Mechanical Engineering Magazine Advisory Board Harry Armen; Leroy S

Mechanical THE MAGAZINE OF ASME ENGINEERING No.07 137 Technology that moves the world

High Tech Ultralight An attempt to fly around the globe without burning fuel showcases a range of cutting-edge technologies. P.34

FUNDING FOR ENERGY R&D PAGE 32

MERCURY IN A DUAL CYCLE PAGE 40

PLM: BEYOND ENGINEERING DATA PAGE 46 ASME.ORG JULY 2015 ENTER THE MATRIX

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JET PRINTING IN 3-D Making 3-D Printing Affordable A STARTUP FOUNDED BY ENGINEERING graduates from the University of Maryland is striving JET ENGINE FIT TO POWER A PLANE is not a piece of technology you stamp out to make 3-D printing affordable and acces- by the thousands, like so many trinkets headed to the gumball machine. sible for general consumers. To get the kind of precision and reliability you want under the wings of today’s flying machines, you’ll need about two years of manufacturing time, Engineering with Purpose never mind the half a decade or so of design and research that preceeds BENJAMIN LINDER, ASSOCIATE Ait. But now Xinhua Wu, a professor of materials engineering and the director of professor at Olin College, Monash University’s Centre for Additive Manufacturing in Melbourne, Australia, has discusses what it means to do engineering proved to the world that a jet engine can be made on a 3-D printer. work with a purpose and a meaning, something he believes the world needs today.

Breaking the Ice NEXT MONTH ON ASME.ORG A remotely controlled inspection and survey vehicle is a tool to help Eiffel Tower Goes Green scientists to find AS PART OF A MAJOR renovation of the important Eiffel Tower, two wind turbines recently discoveries were installed on the Paris landmark under ice. to send a public signal about the city’s commitment to reducing its environmental footprint. 3-D Printing Lab Tools LOW-COST 3- D PRINTING IS JUST one of the new tools giving rise to a new generation of do-it-yourself lab instruments for citizen scientists. TABLE OF CONTENTS 07137

FEATURES

ON THE COVER MERCURY 34 TECH TRANSFER, ULTRALIGHT & Steam Applying high-efficiency Liquid metal was the key to technology that pushes William Emmett's combined the limits. cycle. BY FRANK WICKS 40 BY R.P. SIEGEL

DEpartments 16 supply-side motivation Coca-Cola's formula for reaching emerging markets. an R&D Plateau BY ROB GOODIER Federal funding for energy research has remained flat. BY JEFFREY WINTERS 32 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.03

DEpartments

6 Editorial 8 Letters 10 Tech Buzz 18 Global Development 24 Patent Watch 30 Vault 53 Software 54 Hardware 58 Standards & Certification 61 Ad Index 46 62 ME Bookshelf data, data everywhere 63 ASME News Product lifecycle management moves beyond the engineering harmonic department to serve the entire enterprise. Logic BY JOHN MARTIN 64 Revisiting a mechanical computer. BY JAMES PERO 20 ONE-On-ONE: Julio Guerrero 22 ASME's president on adding up creating, taking the A look at two labs in the global view, and skiing. Additive Manufacturing INTERVIEW BY JOHN G. FALCIONI Innovation Institute. BY MARK CRAWFORD Editor in Chief Publisher John G. Falcioni Nicholas J. Ferrari

Executive Editor President Julio C. Guerrero Integrated Media Sales Manager Past President J. Robert Sims Harry Hutchinson Greg Valero

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FROM THE EDITOR // FOLLOW @JOHNFALCIONI

THE RULES OF INNOVATION

onsider a world with no technology our lives and in the future of the world. Cstandards. No codes like the ones Film critics will talk about the political ASME publishes to regulate pres- undertones of these films, but the films sure vessels, no rules to secure the safety raise hard-hitting questions over the gov- John G. Falcioni of cranes or elevators, or any other tech- ernance of artificial intelligence research Editor-in-Chief nology. In the 1880s a group of engineers and of technologies such as nano- and in the newly formed American Society of bioengineering, self-driving cars, tracking Mechanical Engineers began to develop technologies, smart homes, and others. parameters to stem the outburst of boiler There are many who share the view- explosions that were killing thousands of point that tech companies are moving too people every year. Standards developed by fast without adding sufficient safeguards ASME would eventually govern how boilers to their innovations, and that the potential were tested, made, and maintained thus implications of breakthroughs are lost on preventing needless damage and saving the technologists who are emboldened countless lives. to innovate and create without regard to Creating technology without such rules consequences. Count innovators such as may seem downright foolish today, yet we Tesla founder Elon Musk among those may be on our way to exposing ourselves who worry. He’s given $10 million to the to just such risks. Future of Life Institute, one of several or- In my column last month I wrote about ganizations that, like this group, “support robots that work peacefully, side-by-side research and initiatives for safeguarding with humans in assembly plants and some life and developing optimistic visions of the designed as novelty items that mix spirits future, including positive ways for human- into cocktails. Underlying all the good ity to steer its own course considering new news about robotics and other develop- technologies and challenges.” FEEDBACK ments, and the explosion of research into Conversations on the oversight of tech- Are tech companies artificial intelligence, is the decades-old nology are deep, far more complex than moving too fast fear of what happens if our own creations, when ASME was founded, increasingly without safeguards? Email me. ungoverned, get away from us. political, and unavoidably divisive. But it is [email protected] Hollywood has capitalized on this well worth the effort to take them on. prospect since the days of D.W. Griffith, The steady growth of technology titillating us with plots of androids gone progress may well serve as a barometer bad. This year’s crop of new films is no by which we measure the growth of our different, but two films take the special- species. But even if we don’t live in the effects nature of the genre and mix in a apocalyptic worlds that Hollywood creates, dose of real-world ethical quandary to it is prudent to be mindful of the benefits make us pause. of codes and standards, and of rules, and Ex Machina and Tomorrowland, al- of self-control. This is why it’s important beit very different films, raise existential for engineers and other technologists to themes tied to the development of power- engage politicians in the difficult dialogue ful technologies and their implications on over the rules of innovations. ME Rapid Manufacturing with a Polite Disregard for Tradition Tech-driven injection molding, CNC machining and 3D printing for those who need parts tomorrow

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an extreme temperature due to adiabatic DECEMBER 2014 compression. Physicists have measured, e.g., its light emission. A physicist considers the theory The temperature-pressure relationship of ignition by water depends on parameters such as bubble hammer. size and the equation of state of the gas, but the magnitudes mentioned in the A reader, enjoying a focus on article certainly look reasonable. Indeed, "real world" issues, suggests the initiation of explosion by temperature a stabilizing feature for floating rise at shock wave front is also respon- sible for the supersonic propagation of wind turbines. detonation in an explosive medium. Tong B. Tang, Hong Kong S.A.R.

STRAKES FOR TURBINES pipelines, such as nuclear power plants. HAMMERED AND VERY HOT Not being an engineer, I previously To the Editor: As an ASME member for To the Editor: A physicist, I am visiting assumed that water hammer causes over 50 years I want to thank the editorial my “mech-eng” daughter and come to only mechanical damage. Leishear staff for changing the magazine’s focus read R.A. Leishear’s thought-provoking suggests that it can ignite explosive gas, several years ago to presenting “real article, “From Water Hammer to Igni- too, a conjecture that I find convincing, world” issues, applications, problems, tion,” in your December 2014 issue. It having known that a gas bubble within a and solutions. raises a probable but serious safety liquid medium, when it collapses during Concerning the article “Heading for concern on installations containing the passage of shock waves, will reach Deeper Waters” (May 2015) it seems that passive spiral strake technology was not discussed in stabilizing floating platforms from both a wind and water perspective. Passive spiral strake For the Last 60 Years, technology has been effectively used to stabilize tall stacks at low cost installa- We’ve Never Stopped Learning tion flow maintenance. I’m sure that this technology can be Searching for a higher gear-producing IQ? Make the smart choice today. employed to reduce natural forces so that it and sophisticated new technology Your trusted source for will provide cost-effective solutions. On a magazine level, many engineers are both analog and digital by 11715 Main Street, Roscoe, IL 61073 choice. Kindly number every page of the 815-623-2168 magazine. No need for small, large, or www.forestcitygear.com no numbers—just large size numbers on every page. Years of application have taught: Keep it simple, stupid. D. Koutek, Valparaiso, Ind.

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arbon sequestration involves trapping carbon dioxide emitted by a plant and Cstoring the gas underground. The goal is to keep an unwanted gas from the atmosphere. But the process uses a significant MATTRESS AS portion of a plant’s energy production to run the capture and sequestration systems. Bayer MaterialScience, part of the Bayer CARBON SINK Group, has proposed a slightly different plan—carbon capture and utilization. The

CO2 captured from the flue becomes a mar- A NEW ketable commodity, to be incorporated into PROCESS USES useful materials in which it would remain CAPTURED CO AS bound for decades. 2 Bayer has developed a process to use

A COMPONENT CO2 in the production of polyol, a principal IN POLYURETHANE. component in the manufacture of polyurethane, which is used in products such as mattresses and upholstery. In this process,

CO2 is partly substituted for propylene oxide, a petrochemical that would otherwise be

purchased from a refinery. Substituting CO2 saves money and reduces the amount of raw petrochemical feedstock required.

CO2 tends to be chemically inert so it requires a catalyst to make it reactive. It took years of research to identify the right catalyst, which Bayer declines to identify. Once it had the catalyst, Bayer had to optimize

the amount of CO2 that could be substituted for propylene oxide without degrading the properties of the polyol. Bayer has operated a pilot plant for the process in Leverkusen, near Cologne. Now the company plans to build a commercial-scale plant in Dormagen, which is not far away. It will use puri- fied carbon dioxide to replace 20 percent of the propylene oxide ordinarily used in production. The plant, which is expected to cost 15 million euros and have a capacity of 5,000 metric tons of polyol, is expected to be operational in the spring of 2016. A Bayer MaterialScience spokesman said the process is designed to use carbon dioxide from different sources. Foam made with The source of CO for the commercial recycled CO . 2 2 polyol plant, for instance, will be provided Images: Bayer MaterialScience AG MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.11

by another chemical company at the Dormagen site. The pilot plant had used

CO2 scrubbed from the flue gas of a lignite power station. According to Karsten Malsch, business venture manager for Bayer Mate- rialScience, “We saw it as a dream to be able to utilize some of the CO2 and remove it from the air. At the same time we’d like to have an alternate supply source for carbon instead of just getting it from fossil hydrocarbons. Bio-based is one way. But wouldn’t it be great to be able to recycle the carbon atom after it has been burnt AUTO- in the engine of your car, in order to fulfill our need for carbon-based raw materials.” Christoph Gürtler, in charge of CO re- BRAKING 2 search projects at Bayer MaterialScience, Image: Volvo Cars said that the 20 percent substitution of carbon dioxide reduces consumption of CUTS ACCIDENTS crude oil equivalents by 14 percent. The new process also emits less carbon dioxide IT'S EASY TO POOH-POOH NEWFANGLED AUTOMOTIVE TECHNOLOGY. Who than conventional manufacture of polyol. The company is also investigating other needs—or even wants—self-driving cars, some nay-sayers ways to use waste CO2, including combin- ask. But given the role of human error in many car acci- ing it with electrolytically produced hydro- dents, automated driving technology could well revolutionize gen in a process powered by wind turbines automotive safety. to make petrochemical-free plastics. ME ome of the gee-whiz technolo- city emergency braking added to its R.P. SIEGEL, P.E., is a writer based in Rochester, N.Y. Sgies going into new cars—hands- standard cruise control. According to off parking, say—seem more like Volkswagen, the Bosch-manufactured an excuse for showing off than a real “ACC can brake the vehicle to a com- advance. But safety experts in England plete standstill, for example in slow- have found real-world evidence that moving traffic.” one new technology is making a big The system also provides an alert difference. to the driver if the car closes in on The Thatcham Research Centre, the vehicle in front of it by less than a located west of London, says that the pre-set distance. In addition, during an automated emergency braking system approach to a vehicle from behind, if the on Volkswagen Golfs sold since Janu- driver presses the brake without enough ary 2013 have produced a significant force to avoid a collision, the system will decline in serious accidents. Third- take over to stop the car in time. party injury claims on these Golfs are The system can operate at speeds up 45 percent lower than the equivalent to 99 miles per hour. rate in other small family cars. New model Volkswagen Passats The data comes from insurance will sport an improved emergency companies and is based on about 7,000 braking system that features a front- vehicles that have been insured for a facing camera and software capable Michael Traving (left) and Deniz Capar at the full twelve months. of detecting pedestrians. It’s expected pilot plant. The plant produces a chemical The system on the Golf is adaptive that this improved system will reduce precursor in which CO2 replaces some of cruise control, which has a radar- accidents—and injury claims—even the material's hydrocarbon content. based distance monitoring system and more. ME ONE PARTNER FOR EVERY

