application of material science in product design. As competition for the world’s resources increases in the future, it is critical for material users to determine what changes in design and materials will allow for continued growth. This starts with an assessment of where the risks are, which is followed by a response that encompasses sourcing, manufacturing, and engineering.
How do you Rate Your Springs?
Authors: Skakoon James G.
Published: July 2018

This article focuses on basic engineering design needs for any spring assembly. The article also highlights that when designing springs, it is advisable to use the smallest possible spring rate, and operate springs at the largest allowable deflection. In most cases of simple spring design, it is desirable for the force to remain as close as possible to the operating point force throughout the deflection range. Devices then usually function best. Remembering a few explicit relationships revealed by the spring equations is helpful when optimizing a spring. The maximum force a spring can exert is limited by the mass of material in the spring. Once an engineer optimizes a spring design, to get more force, there is need for more mass—and more space. Thus, to improve that inferior spring clamp, first add more coils to the spring, and then increase the initial angular deflection. Beyond a certain point, the only way to reduce stress to the allowable limit is to provide more space for the spring. Instead, too many design engineers resort to exotic—meaning costly—solutions.
Natural Gas
Authors: Kurz Rainer
Published: July 2018

This article discusses the importance of gas turbines, centrifugal compressors and pumps, and other turbomachines in processes that bring natural gas to the end users. To be useful, the natural gas coming from a large number of small wells has to be gathered. This process requires compression of the gas in several stages, before it is processed in a gas plant, where contaminants and heavier hydrocarbons are stripped from the gas. From the gas plant, the gas is recompressed and fed into a pipeline. In all these compression processes, centrifugal gas compressors driven by industrial gas turbines or electric motors play an important role. Turbomachines are used in a variety of applications for the production of oil and associated gas. For example, gas turbine generator sets often provide electrical power for offshore platforms or remote oil and gas fields. Offshore platforms have a large electrical demand, often requiring multiple large gas turbine generator sets. Similarly, centrifugal gas compressors, driven by gas turbines or by electric motors are the benchmark products to pump gas through pipelines, anywhere in the world.
Serving Two Masters
Authors: Porter Brian E.
Published: July 2018

This article elaborates how engineers sometimes face the challenge of making decisions based on business economics rather than technical merit. Over the past 50 years, with the flattening of management, engineers have got the responsibility of balancing the budgets and meeting business demands. The requirements to meet technical needs and business are frequently conflicting in nature, even when they theoretically serve one another. The greatest challenge to both engineers and managers is that many corporate leaders feel pressure from stockholders and other stakeholders more immediately than they do the urgency of safety or engineering obligations. Sometimes managers ask for actions that cross the line of reasonable risk. These circumstances require an engineer to oppose business drivers. While engineers have obligations to be conscious of the budget and schedule, it is far more important to prevent safety issues in engineering products. When in doubt, an engineer should get a team of other individuals to help evaluate decisions. Those within the company and external resources may be helpful in such situations.
Everyday Fingers
Authors: Thilmany Jean
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of the artificial X-Finger created by Didrick. These surgical steel fingers can move, flex, and grasp, just like the wearer’s original fingers. The device is composed of stainless steel, with a plastic cap that sits on the tip of the finger and another bit of plastic that sits at the flange. This is covered with a thermoplastic cosmetic skin that is soft and resists tearing. Each finger contains 23 moving parts, though depending on the complexity of the case—such as whether the wearer retains a residual finger or not—it could contain more. For those without residual fingers, a wire runs into the webbing between the fingers to receive open and flex impulses. The device is attached to the wrist and fitted over the hand and the residual fingers. For those who have lost four fingers, the device allows the movement of the palm to control all the artificial fingers.
Nuclear Power after Fukushima
Authors: Marcus Gail H.
Published: July 2018

This article discusses advanced reactor technologies that are now getting renewed attention after the Fukushima nuclear plant accident. Interest in smaller reactors has been growing in recent years. Some of these designs have advantages over the traditional large light water reactors (LWRs) for certain applications. The smaller designs carry less of an inventory of nuclear material, so there is less material at risk in an accident involving a release. Proponents of small modular reactors (SMRs) point to cost savings due to the factory fabrication and shorter construction times. They have significant advantages for countries with small grids, where a current 1500 MWe reactor would exceed demand and threaten grid stability. Other designs that are getting the most attention at present are small or medium LWR concepts. In addition to their smaller size, these designs differ from current large, light-water designs in that most of them use an “integral” design. Most major reactor components are inside the reactor pressure vessel, thus significantly reducing the threat of a major loss-of-coolant accident.
Teaching the Practical Skills
Authors: Fortenberry Norman L.
Published: July 2018

This article explains why the next-generation engineers will need interpersonal and management skills to operate effectively. Engineers must communicate well enough—orally, electronically, and in writing—to sell clients, bosses, or a diverse group of teammates on an idea. They have to lead, make tough decisions, and frame questions in a way that fosters creative solutions to such global “grand challenges” as climate change. A strong moral compass, ethics, cultural awareness, and ability to apply engineering concepts across the disciplinary spectrum are important, too. Many engineering schools and engineering technology programs are revamping curricula to include team-based competitions and other opportunities for students to develop or hone their professional abilities. Some, including pioneers such as the University of Colorado, Boulder, have incorporated team-based design labs into the first-year experience. Teams are carefully assembled to assure a range of interests, social styles, and abilities, and students not only must incorporate several engineering disciplines into their final product, they learn time-management, budgeting, and interpersonal skills. Some projects have even attracted potential investors.
Hiding in Plain Sight
Authors: Brown Alan S.
Published: July 2018

