Philadelphia Section Newsletter

Philadelphia Section Newsletter

January 2004 www.asme.org/sections/philadelphia

Chair’s Letter

Hello and Happy Holidays to you.

I hope you had the opportunity to spend plenty of quality time with your families.

Here is a brief ‘heads up’ for our next two section meetings (more details can be found in this newsletter).

Our January 20 meeting is a presentation entitled “Commercial Generation IV Nuclear Power Plants”, given by Jack Crlenjak who is the Deputy Director of Region C Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

As most are aware, December 17 marked the 100 year anniversary of man’s first powered flight. In recognition, we will be hosting a joint meeting with the AIAA, in which Dr. Charles Marston will present “Birth of the Airplane”. This meeting will be on February 17, 2004.

If you are interested in exploring vast amounts of information on the Wright Brothers, visit the Franklin Institute Online at www.fi.edu . Click on the Explore icon and then the Wright Brothers icon and also the Inquiry Attic icon for interesting articles, images and information.

In an effort to promote networking with other professional societies, we will be providing links to their web sites, and they will be linking to our site as well. If you go to our links page, http://www.asme.org/sections/philadelphia/links.html , you will see that we have a link to the Pennsylvania Society of Professional Engineers. Later, we will be adding more links. By browsing these links periodically, you can keep informed on upcoming meetings of these other societies. The idea is to provide our members with opportunities to communicate with these other groups.

If you are looking for an opportunity to help energize young minds, then consider being a judge at the next Future City competition, to be held on Saturday January 24 at Widener University. This is a competition among 7^th and 8^th grade teams in the area. Each team will design their Future City by completing the following:

· Computerized design using SimCity 3000^TM Special Edition provided by Maxis

· Physical scale-model of a section of the city

· Essay on an engineering problem and an abstract about their city

· Team presentation

Several of us judged the event last year, and found it to be extremely fun and rewarding. If you want more information, go to http://www.futurecityphilly.org/ . To volunteer, click on ‘Volunteer Opportunities’.

Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy New Year,

Jim Tully

Upcoming Section Meetings

Tuesday, January 20 Meeting

Generation IV Nuclear Power Plants

Tuesday, February 17 Meeting

Birth of the Airplane, 1799 - 1909

See page 4 for details

Newsletters and Internet Access

This issue of the newsletter is on the web at www.asme.org/sections/philadelphia/Jan04.htm. If you would like to read the newsletter through the Internet, contact the editor (john.j.wolf@villanova.edu) to be added to the email notification list. When each newsletter is published, you will receive an email, telling you that the latest issue is on our web site. Reading the newsletter on the internet saves the section money in printing and postage costs.

We would like more members to read the newsletter on the internet, but we also want all members to receive a copy of the newsletter, if the Internet is not available to them. In the recent past, we have received letters from members saying that we could remove them from the mailing list. Even if a member is not able to attend meetings, we feel that they should receive the newsletter so that they can be kept up to date on section activities. We will continue to send the newsletter to all members. We receive the master member database from New York and it is not possible maintain a separate database of members who don’t want to receive the newsletter.

Since we publicize two meetings in each newsletter, we also send an email notice to all members reminding them of the second meeting. We use the email addresses in the ASME master database. If you don’t want to receive this email reminder, go to the ASME web site (www.asme.org) and click on the Members Only tab. Log on using your last name and member number. Then click on Update Address and Contact Information in the box on the right. Update your member information to remove your email address. As long as your email address is in the database, you will receive the email reminder of the meeting dates.

Directions for January 20 and February 17 Meeting

The January 20 meeting will be held at Villanova University. Take the Blue Route (Interstate 476) and exit at the Villanova exit (Route 30 East). Proceed east on Lancaster Pike and cross Route 320. At the next light, turn right into the main Villanova parking lot. Park anywhere in the lot. Note: A SEPTA lot is on the right and is not available for this event. Cross Lancaster Pike at the light and continue up the steps toward the Villanova Chapel. Turn left at the chapel and continue for about 500 yards to the CEER Building (the new modern building on the left). The meeting is on the lower level of the building in Room 1.

The February 17 meeting will be held at the Doubletree Guest Quarters in Plymouth Meeting, located on the west side of the Plymouth Meeting Mall. From Philadelphia and the Schuylkill Expressway take Route 476 (Blue Route) to Exit 20 -Germantown Pike West. At the third light, turn right onto Hickory Road. Go to first light and make a left onto Fountain Road. Hotel is at the first stop sign on your right.

