Learn about the starting process and checks to be made while starting a ship's generator engine

Starting of generator engine

Starting of an engine from "stop" state is something which needs to be done with care, especially if the interval of starting is sufficiently long. The following is a checklist of all the checks which ideally need to be carried out before starting the generator. In actual practice sometimes the engineers might take some of these for granted and skip, but it is advisable not to indulge in such a practice. Infact these checks are generic for any four stroke engine starting process

1. Check the turbocharger sump oil level, governor, alternator, forward and aft lube oil levels, and diesel oil level in service tank
2. Open the indicator cock
3. Prime the lube oil to all parts by hand pump or by motor driven priming pump
4. Ensure that all jacket cooler valves, lube oil cooler valves, air cooler valves should be in open position
5. With use of the Turning bar turn the fly wheel and check for any resistance on the bottom end bearing and check any water / fuel coming out through indicator cocks
6. While turning engine, check all visible lube oil points are lubricated
7. Remove the turning bar from fly wheel and put in the place
8. Drain the auxiliary air bottle
9. Blow through engine (ie: by turning engine with air). In order to ensure that no water is inside combustion chamber if it is present it may cause water hammering
10. Close the indicator cocks and pull lever from stop to start
11. When the needle in RPM indicator deflects to some value of (0-25 rpm) put the lever in run condition
12. The engine will run on fuel oil once the generator picks up the rated speed
13. Put generator on load by closing air circuit breaker
14. For checking the alternator fore and aft bearing lube oil level by opening oil plug in the alternator and the ring bearing while rotating splash lube oil from the sump can be seen
15. In order to synchronize the incoming generator with running generator syncroscope method/dark lamp method is used

• Checks to be made while running

  Once the generator has actually started to run, there are several checks which must be performed before it is left on its own to continue running. These checks pertain to verifying various parameters related to lube oil levels, temperatures and so forth. Given below is a brief checklist related to the same.
  
  Lube oil checks
  
  
  

  1. Sump lube oil level
  2. Governor lube oil level
  3. Rocker arm lube oil level
  4. Alternator forward and aft bearing lube oil level
  5. Lube oil in turbine & blower side of turbo charger

  
  
  Temperature checks
  
  
  

  1. Exhaust gas temperature
  2. Turbocharger (inlet-outlet) temperature
  3. Booster air inlet temperature

  
  
  Cooler temperatures
  
  
  

  1. Cooling sea water (inlet - out let) temperature in cooler
  2. Jacket cooling water (inlet - outlet) temperature
  3. Air cooler (inlet -outlet) temperature

  
  

• Safety devices

  Once the above mentioned parameters have been checked and found within normal range, it is safe to continue running the generator. Yet a fault can develop even at a later stage, so for this very purpose various trips and alarms are situated on the generators. An alarm gives the signal of an impeding danger and requires quick action while a trip actually trips the generator immediately because of the nature of the fault.
  The various trips and alarms are mentioned as follows
  

  1. Alternator bearing low oil level alarm & trip
  2. Alternator bearing high temperature lube oil alarm &trip
  3. Low sump oil level alarm and trip
  4. Lube low oil pressure alarm and trip
  5. Reverse current trip
  6. Over speed trip
  7. Over load trip
  8. High and low frequency trip
  9. Jacket cooling water low pressure alarm

  
   By Kenneth Sleight

Marine Diesel Engines - Assembly, Components Of, and Watchkeeping For

The invention of the diesel engine in 1893 has been attributed to Rudolf Diesel, a German mechanical engineer and inventor. This was an innovative internal combustion engine that was the fore-runner of today’s marine diesel engines used in ships worldwide.

• I was first introduced to a marine diesel engine in the form of a Caterpillar (CAT) inboard engine in my Uncle Jimmy’s boat that he used for lobster/crab potting and local fishing trips. I accompanied him on many trips from when I was about ten years old and got to know the CAT engine's idiosyncrasies quite well.
  I them worked on much larger engines while serving my apprenticeship at Harland and Wolff of Belfast; they had a license to build Burmeister and Wain two-stroke diesel engines.
  Leaving the shipyard in 1966, I joined my first ship in Portland Maine, the MV Orama, a 30,000T Oil Tanker, as Junior Engineer Officer. She had a B&W main engine so I felt quite at home, except for rolling about across the North Atlantic and gas-freeing of the tanks. Like all first trippers, I suffered from sea sickness for a few days, from a combination of her gyrations and the constant smell of crude oil.
  The following sections supply links to marine articles here at Bright Hub that deal with diesel engines. After a brief introduction to the theory and terminology involved, we will move on to examining the components and systems of these engines, and then watch keeping duties, along with the operation and maintenance of a typical two-stroke marine diesel engine.

• Engine Installation, Two Stroke & Four Stroke Engines

  Before we examine the two-stroke and four-stroke engines, it is worthwhile to have a look at one method of assembling the engines in the engine room.
  
  
  Engine Assembly aboard Ship
  
  There are a number of marine diesel engine manufacturers who assemble and test the engines before stripping them down to the main components and lowering them into the ship’s engine room. We used to re-assemble the components in the engine room in the following order. (I imagine the same procedures are used today, except for the main foundation components being of a more modern design.)
  
  The bed plate consists of two longitudinal girders, braced by cast steel traverse cross sections. At selected cross sections, the main bearing pockets are line-bored and two vertical holes drilled through them and the section. The main tie-rods are fitted through these into the bed plate.
  The bed plate is lowered into position onto the supports that form part of the ship’s hull, then shimmed level and caulked before being fitted with hold-down bolts that run right around the bottom support frame. The crankshaft main bearing bottom halves are then fitted to the bed plate bearing pockets and the crankshaft lowered into them. The top halves of the main bearing are then fitted and checked for clearance and alignment.
  
  The “A” frames and entablatures follow, being bolted together using fitted bolts, before other components are quickly fitted until the engine is completely rebuilt.
  There are two types of marine diesel engines: two-stroke and four-stroke.
  
  Two Stroke Cycle
  
  Starting with the piston at bottom dead center (BDC), the combustion air is supplied to the liner air inlet ports and the piston starts to rise up the liner. Depending on the scavenging system, the piston either ejects the previous cycle exhaust gases out exhaust ports in the liner or out through an exhaust valve in the cylinder head.
  The combustion air continues to be compressed to almost top dead center (TDC) when the fuel is injected and combusted by compression ignition, forcing the piston back down the liner.
  
  Four Stroke Cycle
  
  1. Exhaust Stroke - Starting again with the piston at BDC, it begins to rise up the liner, with the exhaust valve in the cylinder head opening and expelling the exhaust gasses during the upward stroke.
  2. Inlet Stroke - The inlet valve now opens and combustion air is drawn in as the piston continues downwards.
  3. Compression Stroke - After reaching BDC the piston starts to rise again and the inlet valve shuts.
  4. Ignition/Power Stroke - As the piston continues to rise with both valves shut, and just before TDC, fuel is injected and is combusted through compression ignition, forcing the piston downwards on its power stroke.
  

  Components of a Marine Diesel Engine

  The marine diesel engine has changed a bit since I was an engineer at sea in the 1960’s. In those days the popular engines were Sulzer, B&W, British Polar, and Doxfords. Most shipping companies had a preference for a particular make of engine and had these installed in all their ships. This gave continuity for their Engineer Officers, who were both watch keepers and maintenance engineers combined.
  Nowadays, modern diesel engines being manufactured by Wartsila Sulzer and MAN/B&W have recorded a thermal efficiency of over 50 percent. The Wartsila Sulzer RT96 flex-C is one of the world’s largest marine diesel engines: the14-cylinder model produces 108,000 horse power.
  
  

  Watch Keeping Duties & Engine Room Layout

  Most engine rooms follow a basic design that has stood the test of time. This includes the location of the main and auxiliary engines, pumps, coolers, and prop-drive shafting, allowing the watch keeping engineers to acquaint themselves quickly when joining a new ship.
  
  

  Fire and Explosion in the Main Engine & Engine Room

  Fire and explosion aboard ship is still the most feared condition by today’s seafarers. The ship’s engine room is particularly susceptible to fire due to the hot surfaces and pipes carrying the fuel and lube-oil.
  In today’s ships the crew is trained in firefighting both while at sea and by courses when on leave. This has led to the formation of fire teams who are competent at extinguishing all types of shipboard fires and rescuing the survivors of explosions.
  