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STRATASYSDIRECT.COM 1-888-311-1017 PART [email protected] TECH BUZZ MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.14 INDIA: MORE COAL TO ADD ELECTRICITY

ndia’s state-owned coal company, ICoal India Ltd., plans to spend the equivalent of $20 billion over five years to increase production as the country’s electricity generation ex- pands, according to a report carried A controlled by The Economic Times. plasma arc generates a tremendous amount The business newspaper reported of heat for a fraction that the Coal Minister, Piyush Goyal, of a second and the told reporters in Kolkata that the subsequent hydraulic country’s goal is to increase annual impulse wave created removes any clogged coal production to one billion metric sediment from the tons over the next five years. perforation zone. The investment will fund construction of new mines and improvements to currently operating sites. “A part of it will also go towards setting up PLASMA PULSING infrastructure for evacuation,” Goyal said. He added that the company had REANIMATES WELLS made a detailed mine-by-mine analysis and that Coal India would be able to fund the program. il and natural gas wells stop pro- Russia, the well treatment company Pro- Goyal said Coal India Ltd. plans Oducing long before they’ve sucked pell has slashed those risks and the price to open 70 to 100 mines. He expects dry all the resources in a reservoir. tag, too. Natural gas and oil companies state governments to add 39 mines Particles of dirt and rock, or deposits of with a delinquent well can start producing of their own and the private sector to wax and other debris, eventually clog the again with a mere $10,000 or so, and with open another 70 to 80 mines. drainage area and plug the pores and pas- little cost to the environment. According to the U.S. Energy sages introduced at a well’s birth. When The technique is fairly simple. A long Information Administration, India is debris first kills production, typically less tube is lowered into the well. Capacitors the No. 3 coal producer in the world, than half of the resources below have are charged and then dump their power in after China and the United States. been harvested. an instant—micro- India’s current coal production is just Now clogged “IT’S SIMILAR TO HITTING A BRICK seconds, actually. shy of 600,000 metric tons a year. wells can be ON AN ANVIL WITH A HAMMER. THE “How we generate A report published by India’s Min- cheaply and cleanly BRICK GETS SMASHED IN THE MIDDLE, the plasma is very istry of Power in July 2013 estimated rejuvenated with BUT THE STEEL IS UNDAMAGED.” much like a light that the country consumed more than plasma pulse tech- bulb,” says Trent 850,000 GWh of electricity in the fis- — TRENT HUNTER, PROPELL’S CTO nology. Hunter, Propell’s cal year ended March 31, 2013. Coal In the past, well owners hoping to CTO. “We have a filament that extends was the fuel for about 66 percent of flush out those plugged channels and get across two terminals and when we dis- that electricity. things moving again had to turn to dense charge electricity stored in the tool, that Goyal, in his comments to report- chemicals, packers, and high pressure, or filament glows white-hot and ultimately ers, said about 280 million Indians explosives. Each of these choices comes explodes. It’s the very fast release of that today have no access to electricity. He with its own set of environmental dangers. energy that generates the high power to said demand for coal will rise as India And they can cost hundreds of thousands create the shock wave. Some call it non- tries to double its power generation of dollars. linear physics. I don’t think of it as non- over the next five years. ME But now, with a technology developed in linear. I tend to think of it as continued on p.17» Join us for this free WEBINAR SERIES webinar MEMS Simulations

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Getting soft drinks or Hitching a ride medicine into people’s hands with Coke. requires a value chain.

imon Berry hit on an idea that Sseemed brilliant on paper. Since Coca-Cola manages to find its way to store shelves in remote Sub-Saharan African villages and hard-to-reach communities worldwide, why not create life-saving drug packages that can hitch along for the ride? Berry founded Cola Life to produce Kit Yamoyo, an anti-diarrhea kit with oral re- hydration solution, zinc tablets, and soap in packages that fit between the Coke bottles in a crate. Drawing from its well of experience with from Accenture Development Partner- While sharing its crates, Coca-Cola also distribution in developing countries, ships. The consultants trained Tanzania’s shared its knowledge of supply chains. Coca-Cola is training people in non-profit warehouse managers and gathered data Cola Life began a year-long test of the kits enterprise and even government agen- on the delivery routes. Bottlers for Coca- in Zambia and sold more than 20,000 to cies to use its business tactics to improve Cola weighed in with their knowledge retailers in the first six months. But only a their supply chains. on driving times, road conditions, and few of those shipped on Coke crates. For the past five years, the company tricks for working in changing seasonal “It was the space in the market, not the has engaged with health agencies in weather. space in the crates, that was important,” African governments through Project As the initiative matured, Excel was Berry said. Last Mile. The project is a partnership replaced with Llamasoft, geo-coded Coke’s advisors had asked Berry about that includes the Global Fund, the Bill software for optimizing networks that is his “value chain,” a term that he hadn’t & Melinda Gates Foundation, Accen- similar to one that Coke’s bottlers use. properly understood at first. Over time, ture Development Partnerships and, The result was faster deliveries and he learned that the soft drink company’s more recently, USAID. Work began with fewer expenses. distribution secret was, to put it simply, Tanzania improving its medicine delivery MSD has reported that drug delivery money. Or, more abstractly, motivation. system and has expanded to Ghana and times were cut from 30 days to five, giving And money motivates. From manufac- Mozambique. By 2020 the project plans a 30 percent improvement in the avail- ture to sale, nearly every hand that a to operate in 10 African countries. ability of medicines throughout the coun- bottle of Coke passes through belongs At the project’s inception, the Global try. It also reported that 90 percent fewer to somebody who gets paid for doing the Fund audited Tanzania’s state-run clinics drugs and supplies expire in warehouses, job right. Each link in the supply chain is and found delivery delays. In response, and it saw a 64 percent improvement in motivated to keep the whole thing run- the state ordered its Medical Stores forecast accuracy, which is the prediction ning smoothly. Department, which procures, stores, of supplies that may be needed. That basic insight, along with other and delivers medicine, to make more MSD now uses a new performance technical advice, were Coca-Cola’s gift to deliveries. Instead of dropping off sup- management system called DRIVE, Cola Life. Kit Yamoyo sells to consumers plies at 150 district medical warehouses which allows employees to set goals and for about $1, a price that includes a 35 as its drivers had been doing, MSD was earn rewards when their performance percent margin for the retailer, 20 per- required to deliver to 5,500 clinics. improves. cent for the wholesaler and 5 percent for For help with the logistics, MSD turned Rather than earning cash for services, the manufacturer. Everybody is paid and to Project Last Mile, and decided on a MSD’s employees earn rewards for motivated all along the supply chain and plan that it could most easily afford— job improvement. Coca-Cola’s lesson, the kits go out even to the hard-to-reach software tools to streamline delivery distilled to a basic element, is that people stores in rural communities. schedules and routes. need motivation for success. ME Cola Life is just one of the medical The work began with Excel in a system ROB GOODIER, ENGINEERINGFORCHANGE.ORG operations that Coca-Cola has enhanced. created in conjunction with consultants MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.17

continued from page 14» PLASMA pulsing very quick. We get a pressure pulse that cleaned but remains undamaged. need rehabilitation sometime between goes from zero to orders of magnitude of Other rehabilitative tools need to be the middle and end of a well’s life. But 10,000 psi, instantaneously.” pulled out of a well after a single blast, this technology has shown that there are That plasma bubble travels laterally at and must be redressed before being used advantages to using the treatment at the a mile per second, hauling a shock wave again. But the plasma pulse streamer, as start. Before a well has produced its first along behind it, and radiating outward the tool is known, can deliver several sets barrel, drilling fluids may slow flow. “They like waves in pond—but very fast waves. of 100 pulses at a go. The entire treatment get more productivity out of their well It’s also tuned to induce harmonics in the requires much less manpower and can be when they treat it with plasma pulsing at reservoir. Together, the shock wave and completed in a matter of hours, mak- day one, rather than two or three years harmonics blast and clear away plugs in ing it a cheap and more environmentally down the road,” Hunter says. the well and any other potentially produc- friendly option. Whenever it’s used, the plasma pulse tive passage. “Certainly our technique has a very offers a cheaper, cleaner treatment than Conveniently, the blast is powerful low footprint from a couple of different the options available in the past. “As an in- enough to crush rock, but not so powerful perspectives relative to our competition,” tervention technique,” Hunter says, “it is, as to harm steel. Hunter says. “It’s a low-energy technique, in my opinion, one of the most compelling “It’s similar to hitting a brick on an and it’s a low time and intervention tech- value propositions out there to rehabilitate anvil with a hammer,” says Hunter. “The nique, so we expend less carbon. It’s less productivity without the risks of the other brick gets smashed in the middle, but the pressure, and we don’t use explosives, techniques.” ME steel is undamaged. It can absorb the en- and we don’t use chemicals.” MICHAEL ABRAMS, ASME.ORG ergy of the hammer.” Thus the well gets Oil and natural gas companies usually 999.7 Design As Fast As You Think MILLION NUMBER OF SHORT TONS OF COAL PRODUCED IN THE U.S. IN 2014

U.S. COAL PRODUCTION HAS BEEN in decline for the past several years, dropping 16 percent from 2008 to 2013. That production decline—due at first to reduced electricity demand in the face of the global economic crisis that Create fully detailed engineering drawings and cost started in 2007, then because of a switch from coal-fired generating stations estimates in minutes. AutoPIPE Vessel provides fast, ﬂexible, to those powered by natural gas—had continued even in the face of strong and optimized design of pressure vessels, heat exchangers coal exports. In 2014, however, that decline was stemmed; production in U.S. and tanks for new or existing global projects. mines increased to 999.7 million short tons, an increase of about 15 million tons over the previous year. Discover AutoPIPE Vessel today It’s not all good news for coal: consumption was down, as were exports. www.bentley.com/AutoPIPEVessel And the production levels at the beginning of 2015 were below those of the

same months in 2014. But for an industry that sees itself under siege, even © 2015 Bentley Systems, Incorporated. Bentley, the “B” Bentley logo, and AutoPIPE are either registered or unregistered trademarks or service marks of Bentley Systems, Incorporated or one of its direct or indirect a small increase in production must feel like a relief. wholly owned subsidiaries. Other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. TECH BUZZ || GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT BY EVAN THOMAS

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE ME?

Disruptive technologies and development engineering are not peripheral to the profession today.

more flexibly in ways that allow students failures, but some held firm that our to pursue their passion,” the report says. mission was to teach pure, traditional “Systems-level and big-picture thinking is mechanical engineering. highly valued by industry. A more flexible, I recently surveyed 66 Portland State holistic undergraduate curriculum with University juniors on why they chose to en- a strong professional skills component roll in mechanical engineering. They spoke integrated across the curriculum is envi- not only in terms grounded in technical sioned. … We suggest that undergraduate vocabulary, such as "systematic problem he Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, programs be designed with the expecta- solving," but also of personal motives—im- Tfirst published in 1915, was for many tion that most technical specialization and pact, society, and making life better. years an emblem of ASME and rep- depth will come later.” How does this affect professional prac- resentative of the discipline of mechanical Some leading univer- tice? One example is engineering. Our role was clear: Me- sities are responding. the decade-long trend chanical engineers worried about welding, At the Massachusetts in students and young gears, sprockets, pistons, and valves. Big Institute of Technology, THE MOTIVES STUDENTS professionals attracted things that move stuff. the ME department TODAY GIVE FOR to humanitarian ap- Today, our discipline is changing and mission considers STUDYING ENGINEERING plications of their skills. the role of a mechanical engineer is no giving “students the ARE BOTH TECHNICALLY Since 2002, when Engi- longer so easily defined. There are exter- broad skills set they GROUNDED AND neers Without Borders- nal pulls—the advent of highly capable, need to pursue their DEEPLY PERSONAL. USA was founded (and I low-cost microcontrollers, hobbyist 3-D goals—whether that joined the first chapter), printers, and drone kits that turn kids into means working as an nearly 15,000 professional pilots and programmers. These disruptive engineer, founding a and student engineers have en- innovations are reducing the entry barrier company, continuing on gaged in poverty-reduction efforts. for individuals to engage in engineering to graduate study and Indeed, the Boiler and Pressure Vessel innovation and invention. research, or going to a professional school Code may soon have to share room on There are internal pulls within our pro- to study medicine, business, or law.” the bookshelf (or favorites bar) with the fession. Students in engineering colleges But others resist these changes. A Engineering for Change Solutions Library, around the world are no longer satisfied faculty discussion in my department a a guide ASME is developing along with with discipline-specific, technical infor- few years ago circled around how we Engineers Without Borders-USA, IEEE, mation cramming, while employers are could best evaluate our effectiveness as and members, including myself, of the demanding graduates who are better pre- educators. The criterion was simple: Are academic, design, and implementation pared to be well rounded professionals and our alumni employed in positions with communities working to apply technology are willing to compensate for any technical “mechanical engineer” in the title? If so, in developing countries. deficiencies with on-the-job training. we’ve succeeded. If not, we’ve failed. These are not ‘nice to have’ extracur- ASME’s own Vision 2030, published We discussed that many people with ricular activities. These are purpose-driven in 2012, highlights some discrepancies mechanical engineering degrees go on to career paths. ME between student and industry expectations medicine, law, and business, and within and the reality of many ME curriculums a few years are running companies, labs, EVAN THOMAS is an assistant professor of today. “Mechanical engineering education and influential public sector organizations. mechanical engineering at Portland State University, programs should be configured somewhat No one called any of these outcomes COO of DelAgua Health, and CEO of SweetSense Inc.

