NEXT MEETING_________________________________________________________

Monday, April 23, 12:00 noon

Cellar Restaurant at Union Square

Downtown, Chattanooga

Battery packs and turbines represent the two main power sources of hybrid electric buses that are produced by Chattanooga’s Advanced Vehicle Systems (AVS). AVS is interested in investigating the interactions between these subsystems and their reaction to loads. The objective is to improve the operation, especially the efficiency, of future bus models.

To asses the battery/turbine interaction, a group of UTC senior engineering students, under the auspices of AVS, has undertaken to design, build, and test a mobile test stand. The system monitors the voltage output from the buses’ batteries, the power output from its turbine, and the temperature of several batteries within each battery pack. This allows researchers to determine how the battery temperature affects the voltage output and how that, in turn, effects the power output of the turbine.

At their presentation to us this Monday, AVS student team members, James Lowery and John Passafiume, Jr. will provide us an overview of the approach they took to design the mobile test stand and their use of LabVIEW as the data acquisition tool for collecting and displaying the data and the interactions. They will also provide us with details of the final design of the test stand, the operation of the test unit and the components used to gather data.

At their presentation to us last Monday, "Roadtec" UTC senior design project team members Jeffrey Holland and Daniel Rubia described a test facility they developed for testing the operation of asphalt-paving screeds. The facility serves as a prototype for future field-operated models that will allow Roadtech to validate the operation of their screeds before they are mated to their tractors. Jeffrey and Daniel described the steps they took to determine the test stand needs, operational parameters, test stand design, and test requirements.

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS ______________________________________

April 30: Field Trip to Sequoyah Nuclear Plant

May 7: "Nuclear Power: Today and in the Future"

Dr. Harold Dodds – Director, UTK Nuclear Engineering Department

May 14 "SF6: the Hidden Impact Associated with the Industrial Use this Versatile and

Effective Compound." - Tom Wojtalic - TVA

May 21: "A Day-time Corona Camera for Surveying Power Transmission Lines and

Substations". - Barry Gore - TVA

May 28: No meeting – In observance of Memorial Day

WHERE ARE WE ? _____________________________________________________

Unless we announce it otherwise, our meetings are held at noontime every Monday at the Cellar Restaurant - basement floor of the Tallan Building at the corner of Chestnut Street and MLK Blvd. Our meeting room and luncheon service are available by 11:45 a.m. Lunch buffet is available for $10 per person. No reservation is required. Our business meeting begins at noon, followed by the speaker's presentation around 12:15 p.m. The meeting adjourns at 1:00 p.m. Parking is available free of charge at the Days Inn across the street from the Krystal Building (M.L. King Blvd and Carter Street). The management asks, however, that you leave some type of note on your car’s dashboard to indicate that you are attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club.