  
  

  Main & Auxiliary Engine Breakdown at Sea

  When the main engine or generators break down at sea, it is the responsibility of the ship’s engineer officers to repair them. Sometimes there are no spare parts, so these have to be made by the engineers using the quite extensive engine room workshop. Major repairs can take a long time. I remember one occasion where we broke down in the Red Sea and were working for twenty hours to effect repairs. Then I stood my watch, totaling 24 hours on my feet. Fortunately this is the exception rather than the rule, and nowadays engines are more reliable and a better selection of spares is carried by the major shipping companies.

   

  By Willie Scott

Firefighting Equipment in Ship's Engine Room

Ships engine rooms are susceptible to fires and explosions, as well as the engines themselves. However, there is firefighting equipment in a ships engine room to combat these hazards, such as hand held fire extinguishers and seawater hydrants/ hoses; CO2 or mist injection being used in engine spaces

• As long as men have gone to sea in ships there has been a fear of fire aboard; more so on the old wooden hulled sailing ships than today’s modern ships. However major fires still occur on modern ships accounting for a large number of lives lost, especially on cruise ships and ferries.
  Ship's engine rooms are the usual sources of shipboard fires; either from a fire in the engine room, or an engine internal fire or explosion causing a subsequent fire. The main portable means of fire fighting equipment are the different types of hand held extinguishers. These are located throughout the engine room at different levels, along with hoses and hydrants supplied by the seawater pumps. Fires in the engine internal spaces can be attacked and extinguished using inert gas such as CO₂, foam, or water mist sprays.
  
  The following sections examine the firefighting equipment used in today's modern engine rooms. The first sections deals with the common causes of fires in the engine room.

• Common Causes of Shipboard Fires

  The causes of engine room fires can usually be traced back to a lack of maintenance or bad watchkeeping practices. They are usually caused by fuel spills, overheating components or careless use of electric welding or gas brazing gear.
  
  Oil Spills
  
  
  It is imperative to combat the risk of engine room fires by maintaining the fuel and lube oil systems, more so on diesel engine ships than steam turbines; although I have had a few hairy oil-fired boiler room moments where the donkey man has used sawdust to mop up burner oil spills, instead of sand from the old red-painted sand bucket. There must be constant vigilance against leaking oil of any type, pipes and unions being especially vulnerable. Any leaking or damaged fuel pipe should be reported to the senior engineer immediately. There is not much you can do about oil spraying onto a hot exhaust, except shut off the supply and fight the fire, however but engine room housekeeping is another matter, this is something that we can all participate in.
  
  

  • Engine room Housekeeping

  
  The engine room should be kept clean and tidy, free from inflammable materials such as wooden crates, cardboard boxes, oily rags and paper. Any oil spills cleaned up immediately and the source investigated, repaired and logged. An engine room No Smoking Policy should be enforced, which should stop people stubbing out their cigarette ends in a sand bucket!
  
  Repairs
  
  The repair of components by welding and brazing is common practice in ships engine rooms. However, both are potential fire hazards, due to the electric-arcing of the welding rod and the open flame on the brazing torch tip. There is also the additional hazard when welding where the ensuing molten metal can fall down through several floors into the bilges.
  It is therefore imperative that the component for repair should be brought to the engine room workshop. If this is not possible, then a fire retardant blanket should be laid under the component to be welded or brazed. A fire watcher should be employed to keep an eye on the proceedings; with a set of extinguishers to hand.
  

• Engine Room Fire Fighting Equipment

  • Engine room Sprinkler System

  
  This is of the more modern type of water nozzles that actually supply a very fine mist, rather than a flow of water. These systems cover of different areas of the engine room, but not the switchboard or the electrical generating component of the power generators. The sprinkler system can be operated automatically by sensors or manually by the engineer. This starts the water booster pump and opens up the compressed air supply which can be from dedicated high pressure air bottles or the engine air-start receivers.
  As we all know water is not normally used on oil fires but, because fine mist is injected into the area it not only starves the fire of oxygen, but also dissipates the smoke.
  
  

  • Engine room Fire Extinguishers

  
  There are four main types of fire extinguishers all colored red nowadays, with a different colored band around the top of the body, denoting the type of medium it contains. They are operated by removing the protective pin, before pulling the trigger smartly.
  Fire extinguishers are usually stored in a container together as shown below in a group of four; one of each type. The containers are positioned at different levels in the engine room at high fire risk locations.
  
  The four types are:
  
  

  1. Dry Powder Fire Extinguisher– it has a black band around the body and is used for extinguishing electrical and liquid fires.
  2. Foam Fire Extinguisher – this has a yellow band around the body and is used for extinguishing oil fires.
  3. Water Fire Extinguisher – this has a red band contained between two thin white bands around the body. It is used to extinguish paper, wood and cloth.
  4. CO2 Fire Extinguisher – this has a black band around the body and is used to extinguish electrical and liquid fires.

  
  Remember, only the Dry Powder and CO2 extinguishers should be used on electrical fires.
  
  

  • Fire Hydrants and Hoses

  
  These are positioned throughout the engine room; a fire axe is sometimes alongside the fire hoses. The hydrant valves should be opened; hoses run out and discharged to the bilges at regular intervals to ensure operation.
  
  

  • Aqueous Film Forming Foam

  
  Known as AFFF and (pronounced A triple F) was developed in the sixties and is a great innovation to firefighting not only in ships engine rooms, but on oil and gas platforms worldwide. AFFF is supplied in its own containers and added to an AFFF storage tank and is operated by pressurized seawater. The seawater mixes with the specialist liquid and exits the 1^1/2" rubber hose through a brass nozzle as a pressurized film of thick, viscous foam. This is directed to the base of the fire, quickly smothering the flames, dissipating the heat, smoke and fumes.

• Prevention and Control

  The two main causes of engine room fires are scavenge fires and crankcase explosions occurring on the main diesel engines. Both can be detected and prevented if discovered early enough. The scavenge fire is detected by high exhaust temperature, paint peeling of the scavenge door or the Mate phoning down to inform us of black smoke and sparks emitting from the flue.
  
  The much more serious crankcase explosion is caused by a build up of lube-oil mist inside the crankcase. This triggers the oil-mist detector and the alarm will sound, giving the engineer enough time to slow down the engine allowing it cool. In the event of an explosion, the explosion relief devices on the crankcase doors will lift. This device prevents injury from a flying crankcase door; the fine wire mesh in the relief valve taking the heat out of the flames, reducing the risk of fire. The explosion door re-closes immediately, preventing any entry of fresh oxygen entering the crankcase promoting further explosion and fire.
  Both the above hazards have similar fire control methods; injection of CO2 or water mist into the scavenge space and injection of CO2 into the crankcase. The inspection doors must remain shut until the relevant components and spaces have cooled down.

• Firefighting Team and Equipment

  This is a dedicated team with a team leader in charge, who attend regular courses when on leave. The team is usually made up from members of the crew, engine room and deck officers. They practice fire drill, evacuation and rescue operations regularly on the deck, accommodation and engine room areas.
  
  Breathing Apparatus Set
  
  The BA set consists of an oxygen tank which is strapped to the firefighters back, supplying a full face mask with oxygen.
  
  Personal Protection
  
  This consists of loose fitting fire retardant clothes, fire retardant boots and a yellow fireman's safety helmet; team leader having a red band around his helmet.
  
  By Willie Scott

The Production, Handling, Storage, and Use of Marine Fuels

Marine fuels and fuel handling are a common part of a ship’s engineers routine from taking on bunkers to ensuring the fuel is kept at optimum temperature, and as free from contaminates as possible, for use in the main engines or boilers.

• The heavy fuel oil (HFO) used by our ship’s main engines and boilers is a viscous tarry substance; very high in sulfur so when combusted in a diesel engine large quantities of sulfur oxide/dioxide along with nitrogen oxides and particulates are produced.
  By using the links in the following sections, the methods used for treating and storage of the HFO are explained. We begin with the origins of the heavy fuel oil.

• The Production and Processing of Heavy Fuel Oil

  Heavy fuel oil, or residual oil as it is also known, is a by-product of the refining of crude oil produced from oil wells/reservoirs both on and offshore.
  Offshore, the oil is brought to the oil production platform through risers that connect the reservoir to the platforms. Here it is filtered to remove sand and grit before being pumped through various separators that remove the inherent gas and water. It is then heated and pumped ashore using sub-sea pipelines.
  Once at the crude oil refinery, it is processed to remove any remaining water/salts before being heated to over 650°F and passed into a vertical distillation column. Here the various fractions are drawn off, leaving a tarry residue at the bottom of the column. It is here the HFO is drawn off for distribution to ships bunkers that after further on-board treatment use it as engine or boiler fuel.
  
