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Hydrogen Properties for Energy Research (HYPER) Laboratory Cool. Fuel.

Celebrating National Hydrogen Fuel Cell Day!

This just in…

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Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal’s resolution passed on September 29th 2015 designating today, 10/08, as National Hydrogen Fuel Cell Day! Hydrogen’s atomic weight is 1.00794 atomic mass units. When rounded we arrive at 1.008. More information on today’s celebration is here: http://www.hydrogenfuelcellday.org/

Some thoughts from the Department of Energy to consider today include:

More than 215 FCEVs traveled 6 million miles in more than 500,000 trips, and 31 FCEV fueling stations completed more than 52,000 refuelings.
Over the past few months, Hyundai and Toyota both introduced their FCEVs, on track with the plans for early commercialization by 2015. Several … » More …

DI water change for cryo-cooler cooling loop

Follow these steps to change the DI water in the cryo-cooler cooling loop every 6 months, and the filter every 12 months. Remember: a happy cryo-cooler means a happy researcher!

To change the water:

Open drain valve to allow water to drain into floor drain. Use a hose to make sure that water flows down drain. (warning: make sure water goes ONLY into a drain or water damage to lower rooms may occur)

Allow line to drain till water is no longer continuously flowing (pump may be turned on to ensure all water is vacated)

Close drain valve
Change water filter … » More …

ME 316 Lesson 10: Energy and Information Design Paradigms

Spatial and temporal spectrums are useful as a first step to breaking down systems, but quickly run into limits. Energy is likely a particularly useful spectrum to categorize our design alternatives within the context of this project. Consider how the Advanced Research Project Administration for Energy (ARPA-E) classifies energy conversion devices:

ARPA-E paradigm chart

Let’s take 15 minutes in our sub-teams and try to fill as many of the squares as possible with designs concepts for our sub-assemblies. An excel version of this is posted to the ME 316 slack thread. If you have an … » More …

Compressed Gas Bottle Safety

Compressed gas bottle safety is important! Follow these simple rules to ensure your gas bottle stays a container – not a rocket.

Bottles should be chained at all times to prevent them from tipping over.
Steel caps need to be on bottles when not in use – especially for transportation.
Transport gas bottles on bottle carts.
Always use pressure relief devices when attaching high pressure bottles to systems.
Ensure lines are depressurized and bottle valve is shut before disconnecting the bottle from a system – even when the bottle is “empty”.
Flammable gas bottles should always be grounded before … » More …

ME 316 Lesson 9: Design Paradigms (Spatial and Temporal)

With our design specification nailed down, we now begin the process of idea generation. Let’s start with a quick exercise:

Get out a sheet of paper and write down the first thing that comes to your mind when I tell you to think of:

a color,
a hand tool,
a flower,
a piece of furniture.

Let’s see how you did:

 

 

😉

 

 

Was your color blue or red?

Blue and Red

Was your tool a hammer or screwdriver?

Hammer and Screwdriver» More …

ME 316 Lesson 8: Technology Development (TRLs)

TechD

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As engineers, one of the things we all need to be mindful of throughout the design and development process is our stage in technology development. It’s pretty obvious that every technology we have today is supported by a long chain of discoveries, tests, research, and development to get to the products we have in front of us. Insight into where our current efforts fit in that chain can be extremely helpful … » More …

ME 316 Lesson 7: Quality Function Deployment and Design Matrix Methods

Now that we’ve 1) interviewed our customers, 2) reviewed basic literature on the topic, 3) divided the project into sub-assemblies, and 4) began specifying desired traits and characteristic functions of the sub-assemblies, it’s time we merge everything together via tools called Design Structure Matrix (DSM) Methods. Professor Steven Eppinger has published a companion to your textbook on the topic. DSM’s are useful for spotting the connections and relationships in complex systems. Take for example the problem of assessing the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) for the Mars Curiosity Rover:

Architecture DSM Example

We used our intuition, post-its, … » More …

A concept for Revolutionizing Engineering Departments

Thank you to the National Science Foundation for initiating the Revolutionizing Engineering Departments (RED) program! These $1.5-2 million grants are intended to fundamentally restructure engineering education to increase participation and retention by under-represented groups. This restructuring approach is likely required. Despite substantial programs and efforts to increase participation from these groups, improvements have been modest, at best, and in some cases remain stagnant.

I was recently inspired during a presentation by Tony Maciejewski, Chair of the Electrical and Computer Engineering departments at Colorado State University (CSU), who received one of the early awards. CSU is restructuring around three core ‘threads’ that transcend the … » More …

ME 316 Lesson 6: Form follows function

Today is Louis Henry Sullivan’s birthday. Sullivan’s wiki-page lists him as a famous American Architect widely considered the “Father of the Skyscraper.” In an 1896 essay Sullivan wrote:

Whether it be the sweeping eagle in his flight, or the open apple-blossom, the toiling workhorse, the blithe swan, the branching oak, the winding stream at its base, the drifting clouds, over all the coursing sun, form ever follows function, and this is the law. Where function does not change form does not change. The granite rocks, the ever-brooding hills, remain for ages;the lightning lives, comes into shape, and dies in a twinkling.

… » More …