From the Pennsylvania Turnpike, take Exit 333 -- Norristown. Following signs to Plymouth Road, turn left at the first light onto Plymouth Road. Turn right onto Germantown Pike at the next light. Proceed on Germantown Pike and turn right onto Hickory Road at the second light. Go to first light and make a left onto Fountain Road. Hotel is at the first stop sign on your right.

Philadelphia Section Officers 2003/04

Chair – Jim Tully

(215) 513 4538

jtull5@aol.com

Vice Chair – Pallavi Lal

(215) 641 8882

plal@ltk.com

Secretary – John Chen

(856) 256 5345

jchen@rowan.edu

Treasurer – Lou Fendo

(610) 595 2369

louis.fendo@exeloncorp.com

Senior Director – Kevin Keenan

(610) 674 9000

kkeenan@burnsinc.com

Junior Director – George Silvestri

(215) 703 0689

geosilpapa@aol.com

News Letter Editor - John Wolf

(856) 795 1379

john.j.wolf@villanova.edu

Please send letters and comments to the Editor. Letters will be published unless otherwise requested depending on space limitations.

Section Meetings in October and November

Normally our section meetings cover technical aspects of engineering. In our October and November meetings, our speakers addressed the business side of engineering. Frank Hermance, the CEO of Ametek Corporation, based in Paoli, discussed what a company expects from engineer employees and what the engineer employee should expect from the company. One point Mr. Hermance stressed was loyalty between the company and the employee. Ametek is in a unique position among technical companies today in that it has a low employee turnover. In many companies today mutual loyalty only extends as far as the next paycheck. A technical company should also continue to develop new products and methods and the employees should continue and maintain their technical competence through continuing education and learning.

Mr. Hermance emphasized that engineers should take more business courses in college and during their careers maintain an active interest in the business and economic side of the company. We work for businesses which happen to provide engineering and technical services. Without a viable business environment, a company will not stay in business. All of our actions affect the company’s bottom line results.

On December 2, Ernest James discussed the details of starting an engineering consulting business. The first step in forming a new company is to carefully evaluate your goals and capabilities. A detailed business plan, clearly outlining these goals and capabilities, is absolutely necessary.

Mr. James also discussed techniques for maximizing revenues while also maintaining good client relations to insure future work. The primary emphasis of the talk was the need to have good business skills. As consultant, either working individually or with others, the ability to convince others that they need your services will insure success.

Ernie James at Villanova – December 2

Fairmount Water Works Interpretive Center

The Fairmount Water Works on the Schuylkill River below the Philadelphia Art Museum was the second water system in Philadelphia. Because of the unique and beautiful design of the building and site, many people think of the Water Works as part of the Art Museum. But the Water Works were actually built over one hundred years before the Museum. The hill on which the Museum is located was the location for the reservoir into which the Water Works pumped water from the Schuylkill River.

After being delayed by hurricane Isabel, the Philadelphia Water Department Interpretive Center has recently opened in the Water Works building. The Center contains exhibits on water usage and supply in the Delaware and Schuylkill River valleys as well as displays on the history of the Water Works. The site and buildings themselves are also worth a visit. Plan on spending time walking around outside the building and enjoying the views of the Schuylkill River and the surrounding grounds.

The Interpretive Center is open from Tuesday through Saturday from 10 AM to 5 PM and on Sunday from 1 PM to 5 PM. Visit the Center’s web site at www.fairmountwaterworks.org.

Villanova Students Win ASME 2003 Student Design Contest by Sridhar Santhanam, ASME Student Section Advisor,

Villanova University

Timm Strayer and Hyung “Geoff’ Jung from the Mechanical Engineering Department of Villanova University have won the 2003 ASME Student Design Contest. Timm is a junior and Geoff is a sophomore.