  

  
  

  Recent rules and annexes by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and MARPOL 73/78 have capped the sulfur content of HFO to 4.5%, being further reduced to 3.5% next year. These "bottoms" therefore have to be further processed by de-sulfurization to reduce the sulfur level to within these limits.
  
  The next section deals with the supply and storage of the HFO in the ships bunkers

• Supply and Storage of Heavy Fuel Oil in Ship's Bunkers

  As we have seen, the HFO is produced at the crude oil refinery and transported by fuel tanker to the various port loading/storage facilities. From here it can be supplied directly into ships bunkers or pumped to bunker barges with the ships being supplied from these bunker barges while lying at anchor.
  When I was an engineer at sea, one of my duties was to oversee the loading of HFO to the bunkers after a sample was checked by the Chief Engineer) and taking ullages (sounding the tanks) to ensure we were getting the amount ordered and paid for. In those days the heavy fuel oil was black as tar, being very high in contaminates. I am sure a few solutions were added to the oil by unscrupulous suppliers such as used engine oil, scavenge drains, and sludge tank contents. Anyway, nowadays there are stricter checks and rules governing the quality of supply of HFO to ship's bunkers.
  

• Treatment of Heavy Fuel Oil aboard Ship

  Once the HFO has been loaded in the bunkers, steam is supplied to the heating coils to prevent the oil from becoming waxy. It is supplied from the bunkers daily to the setting tanks, where again optimum temperatures are maintained as the solids are allowed to settle out.
  The oil is then processed further through various heaters, filters, clarifiers, and purifiers. Eventually it is supplied to the fuel pumps/common rail injection system on the main engine.
  

• Main Engine Fuel Components

  In my day at sea as a ship's engineer, we had most of the components in the fuel systems that are used in today’s modern, more efficient engines. These were the fore-runners of the new components that have helped to raise the thermal efficiency of the marine diesel engine to over 50%
  

• Effects of Fuel Oil Quality

  The undesirable effects of fuel oil quality are passed onto the diesel engine causing at the least, a reduction in efficiency due to viscosity and poor combustion. There can also be serious effects such as corrosion and scavenge fires.
  
  By  Willie Scott
  

The Brief Introduction of Electric Power

The electric power is a kind of energy whose power is electric energy. It was invited in the 1870s. Its invention and application brought about the second high tide of industrialization. At the same time, the invention has been one of the three technological revolutions in the world. From then on, people's life has been changed by the science and technology. The large-scale electric power system in the 20th century is one of the most significant achievements in the scientific history of the human engineering. It is the power generation and consumption system that is made up of sections such as power generation, power transmission, power transformation, power distribution and power utilization. This system transforms the primary energy source in the nature into the electric power through the electric power unit. Then it supplies the electric power to the users through transmission, transformation and distribution.
There are a lot of kinds of ways of electric power generation. For example, it can be generated by the thermal power, solar energy, wind power, nuclear energy, hydropower and so on. every way has its own demerit and is not ideal. In the follow passage, they will be introduced in detail.

What comes first is thermal power generation. At present it is not a popular way, because it easily brings about the serious problems, such as smoke pollution, dust pollution and resource consumption. As for the hydro power, it is also not very ideal. It maybe submerges a great number of lands and even will result in the ecological damage. Besides, the water power resource in the country is limited and sometimes is influenced by the seasons. If the reservoir suffers from the breakdown, it is hard to image the result. The third way introduced in the article is wind power generation. It is a kind of noise and visual pollution. What's more, in order to build the wind power station, a lot of lands and forests will be occupied, which has a bad effect on the vegetation cover. Meanwhile, the power generation is still not stable and uncontrollable. Fourthly, the Electric power can be generated by the nuclear energy. In the normal situation, the nuclear power is quite clear. But once the nuclear leakage happens, the result is very terrible. A lot of radioactive materials will be released, which is very harmful for the environment and people. Besides, the cost of the nuclear energy station is very high. Therefore, how to choose the proper way for electric power generation is a very important issue. It is suggested for people to consider every aspect carefully.

Although now it is the internet era, the need for the electric power is still increasing, because we invite many electric products such as computer, household electrical appliances and so on. There is on doubt with the development of the new technology, the electric power has been the essential thing in our life.

 By Lily

Electric Power Generator - The Secret Revealed

If as you read through these lines, you are still wondering what a Magnetic Power Generator is, you are probably about to make the greatest discovery ever. And it is O.K not to know: Many of us had been misled by the corporate world, since this crucial discovery was concealed from us for many years.

The first Magnetic Power Generator, also known as an Electric Power Generator was invented around 2001 by an Australian engineer. So, it has been almost 10 years now, and even though these kinds of generators were ready to be commercialized by 2005, some people are just beginning to find out about them.
Why where Magnetic Power Generators hidden from the public?
Well, the answer is simple. This kind of zero point energy generator, is such a revolutionary device that just with the aid of batteries and a magnet, it can run a whole house!

How is this possible?

Electric power generators create FREE energy. They actually use magnetic force to induce perpetual or continuous motion. This means it creates enough energy to power itself indefinitely, without the need of external devices or resources to power it, while it provides completely free electrical energy.
So can an electric power generator replace electricity provided by electric companies?
Definitely! By using this technology, people may create their own energy for free, and, therefore, stop paying monthly bills! This is why there is a theory that major power companies have been historically hindering the massive production of electric power generators. And it makes a lot of sense: Their production and marketing would adversely affect their multi-billion business.

 By Katherine Richards

Electric Powered Snow Blowers - Toy Or Tool?

With all the snow in the East last year, snow blowers of all makes took a jump in popularity, but probably no group as much as the electric-powered snow blower. They certainly have some advantages over the gas models in terms of weight, cost, ease of use, and storage (especially the smaller machines). They are perfectly suited for those borderline areas that usually get light and intermittent snowfalls.
I rank electric-powered snow blowers into two general categories: (1) the very small ultra-light units that are used to clear off stairs, decks, patios, and small walkways, and (2) the machines that are competitive with single-stage gas models.

The Ultra-lights

These machines are lightweight; weighing from about 12.5 lbs to around 20 lbs. They are often referred to as "electric shovels." They clear a swath of from 12 to 15 inches, in snow no deeper that 4 or 5 inches (many people do use these units to clear snow much deeper). They are easy to store and can hang on a hook on the wall of a garage. These are the perfect units for stairs and small decks and patios, or short walkways. The prices on these ultra-lights run from around $90 to about $150.
I was thinking it might be a good idea to have one of these units around in addition to a bigger snow blower for the larger areas.

Comparable Single-Stage Machines

These electric-powered snow throwers have larger motors--up to 15 amps--and can cut a swath up to 19 inches in 12 inches of snow. They have all the features of the larger gas single-stage models, like: directional discharge chutes, ergonomically designed handles, larger wheels, heavy body (although not near as heavy as the gas models), good discharge distance, and the like.
And of course, they do not require gas or oil, and there will never be the frustrating experience of yanking on a starter cord trying to start a temperamental gas engine in below zero weather. The obvious advantage over comparable gas models is that there are no oil changes, or expensive tune-ups.
Of course the comparable disadvantage of this size electric blower is that it takes up about as much storage space as gas models, plus there is an electrical cord that seems to get in the way fairly often. Prices for this larger electric machine can run up to around $300.

Going Cordless

The behemoth of the group is interestingly a cordless model. It has two batteries in a battery pack with a run time of 45 to 60 minutes on a single charge. It is the Ariens Amp 24 two-stage blower. This machine cuts a swath of 24 inches in 20-inch deep snow. Obviously, it has been designed for heavy-duty snow clearing. It has 6 speeds forward and 2 in reverse. This machine has all the advantages of electric models, plus the workhorse capability of the larger two-stage gas models. Unfortunately, this machine costs around $1,600, and is out of reach for many people.
On the down side, this unit also requires more storage space and the repair cost can be quite high, especially when the batteries give out and have to be replaced. No one knows yet how much current is used to charge the batteries, but they do have to be plugged in all the time to keep a trickle charge on them. I'm not sure cordless snow blowers are the wave of the future quite yet.

Toy or Tool?

