CHATTANOOGA ENGINEERS CLUB
www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
 
NEXT WEEK_______________________________________________
 
Monday, January 5, noon, Read House - Continental Room
 
Topic: "RFID" Technology Demonstration - Auto ID Solutions in the Supply Chain and Manufacturing Processes - Tom Wengler, CGW, Inc.
 
We've all been there, standing in line at Wal-Mart or (insert your own department store name), waiting for what seems to be an eternity for that precious ten minutes of checkout time that is all yours.  The lines can be long and boring, and you end up buying that extra candy bar that you resolved to give up this new year.  Wouldn't it be nice to be able to simply waltz out the front door with your buggy full of goods without so much as just glancing at the floor to see where those dreaded checkout lanes used to be.  Well with RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) technology, this is just one scenario that is quickly becoming a reality.  Tom Wengler from CGW, Inc., a Chattanooga-based business, will demonstrate how "RFID" sometimes noted "Auto-ID" can benefit not only the consumer of said products, but more impressively provide a more economical and efficient way of delivering the products to the store shelves.  Tom will also be joined by Carl Flemister, and Greg Newsom.
 
Invocation Chairperson for January:  Jim Barrott
 
OUR PREVIOUS MEETING_______________________________________

 

Keeping the Lights on in a Post-Blackout World was presented by Terry Boston, TVA’s Executive Vice President of Transmission/Power Supply.  Terry gave us the engineering version of the story about the Blackout in the northeast in August.  This blackout was caused by a bottleneck in the transmission system.  At the time of the blackout, TVA backed off their hydro generation as the eastern interconnect went to 60.3 Hz.  Next, TVA brought up combustion turbines to prepare to handle another swing if all operators happened to respond in the same way by backing down generation.  TVA operators and surrounding utilities quickly coordinated their response to this excursion from 60 Hz.  Terry stressed that TVA operators have the authority to do whatever is necessary to stabilize the transmission system.  It is important that they have this authority and are sure in a crisis that they do.  After the grid is stabilized or they have a moment to call, then they are to inform TVA leaders what happened and how they responded. 

 

Terry told us that the transmission grid is designed to:

 

  • Simultaneously balance Supply & Demand by delivering exact amounts of electricity needed, at the instant it’s produced
  • Move power from local Generators to local Load Centers

Systems tied together and coordinated have a continual need to share information.

 

The grid is not designed to:

 

  • Move power long distances
  • Support an exponential increase in transactions
  • Allow generators to site at any location

Historically, investments in generation and transmission used to follow the same trends, but since the FERC Order 888 in April 1996, investments in Transmission system upgrades have dwindled in comparison to a grand swing up in generation investments.  The FERC Orders are a set of “rules” designed to establish a “workably competitive” electricity market.

 

What caused the northeast blackout in August?  A number of events contributed to it.  Scheduled imports were near maximum.  A 14 inch diameter walnut tree is suspected of touching one of the first transmission lines that relays dropped.  The weather was warm, so loads were high and a local nuclear generation plant was not operating at the time.  This lack of local generation caused the transmission lines to carry generation from other locations further to the loads.  The surrounding transmission lines were already heavily loaded and then they were suddenly required to also carry the load of the first tripped line.  East Lake 5 exciter control tripped to manual and backed off overloaded MVAr output.  Minutes later the exciter system tripped completely off as the operator returned it to automatic voltage control.  Firm load wasn’t intentionally dropped in an effort to stabilize the system.  The results were:

 

  • 50 million people in US and Canada in the dark
  • 62,000 MW of generation suddenly separated from the grid
  • 531 generators tripped off line, including 19 nuclear generators
  • Estimated cost to U.S. and Canadian economies:  Billions of dollars

The short term industry response is expected to be:

 

  • Better voltage support/reactive supply
  • Better reliability communications
  • Better failure notification systems
  • New emergency action plans
  • Train operators for emergencies
  • Better vegetation management

TVA is continuing to invest in the transmission system and has reduced the minutes of load not served to 4.21 last year from as high as 9.45 system minutes in 1999.  TVA’s system is now at 99.999% reliable.  During the last year, 140 miles of new transmission lines, 3 substations, 2 switching stations, and 34 new delivery points were placed in service. 

 

People tend to resist locating new transmission lines and right of ways near their property, so TVA and others are investing in research to improve the use of existing right of ways (http://www.tva.com/insidetva/apr_03/ornl.htm#top).  Terry said that they have tested conductors to 220 C and discovered during the tests that when birds land on these lines, they don’t stay very long.  One of the ways TVA has improved power quality is through the installation of a SuperVAR (http://www.tva.gov/news/releases/octdec03/supervar.htm).

 

Respectfully submitted by Judy Driggans

 

FUTURE MONDAY MEETINGS_____________________________________
 
January 12:  Motivating Young Women for Careers in Engineering - Joanne Chang, MIT Women's Initiative
 
January 19:  NO MEETING - Martin Luther King Holiday
 
January 26:  More Nanotechnology - Lee Magid, ORNL (SNS)
 
February:  Where We Stand on Fusion Technology - Stan Milora, ORNL
 
EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS___________________________________
 
The Chattanooga Engineers Club would like to begin allowing recipients of this email newsletter to have control over their account.  What this means is that you will be in charge of changing information about your email address as you see fit.  If you would like to start using another email address for these bulletins, you will need to subscribe a new email address and unsubscribe your old one.  The email server will be instructed to send out a password reminder email to each recipient.  We will send out monthly password reminders for approximately three months.  This email will contain instructions on how to log on and change your password (if you want).  This allows you to administer your own email account, and allows you to set a few preferences as well.
 
WHERE WE MEET ____________________________________________
 
In January, we will be meeting at the Read House - Continental Room in downtown Chattanooga. We may continue to park at the Days Inn on Carter Street (being sure to leave a notice on your dashboard that indicates you are attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club meeting). A map showing the location of the Read House may be found at www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org/ReadHouse.gif.
 
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? ______________________________
 
If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please call Tiffany Gibby at 423-751-3168 or email her at tjgibby@tva.gov. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org.