The Contest was held at the 2003 International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exhibition in Washington D.C. on 16^th November. The design contest was titled ‘Moving On Up’. The design challenge was to design a system that utilizes the gravitational potential energy stored in two liters of water to lift as much simulated ore as possible out of a simulated mine and deposit it into a receiving bin. Thirteen teams drawn from across the United States and the world competed. These teams had each won their respective regional competitions earlier in the year. Some of the schools represented at this contest (besides Villanova University) included the University of Vermont, University of Minnesota, Oregon State University, City College of New York, and Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Timm’s hometown is Bryn Mawr, PA. He has been very active in the Villanova Student Section of ASME. He was the president of the student section last year (AY 2002-03). He currently serves as the Immediate Past President of the student section. Timm has been very active in design contests having won several prizes in the past. Geoff’s hometown is Bryn Mawr, PA. Geoff serves as both the secretary and the webmaster of the Villanova student section of ASME.

Their winning design was entirely conceived and executed by the two of them. They have been working on this design for more than a year, starting in the summer of 2002. Naturally, we at Villanova University, are extremely proud of their achievement. Their winning the 2003 National Student Contest continues a fine tradition in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Villanova University of excelling at student competitions both at the regional and national level.

January 20 Meeting Generation IV Nuclear Power

At the end of 2001, 438 nuclear power reactors were in operation in 31 countries around the world, generating electricity for nearly 1 billion people. They account for approximately 17 percent of worldwide installed base capacity for electricity generation and provide half or more of the electricity in a number of countries. As a whole, these reactors have an excellent operating record and are generating electricity in a reliable, environmentally safe, and affordable manner without emitting noxious gases into the atmosphere. Concerns over energy resource availability, climate change, air quality, and energy security suggest an important role for nuclear power in future energy supplies.

While the current Generation II and III nuclear power plant designs provide an economically, technically, and publicly acceptable electricity supply in many markets, further advances in nuclear energy system design can broaden the opportunities for the use of nuclear energy. To explore these opportunities, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Nuclear Energy, Science and Technology has engaged governments, industry, and the research community worldwide in a wide-ranging discussion on the development of next-generation nuclear energy systems known as “Generation IV”.

A first step in the process was defining technology goals that capture sustainability, safety and reliability, and economic goals for energy production. The selection of the most promising concepts was performed on the basis of thorough evaluations and anticipated future Generation IV energy missions.

The Generation IV International Forum (GIF) is a group of ten countries - Argentina, Brazil, Canada, France, Japan, Republic of Korea, Republic of South Africa, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United States – that are interested in jointly planning the future of nuclear energy and together developed the future plans. GIF is a formal, government-sanctioned organization committed to collaboratively pursue R&D on Generation IV systems. Six candidate Generation IV reactor concepts were selected by GIF for development. These concepts are the gas-cooled fast reactor (GFR), the lead-cooled fast reactor (LFR), the sodium-cooled fast reactor (SFR), the supercritical-water-cooled reactor (SCWR), the very high temperature reactor (VHTR), and the molten salt reactor (MSR).

Jack Crlenjak Deputy Director of the Nuclear Regulatory Comission’s Region C, based in King of Prussia, will discuss the progress in the Generation IV program as well as the plans for commercial development of these new technology nuclear power sources.

February 17 Section Meeting – The Birth of the Airplane

In this year of the 100^th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ flight, the section has a number of talks scheduled on the development of the airplane and the Wrights’ achievement. The first is our February 17 meeting.

The idea of the modern airplane, separating lift from propulsion, can be traced to a sketch etched on a silver coin in 1799. The understanding of how to create sufficient lift to support an airplane in flight evolved gradually throughout the nineteenth century. Lightweight steam engines were built but it took the development of the internal combustion engine near the end of that century to make manned, powered, heavier-than-air flight a realistic possibility. There remained the problem of control, for which there were two distinctly different approaches:

1. Construct an inherently stable machine and develop a light enough engine of sufficient power.

2. Recognize that control of a glider in three dimensions should come first. Then add an engine.

While Samuel Langley and the Wright Brothers, respectively, are the best known examples, both approaches had successes as well as failures. The Wright Brothers' success and Langley's failure were equally a lesson in how an engineering project should be run that has echoes 100 years later.

The six years following the accomplishment at Kitty Hawk included missed opportunities, bitter disputes and a flight across the English Channel that symbolized the start of a new era.

Our speaker for the presentation is Dr. Charles Marston, Professor Emeritus in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Villanova University. For 20 years from 1962 to 1982 he was with the General Electric Company at what was then known as the Valley Forge Space Center, working on reentry simulation and magnetohydrodynamic power generation. He taught full time at Villanova from 1982 to 1998 and continues to teach a senior elective in aerodynamics which includes aviation history.