Well, in my opinion, the electric-powered snow blower is definitely a tool, even if some of them look like toys. But, like all tools, they need to be used in areas they were designed for. I know, I know; many people tell me about the mountainous snowdrifts they tackle with their small snow blowers--and they definitely do a job...but I think the job could be done easier with the right tool for the right job.

 By Sam Foster

These days shopping around for electrical power generators is like shopping around for shoes as the number of options are quite diverse and it is not impossible for analysis paralysis to kick in when you start going through the specs sheets. In this article, I try to narrow it down a bit by providing five tips that pertain to the more important aspects of choosing for a power generator.

Tip #1

If the generator is intended for home use, go for the 7000 to 10,000 watts models. This is enough to run multiple essential appliances like the refrigerator, freezer, furnace, lights, computers, televisions and then some. It may not be enough to run air conditioning but that is really not essential need. You could try and get the higher wattage models but that will come at a premium.

Tip #2

If you wish to save on maintenance costs, go for diesel powered generators instead of gas powered generators. Diesel is actual low grade oil and they also protect the engine aside from fuel them. They also burn more efficiently and produces more output for the buck. The end result is that diesel incurs lower costs because you do not have to undergo maintenance all the time. Gas powered generators may need frequent maintenance and are not as stable as diesel when it comes to extended storage.
 
Tip #3

Go for the models packed with safety and convenient features. Look for the electrical (automatic start) and the low oil automatic shut down. An hourly timer will come in handy especially in telling you when to have your machine go for preventive maintenance. A large fuel tank will also be a good feature to have as it will mean longer operation hours.

Tip #4

Go for the silent types. If you hate noise then it would not be hard to hate generators as a lot of the models, especially the generic ones, would be quite the noise makers. After all, generators are usually built with internal combustion engines. Going for specially designed models that include sound damping features will go a long way in keeping everyone headache free. You can also achieve this further by installing the generator some distance from your house (this also keeps you away from the carbon monoxide fumes).

Tip #5

Go for the branded models. Sure they are are pricier but the support and reliability that comes along with them will come in handy. Brands like Honda and Powermax are pretty reliable brands and you would not go wrong with them as long as you evaluate your needs correctly. Sound technical support is also a benefit that comes with buying branded generators because you are paying for it.
Choosing an electrical power generator for backup residential power will be a bit of a chore if you do not do your homework first. The above tips should help you get started and narrow down your options significantly.

 By Kristin Lee

The High Costs of Solar Electric Power

Promotion of solar power generation is booming. After analyzing a few of these announcements one is left with quite a few questions.

 Why are solar farms built when financial data clearly show that solar power is still the most expensive electricity generation technology available?

Solar power plant developers and marketers obviously know that they need to lower costs. Cost reduction is, however, expensive and takes time. Many new enterprises have been formed and want to become profitable when the big construction boom in solar power plants will hit the road. In the meantime they must pay bills, advance their technologies, and stay alive.

There are two major technologies for solar energy conversion. One approach is based on the conversion of sunlight into heat and using the heat for the generation of steam. This concept has progressed to a relatively high readiness level. Electricity production with steam is a very mature technology. Remaining technical risks, therefore, relate exclusively to the design of the thermal concentrators or parabolic mirrors that optically transfer thermal radiation to a heat transfer medium and to the design of the heat receiving transfer and steam containment surfaces.
The other technology is the direct, photovoltaic conversion of sunlight into electricity. This technology will most likely become the dominant solar electric power generating technology - eventually. The big question for investors and for marketers is the uncertain duration of "eventually". Converting sunlight directly into electricity is much more elegant and will almost certainly become less expensive than thermal conversion - eventually.

Very recently, IBM proposed a third concept, a kind of a hybrid approach. In this concept, the sunlight is concentrated onto a solar panel. This approach reduces panel area and saves lots of expensive silicon. But it generates another problem. The concentrated sunshine creates very high surface temperatures on the solar panel. To save solar panel area and make the solar panel price competitive, one must cool the surface of the solar panel very efficiently to prevent it from melting and destruction.
Installing highly effective cooling loops and providing a low temperature cooling medium presents a new set of technical challenges and costs. We will have to wait and see how IBM will solve these issues.
Present production costs for generating electricity with solar panels are hovering around $0.50 per kWh. This compares with an average US retail price for electric power of $0.095/kWh. Right now, solar power does not yet make economical sense.

All renewable energies share this distinction. None of the available technologies using renewable energy can compete with the cost of electricity generation from coal.
This is also one of numerous examples where free markets perform poorly. The technologies for generating electricity with solar power, wind power, marine power, and geothermal power are very well understood. What is missing is the industrial hardening of these processes and related hardware. This process of moving a technology from the demonstration plant stage to a more dependable and less costly mature system status is the most critical, costly, and dangerous step when developing industrial systems, which must operate uninterrupted 24/7 for thousands of hours on end.
The US cannot reduce its carbon dioxide emissions and cannot achieve energy independence without employing renewable energies for electric power generation and for the critical production of liquid transportation fuels.

At present, a respectable number of windmill farms and solar panel farms are being installed. Forward thinking industrial and public entities take the liberty to impose hidden taxes on the consumers of electric power in industry, in commercial enterprises, and in homes.
Solar power does not make economical sense, yet. However, by providing an income guarantee for investors, the crucial hardening and cost reduction phase of full size solar farms will be shortened tremendously.
There is one inherent danger in this approach. The consumers of electricity pay for this most crucial development phase while other participating parties make out handily. Effective controls for avoiding unproductive duplication of certain types of solar farms are sorely missing.
Duplication of experience is much less valuable than gaining broad experience from competing technologies and installations. Well engineered solar power farms can indicate their readiness for more widespread applications after a couple of uninterrupted, full capacity, generation campaigns. At completion, qualified technology leaders can begin to compete and can drive down total system installation costs by a variety of cost reduction measures.

Where are we now? 

A random sampling of recent announcements of solar farm installations reveals that system installation costs are in the $3000 to $7500 per kW installed capacity. These plant costs loosely translate into a cost of producing electric power at $0.30 to $0.60 per kWh. This very unfavorably compares to the cost of electricity generation by any other technology.
These figures do not yet contain the costs of energy storage. As long as solar power constitutes only a very small fraction of overall electric power generation, the additional costs of storing intermittently produced electric power are not yet of concern. If the US is going to depend significantly on the intermittent production of electricity from solar power and wind power, it must begin to develop storage technologies for huge amounts of electric energy. Frequent brownouts due to lack of wind and sunshine are unacceptable in advanced economies. Intermittent, renewable energies and electric energy storage are inseparable. This is a technology field where inventors, entrepreneurs, and venture capitalists still can shine.

By Klaus H Hemsath

Power Engineering Services Do More Than Supply Power - They Prevent Catastrophe

Power engineering services are known for the infrastructure they supply for everyday electricity needs. But, in addition to basic power supply, many power engineers also specialize in emergency power infrastructure, from portable disaster generators to large-scale industrial generators used by businesses and organizations worldwide.
If your area suffers a natural disaster that cuts off commercial electricity, portable generators could be your source for heating, cooling, and even running water, while industrial generators are the ones that keep hospitals, data centers, and police departments running during commercial electricity outages. Far from merely keeping the lights on until commercial energy supply returns, emergency power is also about preventing catastrophes and saving lives.

How Do the Emergency Generators Supplied by Power Engineering Services Work?

There are several differences-and also some similarities-between industrial and residential generators. To start with the similarities, both run on petroleum fuels and allow buildings to switch from commercial energy to generator energy in the event the former becomes unavailable. But how they accomplish the switchover and the length of supply they offer is what sets them apart, as well as that industrial models usually run on diesel fuel or natural gas, while home models usually run on either diesel fuel or gasoline.

The switchover from commercial to generator supply is accomplished by switchgear, a combination of fuses, circuit breakers, and/or electrical disconnects that isolate electrical equipment within a power system, with electrical disconnects and circuit breakers being the most common switchgear for emergency back up generators. Most generators operate using one of two electrical disconnect scenarios: break before make, in which a building de-accesses commercial supply before accessing generator supply; and make before break, in which a building accesses generator supply before de-accessing commercial supply.

As one might expect, make before break is ideal for businesses and organizations that require uninterrupted supply to maintain critical functions, such as hospitals, data centers, defense organizations, and laboratories, while break before make is ideal for entities that can briefly lose their energy source before accessing their generator. If given the choice, entities often opt for break before make, because it cuts down on generator caused by false interruption signals in the commercial energy supply.