This article presents an overview of Google's autonomous car. There are three components that make Google’s driverless cars go: sensors, software, and Google’s mapping database. Most of these sensors are neatly tucked away in the car’s body rather than mounted, laboratory-style, on a roof rack. The exception is the rotating sensor mounted on the roof. It is a Velodyne high-density LIDAR—light detection and ranging—that combines 64 pulsed lasers into a single unit. The system rotates 10 times per second, capturing 1.3 million points to map the car’s surroundings with centimeter-scale resolution in three dimensions. This lets it detect pavement up to 165-feet ahead or cars and trees within 400 feet. Automotive radars, front and back, provide greater range at lower resolution. A high-resolution video camera inside the car detects traffic signals, as well as pedestrians, bicyclists, and other moving obstacles. The cars also track their positions with a GPS and an inertial motion sensor.
Gas Turbine Progress through Trouble
Authors: Langston Lee S.
Published: July 2018

This article discusses some specific incidents of uncontained jet engine failures. Such incidents usually involve the failure and disintegration of a rotating disc associated with the fan, compressor, or turbine of the gas turbine. Armed with enormous rotational kinetic energy, the disintegrated parts of a failed disk and its blading can become dangerous flying projectiles. Such was the case of the inflight failure of the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine on Qantas Flight QF32 on the morning of November 4, 2010, with 466 passengers and crew onboard. Fortunately, all Flight QF32 passengers and crew were safe and uninjured, after this uncontained engine failure. A similar incident occurred in 1989 with flight DC-10-10, N1819U flight 232 operated by United Airlines. As a result of this incident, the gas turbine industry, airlines, and regulatory agencies have worked diligently over the intervening years to improve disc inspection, crack detection, manufacturing techniques, and fracture mechanics models.
All that Noise
Authors: Thornton Jack
Published: July 2018

This article describes various sources of noise in computer analysis. Noise is a fact of life and is usually heard as wind, traffic, other creatures, etc. Humans are also surrounded by electromagnetic noise-radio and TV signals, signals from cell phones, and global positioning systems. Noise is also the unwanted data that accompanies all but the simplest measurements. According to experts in the field of digital simulation, noise in data can be costly, in terms of time, money, and error, when it gets into computer analysis of engineering designs. Finding and eliminating noise can make significant hits to engineering schedules, deadlines, and budgets. The costs of wasted time add up quickly at $50 an hour for a designer and $150 an hour or more per staff engineer. Rates for independent experts are two to three times higher. To this must be added the costs of engineering resources wasted, computer systems sidetracked, and deadlines missed.
Improving Nuclear Power Plant's Operational Efficiencies in the U.S.A.
Authors: Miller Joseph S. , Stakenborghs Bob , Tsai Robert
Published: July 2018

This article discusses improvement in nuclear power plant’s operational efficiencies in the USA in the past 40 years. The increase in nuclear generation has been achieved by a substantial increase in the overall capacity factor of the US plants from about 60% in 1980 to over 90% today. This large increase in capacity factor was achieved by reducing outages, having longer fuel cycles, using higher burnup fuel, and reducing unplanned outages and fuel failures. Combined with increases in power in various plants, this allowed nuclear power to maintain and increase its share of electricity generation. Such an increase in nuclear generation is the equivalent of having built 25–30 nuclear power plants during that period. The length of the planned outages has reduced from 106 days for an average operating plant in 1991 to 38 days in 2008. The fuel performance has also improved to a very high level over the last 20–30 years.
A Sporting Chance
Authors: Perkins Noel C. , King Kevin , McGinnis Ryan , Hough Jessandra
Published: July 2018

This article discusses using wireless sensors to improve sports training. One example of wireless sensors is inertial sensors that were first developed for automotive and military applications. They are tiny accelerometers and angular rate gyros that can be combined to form a complete inertial measurement unit. An inertial measurement unit (IMU) detects the three-dimensional motion of a body in space by sensing the acceleration of one point on the body as well as the angular velocity of the body. When this small, but rugged device is mounted on or embedded within sports gear, such as the shaft of a golf club, the IMU provides the essential data needed to resolve the motion of that equipment. This technology—and sound use of the theory of rigid body dynamics—is now being developed and commercialized as the ingredients in new sports training systems. It won’t be too long before microelectromechanical systems based hardware and sophisticated software combine to enable athletes at any level to get world-class training.
The perspective from Space
Authors: Olivas John D.
Published: July 2018

This article presents views of John D. Olivas on achievements of humans in space. Olivas recalls the STS-117 mission in which various problems and challenges were systematically overcome by a team of managers, engineers, and technicians as well as the on-orbit crew to make the mission seem outwardly flawless. The mission encountered a shutdown of the main command and control computer system of the space station, loss of a power channel, headache-inducing carbon dioxide levels, compromised Shuttle thermal protection, unexpected orbital attitude control configuration, and reconfiguring a solar array damaged by the wear and tear of the environment that is space. Despite these challenges, hundreds of humans worked hand in hand to perform whatever heroic feat was necessary to achieve success. Olivas also thinks that despite all these achievements, there remains much more for humans to learn and much more to do.