TECH BUZZ || ONE-ON-ONE BY JOHN G. FALCIONI MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.20

JULIO C. GUERRERO, WHO JUST BEGAN a one-year term as president of ASME, serves as principal for R&D and business development in the Energy Division at Draper Laboratory in Q&A Cambridge, Mass. At Draper, Guerrero identifies ways to apply the lab’s expertise in advanced technological solutions—such as sensors, controls, automation, guidance and navigation, JULIO C. data analytics, secure communications, and advanced communications—to help improve the energy industry, including GUERRERO oil and gas exploration. Guerrero is a native of Peru and has been an active member of ASME for more than 20 years.

ME: Why did you become an ME: What do you hope to accom- engineer? plish in your year as president of J.G: Because I like to cre- ASME? ate. I believe that the two J.G: I want to help our orga- things that make us human nization to be truly a multi- beings are that we can love national organization. We do and that we can create. business with almost 150 coun- Engineering helps us realize tries, but we have to do more the second. to become a true global organization. A great deal of ASME’s ME: What’s one lesson, of growth potential resides outside many, that you’ve learned the United States. The world over your career? is a small village with 7 billion J.G: I have two. First that people, and our discipline is not you must listen twice only multidisciplinary but mul- as much as you speak. tinational. So in order to stay Second that you must relevant in the 21st century we walk the talk. have to become a real global organization. ME: What’s been your most satisfy- ME: What’s something few ing ASME involve- people know about you? ment prior to being J.G: That I like to dance elected president? and ski—not always at J.G: I have very the same time. I like much enjoyed the to ski every weekend international of the winter, and I trips I’ve like to dance as often been on as possible. in which I’ve engaged ME: Tell us one of your students and young engineers. guilty pleasures. I am convinced that my mission is to inspire students and J.G: I don’t feel much guilt young engineers to feel the way that I do about life and my pro- about the things that I do. One of my pleasures is to drink fession. I love what I do, and I am very passionate about the way good wine, and if I can do so immediately after skiing, then I feel about life and my profession. I aspire to share as much as it’s even better. I also like to spend full days at the beach and I I can with everybody with whom I interact. love to surf. ME

TECH BUZZ || HOT LABS BY MARK CRAWFORD

In a directed energy deposition process, a laser melts and fuses metallic powder layer by layer. Photo: Penn State

ADDING UP

IT IS A RARE TECHNOLOGY THAT COMES along, To foster this innovation, the Obama administra- lives up to and beyond its hype, and truly transforms tion established the National Additive Manufacturing its market. That is exactly what additive manufactur- Innovation Institute in 2012. Also known as America ing has done for the U.S. manufacturing industry. Makes, the institute’s goal is to strengthen the coun- Now products—even production parts—can be try's manufacturing base and establish the U.S. as made in hours instead of weeks from a variety of the world leader in additive manufacturing. advanced materials. Additive manufacturing has This month we touch base with two labs that are created huge opportunities for engineers to be more members of America Makes and are doing ground- free-thinking in their product designs. breaking work in additive manufacturing technologies.

NEW TOOLS ore than 30 Pennsylvania State University faculty members in engineering, materials science, business, THE LAB: Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital M information technology, and medicine are involved in ad- Deposition (CIMP-3D), Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Richard ditive manufacturing research and development at the university’s Martukanitz, director. Center for Innovative Materials Processing through Direct Digital OBJECTIVE: Advance and deploy new developments in additive manufactur- Deposition. Many of the solutions they have developed are being ing for industry and promote the potential of the technology through training, used in the aerospace, automotive, defense, energy, oil and gas, education, and outreach. and medical industries. Innovations include materials design and development; new design, analysis, and optimization tools; model- DEVELOPMENT: Sensing and monitoring technologies for process control, ing and simulation advancements; and inspection and quality computational models and simulations, and characterization and mechanical control. property analysis of high-grade aerospace materials. Currently the lab is working with industry and government spon- sors on several collaborative projects. Researchers recently con- MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.23

solidated a 17-piece assembly into a single funding and partnerships with America 3-D-printed metallic component that is Makes, the National Institute of Standards 70 percent lighter in weight with improved and Technology, the National Science Foun- performance. Other projects include light- dation, the departments of Defense and weighting components for space flight and Energy, and numerous companies that will 3-D printing of piston crowns. allow it to expand its research efforts. The “We’ve also done some testing for a College of Engineering also plans to hire 40 medical device company that has an FDA- new faculty, including at least a half-dozen approved, 3-D-printed titanium implant,” dedicated to additive manufacturing. said Timothy W. Simpson, co-director for “Industry training and outreach will be the center. “Our team designed a new heat another strong emphasis in our lab in the exchanger that takes full advantage of and coming years,” Simpson said. “There are Co-director pushes the limits of powder bed fusion AM literally hundreds of thousands of engi- Simpson in the CIMP- technology.” neers who need to learn about additive 3D lab. According to Simpson the lab has new manufacturing and what it can achieve.” ME Photo: Penn State

FROM LASERS TO NDE THE LAB: Advanced Research of Materials and Manufacturing Laboratory, Northern Illinois Univer- sity, DeKalb; Federico Sciammarella, director.

OBJECTIVE: Conduct applied manufacturing research and share innovations with industry, as well as train students to seamlessly apply knowledge to creative solutions that sustain and enhance competitiveness.

DEVELOPMENT: Automated laser cladding cell, power measurement calorimetric system, and a laser-assisted machining process that makes post- sintered machining of hard materials a cost-effective alternative to traditional grinding methods.

Master's student Jonathan Knopp works with a 3-D metal printer on a NIST-funded project. Photo: Greer Davis/Northern Illinois University op research interests at Northern Illinois University’s Ad- that control microstructural and mechanical properties. Tvanced Research of Materials and Manufacturing Labora- “So far, as a result of this work, we have developed two unique tory include laser materials processing (laser cladding, measurement systems that will enable AM users to have a much welding, heat treatment, additive manufacturing), optical metrol- more control over their AM processes,” the lab's director, Fed- ogy, and non-destructive examination. erico Sciammarella, said. Research and development accomplishments in additive manu- Plans for future projects include expanding the capabilities of facturing include the successful application of copper to molds, the lab’s direct laser deposition equipment to enhance metallic using additive processes to produce shapes made of tungsten, absorptivity. The lab will also continue to work with domestic- and developing a real-time fiber placement optical monitoring based, low-cost titanium powder suppliers for open-source system for composite manufacturing for a large machine manu- materials in the supply chain. facturer. “Our goal is to keep the U.S. on top in advanced manufactur- In 2013 the lab was awarded a $2.4 million MSAM (Measure- ing,” Sciammarella said. “We work with all sizes of companies ment Science for Advanced Manufacturing) grant from the and government organizations, and are the best-kept secret in National Institute of Standards and Technology to develop tools for Illinois. If you have some ideas for AM or any other new technol- improved process control and qualifying metallic parts made with ogy, we will work with you to make it a reality.” ME additive manufacturing processes. The goal is to accurately measure the critical process metrics MARK CRAWFORD is a geologist and independent writer based in Madison, Wis. TECH BUZZ || PATENT WATCH BY KIRK TESKA

RAY GUNS Handheld laser weapons may be commonplace in galaxies far, far away. Here on Earth, however, they are still works in progress. he idea of a laser weapon pervades lasers are used as marksmanship train- Tscience fiction, but lately our military ing devices. One example is No. 3,847,396 has become seriously interested in (1974), in which a narrow beam of elec- such weapons. Northrop Grumman, Textron, tromagnetic radiation is used to simulate Raytheon, and others are busy working the line of fire from a gun on an attacking on high power (in the 100 kW range) laser vehicle. weapons. Challenges include the high power In 1976, the German company Messer- required, cooling, and size constraints. schmitt-Bolkow-Blohm won patent No. Will we ever see a hand-held laser gun? 3,946,233 for a laser weapon purported Probably not for a while. to have 10 MW of power. According to the There are, however, some early patents Description, “The invention relates to for toy ray guns (yes, toys are patent- a weapon system for the detection and LASER BULLETS able). Examples include Nos. 2,783,588 fighting of either stationary or moving (1957), a translucent gun with a row of objects, particularly missiles flying at su- LaserMax’s Patent No. runner lights in the barrel; 4,175,353 personic speed.” Alas, steam turbines or 8,322,263 describes the func- (1979), “a gun-like toy device for produc- a magnetohydrodynamic generator was tion of its hand-held explosive ing controllable audio and visual effects”; required to provide the necessary power. laser gun this way: and 4,365,439 (1982), “reminiscent of an In 1986, the U.S. Army won patent No. “A laser weapon system outer space laser gun.” None includes an 4,614,913 for a laser weapon providing a includes a chamber configured actual laser. “killer-power laser pulse.” to direct a post-detonation gas In more recent times, published ap- Boeing patent No. 8,396,090 discloses flow between a first mirror and plication No. 2012/0300803 (November 29, an improvement in the airborne ballistic a second mirror, and an eject- 2012) purports to enable a handheld laser laser mounted in a Boeing 747-400F able ammunition cartridge small arm. And, LaserMax Inc. holds a airplane. Lockheed patent No. 8,526,110 containing a first gas and a few patents on chemically explosive hand- discloses the idea of spectral beam com- second gas. The cartridge held laser weapons. One example is No. bining to produce a high power (around is fluidly connected to the 8,322,263 awarded December 4, 2012. 100 kW) laser. Raytheon patent No. chamber.” There are a lot of early patents where 8,203,109 is for a high energy laser (HEL) beam director. Northrop Grumman Corp. patent No. 6,785,315 discloses a mobile tactical high energy laser (MTHEL) trans- portable on a large truck. Now, if someone would just start working on a light saber. ME

KIRK TESKA is the author of Patent Project Management and Patent Savvy for Managers, is an adjunct law professor at Suffolk University Law School, and is the managing partner of Iandiorio Teska & Coleman, LLP, an intellectual property law firm in Waltham, Mass. Journals eBooks Conference Proceedings

For more information about The ASME Digital Collection, Visit asmedigitalcollection.asme.org

To Subscribe, contact Warren Adams Phone: 973-244-2223 Fax: 973-882-8113 Email: [email protected] TECH BUZZ

SHANGHAI PUSHES FOR INNOVATION R&D EXPENDITURES he city of Shanghai is launching from small community platforms RECALCULATED AS Ta program to establish itself as to specialized incubators, and from a global center for technological state-owned companies and multina- INVESTMENT innovation, according to reports in the tional corporations to the city govern- he Bureau of Economic Analysis will Chinese press. ment itself. T treat expenditures in research and Xinhua, the official state news The Shanghai Pudong Software Park development as investment when agency, reported that a plan accepted will provide at least 300 million yuan estimating U.S. gross domestic product and by the municipal government in- ($48.4 million) to support business other national income and product account cludes a number of measures such as startups over the next five years. statistics. simplifying bureaucratic procedures Xinhua said the city will simplify The bureau worked with the National Sci- for startup firms and attracting talent procedures for overseas talent to ence Foundation’s National Center for Science from China and abroad. obtain residence permits. Entrepre- and Engineering Statistics to develop meth- The government will also abol- neurs, venture capital managers, and odology to use the center’s R&D expenditure ish administrative examination and R&D employees from other parts of statistics for the purpose of estimating GDP. approval of new technology projects, China will receive priority for regis- R&D is now included in a new asset cate- Xinhua said. tered permanent residence, or hukou, gory called “intellectual property products.” Meanwhile, China Daily, an English- in Shanghai. Private sector R&D expenses, for example, language newspaper published in the Last year, 83.1 billion yuan ($13.4 were treated previously as an intermediate People’s Republic, said the program billion), 3.6 percent of the city’s GDP, production cost. ME may involve entities of different scales, was invested in R&D in Shanghai. ME

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50 MW OF POWER INSTALLED IN 21 DAYS

A COMPANY SPECIALIZING in temporary power solutions says it has installed a total of 50 MW of generating capacity in 21 days at two sites in Douala, Cameroon. The company, Altaaqa Global, said the clients for the plants are the Cameroonian government and Eneo Cameroon S.A., an electricity provider. The plants are fired by natural gas, which will be provided by Gaz de Cameroun. Joel Nana Kontchou, CEO of Eneo, said, “This project addresses a shortage in the country’s electricity supply, owing to a strong increase in demand, combined with a lack of a The power plants with a combined capacity of 50 MW will aid Cameroon with reliable power. reserve in the electric system.” Image source: Altaaqa Global According to Majid Zahid, strategic accounts MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.29

director of Altaaqa Global, “Our temporary gas power plants systems meet the DRONES COULD GET BAT-LIKE SONAR worldwide emissions standards and do not harm the environment. These rental gas BATS CAN FLY AMID TREES the bat, which emits its ultrasonic chirps, plants are designed for performance and warps constantly during flight; the change reliability, while being more environmen- with the greatest of ease. in shape subtly changes the frequency of tally friendly compared to systems running Drones? Not so much. echolocation pulses. At the same time, on other fuels.” The difference may lie in the bats’ use the bat’s large ears flex and redirect Altaaqa said nitrogen oxide emissions of sophisticated echolocation: a system themselves to pick out small shifts in the from the natural gas engines that run the of range finding using ultrasonic pulses frequency of the reflected sound. The generators are 250 mg per normal cubic that can pick out the fluttering of a moth’s ear adjustments occur within a tenth of a meter. wings amid a canopy of tree leaves. second—faster than a blink of an eye. Altaaqa imported and installed the Now researchers at Virginia Tech are Mueller used high-speed video cam- power generation equipment at the two looking to adapt this system for use in eras and ultrasonic microphones to study sites, Logbaba and Ndokoti. The company unmanned aerial vehicles. Rolf Mueller, about 30 bats in flight. He also used a completed installation three weeks after an associate professor of mechanical laser to record the vibration of objects the the equipment arrived at the sites. engineering at Virginia Tech, unveiled bat was tracking. The data enabled Muel- Altaaqa global, based in Dubai, is sub- a prototype system at a meeting of the ler and his colleagues to build a computer sidiary of the Zahid Group of Saudi Arabia. Acoustical Society of America in May. model of the bat’s nose and ears, and It operates under an agreement with Cat- The system, based on physiology of then create a prototype of flexible rubber erpillar Inc. to provide Caterpillar’s rental the insectivorous horseshoe bat, involves attached to small motors. The goal is to power equipment, primarily in Asia, Africa, dynamic echolocation. The fleshy nose of refine it and mount it on an aerial drone. and South America. ME

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LOOKING BACK

INDUSTRY IN A China’s manufacturing economy was already growing beyond its pre- war peak when this article appeared PLANNED SOCIETY in July 1975.