How long a generator's energy lasts depends in part on its volume of fuel storage, but it ultimately depends on the size of the facility it powers. In most cases, a single, large-scale industrial generator can support an average sized hospital for 8 hours, with some hospitals having enough generators to supply energy for as long as 3 days in the event of a long outages. In the event of even longer outages, additional fuel or portable generators may be mobilized to provide support when onsite generators have expended their fuel.

 By Mike Barone

Engineering Jobs - Bulk Power Engineer

If you are interested in taking an active role in ensuring reliability of the country's power grid, you will be surely keen at embracing a career as a bulk power engineer. Indeed bulk power engineer are the people in charge of the research, development, design, manufacturing and testing of bulk power generation machinery and plants. For instance, these specialized engineers will decide which type of nuclear plant will be used, design electrical plants and power generation systems. Therefore, power bulk engineer are at the very source of power generation and distribution in the country.

A particular focus for power bulk engineers consists in ensuring the reliability and compliance of electrical systems. Power bulk engineers working for electrical companies and manufacturing industries will be in charge of developing reliability standards, complying with the national reliability standards, analyzing policies for development of the infrastructure necessary for a reliable interconnected power system and conducting power system analyses. Whether power bulk engineers work in a power generation plant or a manufacturing company, its duty include an internal auditing focus to ensure power generation and distribution systems.
How to become a bulk power engineer? Most entry-level power bulk engineers are required to possess at least a bachelor degree from an electrical or engineering field of study. But most companies will prefer candidates who had already a prior experience of 5 to 7 years with either a regulatory agency or an electric transmission industry including data and records analysis and management. Most recruiters also expect the successful candidates to be creative, logical, and team-leader. Eventually, you will need to be familiar with NERC reliability standards, bulk power system planning and operations, compliance enforcement, regulatory proceedings, and public speaking.

 

 By Steve Andrew

Electrical Power Engineering Services Also Supply Emergency Power Infrastructure

If your building project requires electrical infrastructure, electrical power engineering services will play a role in its planning and installation phases, ensuring your building meets its daily power needs, and perhaps ensuring it remains powered during power outages by installing back up generators. Whether a building receives back up generators can be a decision of preference or necessity, with both being motivators for installment.

On the preferential side, back up generators can be a valuable resource for retailers and service providers, who may not need to maintain power during power outages for reasons other than leaving the competition in the dark, waiting for the power company to fix the problem. On the necessary side, back up generators can prevent catastrophes, particularly by keeping such entities as defense organizations, laboratories, hospitals, and data centers up and running, preserving their critical functions.

What Types of Services are offered by Electrical Power Engineering Services?

From a customer standpoint, power engineering services offer four types of services: consulting for power supply projects, installation of power infrastructure, supply of emergency generator equipment, and performance of generator services, particularly regular maintenance on industrial grade generators. Below, we take a look at each area of service and what it entails.

Consulting for Power Supply Projects

Power engineering services are routinely retained for their expertise on electrical engineering projects, even when a different service will install a project's power infrastructure. Because big projects such as office buildings and hospitals have big economic hopes riding on their successful completion, having more than one perspective on the way power infrastructure is designed and installed is always a good idea.

Installation of Power Infrastructure

Power engineering services receive the majority of their business from the need for everyday power infrastructure. Some engineering services specialize in certain types of corporate or industrial projects, while others specialize in a variety of projects, from smaller private sector projects to large-scale public sector projects, as well as larger scale residential projects.

Supply of Emergency Generator Equipment

Emergency generator equipment comes in various models that assume one of two forms: equipment that's portable, or equipment that remains onsite. The first type is commonly mobilized for use in catastrophic power outages, while the second type resides onsite within the building(s) it will service. In many cases, entities that require uninterrupted power supply maintain multiple onsite generators, with hospitals and data centers being common examples.

Generator Services

Once businesses and organizations have generators, keeping them serviced is key to ensuring their usefulness in the event of power outages. Some entities employ maintenance staff that performs generator maintenance, while others contract with power engineering services for regular maintenance. Despite their occasional use, back up generators require the same level of maintenance as other machinery, with particular attention being paid to switch gear maintenance.

 By Mike Barone

Engineering Your Career - Courses and Degrees in Engineering Online

When you start an online engineering degree program, you position yourself for exciting career options--not to mention some extremely interesting engineering courses. Engineers work across most of the employment spectrum, offering their services in design and implementation of solutions that make for a more efficient world. Depending on their specialties, engineers work in high technology, business, finance, science, healthcare, civil engineering and infrastructure, healthcare, education, manufacturing, and the government.

Earning an Engineering Degree Online

Students who are drawn to the engineering professions are often inquisitive, love to solve problems, and have a keen interest in computers. They like to research solutions, test their findings, and trouble-shoot technology as it is applied. If you don't think engineering is a diverse field that attracts a wide range of thinkers, consider this: There are 17 different engineering specialties listed in the Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system maintained by the Federal Government.
Admissions requirements and pre-requisites for engineering programs may include previous coursework in mathematics (through calculus), hard science (chemistry, biology, physics), and general education in the liberal arts and humanities.
Most engineers find their way into their profession by completing a bachelor's degree. Online engineering courses at the undergraduate level prepare students with a foundation in physical science, mathematics, and life sciences, while additional engineering courses expose undergrads to a range of disciplines, including:

• Aerospace
• Agriculture
• Biomedical Technology
• Chemistry
• Civil Engineering
• Computer Science (Software and Hardware Development)
• Electrical Engineering
• Mechanical Engineering
• Mining
• Nuclear Technology
• Petroleum science

Depending on your chosen discipline, you can also pursue post-graduate work in an applied field within engineering to qualify for management or leadership roles in research or teaching.

Engineering Career Outlook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) predicts that engineering employment will grow by 11 percent during the 2006-2016 decade, with a large spike of 21 percent of the new jobs created in the booming field of biomedical engineering. Jobs for environmental engineers also look especially good, according to the BLS, with a 25 percent rise in employment predicted for the 2006-2016 decade.
Double-digit employment increases are also predicted for engineers in marine sciences, mining, aerospace, civil engineering, and health and safety professions. Fields in materials, electrical, computer hardware, and chemical engineering should undergo growth, too, but at less than 10 percent over the 2006-2016 decade.

Earnings in Engineering

Starting salaries for engineering grads, the BLS reports, are traditionally higher than entry level pay for most other professions. However, most engineers are expected to continue their educations to remain competitive in the workplace as systems and software continues to evolve.
Here are the median, 2008 annual earnings for engineers by discipline as reported by the BLS:

• Aerospace Engineers, $92,520
• Agricultural Engineers, $68,730
• Biomedical Engineers, $77,400
• Chemical Engineers, $84,680
• Civil Engineers, $74,600
• Computer Hardware Engineers, $97,400
• Electrical Engineers, $82,160
• Environmental Engineers, $74,020
• Health and Safety Engineers, $72,490
• Industrial Engineers, $73,820
• Marine Engineers and Naval Architects, $74,140
• Mechanical Engineers, $74,920
• Mining and Geological Engineers, $75,960
• Nuclear Engineers, $97,080
• Petroleum Engineers, $108,020

Even with slowdowns in the economy, the BLS reports, engineers are indispensable employees within companies, schools, and laboratories, undertaking long-term research and development, making engineering a powerful career choice.  Choose your online engineering courses wisely.

 By Kelli D Smith

Naval Architecture

Naval architecture is the design and engineering of marine vessels. These vessels include not only government navy ships and submarines, but leisure boats such as yachts. Naval architecture is hardly a new discipline, since it technically began during ancient navigational times. Viking ships and American steamboats are both historical examples of naval architecture. Today, naval architecture is more of an engineering science since architects rely on mathematics to design new naval vessels.

When constructing naval vessels, naval architects study the science of fluids. They study buoyancy, displacement of water, waves, stability, and streamlining. As concerns the naval structure, they study its weight distribution, resistance, and maneuverability. Their studies also include naval construction materials and interior components, along with dry-docking and launching operations. Yet, no matter how much work architects put into research, all naval structures operate in unstable marine environments. Even the most structurally sound ships may become damaged or sink due to storms, tsunamis, and other environmental calamities.

