South Wales Region www.nearyou.imeche.org/near-you/UK/South-Wales CONTENTS Welcome from the South January 2012 Wales Committee Reviews – Past Events Happy New Year From Your IMechE In South Wales Day Trip to Fog Rocketry By Dr. Andrew Bayton CEng MIMechE Club, South Wales Hello and welcome to the 2012 news letter. Can I start Previews – Future Events by thanking Ian Weslake-Hill for the great job that he Regional Matters has done over the past few years in compiling and distributing the newsletter. It is our intention on the Compiled and edited by: South Wales committee to provide you, our members Dr. Andrew Bayton with a good service. We endeavour to facilitate several If you have any comments about this quality lectures throughout the year on topics that Newsletter or would like to contribute should be of interest. Of course these topics also fit in to future editions, then please do not the key themes determined centrally by the IMechE. If hesitate to contact us. you were one of the many members who came along to Dr. Andrew Bayton our events to see what we do with your subscription Treasurer A Meeting of the Regional Committee then thank you for attending and we hope to see you E: [email protected] Officers again in 2012! Last year saw quite a few changes with the committee officers and notably a change of Chairman. For three years 2008 - 2011, Denis McCann has been at the helm and really taken the South Wales Region into a new direction whilst keeping up to date with many of the new strategies formulated at HQ. It is welcome that Denis will be staying on the committee and dealing with media and communications. Robert Owen has moved from Secretary to take on the role of Chairman. I’m sure that we would all wish him well in this new role. Keith Craig becomes Vice-Chair, Andy Pugh and myself are your new Secretary and Treasurer respectively. Finally, thank you to Mike Knight who has retired as Treasurer but remains as a committee member and thanks to all of the regional committee and young members panel for your support over the last year. You may notice that throughout the year there are several events that actively promote different types of membership within the Institution. For example the Member to Fellow workshops that are usually held at Cardiff or Swansea University. If you hold MIMechE status and feel that you are ready to take it to the next level then why don’t you come along to one of the workshops? There, you can talk with our Business Development Manager and other Members about the procedure and requirements to be elected Fellow of the Institution which is our highest level of membership. I feel that our annual dinner event in May is really worth attending. I have been going to this event for several years now and I sincerely believe that it is really worthwhile for members to gather annually and celebrate engineering. This year we are also trying a different approach by having an after dinner speaker. Not only does the company of our President Elect plus the quality of our speaker befit such an occasion and its surroundings, but the dinner is truly superb also. So members, if you come to only one of our events this year why not make it the AGM and annual dinner? I guarantee you will not be disappointed! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________Education Energy Environment Transport Reviews – Past Events “The Omnivore Wide Range HCCI Engine” - 20th May 2011 For several years this region has combined a prestige Combustion Ignition (HCCI) engine uses variable lecture along with its annual general meeting and dinner. Last compression ratios. It also comprises a monobloc year we were treated to a lecture from James Turner who is construction that removes the need for a cylinder head gasket. Chief Engineer of Powertrain Development at Lotus We were introduced to the puck that allows this to happen Engineering. which is a hyperbolic paraboloid that is similar to a well known potato crisp shape! This device can be raised or James began the presentation by describing the key drivers lowered during the running of the engine to control the for the project which were to produce an engine that could geometric compression according to the load on the engine to burn any fuel but be more efficient than a conventional four the point where fuels auto-ignite and thus negate the need for stroke unit. The two stroke “Omnivore” Homogenous Charge a spark plug. Improving the world through engineering 1 The final novel component in the research engine is the operating cycle. James also included a desktop application charge trapping valve. The charge trapping valve is caused to that allows the user to run their own virtual engine from their oscillate by a short articulated connecting link from an engine- computer. Please find the link below if you would like to speed eccentric shaft itself rotated by a belt drive from the investigate further. crankshaft. A simple charge trapping valve mechanism provides for asymmetric exhaust timing and hence a http://www.lotuscars.com/engineering/en/omnivore-interactive modification of the original piston-ported two-stroke _________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Monitored Professional Development Scheme Awards – Student Prize As is customary at our annual dinner the South Wales region makes an award to the best Year In Industry placement student on the MPDS scheme. This year Mary Mathews was awarded the prize by our Treasurer, Mike Knight at Cardiff University. Throughout her year in industry Mary showed excellent progress along with a mature professionalism in her work. It is for these reasons that she was chosen as a very worthy winner indeed. Mary also joined us for the annual dinner along with tutor Geoff Evans. May we all take this opportunity to wish Mary a long and successful career in engineering! Mary receiving her award from Eur. Ing. Mike Knight (Treasurer) ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Member to Fellow Workshop - 7th June 2011 was also a chance for members to meet the committee and Every year the Region holds several Members’ workshops. discuss any particular aspect of the application process. This year it was decided to hold the Member to Fellow workshop at Swansea University. This workshop is primarily Please remember that any application for Fellow is not a intended for Members who are already professional members re-assessment of competence as this has already been assessed (CEng, IEng or EngTech) but over the years have assumed and approved by the Engineering Council. The key action is more and more responsibility throughout their career. Usually for an applicant to prove they have the qualities to become individuals really make a contribution to the setting of FIMechE when applying. If you are interested in becoming a strategy, controlling budgets and some become experts in their Fellow of the Institution then please follow the link below. field. This year saw an excellent presentation by our Business Development Manager Alan King whereby he http://www.imeche.org/training-and-professional- outlined the competences necessary for election to Fellow. It development/career-development/fellowship/upgrade-to-fellow ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 Improving the world through engineering Summer Social – FOG Rocketry, Redwick, Nr. Magor - 31st July 2011 Sunday 31st July was a family day out with the members of South Wales' premier rocket club, Fins Over Gwent (FOG) Rocketry - the club generally meet on the first Sunday of the month, but they were willing to do a special day for us. We met at the Village Hall, Redwick, nr Magor, Gwent, for the presentation by Phil Charlesworth of EADS Defence & Security Systems Ltd. (Phil is a leading club member of FOG Rocketry, a UK Rocketry Association Safety Officer, plus the technical and policy advisor on model rocketry to the Air Training Corps.) The presentation was followed by lunch at The Rose Inn, Redwick, then we proceeded as a group to the range head in the fields for the main event, viz. the launches. This Summer Social was definitely one to impress the kids and with over Phil Charlesworth, FOG Rocketry Demonstrating The seventy people in attendance it is hoped that the success of Basics Of Rocket Technology this event can be repeated in 2012. For more information on FOG rocketry please visit their website. www.fogrocketry.org.uk ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The 9th Annual Ian Hewerdine Memorial Lecture – 22nd November 2011 This annual lecture series, with a Health and mechanical integrity is needed - it is not just a Safety related theme, was instigated in 2003 in mechanical engineering problem. He gave memory of a highly respected late member. Ian examples that showed the importance of good Hewerdine was a leading figure in South Wales, working relationships with Process Safety, serving on the Branch committee for many years Control and Instrumentation, Human Factors and and as Chairman from 1993-1995. the Environment Agency. He also presented the different approaches to mechanical integrity that The ninth lecture in this series was entitled are faced when plant starts to 'age'. Graeme delivered an excellent and informative “Holding It In - Maintaining Containment