By James W. Daily, professor of fluid mechanics and hydraulic engineering, University of Michigan. THE LAST SPLASHDOWN

Three years after President Richard Nixon’s The Apollo program came to an end in July historic trip to China, an engineering professor 1975 with a mission to dock with a Soyuz spacecraft. After reentering the atmosphere, examined China’s manufacturing economy. the capsule carrying astronauts Thomas Stafford, Vance Brand, and Deke Slayton parachuted to a recovery site on the Pacific Ocean. When manned U.S. space missions Consumer Goods: Measure of Confidence. resumed in 1981, returning space shuttles planned society in the throes of industrialization usually gives second would land on a runway. Apriority to consumer goods. When these goods, other than basic essentials, begin to appear it is a sign of confidence that other needs can be met. China has a surprising supply of consumer goods. The shops and their contents are much more impressive than those seen in the U.S.S.R. 10 or even four years ago. It is easy to purchase products. In contrast to the Soviet Union, in China no one has to stand in one long line in order to select purchases, another to pay for them, and yet another to take delivery. The variety is also wider than expected. Judging from buying activity in large and small cities, prices of necessities at least are apparently within the means of the people. As elsewhere, items other than bare necessities cost more. However, what would be a necessity to Americans is often a luxury to the Chinese. A wrist watch, sewing machine, and bicycle are the three measures of affluence among poorer Chinese peasants. Each costs a month or more in salary. These items, however, are in great demand. Watches are produced in great numbers in light industry factories like the Shanghai Watch Factory—one of three in Shanghai alone. There are similar factories in seven other major cities. All watch enterprises operate under the economy, to provide the essential and near- central Ministry of Light Industries; thus all spare parts are standardized. essential consumer goods, and, increas- Also, all share techniques and information—no anti-trust worries. ingly, to compete on the world market. Central planning offers some efficiencies From a Small Base With Hard Work. (our large corporations know this) but credit China’s industrial expansion from the small base existing in 1949 is impres- for China’s progress must go equally to the sive. Its industry shrank in years of war and civil conflict. By 1949 it was only hard work of individuals. Long work weeks half its peak of the mid-1930s. And, industry has been disrupted several times help production. Low pay keeps output since 1949. First there was the collapse of the Great Leap Forward program, competitive on the international market. then the withdrawal of Soviet aid in the early 1960s. And finally the Cultural But the workers work hard. Apparently they Revolution. Still, production has increased manyfold from its pre-1949 peak. feel that long hours and low pay are not too The much proclaimed small enterprises of course contribute their share, high a price for the security that has come but large factories yield the indispensable volume to support the agricultural to them. ME Mechanical3,000 Engineeringreaders are readers raving are about raving aboutASME ASME Smart SmartBrief!Brief!

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BY THE NUMBERS: FEDERAL ENERGY R&D STAGNATES

While wind and solar power reap direct expenditures and tax breaks, the energy source getting the most federal research dollars may be a surprise.

Solar and wind power receive the bulk of Federal financial subsidies and support. $11BILLION + TOTAL SUPPORT FOR WIND & SOLAR ENERGY MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.33

FEDERAL ENERGY Clinton nuclear generating R&D SUPPORT station, Illinois

$3.5BILLION (2013) SMART GRID/T&D — $831MILLION CONSERVATION — $501MILLION END USE — $466MILLION $1.1BILLION NUCLEAR — $406MILLION TOTAL SUPPORT FOR NUCLEAR ENERGY BATTERIES/OTHER — $380MILLION SOLAR — $284MILLION in 2011 after receiving more than $500 million in federal loan guarantees. BIOMASS — $251MILLION The report may please some budget hawks: Total energy-specific subsidies and support dropped to $29.3 billion in fiscal year 2013, from $38.0 COAL — $202MILLION billion in FY 2011. BIOFUELS — $74MILLION Those budget savings, however, came at a cost to research and development. In spite of a growing need for clean, efficient, and inexpensive electri- WIND — $49MILLION cal generation, federal energy R&D was flat at $3.5 billion a year. GAS/PETROLEUM — $34MILLION The mix of that R&D is instructive, especially compared to other forms of intervention. For instance, looking at the direct and tax expenditures, federal HYDRO — $10MILLION support for wind and solar dwarf that for nuclear: more than $5 billion each GEOTHERMAL — $2MILLION for wind and solar, versus $1.1 billion for nuclear. But federal money for nuclear research—$406 million in FY 2013—is far larger than that for solar research ($284 million) and far outpaces the $49 million for wind power he U.S. Department of Energy is a federal research. T agency that some folks love to hate. The Other fuels and energy technologies received research support greater department was cobbled together from than wind, but less than nuclear. Biomass R&D accounted for $251 million several independent in FY 2013 spending, coal got $202 million, bureaus during the energy and a catch-all category for technologies crisis of the 1970s, and TOTAL ENERGY-SPECIFIC SUBSIDIES such as batteries and ocean energy got almost immediately critics $380 million. have targeted the DOE for $38BILLION (2011) But most of the energy R&D went to de- downsizing or often for veloping the distribution and end-use parts closure. of the industry. Programs researching In March, the Energy smart grid and transmission technology Information Administra- received $831 million, while research into tion, an arm of the DOE, $29.3BILLION (2013) energy conservation netted $501 million. published a report on In fact, the smart grid was one of the only federal interventions and subsidies in the energy R&D sectors that grew from FY 2011 levels, going up more than 50 percent. market, at the behest of two congressmen with As long as federal energy R&D spending is shadowed by the example of oversight of federal energy policy. There are Solyndra, it may be hard to win an argument to raise the levels, no matter more than 70 federal energy programs that how great the need. But the funny thing is, according to reports from late provide direct or indirect assistance, and federal 2014, in spite of the Solyndra losses, the loan program it borrowed from is energy subsidies have drawn fire in recent years expected to make a profit over its entire portfolio. ME following the well-publicized bankruptcy of JEFFREY WINTERS Solyndra, a solar cell manufacturer which closed COVER FEATURE | HIGH-EFFICIENCY MATERIALS F34

TECH TRANSFER, A SOLAR-POWERED AIRPLANE INTRODUCES SOPHISTICATED

ive months to circle the globe by air doesn’t sound like a technological advance. After all, the record for circumnavigation by bicycle, set in 2010, is only 125 days. But the remarkable thing about this fl ight is that it will not burn a drop of fossil fuel. The only source of power will be sunlight. The plane, Solar Impulse 2, started on its world native power, but also alternative materials and tour in March from Abu Dhabi. The founders of other technologies for a future that makes more- the project, Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borsch- effi cient use of Earth’s resources. berg, are taking turns as pilots. Its exact itinerary About a decade ago, the Altran Group, the will be subject to wind and weather, but planners international technology consulting fi rm, became expect the plane to make about a dozen stops an early partner in the Solar Impulse project. before it gets back to Abu Dhabi this summer. Altran developed a sophisticated mathematical It is unlikely to launch an industry based on model to evaluate thousands of interacting param- solar-power aircraft, but then, that wasn’t the eters, including fl ight paths, weather, and design point of the exercise. Instead, its purpose was to confi gurations. Altran’s engineers simulated over stimulate interest in alternatives—not only alter- 100 billion combinations in all, to see whether MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.35

Solar Impulse 2 soars over Switzerland during an early test flight.

PRODUCTS TO THE MARKETPLACE. BY R.P. SIEGEL the mission could actually be accomplished. After a growing population in a world of diminishing eighteen months of analytical eff ort, the Altran natural resources. team, led by Christophe Béesau, determined Solvay, like many of the suppliers who eventual- that the mission sat at the very edge of what was ly became involved, was already addressing these technologically possible, with little or no margin problems when it began to work with Solar Im- of safety. pulse. The partnership presented its own unique It was at that point that Borschberg and Piccard challenges, but more important, it also provided began to ask suppliers for breakthroughs in every an aggressive schedule and a fl ying laboratory that aspect of the aircraft, especially those aff ecting tested numerous developments under diffi cult its weight and its ability to capture, store, and use real-world conditions. energy as effi ciently as possible. Solvay saved weight by providing fasteners and Solvay, a French company that makes high-per- bushings made of polyether ketone, which are formance polymers, became an early partner. Ac- half to one-fi fth the weight of metal alternatives. cording to Claude Michel, Solvay’s vice president It saved energy by providing a new PFPE-based in charge of the Solar Impulse partnership, the liquid lubricant called Fomblin to minimize me- two key challenges were optimizing energy ef- chanical losses. fi ciency and reducing weight. These goals aligned The company also developed materials for with the company’s strategic direction: to support lightweight, high-performance lithium-ion batter- is passed over the fi lm as it is extruded or being unspooled, ionizes the nitrogen in the nearby air, thereby increasing the fi lm’s surface energy and its adhesion. The fi lm was produced by Aledium Films and the corona treatment was applied of- fl ine. This capability is now being used to install liners in tanker trucks, rail cars, and airport cargo ies. More than a quarter of SI2’s total weight and bays, mobile applications where a rugged water- all of its electric energy storage is in the batter- proof and fl exible surface is needed. Drawings of the Solar ies. Solvay supplied a new monofl uoroethylene The airplane’s 72-meter-long wing spars had Impulse 2's carbonate additive to help increase the energy extraordinary structural and weight requirements. cockpit, and the density and improve the cycle life of the battery’s The Solar Impulse team came up with a laminate, finished structure. electrolyte. consisting of a honeycomb structure, made of The entire space is 3.8 cubic meters. Solvay contributed an improved version of its a high-performance Torlon (polyamide-imide) Solef PVDF copolymer, as a binder in the elec- polymer provided by Solvay, sandwiched between trodes. PVDF is a fl uorinated semi-crystalline super-thin layers of carbon fi ber composite. thermoplastic which is obtained by polymerizing The carbon fi ber composite sheets were de- vinylidene fl uoride. These additions resulted in veloped for Solar Impulse by the Swiss company batteries that were 10 percent more effi cient, 2 Decision SA, which claims they are likely the percent lighter, and safer as well. All told, the bat- lightest ever made, coming in at 25 g/m2, about tery’s energy density grew from 180 to 260 watt- one-third the weight of a sheet of paper. Accord- hours per kilogram over the course of the project. ing to Bertrand Cardis, Decision’s general manag- In order to protect the very thin silicon photo- er, these composite sheets are already being used voltaic cells while allowing the arrays to conform in a C-class racing catamaran and are currently to the curvature and fl exion of the wings, Solvay’s being qualifi ed for future manned and unmanned engineers came up with a thin-fi lm encapsulation aircraft. method involving layers less than 20 micrometers That was not the only carbon fi ber innovation thick of optically clear Halar (ethylene chlorotri- spawned by the project. Bayer MaterialScience, a fl uoro ethylene) fi lm above and below the solar supplier of industrial raw materials and a partner cells. This, combined with a Solstick bonding since 2010, has contributed carbon nanotubes agent made of PVDF, completely weatherproofed that can be mixed with the epoxy bonding resin. the array while allowing for minor movement. Adding the nanotubes increases bond strength To improve integrity, Solvay developed an and reduces the weight of the epoxy mixture by electric discharge corona technique to attach the 5 percent. This development work is now being fi lm to the arrays. The corona discharge, which continued under license by Future Carbon GmbH. MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.37