Even in antiquity, naval architects recognized that streamlining their ships made for a smoother course at sea. At some point in time, architects used the adjective "fair" to describe a vessel's regular, fluid shape from its fore to aft. The opposite of a "fair" shape was a "bulky" or "ungainly" shape. Today, all naval vessels have the same basic shape, even extremely large aircraft carriers.
When designing ships, naval architects first provide a safe foundation through the ship's hull. The hull is the specially curved bottom of the ship. The hull's basic purpose is to supply buoyancy to the ship so it safely floats on water. Its elongated shape, with the pointed ends of the bow and stern, protects the ship against sinking, since the shape distributes weight evenly throughout the vessel. The hull is by far the most essential component of naval architecture.

When designing hulls, architects check for several requirements. First, they check that the hull can displace water effectively, which means that the boat displaces an amount of water equal to the boat's weight. This gives the vessel greater efficiency and stability. Architects also check that the hull is as streamlined as possible so it causes minimal resistance to the water, which produces fewer ship-rocking waves. Checking for resistance is especially important for ships that operate at high speeds, such as speedboats and military ships. Lastly, architects make sure that their ships heed buoyancy and gravity principles, the most prominent of which is Archimedes' Principle of Buoyancy.

When designing the hull, architects ensure that the shape of the hull fits the ship's purpose. For instance, a round hull is efficient and stable, though it is not ideal for high speeds. In contrast, the deep-V hull performs well at high speeds because it "slices" through even choppy waters.
Besides the hull, naval architects design operating features atop the hull. These may include sails, steering mechanisms, propellers, engines, and the like. They may also install double-containment facilities to ensure the ship's cargo, such as oil, does not leak into the water. Some naval architects pay special attention to the ship's safety features, such as fire escapes, lifeboats, and storm shelters. Moreover, they troubleshoot problems related to rust, material degradation, and environmental hazards.

Architects who want to specialize in naval architecture have a wide selection of educational options. First, they may attend government schools such as the US Coast Guard Academy or the US Naval Academy, where they can gain premium understanding of military vessels. They may also choose from several universities that offer courses of study in naval architecture or marine engineering. These universities include the University of California-Berkeley and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is recommended that students attend such schools because naval architecture demands extremely specialized knowledge. Other students can earn certificates in marine engineering technology from technical colleges.
Many naval-architecture students take internships throughout college to give them an edge at architectural entry-level jobs. These internships also help them narrow down what specialization of naval architecture suits them. They often work as interns at architecture firms or shipyards where they learn computer-aided design (CAD), which is essential to naval architecture. More and more entry-level naval architects work at architecture design services firms that consult other businesses.

Learning CAD is absolutely necessary for entry-level employment because almost all naval architects use it day-to-day. In naval architecture, CAD takes into account Archimedes' Principle and other naval equations that go a long way to provide naval stability. Therefore, it is required that naval architects gain significant CAD experience before applying to jobs after graduation. The most widely used CAD software for naval architecture is AutoCAD.

Since ships are still the main mode of import-export transportation, there are a fair number of entry-level naval jobs in architecture. Some entry-level jobs are not full-time but contracting or consulting jobs are more common for seasoned professionals. Most entry-level architects work at shipyards or architectural/engineering firms as architects' assistants. They earn average incomes of $50,000 per year.
Naval architects who have worked for five years or more may advance to managerial or consulting jobs. Many of them also opt for self-employment if they have solid track records. Some naval architects may also choose to gain master's degrees in naval architecture or marine engineering. They may also join naval-architecture professional associations, like the Society of Naval Architects & Marine Engineers, to further their education. Yet, substantial marine engineering experience tends to boost advancement prospects the most. These associate architects earn about $77,000 after five years, then perhaps $90,000 after 10 or more years.

A. Harrison Barnes is the founder and CEO of EmploymentScape, the parent company of more than 90 job-search websites, employment services, recruiting firms and student loan companies. EmploymentScape (originally Juriscape) employs several hundred employees in 14 offices throughout the United States, Asia, and Europe. These companies were literally started from Harrison's garage several years ago after Harrison quit his job.

Harrison has worked for the United States Department of Justice, a federal district judge and the law firms of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges and Dewey Ballantine. After three years of practice, Harrison founded Juriscape, under which he developed a collection of industry-specific job-search websites that revolutionized the way job seekers access employment postings from around the world. Harrison and his companies began serving the legal industry with BCG Attorney Search and LawCrossing.com. Following on the success of those endeavors, the company soon broadened its range to include the 90+ EmploymentCrossing websites, each specific to a particular industry or field. Juriscape changed its name to EmploymentScape in 2007 to reflect the company's broadening focus.

In addition to the EmploymentCrossing websites, EmploymentScape employs top job recruiters nationwide and offers resume development and distribution services through EmploymentAuthority and LegalAuthority.
Harrison's latest venture is Hound.com. Using technology that took two years to develop, Hound is able to pull job listings from company sites throughout the world, giving its members the best opportunities to find and apply to jobs.

 By A Harrison Barnes

Concrete: Basic and Advanced Engineering Information

Concrete is a basic building block of our everyday world. It's used in almost every type of structure that we build today. This engineering guide to concrete will give you a variety of information about concrete, including some best practices for various situations.

• Concrete is one of the most prevalent building materials known to man. From roadways to houses and just about everything in between, you’ll find concrete in it somewhere. Many people believe that cement and concrete are the same thing. They aren’t. Each has properties that make it distinct from the other, and these properties are what make them useful in different applications. When concrete is poured, being basically a liquid, it needs something to keep it in the shape that you want or need. You’ll read about what these are and how they are used and cared for. The process by which concrete solidifies is known as curing. How curing occurs and what occurs during the curing process will be discussed. Advanced concrete building concepts such as pre-cast homes and expansion joints will be discussed in detail. How do you know how much concrete a specific job will require? You’ll find out how to make this determination. Concrete by itself is pretty strong, but there are ways to make it even stronger, and these will be discussed below. The use of concrete in areas that experience seismic activity is very prevalent, but there are certain precautions that must be taken in this type of area that aren’t required in other areas. Concrete is affected by weather and environmental conditions. Concrete preservation is important and you’ll read about some methods for concrete preservation. This Engineering Guide to Concrete will present you with some best practices to make your use of concrete more efficient and productive by giving you a more thorough understanding of concrete.

• The Various Types of Concrete and Cement

  Before discussing the various types of cement, an introduction to concrete and how it is made will give you a firm groundwork to begin your study. Portland cement composition and manufacturing will be discussed. Once we have this groundwork established, we will begin by looking at self-compacting concrete. Engineered cementitious composite (CEC) is a type of concrete compound that is flexible, a unique property that makes it useful for a variety of uses. This concrete product and its uses will be discussed below.
  
  

• The Use of Forms in Concrete Construction

  Concrete is considered a liquid. As a liquid, it tries to find its lowest point. This means that without a way to keep concrete where you want and in the shape that you want it in, it’s a pretty useless building material. Keeping control of concrete is accomplished by the use of forms. These can be wood, metal, or a variety of other materials. The basics of concrete formwork will be discussed. Next you’ll read about how people in the concrete construction industry use and reuse forms. Once you know the basics of what forms are and how they’re used and cared for, the next logical step is to learn about the newest types of forms that are being used in the field.
  

• All about the Concrete Curing Process

  The process by which concrete dries and thus hardens is called curing. The curing of concrete and cement is an exothermic one. This means that heat is given off as the concrete hardens. In this section you will become familiar with this curing process. You will also be presented with a number of tips to help your poured concrete cure properly. Cold, wet environments present some challenges to the curing process.
  

• Advanced Concepts of Concrete Building

  Many houses and buildings are built with slab foundations- foundations which aren’t just around the perimeter of the house, but are under the whole house. For most houses and buildings, a single slab will suffice. However, much larger houses and buildings, even in non-seismically active areas, need to be able to move and settle. This is accomplished with expansion joints. The theory and practice of expansion joints will be thoroughly discussed below. One way to obtain greater strength and insulation when building residential buildings is by the precast method.
  

• Calculations When Using Concrete

  You want to build a patio, but you need to figure out how much concrete you will need for it. How do you figure that out, in such a way that you don’t either have to keep going back to the home improvement store for more bags of concrete or call the cement supplier and ask for another truck? There are calculations, which will be discussed below, that will tell you how many cubic yards you need and how many bags that translates into.
  

• Making Concrete Stronger

  By itself, concrete is pretty strong. But when it’s used as a building material, it doesn’t have enough strength to have the required amount of longevity. Add in outside stresses such as wind and rain, and it begins to look almost weak. There are many different ways in which concrete can be engineered that greatly enhance the underlying strength of the concrete. Some of these engineering methods that can be put into practice include glass fiber and steel reinforcing, to name a few.
  

• New Earthquake and Structural Concrete Specifics

  Seismic activity is the single greatest factor in decreasing the longevity of concrete structures. Using pre-stressed concrete or one of the other methods of reinforcing the concrete structure is one way to ensure that a concrete structure will remain standing during an earthquake. There are a number of methods that concrete engineers have at their disposal to make concrete structures earthquake resistant. Some of these methods will be discussed below.
  
  

• Preserving and Repairing Concrete

  Whether you’re responsible for maintenance on a bridge, a house, or any other type of structure that contains concrete, preservation of the structural integrity of that structure’s concrete should be of prime importance to you. Many environmental factors affect the longevity of the concrete portions of the structure. Cracks are the main enemy of concrete and you’ll be given information on what causes cracks and how to repair cracks in foundations and other areas of your building.
  
  By  Mike Aguilar
  

Architecture in Civil Engineering

Civil engineers and architects complement each other’s' work. An architect takes care of the design and shape of a building whereas a civil engineer takes care of the technical nitty-gritty like the strength of the building. Architecture is art; civil engineering is more about physics

• The primary focus of an architect remains on the aesthetic appearance of a building. Architecture is closely related to Civil Engineering, and as recently as a few decades ago, there were no architects as a separate profession at all. Properly implemented concepts of architecture ensure that a building is not just strong, but that it looks good and takes care of the comfort of the inhabitants as well. A civil engineer need not bother about the looks, design, in-house lighting, greenery, and other things when an architect is around. That leaves him with the primary job of making a building stable and strong. Other than mastering the concepts of architecture, an architect is supposed to have a basic knowledge of structural engineering as well.
  

• The World of Architecture: Functions of an Architect, Scope, and Advancements

  An architect is just not a helping hand to the civil engineer, but much more than that. The planning and designing of any construction project is incomplete without the input of an architect. The establishment of buildings and land with reference to functional and aesthetic requirements is a primary function of an architect. Architectural science has become a vast subject, and today we have architecture styles of different kinds. Urban architecture, rural architecture, contemporary architecture, and modern architecture are some of the styles that are studied across the globe. The inclusion of software tools like 3D Max, Maya, CAD, and CAM has made things easier for both the civil engineers and architects because graphical representation of any kind of work always adds efficiency and better understanding.
  
  

  
  

  • Understanding Architecture: Meaning and Definition
  • Job Description of an Architect
  • The International Style of Architecture
  • Online House Plans: The Future of Architecture
  • 3D CAD and CAM: An Architect's Helping Hands

• Different Types of Architecture: Roman, Indian, and Egyptian Styles, and Much More

  Different civilizations across the world had their unique style of constructing buildings. Roman, Greek, and Indian architecture are some of the popular styles of old age architecture. Open porches and columns were an integral part of the Greek temples whereas Egyptians are well known for their religious memorials and colossal buildings. Architectural style is of great importance to archeologists and historians. An architectural style is just not a way of constructing buildings, but it reflects the state of science, technology, and engineering of a particular period of time.
  
  

  • History of Architecture and its Development
  • An Insight into the Ancient Egyptian Architecture
  • The World of Mayan Architecture
  • Evolution of British Architecture
  • History of the French Architecture
  • The Mystical World of Hindu Architecture
  • Architectural Styles: Tudorbethan Architecture
  • Modern Architecture: Types of Architecture
  • Earth Architecture: Types of Architecture

  
  Different types of architecture have been discussed in this section. Building Science is an evolving subject and the roots lie in our past. Through the above listed articles we will gain an insight into the world of old age architecture.
  
• 

• Importance of Architecture: Companionship with Engineering and Human Values

  Modern age architectural styles are very concerned with the environment as well as the impact that they have on the surrounding areas. Architecture explores different materials and senses to bring new ideas to a building, constructing something entirely new and different from traditional construction and design. Architects make a building beautiful without compromising a bit its structural strength and functionality. Today architectural innovations have become a need of the construction businesses and combining them with structural designs is very important. Without landscape architectural inputs, no commercial building is considered fit for use. Architectural innovations have become a part of construction branding and marketing strategies.
  

  • Modern Architecture: The Building as a Machine
  • The Building as a Living Structure
  • Human and Building Synergy
  • Notes on Conceptual Architecture
  • Architectural Landscape Design: CAD Packages
  • Building Structures to Minimize Blast Injuries
  • An Architectural School of Thought: De-constructivism

• Architectural Details: From Churches to Castles

  Today engineering science is developed to an extent where human labor is reduced to a negligible extent. We have heavy machinery lifting our construction materials, advanced tools to design our buildings, and thousands of engineers and architects graduating every year from colleges. However Roman castles and ancient cathedrals are still a mystery for us. These were constructed hundreds of years ago and even today replicating these buildings is a herculean task. In this section we will have a look at some of the most popular, yet most mystifying architectural wonders of all times.
  
  

  • Castle Architecture: Building Dream Structures
  • Roman Hypocaust: An Old Age Solution for Central Heating
  • Mount Rushmore: An Architectural Wonder
  • Petronas Towers: The Malaysian Twin Towers
  • Architectural Insight into the World of Cathedrals
  • Dome Construction: An Integral Part of Ancient Structures
  • Barrel Vaults: An Architectural Insight
  • Architectural Arches in Building and Design

  
   By Tarun Goel

Advantages of Pneumatics over Hydraulics

Despite the immense capabilities of hydraulics presented in terms of moving higher loads and in other industrial utilization, pneumatics are still in wide use today. The article discusses some applications and advantages of pneumatics in industry.

• Pneumatics is study of mechanical motion caused by pressurized gases and how this motion can be used to perform engineering tasks. Pneumatics is used mainly in mining and general construction works. Pneumatic devices are used frequently in the dentistry industry across the world. On the other hand, hydraulics means use of pressurized fluids to execute a mechanical task. Hydraulics is frequently used in the concepts of turbines, dams, and rivers. Air brakes in buses, air compressors, compressed air engines, jackhammers, and vacuum pumps are some of the most commonly used types of mechanical equipment that are based on pneumatics technology. Commonly seen hydraulics based equipment types are hydraulic presses, hydraulic hoppers, hydraulic cylinders, and hydraulic rams. In the subsequent sections of this article, you will learn how a pneumatic system works, what its best features are, and its major advantages over hydraulic systems.

• Operation of a Pneumatic System

  In order to affect mechanical motion, pneumatics employs compression of gases, based on the working principles of fluid dynamics in the concept of pressure. Any equipment employing pneumatics uses an interconnecting set of components: a pneumatic circuit consisting of active components such as gas compressor, transition lines, air tanks, hoses, open atmosphere, and passive components. Compressed air is supplied by the compressor and is transmitted through a series of hoses. Air flows are regulated by valves and the pneumatic cylinder transfers the energy provided by the compressed gas to mechanical energy. Aside from compressed air, inert gases are also applied particularly for self-contained systems. Pneumatics is applied in a wide range in industries, even in mining and dentistry. The majority of industries use gas pressures of about 80 to 100 pounds per square inch.
  
  
  Over pneumatics, hydraulics is capable of moving heavier loads and having greater force, and since its working fluids are incompressible, it has minimum spring actions. But at the same time pneumatics are cleaner; the system uses no return lines and gases are exhausted to the atmosphere. Thus leaks will be of less concern since the working fluid of pneumatics is air, unlike oil in hydraulics. Its working fluid is also widely available and most factories are pre-plumbed for compressed air distribution, hence pneumatic equipment is easier to set-up. To control the system, only ON and OFF are used and the system consists only of standard cylinders and other components, making it simpler than hydraulics. Pneumatic systems require low maintenance and have long operating lives. Lastly the working fluid of the pneumatic system absorbs excessive force, leading to less frequent damage to equipment. Compressible gases are also easy to store and safer; no fire hazard is presented and machines could be made to be overload safe.
  

  Advantages of Pneumatics over Hydraulics

  Like hydraulics, pneumatics is a type of fluid power application where instead of an incompressible liquid, pneumatics employ gas in their system. Hydraulics present certain advantages over pneumatics, but in a given application, pneumatic powered equipment is more suitable, particularly in industries where the factory units are plumbed for compressed air.
  The air used in pneumatic devices is dried and free from moisture so that it does not create any problem to the internal parts of the system. Moreover, to avoid corrosive actions, oil or lubricants are added so that friction effects can be reduced. Compressed air is used in most of the machines and in some cases compressed carbon dioxide is used. As most of the pneumatic devices are air based, they have a less complicated design and can be made of inexpensive material. Mass production techniques can be adopted to produce pneumatic systems, which not only save money but save time too.
  Other major advantages are listed below.
  