Solar Solar Impulse could not afford cabin pres- Impulse 2 under surization or heating because of weight require- construction in ments. Instead, designers insulated the cabin so Switzerland. that retaining the pilot’s body heat and that of the instruments would keep conditions bear- able. Engineers at Bayer went to work on some ultra-lightweight and highly effective polyurethane foam insulation. Team leader Bernd Rothe said their solution involved shrinking the cell size of an existing insulation product. This was achieved by jointly optimizing several chemical and process fac- tors, including the dispersion of the blowing agent, the polymer- ization reaction speed, and the mold-filling speed. This sufficiently reduced the density and increased the amount of trapped air and corresponding R-value to meet Solar Impulse’s strin- gent requirements. This same foam is now being tested by major appliance manufacturers for use in refrigerators. Because of its superior performance, this foam will allow manufacturers to reduce wall thickness in refrigerators, for instance, thus providing more inte- rior volume while maintaining overall size. The same foam, sand- SOLAR CELLS wiched between thin lay- 17,248 monocrystalline ers of metal, is also being silicon photovoltaic cells using to produce build- on the wings, fuselage, ing panels. A prototype and horizontal tailplane house constructed with of Solar Impulse 2 can these panels was recently provide up to 340 kWh of completed in Malaysia as electricity per day. Cells part of an Industrialized are 135 micrometers Building System Show thick and are rated at 23 Village. Using the panels percent efficiency. They is expected to reduce construction time by 35 are protected by a coating Lightweight, highly efficient percent. The Construction Industry Devel- developed for the aircraft. foam insulation opment Board is building 200 more of these is being tested homes for evaluation. by Bayer in Bayer also developed a cockpit windshield BATTERIES affordable housing in the Philippines that weighs roughly half as much as its glass Solar-generated electricity is stored in lithium (top) and Malaysia equivalent. It is made of dual-layer polycar- polymer batteries for use when the sun is down. (above). bonate. The batteries, with an energy density of 260 Wh/ A panoramic roof The company also came up with a proprie- kg, are insulated by high-density foam and include made of a Bayer polycarbonate tary fog-proof coating that water vapor will not a system to control charging thresholds and used in Solar adhere to. The coating eliminates the need for a temperature. Their total mass, 633 kg, makes up a Impulse 2 has been defroster thus saving weight and energy. little more than a quarter of the aircraft’s weight. designed for the In the end, the complete cockpit fairing came Smartcar (below). in weighing 26 kg. Many of these elements are now being migrated to the automotive sector. Polycarbonate headlights incorporated into the latest Smartcar for Two. are already becoming a Bayer also developed a polyurethane resin to new industry standard. be used as a replacement for epoxy in bonding The material is highly carbon fiber parts. The polyurethane has a much transparent, extremely shorter cure time than that of epoxy. This innova- light, exceptionally shat- tion will enable shorter cycle times for mass pro- terproof, and easy to form duction of assemblies composed of bonded carbon into any desired shape. fiber elements. This technique was tested but not A lightweight panoramic qualified in time for use in Solar Impulse 2. The roof, produced by We- company is moving forward, however, pursuing basto, based on this mate- applications for the automobile industry. rial from Bayer is being The Solar Impulse team calls the current ven- MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.39

WEIGHT Solar Impulse 2 weighs roughly the same as a small van, about 2,300 kg. The airframe is made of composite materials, such as sheets of carbon that, at 25 grams per square meter, are lighter than the paper in an ink-jet printer. The 72-meter wings, wider than a Boeing 747's, are made of a honeycomb sandwich. Even fasteners in the aircraft are designed for light weight.

MOTORS Four brushless, sensor- less motors generating 17.4 hp each are mounted below the wings, and fitted with a reduction gear limiting the rotation speed of the 4-meter two- bladed propellers to 525 rpm. The energy efficiency of the entire system is rated at 94 percent.

ture an “attempt.” Whether the solar-powered THE COCKPIT allows the pilot to perform physical aircraft completes its circumnavigation or not is In less than 4 cubic meters, the exercises. It allows more legroom, less important than its demonstration of what cockpit holds six oxygen bottles, has an ergonomic inflatable cush- engineering can achieve. What was impossible food and water for a week, and ion, and has been developed for yesterday becomes possible today. survival equipment. Ocean cross- minimum weight. Solar Impulse has helped push technological ings will require the pilot to remain There is no heating system for limits. Ten years ago, the idea of flying around in place for several days. the cockpit. Protection from exte- the world on solar power was just at the verge of The seat serves as a reclining rior temperatures that can range possibility. Today, there’s a solar-powered airplane berth and toilet. A parachute and from +40 to -40 °C comes from attempting to make its way around the globe. ME life raft are packed into the seat- high-density thermal insulation in back. When fully reclined, the seat the cockpit structure. R.P. SIEGEL, P.E., is a writer based in Rochester, N.Y. & STEAM By Frank Wicks An early hey might not seem as futuristic as hydrogen- Tpowered fuel cells or concentrated solar ther- combined cycle mal facilities, but combined-cycle gas turbine power plants are perhaps even more remarkable. using a toxic These plants take one unit of fuel (generally natural gas) and use it twice, running it fi rst through a working fluid gas turbine connected to an electric generator, and then using the still-hot exhaust to make steam that set a path for turns a conventional steam turbine. If you want to squeeze every last bit of work out of fuel, this is the high-efficiency way to do it. The fi rst combined-cycle gas turbine plants were power plants. small demonstrations cobbled together in the 1950s, but by the late 1990s, they had become very large and very effi cient. Today, the most effi cient heat engine ever built is a combined-cycle gas turbine in Irsching, Germany, which has a measured effi ciency of 60.75 percent. In an era where reducing power industry carbon emissions is of great importance, a natural gas-burning combined-cycle plant like the one in Irsching can generate electricity while producing 70 percent less carbon dioxide than a conventional coal-fi red boiler. But the combined cycle—using the heat of a working fl uid to generate electricity and then to generate steam to make more electricity—dates much earlier, long before gas turbines became practical. The year was 1914 when a patent was issued for a high-effi ciency combined-cycle power plant. In this case, in a process generally called a dual or binary cycle, mercury was the high-temperature working fl uid and drove mercury vapor turbines in the top cycle. The bottom cycle would use steam. The mercury turbine exhaust would fl ow to a con- MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.41

denser and transfer its heat to boil water. The system could reduce coal use by 25 percent. Steam turbines were a relatively young technology at the time. The original motivation was that a turbine had just one moving part. Thus, it could be a cheaper and compact replacement for the cumbersome low-speed piston and cylinder steam engines that had powered the industrial revolution for two centuries. The somewhat unexpected advantage of a turbine was a higher effi ciency. It could harness the huge low-temperature volume expansion of the steam down to ambient temperatures and a near perfect vacuum. This would require prohibitively large pistons, cylinders, and valves in traditional engines. Mercury had a thermodynamic effi ciency advantage. It condensed at temperatures higher than the boiling point of water. While the design promised a higher ef- ﬁ ciency, it required a large inventory of toxic mercury of uncertain availability and cost, along with challenges of developing mercury turbines, boilers, heat exchangers, pumps and piping, and the complexities of controlling multiple turbines and generators.

Plan of the mercury section (above) of a dual-cycle plant in Kearny, N.J., and a schematic (left) of the complete dual cycle, both from Gustaf Gaffert's 1946 edition of Steam Power Stations. Despite the odds against the idea, several combined mercury and steam plants were built and achieved the promised high effi ciency. This improb- able achievement can be credited to a General Electric engineer named Wil- liam Emmet. He was already credited with commercializing steam turbines for his company, and also turbo-electric ship propulsion. He would devote much of the next 25 years developing cycles with mercury as the working fl uid. Emmet came to engineering by an unlikely, roundabout route. He entered the United States Naval Academy in 1877, a few years after steam engineering had been added to the curriculum under Civil War naval veteran Robert Thurston, who in a few years would become the founding president of ASME. Thurston also pioneered mechanical engineering education at Stevens Institute of Technology and Cornell University. William Emmet’s academic performance was undistinguished. When he graduated in 1881, the peace-time Navy needed a limited number of offi cers, so commissions went to the highest-ranked cadets. Emmet served in the Navy as a post-graduate cadet midshipman. When he was mustered out in 1883, Emmett had no career prospects. So he took a low-paying job repairing carbon arc street lamps in lower Manhattan. It was a dead-end job: Thomas Edison had recently invented a sealed incandescent lamp. Dead-end maybe, but it provided valuable experience. Emmet observed how electric equipment failed, and began to study the limited amount of useful information published on the sub- Thermodynamic ject of electricity. He identifi ed better designs, and started to consider description of the himself an engineer. Schiller Power At the same time, city transportation by horses was about to be Station's mercury- replaced by electric trolleys. In Richmond, Va., another Naval Academy steam dual cycle, copied from graduate, Frank Sprague, built the country’s fi rst successful system. Gaffert's Steam Sprague hired Emmet to oversee systems in Chicago, Cleveland, and Power Stations, Pittsburgh. 1946. Trolley motors were sealed against the harsh, wet conditions of the streets, and so they were prone to overheating and burnout. Emmet concluded it would be better to let the motors breathe. He implement- ed changes on failed motors, and then on new motors. He patented an improved commutator and better insulation. Later, after a brief period working for Westinghouse in Pittsburgh, Emmet joined the Buff alo Railway Co., where he designed an improved motor. It got the attention of the Edison Electric Co. in Schenectady, N.Y. He joined Edison Electric’s Chicago offi ce in time for 1892 World’s Fair. It is remembered for displaying marvels of the new Electric Age, MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.43

along with a gigantic Ferris wheel, powered by steam. Meanwhile the General Electric Co. was being formed by the fi nancier John Pierpont Morgan, who considered competition wasteful. Morgan was acquiring Edison Electric and other companies to create a monopoly on electric equipment. The headquarters and much manufacturing and research would be consolidated in Schenectady. William The merged company recruited engineering Le Roy talent, including William Emmet and a Ger- Emmet remained man immigrant, Charles Steinmetz, who would convinced that mercury was the achieve fame as the Electric Wizard of Sche- way to go. nectady. Emmet and Steinmetz would spend the duration of their careers in Schenectady. They received honorary degrees and hundreds of patents. Steinmetz introduced the study of electrical engineering to Union College. Together, they took General Electric in new directions. While Emmet’s early experience had been with direct current, he recognized the benefi ts and challenges of alternating current. Voltage could be stepped up by transformer for effi cient transmission and stepped down for safe use. It was being demonstrated with the transmission of hydroelectric power from Niagara Falls to Buff alo, a distance of 25 miles. Once again, Emmet educated himself, and in 1894 published a book, Alternating Current Wiring and Distri- bution, which remains useful today as a text for students and handbook for practitioners. Steinmetz observed Emmet was one of the few engineers who understood alternating current principles. Meanwhile, the rapidly growing electric power system was defi ning the potential for steam turbines. Westinghouse was winning what was known as the Battle of the Cur- rents over Edison’s direct current systems. The lower speed of reciprocat- ing engines was better for dc generators, because a continuous switching action is required to extract the power from the rotor. In contrast, a much higher speed was possible and desirable with ac generators, because the primary power is produced in the stationary windings, and there is no need for continual switching action to extract the electricity. Charles Curtis, a Columbia-educated engineer and lawyer, held a patent for a multiple stage impulse turbine. The idea was to use nozzles to con- vert pressure into kinetic energy before it enters the moving blades, which allows a reduction in casing or shell pressure. The potential was enhanced by the invention of a supersonic nozzle by the Swedish engineer Gustaf de Laval. General Electric bought Curtis’s patent rights—for $1.5 million, according to one published source, The Design of High-Effi ciency Turbomachinery Schiller Station in and Gas Turbines by MIT professor emeritus David Gordon Wilson. GE Portsmouth, N.H., put Emmet in charge of developing the turbine. Drawing on his experience started as a dual- cycle plant. It has with vertical shaft hydro turbine generators at Niagara Falls, he designed been converted to a a confi guration with the ac generator mounted above the steam turbine. coal- and wood- Commercial success was realized in 1903 with a 500 kW machine, which fired steam plant. was installed at the Fall River Co. in Newport, R.I. Image: PSNH A paper, “The Curtis Vertical Turbine,” presented at the 1988 ASME Winter Annual Meeting by an ASME Fellow, Euan Somerscales, lists more than 100 vertical machines built by 1913, when larger sizes dictated horizontal shafts. A 5,000 kW unit displayed at the General Electric plant in Schenectady is an ASME Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. Emmet commercialized the fi rst combined mercury and steam plant in 1923. General Electric built the plant for Hartford Electric Light Co. Whereas the original introduction of the steam turbine utilized the existing boiler and balance of the plant technology, the combined mercury and steam cycle also required development of a mercury boiler, a mercury condenser, a fi rebox that boiled mercury, preheated combustion air, and super-heated steam, along with mercury turbines. The unique properties of mercury relative to water required a search for compatible materials. The mercury turbine shaft should allow no leakage from the system, whereas a steam turbine could allow limited leakage. A 1929 issue of Time magazine included an enthusiastic article under the headline “Mercury into Power.” According to Time, “More successful and MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.45

proﬁ table than attempts to create gold from mercury is the actual creation of electricity with mercury in Hartford, Connecticut.” It explained that a second plant was starting up, and that “William LeRoy Emmet of General Electric has invented and developed the machine.” Other plants using mercury turbines were built in New York, New Jer- sey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. A chapter entitled “Binary Vapor Cycles” in the 1946 edition of Steam Power Stations by Gustaf Gaff ert presents the design, operating conditions, and performance of these plants. Up until the time of his death in 1941 at the age of 82, Emmet remained convinced that all electric power plants should use mercury. He was also designing mercury cycles for railroad and ship propulsion. The last dual cycle plant to be built was Schiller Station, which started operating in Portsmouth, N. H., in 1950. The mercury boiled at 200 psia and 1020 °F and condensed at 505 °F. Heat from the condensing mercury boiled water at 540 psia and 475 °F, which was then super heated to 800 °F by the coal-fueled ﬁ re. The nominal description was 23,000 kW from the mercury and 30,000 kW from the steam turbine. The overall combined heat rate was 8760 Btu/kwh, which corresponds to a plant effi ciency of 39 percent. The fuel effi ciency of Emmet’s mercury dual cycle was eventually made obsolete by increased steam plant effi ciencies from higher pressures and reheating the steam. The mercury cycle at Schiller Station was phased out, and replaced with a coal-fueled high-pressure steam plant, and more recently with wood- fueled boilers. The present day environmental concern is not the mercury cycle that once existed, but the airborne mercury from burning coal. Thus, the time for mercury cycles has gone with the effi ciency improvements with high-pressure steam and reheat, the advent of gas-fueled combined cycles, and the environmental protection and safety agencies, which did not exist when the mercury cycles were constructed. Emmet’s contributions today are mostly hidden improvements in rotating electric machinery and apparatus. Many of his achievements have become part of history. Just as his mercury dual cycle became obsolete, so his work in turbo-electric ship propulsion has been mostly replaced with direct-drive diesel engines. On the other hand, his success in developing the impulse turbine helped create a technology base of engineers and manufacturing. It positioned General Electric to take the lead in turbochargers for piston aircraft engines, and later global leadership in aircraft jet engines and land-based gas turbines for electricity and industry. In other words, William Emmet has left an enduring legacy.