  1. Initial cost is less; hydraulics equipment cost as much as twice the price of pneumatic equipment.
  2. A pneumatic water treatment automation system reduces the costs of installation and operation compared with conventional electrical installations. For opening and closing of underwater valves, pneumatic systems work well because they can sustain overload pressure conditions.
  3. Pneumatic actuators also have long life and perform well with negligible maintenance requirement throughout their life cycle.
  4. Very suitable for power transmission when distance of transmission is more.

  The major disadvantage of pneumatic systems is that they cannot be employed for tasks that require working under high pressures. However, modern technology is working on finding better solutions to this address this problem so that heavy engineering tasks can be executed using pneumatic devices. In a nutshell, in order to execute low scale engineering and mechanical tasks, pneumatic devices would be the best suited and a viable alternative over hydraulic systems.
  
   By Tarun Goel

Aircraft Hydraulic Engineers

The job of an aircraft hydraulic engineer is among the most interesting. Find out what the qualifications, responsibilities and working conditions are.

• Basics on Aircraft Hydraulic Systems and Engineers

  An aircraft's hydraulic systems are among the most vital components for ensuring a safe flight. The hydraulic systems include the landing gear control, flying control surfaces, wing control, wheel steering and many other sub-systems. The generation of hydraulic pressure is made through hydraulic pumps, reservoirs, fluids, pipes, valves and other components, and it is converted into control surface movement with the aid of actuators. The flying control surfaces (ailerons, rudder and elevator) are used for the aircraft's navigation.
  The aircraft hydraulic engineer plays an important role by maintaining these systems in perfect condition according to technical standards and procedures. He can be employed by civil aviation companies or companies specialized in the aircraft maintenance field and construction (aircraft plants). Another option is to provide military service.

• Qualifications – Skills – Competences

  The basic requirements for following an aircraft hydraulics engineering career are the following:
  
  

  • Basic high school education
  • Technical training and certification. Completion of military training courses (e.g. US Air Force Base ) or training obtained through civil authorities and organizations or companies.
  • Practical and theoretical knowledge of the aircraft's hydraulics, pneudraulics and other associated systems (electrical and mechanical), refueling procedures, checking controls etc.
  • Be physically and mentally fit
  • Ability to work quickly and accurately under pressure and difficult conditions
  • Team spirit and collaborative skills
  • Diligence, self-discipline and strong sense of responsibility

• Responsibilities

  The aircraft hydraulics engineer is generally responsible for maintaining all the hydraulics sub-systems and components in perfect condition. More specifically, he is in charge of installing and inspecting the pneumatic and hydraulic systems, removing, repairing and replacing any components that don't work properly or according to the accepted performance standards. He should be able to perform regular system operation checks and take corrective action in case of any malfunction. After the necessary checks are completed, he prepares and signs a report to certify that the systems work in excellent condition and they conform to the technical standards.
  

  
  

  Among other obligations, he should be able to perform his duties without any assistance in difficult situations, work efficiently within the team and take directions from the chief engineer to ensure maximum performance. Since, he is in daily contact with high technology systems, constant training is absolutely to keep up with the design modifications and advances.

• Working Conditions

  The profession of the Aircraft Hydraulic Engineer demands a strong sense of responsibility and dedication. The engineer will have to perform both line and base checking activities. The first one involves pre-flight checks performed on the airfield between the flights, often under a tight schedule. The second involves more thorough checks and repairs performed in the hangar, after the aircraft has completed a certain number of flight hours. The demands are high since engineers don't have regular working hours and are sometimes required to work under harsh weather conditions. An engineer may also have to work alone or in cooperation with other colleagues,engineers, technicians etc. and in many occasions travel abroad to fulfill his duties.
  
  Plenty of vacancies seem to be available for aircraft pneudraulic and hydraulic system technicians and assistants internationally. Many of the jobs are available online on sites like www.aviationrecruiting.net and www.engineer-jobs.com . An important thing for an applicant to remember, is that most of them require flexible working hours and the ability to travel often.
  
   By Aggeliki K

How Windmills Generate Electricity

How do windmills generate electricity? The windmills are now in popular favor as the solution of our electricity needs and for being green. We discuss the types of windmills, the history, its construction, and working principle in this article.

• History of Wind Mills

  How do windmills generate electricity? Though Don Quixote attacked the windmill, it is no monster. It is an important invention which can help us to reduce our carbon footprint and save our earth from global warming. In various parts of the world and coastal areas, there is an abundance of breeze. These windmills, if installed, can generate large amounts of electricity to serve the needs of the local people.
  
  Historically windmills have been used for the grinding of the grains into flour, for taking out water from wells, and for similar other applications. Wind energy has been used by man for a very long time. The earliest recorded practical windmills were said to be used in Sistan in Afghanistan around 7th to 8th century and was used for pumping water as well as grinding corn. In Europe windmills surfaced around the twelfth century. In Denmark where the sea breeze is abundant there were an estimated 2500 windmills around 1900. In fact Germans used wind turbines in WW II to recharge the batteries of their U boats.
  
  Nowadays you see windmills in all places where breeze is abundant. In many countries they are a significant means of power generation. On the coasts of Gujarat in India you see a large number of windmills. Windmills have a simple working principle, need less maintenance, and last long as other means of power generation.
  
  

  
  

  Wind energy has re-emerged as a significant source of energy in the minds of power engineers due to the following reasons:
  

  1. The need for new sources of energy as the fossil fuel reserves are declining.
  2. The potential is great as wind energy exists at many places all over the world, and at some places the density is very high, making the prospects attractive.
  3. With advances in technology, the highly efficient windmill airfoil design gives a high efficiency and can be profitably produced.
  4. The last and most important is the political will, which was lacking until now. With the media discussing the effects of global warming and the common man becoming aware of it, we are now worried for the future.

• Wind Mills

  

• Types of Wind Mills

  The modern windmill is more correctly called as a wind turbine as it can generate electrical power. (The older windmills in contrast generated mechanical power.) Wind turbines are primarily divided into horizontal axis windmills and vertical axis windmills. The horizontal axis wind turbines are of the following types:
  
  

  1. Single bladed
  2. Double bladed
  3. Three bladed
  4. US farm windmill multi-bladed
  5. Bicycle multiple bladed
  6. Upwind
  7. Downwind
  8. Sail wing
  9. Multi-rotor
  10. Counter rotating blades
  11. Cross wind savonius
  12. Cross wind paddles
  13. Diffuser
  14. Concentrator
  15. Unconfined vortex
  16.  

  The vertical axis windmills are of the following types:
  
  

  1. Savonius
  2. Multi-bladed savonius
  3. Plates
  4. Cupped
  5. Darrieus
  6. Giromill
  7. Turbine
  8. Magnus
  9. Airfoil
  10. Deflector
  11. Sunlight
  12. Venturi
  13. Confined vortex

• Working Principle of Wind Mills

  A wind turbine is a machine that coverts wind energy into electricity. The generators are connected to battery charging circuits and finally to large utility grids. In windmills the wind passes through the airfoil section of the blades and the lift produced generates a torque which is then transformed to electricity in the generator. It is basically the conversion of the wind energy into the mechanical energy of the turbine and then finally to electricity. As the output of the wind turbine is dependent on the availability of the winds it is intermittent and undependable. They can however be used along with conventional generators in a large grid and can reduce the loads of these generators when they are generating. The other option is to use storage devices like batteries and then discharge the electricity uniformly.
  
  The main parts of the windmills are as follows:
  
  

  1. The rotors consisting of the blades and the hub.
  2. The drive train and gears along with the mechanical brakes. The brakes are used in the maintenance work and when a storm is coming.
  3. The generator which generates electricity.
  4. The yaw system which rotates the housing toward the direction of the wind.
  5. Tower and foundation.
  6. Battery and the electrical system to transmit to the grid.
  7.  

  The working principle is that when the wind passes through the blades, the blades experience a lift due to the aerodynamic airfoil shape. Due to the lift produced, the blades move and start rotating. The yaw unit aligns it towards the incoming wind direction when the winds change. The rotation of the blades is transmitted through the gear train and couplings to the generator that generates electricity. The electricity is then transmitted through the wires to the storage batteries or directly to the grid.
  
   By Sunita Sanguri