Editor’s note: ASME published William Emmet’s An Autobiography of an Engineer in 1940.

FRANK WICKS is an engineering professor at Union College in Schenectady, an ASME Fellow, and a frequent contributor to Mechanical Engineering. He has worked as a shipboard engineer and a turbine and electrical engineer for the General Electric Co. FOR COMPANIES AWASH IN INFORMATION, PRODUCT LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT PROVIDES A WAY TO STEER A CLEARER PATH TO INNOVATION. BY JOHN MARTIN

roduct lifecycle management is evolving. What was tools for understanding complexity and responding once just a data vault in engineering has to it swiftly.” become a gateway to the entire product and In PLM’s case, “The Internet of Things is becom- Pinnovation cycle of the business. That change ing increasingly important for both products and has given engineers and managers greater factory equipment as a means of getting life cycle perception into the design process, leading to better data for service and continuous product improve- decision making and cost and risk management. ment,” said Marc Halpern, vice president for The need for speed—due to frequent turnover research at Gartner Inc., a research company in in the product portfolio—is a big reason for the Stamford, Conn. increasing transparency. The goal is a new business scaff olding—called the “Our research consistently shows, from year Product Innovation Platform. to year, that product velocity is one of the most “Next generation PLM systems will be platforms important defi ning drivers for a company,” said to realize innovation, by engaging users to give Kevin Prouty, senior vice president for research at everyone in the process the information needed Aberdeen Group, a Boston research fi rm. to make the best decisions in the shortest time,” So PLM is networking across the business, link- said Tom Maurer, senior director of strategy for ing to applications like supply chain, customer Siemens PLM Software in Plano, Texas. management, and manufacturing. It’s capitalizing on enabling technologies like mobile, social, cloud, UNDER CONTROL big data, and analytics. The Internet of Things also looms large. PLM is commonly defi ned as a set of applications McKinsey Quarterly captures the essence: “The that enable the creation, design, and development predictable pathways of information are chang- of new products through rollout, servicing, up- ing: the physical world itself is becoming a type of grade, and end of life. The benefi ts can be enor- information system. When objects can both sense mous. “Best-in-class users of PLM hit 87 percent of the environment and communicate, they become product launch dates vs. 64 percent of all others,” MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.47

Prouty said; “84 percent of best-in-class hit That ramps up the degree of diffi culty. PLM product cost targets vs. 66 percent of all others.” traditionally has been focused on the design of Prouty is constrained by nondisclosure agree- physical products; embedded software was writ- ments from identifying specifi c companies. ten separately and integrated afterward. The fi rst product data management systems “But so much software is being applied to were introduced in the early 1980s with the products today that engineering groups are los- purpose of managing engineering documents, ing control of it,” Prouty said. “Senior manag- CAD fi les, and bills of material, said Andreas ers want more detailed visibility into how the Lindenthal, managing partner at consulting fi rm design process is operating. We are seeing PLMadvisors in Mission Viejo, Calif. Since then, PLM vendors and users pushing to inte- he said, “Many companies have adopted PLM, grate the software development process but only a very limited functionality and in a into traditional PLM, whether through the small part of the organization. About 80 percent vendors themselves or better integration of of companies that have adopted PLM use it only the development tools and processes into in engineering to manage design data, such as the overall design process.” CAD models, drawings, assemblies, BOMs, etc.” Still, most describe it more expansively. THE STANDARD SOLUTION “PLM is more about discipline, process, and culture than software,” Halpern said. “PLM is As software both enriches as well as a discipline for guiding products and product complicates products—adding greater portfolios from ideas through retirement to cre- functionality and performance, and the ate the most value for businesses, their partners, ability to communicate back to the manu- and their customers.” facturer—products increasingly need to be PLM core applications include customer “designed and developed with a systems Ron Close, Dassault: Giving needs management (capturing, ranking, and approach, where mechanical, electrical, soft- process owners analyzing new product ideas); product portfolio ware engineering, and manufacturing domains quicker access to and program management; product data man- have access to all product data and designs,” key information. agement; collaborative design and engineering; Halpern said. “PLM is an enabling technology supplier relationship management; and CAD/ for this.” CAE/CAM for design and simulation, accord- The emphasis is control over the entirety of an ing to Jeff rey F. Hojlo, program director at IDC interlinked and widely dispersed process. Manufacturing Insights, a research and consult- “Centralized data management was the ing fi rm in Framingham, Mass. correct goal—and a major achievement— PDM is the fl agship capability—managing 20-plus years ago,” Schroer said. “Today, product data—and includes a data repository, though, the reality is remotely distributed workfl ow for engineering change requests and design teams, signifi cantly higher reliance change orders, and product confi guration and on supply chain partners, and tremendous bills-of-materials management. Increasingly, pressure on reducing the time to mar- these products are not solely physical items. ket. These drivers demand a shift from “The products with the most compelling time- managing data to managing process. Mod- to-market and cost issues [consumer electron- ern PLM methodology and software ics] and the highest risk and liability concerns benefi t from an increased focus on process [automotive and aerospace] are no longer control.” mechanical products,” said Peter Schroer, CEO That requires, for one, more attention to and founder of Aras, a PLM company based in standards, to smooth the connectivity of Peter Schroer, Aras: Andover, Mass. “While there is, of course, still systems, applications, and data. Halpern believes An increasing focus mechanical content, the real IP in these prod- progress on standards for exchanging data has on process control. ucts is now increasingly software and electron- been slow. ics.” “We need to pay more attention and provide more support to development and use of technical A heightened focus on standards and connectivity product data exchange standards such as ISO STEP will go a long way toward bringing fi eld service under Part 10303,” Halpern said. (STEP stands for Standard the PLM big tent. Schroer sees the integration with for the Exchange of Product and Model Data). maintenance as critical. Vendors have taken note. PLM seller Dassault Sys- “In many industries—like automotive, industrial, tèmes, for example, said its 3DExperience platform is aerospace, defense, and shipping—fi ve to ten times compliant with more than 40 standards requested by more is spent on maintaining product than on design- industry, including web, communication, visualiza- ing and producing it,” he said. “The opportunity for tion, and security standards. profi t optimization by applying PLM methodology “At the urging of our customers, the platform inte- to these fi eld service and maintenance operations is grates exchange ISO Standards STEP AP203/214/242 huge. Equally important, if we can build a bridge from to develop a long-term archiving strategy,” said Ron design/build makers to use/maintain operators, there Close, senior director, Enovia marketing, at Dassault’s is valuable feedback there to improve the next genera- U.S. offi ce in Waltham, Mass. “It includes industry tion of new products and product IP data to empower standards like Autosar [Automotive Open System more effi cient maintenance in the fi eld.” Architecture], IFC [Industry Foundation Classes for Mobile will be big in this area. When fi eld service building and construction industry data], and cross-in- engineers get stumped at a customer site, tablets and dustry standards like the Modelica modeling language, smartphones can deliver virtual part and product to generate sophisticated physical systems content.” models, schematics, procedures, and other content MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.49

An entire production floor visualized in Siemens PLM software. to help break the logjam. Customers and fi eld service identify new revenue generating opportunities.” people can also use mobile to off er feedback that can The key is for R&D and engineering to design lead to product improvements and new ideas. products with internet connection in mind. According to Garrett Miller, vice president for engineering and CONVERGENCE R&D at SAP, the enterprise applications giant based in Walldorf, Germany, the Internet of Things will then, That’s where big data and the Internet of Things in turn, help optimize product design as companies come in—converging with mobile and cloud. Halpern monitor connected products in real-world use. laid out the scenario in a Gartner report, Product In- It’ll still take some doing. According to Thomas novation Platforms: The Foundation of Product Design Ohnemus, another SAP vice president, “Being able to and PLM in the Digital Business Era. tease out product improvement, or even new product In the report, Halpern wrote: “Big data collected opportunities, from the massive amounts of data that via mobile devices and transmitted via the cloud, the IoT will generate poses the biggest challenge for supported by IoT embedded in products and factory data management.” infrastructure, provides insight into multiple dimen- Maurer agrees: this isn’t quite here yet. “There is a sions of product life cycles—including manufacturing lot of hype about the IoT, and the connected world of- cost and quality performance, supplier performance, fers a tremendous opportunity in the future,” he said. customer experience, and product service experi- “The bigger opportunity in the near term for big data ence—to both enable continuous improvement and is in collecting, analyzing, and using product perfor- space off ering analytics, or at least tools that enable analysis of some of the aforementioned information.” More users are demanding it. Ac- cording to Close at Dassault: “Process owners such as engineering program managers, designers, purchasing and manufacturing department per- sonnel, and others are demanding instant data visualization and report generation to improve internal effi ciencies. Most PLM software is able to generate reports from information located in a single system; but only skilled users are able to access, aggregate, and analyze real-time structured and unstructured data found in multiple applications across the organization.” To democratize the intelligence A CMM gathering, Dassault, for example, of- scanning mance and utilization data to improve quality and en- fers web-based analytics, where users can tailor the path able next-generation distributed, fl exible production.” interface and toolbars to customize reports. rendered Peter Bilello, president of CIMdata, a management “From project status and program assessment, to in 3-D by Siemens consulting and research fi rm in Ann Arbor, Mich., is compliance and fi nancial reports, to KPIs [key perfor- NX. on the same page, saying that big data and analytics mance indicators] for monitoring production … the “will play a major role as PLM continues to move to rapid discovery of hidden information, confi gured for the enterprise level. PLM is data rich, and the re- user-friendly visualization, ensures users can quickly quirements for an innovation platform that it enables access the information needed to make better-informed calls for extensive analytics.” decisions or take corrective actions,” Close said. Vendors outside the product lifecycle manage- DEMOCRATIZING ANALYSIS ment space recognize the opportunity. “We see more and more traditional BI [business intelligence] Halpern thinks areas where analytics can con- companies looking at apps for managing the design tribute include “understanding performance on the process,” Prouty said. “Users are driving it from the development and introduction of new products, prod- executive level.” uct acceptance in a market, product quality, lifecycle Social networks are cropping up in PLM, helping product costs, product sustainability, and regulatory users “quickly identify and construct communities compliance.” with complementary skills to solve problems and Although reporting and analytics on the product enable processes, ” Halpern said. Dassault includes development process have been available in PLM, social collaboration applications in its 3DExperience Hojlo of IDC Manufacturing Insights believes that platform. there has not been a broad PLM analytics platform to analyze all aspects of a product lifecycle, “from design CHANGE? ME? to after-market—new product ideas, product portfolio performance, costing, supplier performance, manu- The key, as always, is change. facturing execution, product quality, and service Halpern recently met with a large company in execution. This is evolving, with some vendors in the Europe that has its hands full with PLM disci- MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.51

COLLABORATION— AND DESIGN—IN MOTION

he following scenario, created by Marc Halpern, vice pline “because engineering and manufacturing president at Gartner Inc., illustrates an application of organizations struggle with transitioning their T processes and practices to more systems-centric product lifecycle management. It is adapted from his approaches,” he said. “No investment in PLM report, Product Innovation Platforms: The Foundation of Product Design software will work if companies cannot change and PLM in the Digital Business Era. their behaviors.” An engineering manager leaves her Boston office for the airport to meet And it’s not just people being ornery, protect- a prospective customer with a proposed product design. She knows the ing silos, or moving slow—some of it is techni- customer wants a lower price or will not accept the proposal. She analyzed cal. “Our studies have shown that companies performance and manufacturing quality data from similar products in the struggle with consensus on data architectures and field using Internet of Things technology; her new design reflects these processes that will support all PLM stakeholders findings. across engineering, manufacturing, procurement, In the taxi, she sends a link to the design—from her mobile device, via deﬁ ning product strategies, etc.,” Halpern said. the cloud—to a colleague in Munich, an expert in manufacturing cost esti- “The change management and consensus build- mating. When she reaches the airport they hold a collaboration session— ing needed to evolve PLM discipline is the key she using her smartphone and he on his tablet, both viewing, rotating, and challenge.” annotating a 3-D model of the original design. Lindenthal of PLMAdvisors recommends She also knows design changes might impact the electronics packag- tackling the issue up-front. “Most PLM software ing, so she uses the internal social network to find a packaging expert and companies and system integrators underestimate determine that person’s availability. She finds her expert in the company’s or largely disregard the importance of organiza- Singapore office—figuring that using someone in Asia will allow her to tional change management during the evalua- leverage the time difference between Singapore, Munich, and Boston. tion and implementation of a PLM system in the The Singapore expert does not have a license to access the company’s organization,” he said. design software; the manager approves a copy of the cloud-based application, As a result, PLM is rarely fully utilized. and links the German engineer with the expert. While she is traveling and According to Bilello, “PLM is only scratching sleeping that night, the German and Singaporean engineers collaborate and the surface in most organizations.” propose two design alternatives that reduce the cost and satisfy packaging Prouty agrees. “Our research shows that less needs—performing simulations of mold filling and packaging (using cloud- than 40 percent of a PLM suite is used,” he said. based computing power) with predictive costing on their mobile devices. “And this is in better companies. It comes down to Part of the redesign process involves finding parts from suppliers. They training, and ability to adapt the organization to use geometry-based search to find 3-D models on the Web that they can using new tools.” test for fit, form, and function without building prototypes. Schroer at Aras thinks the solution is to make The next morning the engineering manager uses her tablet to access PLM vanish—“cloaking” the suite of tightly the design from her company’s private cloud. She finds features from both integrated services and its mix of on-premise and designs that she wants to merge. After completing her proposed changes, cloud IT underpinnings. she sends a quick text from her mobile device to the German engineer’s “To the end users, the key value proposition laptop to confirm that her changes will not increase manufacturing cost or for the future PLM environment will be the sacrifice quality. He works with her online to discover that a slight change disappearance of PLM itself,” he said. “The to the merged design would improve manufacturability, thus improving PLM methodology and IT technology should be quality and reducing cost. embedded in the tools and applications that are Throughout the process, a cloud-based content management software is used every day—MS-Offi ce, CAD, mobile, web transparently capturing the progressive design. Anyone with access can roll portals, etc. Wherever the end user is work- backward and forward through the history of the design to understand who ing, behind the scenes, the PLM platform is was involved, what they did, and how the design progressed. ensuring real-time visibility and control—driv- During the customer meeting the engineering manager performs ing better products and reducing liability and simulations in a virtual environment to demonstrate how the product risk.” ME will operate. John Martin is a writer based in Ithaca, N.Y. 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SentiSculpt enables the creation of 3-D HIGH-PRECISION 3-D MODELS models from 2-D images. NEUROTECHNOLOGY, VILNIUS, LITHUANIA.

he SentiSculpt SDK software development kit was created for the creation of 3-D object models. With the broad availability of 3-D printers and software for virtual reality, gaming, architecture, and design applications, one of the biggest challenges has been the capture of 3-D Tobjects. This has either required expensive, specialized photographic equipment or the drawing of complex object meshes and wireframes. SentiSculpt SDK offers an alternative: the capture of real objects in 3-D using off-the-shelf cameras or smartphones.

deliver computer-assisted engineering tasks and data ing geometry simulation as well as a passenger comfort MOBILE 3-D PRINTING to analysts, engineers, designers, suppliers case setup are all part of the PowerFLOW 5.1 release. and managers. According to the developer, AUTODESK INC., SAN FRANCISCO. the user can define simple actions, organize 3-D CAD them into sub-processes, define their The Tinkerplay app (right) is dependencies, and associate them with the BRICSYS NV, GENT, BELGIUM. based on the popular Modio available resources. The software app, and will join the Tinkercad informs users about assignments, BricsCAD V15 is now available on all three platforms family of products for mobile devices. The free app communicates the correct data among actions, and and offers a familiar user interface, 3-D direct, and allows users to design and customize characters and monitors progress. parametric modeling—all on native .dwg files. Cross creatures digitally with the option to 3-D print after- platform licensing lets users run BricsCAD V15 on wards. According to Autodesk, new parts, features, and CLIMATE CONTROL SYSTEMS Windows, OS X, and now also on Linux. Cross platform functionality have been added. keys also allow users to try BricsCAD on different EXA, BURLINGTON, MASS. platforms. BricsCAD offers an almost identical feature MANAGING WORKFLOWS set on all three platforms. The PowerFLOW 5.1 offers up to a 300 percent increase BETA CAE SYSTEMS S.A., THESSALONIKI, GREECE. in speed for complex transient cabin comfort simulations—allowing vehicle manufacturers a practical Simulation, Process, Data & Resources Manager (SP- method of studying exceedingly complex thermal SUBMISSIONS DRM v1.1.1) simulates and manages process workflows engineering problems. It offers many new applica- Submit electronic files of new products by integrating the resources, the tools, and the data tions features to offer engineers consistently accurate and images by e-mail to [email protected]. Use associated with them. It is designed to work with simulations with faster turnaround times. Updates to subject line “New Products.” ME does not test or an enterprise product data management system to acoustics absorption material, battery modeling, rotat- endorse the products described here. TOOLS//HARDWARE VERTICAL LIFT STAGE

OPTICAL ENGINEERING SYSTEMS INC., VAN NUYS, CALIF.

he AT10-120 motorized vertical lift is a high-reso- TOXWLRQORZSUR¿OH high-load lift stage that can be integrated into almost any application. The 220 mm x 140 mm (8.7 in. x 5.5 in.) drilled and tapped platform has a vertical travel of 110 mm (4.3 in.). The twin lead (right and left hand thread) precision ground screw and six guide rails SURYLGHVPRRWKÀDWPRWLRQ

UNIVERSAL TRANSMITTER

Personal CNC KNICK USA, MORGAN HILL, CALIF.

Shown here is an articulated humanoid The PolyTrans P 32000 universal transmitters robot leg, built by researchers at the feature an infrared interface that can automatically Drexel Autonomous System Lab (DASL) recognize the signal outputs of any 2-, 3- and with a Tormach PCNC 1100 milling machine. To read more about this 4-wire temperature, force, and strain project or to learn about Tormach’s sensors, resistors, potentiom- affordable CNC mills and accessories, eters, resistive sensors, and visit www.tormach.com/mem. similar sensing technologies. They can also recognize PCNC 1100 Series 3 standard thermocouple signals, with either internal or external reference junction compensation, and without the need for further adjustments. The design of the PolyTrans P 32000 also facilitates its ease of installation within space constrained Mills shown here with optional stand, machine environments. arm, LCD monitors, and other accessories.

PCNC 770 Series 3 www.tormach.com/mem MECHANICALMECHANICAL ENGINEERING ENGINEERING | FEBRUARY | JULY 2013 2015 | |P. 055P.55

DIGITAL PANEL METERS SUBMISSIONS OMEGA ENGINEERING, STAMFORD, CONN. Submit electronic files of new products and images by e-mail to [email protected]. Use subject line “New This CE, UL, and cUL compliant prod- Products.” ME does not test or endorse the uct features a bright three-color (red, products described here. green, amber) nine-segment LED display with a wide viewing angle and full scale positive and negative readings. It has high accuracy universal inputs supporting thermocouples, RTDs, thermistors, CLUTCHES FOR OVERRUNNING, INDEXING AND BACKSTOPPING APPLICATIONS and process voltage and current. It measures up to 20 samples per second with a 24-bit ADC and comes standard with USB communications, built-in excitation firmware selectable at 5, 10, 12, and 24 V, and remote latch reset.

FUEL REGULATION MODULE

PARKER HANNIFIN, DALLAS, TEXAS.

The FM80 fuel regulation module is a fully integrated compressed natural gas flow control and regulation system for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles with 5- to 12-liter engines. The advanced FM80 withstands extreme variations in temperature, flow, vibration, supply pressure, and gas composition. It incorporates the stainless steel internal parts and elastomers designed for use with natural gas over a wide range of temperatures. Some Disasters Are Preventable Take control of your application. You may be able to weather the storm of a complete shutdown but it makes more sense to prevent it in the ﬁrst place. Unlike natural disasters, component failures can be prevented with the right precautions. Tsubaki’s Clutch products will ensure optimum performance and protect against the high costs associated with full system failures. Contact us or visit our website to learn more. 847-323-7790 www.ustsubaki.com

ROTARY VANE PUMP ISOLATION TRANSFORMER

ULVAC TECHNOLOGIES INC., METHUEN, MASS. FOSTER TRANSFORMER CO., CINCINNATI.

The GHD-031 magnetically coupled, oil-sealed rotary vane pump does not leak The model 16531 multi-voltage isolation and operates cleaner than other rotary vane pumps because it has no rotary shaft transformer for control panel and lighting seals to wear out. A built-in check valve at the inlet port prevents oil backflow, applications accepts all North American eliminating messy cleanups and downtime that contaminate the users’ laboratory single-phase voltages and provides an or workspace. GHD pumps offer reduced power consumption and quieter operation. isolated 120 V output at up to 0.625 They have a pumping speed of 36 l/m and ultimate vacuum of 5 x 10-3 torr. A. Input voltages accepted include 120/208/240/277/480/600 V, 50/60 Hz, with 120 V, 0.075 kVA output. They are suitable for control panels and adapting residential grade 120 V LED drivers for use in commercial applications where 120 V power is not available.

DIGITAL PRESSURE SENSORS

GP:50, GRAND ISLAND, N.Y.

The Model 611/612 Series is a family of USB-powered digital pressure transducers with automatic temperature and pressure output recognition. The series offers an intuitive interface with direct compatibility to high-speed USB 1.0 and 2.0 formats, along with 18-bit resolution and a 4.8 kHz internal measurement rate. Measured pressure values in absolute, gauge, sealed gauge, or One part adhesive compound EP17HT-LO vacuum formats may be logged in real time onto any PC or mobile device without I/O interface board requirements. Hardness >80 Shore D LIQUID SILICONE RUBBER

Tensile strength PROTO LABS INC., MAPLE PLAIN, MINN. 10,000 psi Medical-grade liquid silicone rubber is a low-viscosity thermoset material suit- Meets low outgassing able for medical applications. Parts created in LSR are strong and elastic with Low Outgassing thermal, chemical, and electrical resistance. They maintain their physical proper- specifications ties at extreme temperatures and withstand sterilization. LSR is biocompatible, so it is frequently used in products Glass transition temperature that require skin contact. As Tg 225°C a result, moldable silicone lends itself to surgical and dental applications, Serviceable to +650°F consumer health care products, and other components that have Hackensack, NJ 07601 USA • Tel: +1.201.343.8983 • [email protected] human contact. www.masterbond.com MECHANICALMECHANICAL ENGINEERING ENGINEERING | FEBRUARY | JULY 2013 2015 | |P. 057P.57

SELF-CLINCHING FASTENERS

PENNENGINEERING, DANBORO, PA.

New patented microPEM TackPin Type T4 self-clinching fasteners are hardware solutions for installation into stainless steel or high-strength aluminum alloy sheets. The fasteners enable sheet-to-sheet at- tachment for a wide range of applications in compact electronic assemblies wherever disassembly will not be required. They avoid typical screw-related issues, including tapping, cross threading, and torque control, and further provide designers with practical alternatives to welds or adhesives.

CNG CYLINDER

WORTHINGTON INDUSTRIES, INC., COLUMBUS, OHIO.

The company’s Type III compressed natural gas cylinder has an inner aluminum liner that dissipates heat during fast filling. Recommended for Class 8 heavy-duty and refuse trucks, these large diameter cylinders will fill to rated capacity making longer routes possible. The aluminum inner liner provides an added safety feature, by reducing the risk of flex or fracture in the outer composite reinforcement if an impact occurs.

BULKHEAD CONNECTORS

PAVE TECHNOLOGY CO., DAYTON, OHIO.

RF microwave high-frequency hermetically sealed coaxial connectors are for both low and high pressure and vacuum use. Operating pressures range from 10-8 torr to 100 bar, and operating temperatures from –65 °C to 125 °C. STANDARDS

ASME STANDARDS & CERTIFICATION TWO Park Ave., New York, NY 10016-5990 212.591.8500 Fax: 212.591.8501 velopment Committees, by date or by keyword, visit e-mail: [email protected] the Standards and Certification website at http:// calendar.asme.org/home. cfm?CategoryID=1. If you are looking for information regarding an PUBLIC REVIEW DRAFTS An important element of ASME’s accredited standards ASME code or standard committee, conformity development procedures is the requirement that all proposed standards actions (new codes and standards, assessment program, training program, staff revisions to existing codes and standards, and reaf- firmations of existing codes and standards) be made available for public review and comment. The proposed contact, or schedule of meetings: standards actions currently available for public review are announced on ASME’s website, located at http:// PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE: WWW.ASME.ORG/CODES cstools.asme.org/csconnect/PublicReviewpage.cfm.

The website announcements will provide information COMMITTEE LISTING: For a listing of ASME Codes website at http://www.asme.org/kb/courses/asme- on the scope of the proposed standards action, the and Standards Development Committees and their training---development. price of a standard when being proposed for reaf- charters, visit the Standards and Certification web- firmation or withdrawal, the deadline for submittal site at http://cstools.asme.org/charters.cfm. STAFF CONTACTS: To obtain the ASME staff contact of comments, and the ASME staff contact to whom information for a Codes and Standards Development any comments should be provided. Some proposed CONFORMITY ASSESSMENT: For a listing and de- Committee or a Conformity Assessment program, standards actions may be available directly from scription of ASME Conformity Assessment (accredita- visit the Codes and Standards website at http:// the website; hard copies of any proposed standards tion, registration, and certification) programs, visit the cstools.asme.org/staff. action (excluding BPV) may be obtained from: Standards and Certification website at http://www. asme.org/kb/standards/certification---accreditation. SCHEDULE OF MEETINGS: Meetings of Codes and MAYRA SANTIAGO, Secretary A Standards Development Committees are held period- ASME Standards & Certification TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT: For a listing and ically to consider the development of new standards Two Park Ave., M/S 6-2A description of ASME Training & Development educa- and the maintenance of existing standards. To search New York, NY 10016 tional opportunities, visit the ASME Education for scheduled meetings of Codes and Standards De- e-mail: [email protected]

ASME maintains approximately 500 codes and standards. A general categorization of the subject matter addressed by ASME codes and standards is as follows:

Authorized Inspections Energy Assessment Metrology and Calibration of Pumps Automotive Fasteners Instruments Rail Transportation Bioprocessing Equipment Fitness-For-Service Nondestructive Evaluation/ Reinforced Thermoset Plastic Boilers Gauges/Gaging Examination-Nuclear Corrosion Certification and Accreditation Geometric Dimensioning & Tolerancing Operator Qualification and Resistant Equipment Chains (GD&T) Certification Risk Analysis Controls High-Pressure Vessels Systems Performance Test Codes Screw Threads Conveyors Keys and Keyseats Piping & Pipelines Steel Stacks Cranes and Hoists Limits & Fits Plumbing Materials and Equipment Surface Quality Cutting, Hand, and Machine Tools Materials Post Construction of Pressure Turbines Dimensions Measurement of Fluid Flow in Closed Equipment Valves, Fittings, Flanges, Gaskets Drawings, Terminology, and Graphic Conduits and Piping Verification & Validation Symbols Metal Products Sizes Powered Platforms Welding & Brazing Elevators and Escalators Metric System Pressure Vessels

The ASME Standards & Certification section is published as submitted to Mechanical Engineering magazine by ASME’s Standards & Certification Department. TOOLS//HARDWARE MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | JULY 2015 | P.59

MOTORIZED BALL VALVES

ASSURED AUTOMATION, CLARK, N.J.

Sure Mount actuated brass ball valves with compact electric actuators offer a low-cost, compact, HVAC valve solution. For use in residential and commercial HVAC applications, the valves are available in half-inch to 2-inch sizes. The SM Series quarter-turn ball valve features a simple actuator mounting system that eliminates the cost, weight, and installation time required by other valve-actuator mounting systems which typically require brackets and multiple fasteners.

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ADVANCES IN COMPUTERS AND INFORMATION IN ENGINEERING RESEARCH, Vol. 1 EDITED BY JOHN MICHOPOULOS, DAVID ROSEN, CHRIS PAREDIS, AND JUDY VANCE

ASME Press Books. Two Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016-5990. 2014.

his is the ﬁ rst book in a series that aims to capture advances in computers and information in engineering research, especially by researchers and members of ASME’s Computers T and Information in Engineering (CIE) Division. The books will be published in both traditional and e-book formats. The series will focus on advances in computational methods, algorithms, tools, and processes on the cutting edge of research and development as they have evolved or have been reported during the last three to ﬁ ve annual CIE conferences. The series aims to advance the featured understanding and the application of technologies that aff ect critical engineering issues. Topics include advanced modeling and simulation; computer-aided product and process development; systems engineering and knowledge management; and virtual environments and systems.

600 pages. $159; ASME Members, $127. ISBN: 978-0-7918-6032-8.

NIGHTMARE PIPELINE FAILURES: FANTASY PLANNING, BLACK SWANS, APPLIED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS: AND INTEGRITY MANAGEMENT THE PRIMARY COURSE

Jan Hayes and Andrew Hopkins Vladimir A. Dobrushkin CCH Australia Ltd., GPO Box 4072, CRC Press, 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Sydney, NSW 2001. 2014. Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742. 2015.

Preventing rare events with catastrophic Applied Diff erential Equations presents a contemporary treat- consequences is diffi cult. In the oil and gas industry (and other ment of ordinary diff erential equations, including their applica- industries where organizations operate complex, hazardous tions in engineering and the sciences. The text enables students technology), incidents arise for a number of reasons, including majoring in a range of ﬁ elds to obtain a solid foundation. De- failure to recognize and act on warning signs, poor planning veloped as a primary text for the author’s two-semester course, and cost-cutting, inappropriate maintenance, failure to learn the text off ers an alternative to texts originally published for from past incidents, poor management decisions, inconsistent previous generations. This interesting new approach contains policies and procedures, and lack of eff ective regulatory over- practical techniques for solving the equations as well as cor- sight. In Nightmare Pipeline Failures, Jan Hayes and Andrew responding codes for numerical solvers. Many examples and Hopkins explore the causes of pipeline ruptures in California exercises help students master eff ective solution techniques, and Michigan, providing their insights into how such cata- including reliable numerical approximations. The author cov- strophic incidents can occur, and how they might be prevent- ers traditional material, along with novel approaches to math- ed. In addition, they discuss the failure of pipeline regulation ematical modeling that harness the capabilities of numerical in the U.S. and the need for regulatory reform. algorithms and popular computer software packages.

158 PAGES. $85. ISBN: 978-1-9250-9113-7. 731 PAGES. $99.95. ISBN-13: 978-1-4398-5104-3. ASME NEWS MECHANICAL ENGINEERING 063 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING | FEBRUARY | JULY 2013 2015 | |P. P.63

DEMAND DIGITAL REGISTRATION STILL EDITION WINS HONOR

OPEN FOR AM3D 2015 The digital edition of the spring 2014 issue of DEMAND – ASME Global Development he Additive Manufacturing + 3-D In addition, AM3D will feature a Review won a Silver Addy Award from the TPrinting Conference and Expo will program centered around the product Washington, D.C., area American Advertis- feature dozens of speakers from development process and will highlight ing Awards Competition. As winner of the the additive manufacturing field. AM3D, the issues and challenges associated with D.C. award, DEMAND will now advance to as the event is called, is to be held in each step of the additive manufacturing a district Addy competition, where it will Boston beginning Aug. 2 in conjunction lifecycle, including making the business compete with other award winners from the with ASME’s long-running International case; selecting parts and designing for mid-Atlantic region. Design Engineering Technical Confer- additive manufacturing; material con- The award was announced in April. ences and Computers & Information in siderations; process advancements; and Engineering Conference. inspection and quality control issues. FY2016 FEDERAL R&D The conference’s keynote speakers There will also be a meetup and mini- are Jason Lopes, lead systems engineer talks session for early career engineers, a EXPLAINED IN WEBINAR from Legacy Effects, and Hod Lipson, variety of tutorials and workshops, a tour professor of engineering and director of of the MIT laboratories, and two student ASME’s Government Relations depart- Cornell University’s Creative Machines engineering design competitions. ment presented a webinar on the federal Lab. Lopes and Lipson will discuss how The event will run from Aug. 2 through research and development budget in May. the expanding capabilities of additive 5 at the Hynes Convention Center in The webinar, “Fiscal Year 2016 Federal manufacturing will disrupt established Boston. It will be the second additive Research and Development (R&D) Budget,” industries in the near future. manufacturing conference sponsored by provided participants with the opportunity Other experts scheduled to speak dur- ASME in 2015, following the inaugural to gain a greater understanding of the ing the conference include Marcin Bauza, AM3D India event in April. budget priorities for the administration director of new technology and innova- Registration for the Additive Manu- and Congress and insights into the impact tion at Carl Zeiss IMT; Dave Edstrom, facturing + 3D Printing Conference of federal investments on engineering chief technology officer for Memex and Expo will also include entry to the research. Automation; Zach Simking, co-president IDETC/CIE, which will be co-located The hour-long webinar featured Mat- of Senvol; Simin Zhou, vice president of with AM3D. For information on registra- thew Hourihan, director of the R&D Budget digital manufacturing technology at UL; tion prices and to register, visit https:// and Policy Program for the American As- and John Wilczynski, deputy director of w3.smartreg.com/webreg/ASME_ sociation for the Advancement of Science. technology development for the National IDETC2015. To learn more about the For more information on the webinar, go Center for Defense Manufacturing and AM3D Boston conference program, visit to http://ppec.asme.org/. Machining. go.asme.org/3dprinting. ME SOCIETY AWARDS SEEKING NOMINATIONS omination deadlines for a number of ASME a bronze medal, and a certificate. The deadline for are the Y.C. Fung Young Investigator Award for young Nawards—including the Ralph Coats Roe nominations is Aug. 30. The Fluids Engineering Award investigators pursuing research in bioengineering; the Medal, the Fluids Engineering Award, and the chair is Khaled Hammad, who can be contacted at Edwin F. Church Medal for eminent service in mechani- Freeman Scholar—will fall in August and September. [email protected]. cal engineering education; the Patrick J. Higgins Award Nominations for the Ralph Coats Roe Medal, which The Freeman Scholar Award, presented bienni- for contributions to the enhancement of standardization recognizes an outstanding contribution toward a better ally, honors a person of significant expertise in fluids of ASME Codes & Standards or Conformity Assessment; public understanding and appreciation of the engineer’s engineering who is expected to review a topic in his or the H.R. Lissner Medal for outstanding achievements worth to contemporary society, are due Aug. 15. The her specialty, write a review article for the Journal of in the area of bioengineering; the Van C. Mow Medal award consists of a $12,000 honorarium, a gold medal, Fluids Engineering, and present a plenary lecture during for significant contributions to the field of bioengineer- and a certificate. Nominations should be submitted the Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting. ing and the bioengineering community; and the Ben to Ozden Ochoa, the Ralph Coats Roe Medal chair, by The award consists of a $10,000 honorarium and a C. Sparks Medal for eminent service to mechanical e-mail at [email protected]. certificate. Nominations should be submitted by Sept. engineering or engineering technology education for The Fluids Engineering Award recognizes outstanding 1 to the ASME Committee on Honors, Fran McKivor at undergraduate students. For more information on ASME contributions to engineering and fluids engineering, in [email protected]. Honors and Awards, visit www.asme.org/about-asme/ particular. The award consists of a $1,000 honorarium, Other awards with upcoming nomination deadlines get-involved/honors-awards. ME INPUT OUTPUT MECHANICALMECHANICAL ENGINEERING ENGINEERING | JANUARY | JULY 2013 2015 | |P. P.06464 RETURN OF THE HARMONIC ANALYZER An engineer highlights the genius of a mechanical computer. efore electronic computers, people built mechanical computers to French mathematician and physicist Jean Baptiste Joseph, perform specifi c mathematical operations. One such Baron de Fourier, and developed from his original work, device that is beautiful to see in action is Albert Mi- known as the Fourier series. Bchelson’s Harmonic Analyzer. According to Hammack, the applications are essential to In the late 19th century Michelson performed Fou- many modern developments. Compression methods used rier analysis by hand to help resolve fi ne details of the light for digital sound and image fi les, for instance, rely on Fou- emitted by vaporized elements—essentially an early version rier analysis; signals in cell phones are fi ltered using Fourier of Fourier transform spectroscopy. The hand calculations methods. were laborious, so he invented the Harmonic Analyzer to Michelson built his fi rst prototype of a machine similar to automate his calculations. the Harmonic Analyzer in 1897. Michelson commercialized the design and a few were sold. William Gaertner & Co. of Chicago manufactured two One of the production models has sat for decades in a glass models of the Harmonic Analyzer. The company, a forerun- case in Altgeld Hall at the University of Illinois at Urbana- ner to Gaertner Scientifi c Corp., was a small manufacturer of Champaign. precision scientifi c instruments, including others designed by Bill Hammack, a professor in the department of chemi- Michelson. Gaertner’s 1904 catalog advertised a machine that cal engineering, and Bruce Carpenter, associate director of could add up to 20 sinusoids and a larger version that calculat- the math department’s distance learning program, NetMath, ed with 80 sinusoids. According to Hammack, Gaertner sold tracked it down. at least four machines at around $225 each. They and a third associate, Steve Hammack said he found scattered references to the Kranz, an engineering research Harmonic Analyzer in popular assistant at the university, saw science magazines, mostly from the machine as a visual means to press releases that may have demonstrate Fourier methods come from the University of Chi- to students. Together, the three cago, where Michelson taught created a video series and a book physics. The machine, he said, is that deliver a close-up look at also mentioned in An Introduc- the machine. The book, Albert tion to the Mathematical Theory Michelson’s Harmonic Analyzer: of Heat Conduction, a 1913 text by A Visual Tour of a Nineteenth Leonard Ingersoll and Otto Zobel. Century Machine That Performs The Harmonic Analyzer made a Fourier Analysis, is available as a public appearance in an improved free PDF download at www.engi- form at the 1933 World’s Fair in neerguy.com/fourier. The video, the Great Hall of Science. which shows a replica of the Hammack said he is not sure original machine in operation, when the Harmonic Analyzer ar- is online at www.youtube.com/ rived at the University of Illinois. watch?v=NAsM30MAHLg. It is a 20-element model and has The Harmonic Analyzer adds been on display for at least four cosines to create intricate pat- decades, and its gears have been terns. It also does the inverse “completely still,” he said. operation: it can take a pattern After spending a great deal of and reduce it to its cosines. This time with the machine, Hammack operation, known as Fourier fi nds that stillness a bit sad: the analysis, is a method of defi ning ingenious machine sits behind glass periodic waveforms in terms of and is never used. trigonometric functions. JAMES PERO The method is named for the The Harmonic Analyzer, from a Gaertner catalog. Life moves quickly When was the last time you reevaluated your life insurance coverage?

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