www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
New
Location, Free Parking, Great Food, Great Programs
NEXT
MEETING___________________________
Monday,
Apr. 20, 2009 - Noon - DOUBLETREE
HOTEL, Second Floor (
“Removing
heavy metal contamination from water and air” –
David Vernetti, Steward Advanced Materials
Recently there have been many news stories about heavy metal
contamination in our water and air. In some cases,
contamination has existed for a long time, but most of us are unaware of the
problem. Steward Advanced Materials, Inc. has developed chemical
additives which help remediate and treat water to adsorb these
contaminates. The company is a Chattanooga-based manufacturer
of ceramic and metal powders for use in electronic, industrial, defense and
environmental applications.
David Vernetti, the
General Manager of Steward Advanced Materials will describe the processes
and chemicals his company has developed for removing mercury and other heavy
metals to low part per trillion (ppt) levels, and other methods for removing
arsenic and selenium. He will also describe how contaminates can be
disposed of as non-hazardous waste, after they are adsorbed. David has
been with the company for the past ten years and holds a Bachelors and Masters
degree in Ceramic Engineering.
FUTURE
MEETINGS________________________
Monday,
Apr. 27 - Noon - “Exciting
stories of Thomas Edison’s inventive life” - Jim Frierson,
great-grandson of John Kruesi, will present the Kruesi Legacy and an inside
story of Thomas Edison's laboratory and Edison’s early days of invention
at
Frierson will discuss
the details of Edison’s inventions and Kruesi’s work as a key
player in
Speaker: Jim Frierson,
ATTI
Meeting Place:
DOUBLETREE HOTEL
Monday,
May 4 - Noon - “Solar
Energy: Solution to conservation” – With a renewed
emphasis on conservation and using renewable energy, more and more people are
looking to solar energy as a solution. For those solutions to become a
reality, trained and certified installers will be needed to support this
growing industry.
Allan Gentry,
Instructor, Interim Dean and Chair of the Technology Department at
Speaker: Allan Gentry,
Meeting Place:
DOUBLETREE HOTEL
Monday,
May 11 - Noon - “A
visionary transportation system that could change the world” -
Personal
Transportation remains a key infrastructure in the economic framework of any nation.
With today’s public concerns about economical energy requirements and foreword
momentum in consumption, and responsible environmental stewardship, Vertical Axis
Integration Company (VXICOM) will present a new approach to
transportation and energy storage.
Speakers: Steven Rasor, principal architect and founder of VXICOM,
a
Meeting Place: DOUBLETREE HOTEL
PREVIOUS
MEETING_______________________
Dr. Kazemersky, Professor of Engineering at UTC
introduced UTC students presenting the UTC Capstone Projects.
Justin McBath presented Conversion of Saturn Vue to operate
on either gasoline or hydrogen fuel. 5000 psi tank pressure was selected
to minimize space and weight requirements. Stainless steel lines with
Swagelok fittings were used to reduce the corrosion effect.
Justin’s team budgeted $14,000 for the project, and $18,500 was
expended due to scope and equipment changes that materialized during the
design development.
John Ozbek talked about an H² production facility. His
group studied codes, safety, H² demand, component selection, performance, and
economics. John’s team was required to produce 2KG H² per
day and store 10KG of H² for use in the Saturn testing and follow-on
projects. The calculated cost to produce hydrogen was
$53.77/kilogram based on data obtained from the demonstration production
facility designed for limited H² production. It was noted that H² cost was very sensitive to capital
cost of the production facility.
Michael Murphy discussed the Inductive Power Transfer
Project, which is testing rapid charging (3-5 minutes) of
batteries or ultra-capacitors. The charging system
used Wampfler IPT technology. A typical charging system consists
of a coil imbedded in the pavement and powered by the local
power grid. The energized coil will induce a current in a receiving
coil on the bus and charge the battery/ultra-capacitor pack of
an electric bus. Greg Burnett explained the design and fabrication of
the Mini Baja all-terrain vehicle, using a Briggs and Straton
engine with a hydrostatic transmission. The team designed the suspension,
transmission and drive train components.
ITEMS
OF INTEREST_______________________
The Chattanooga
Engineer's Club has relocated its meeting place to the DOUBLETREE HOTEL,
Looking for details on a
local society meeting? Links to local engineering societies are available to
you at: http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/engineer.
QUESTIONS
and SUGGESTIONS______________
If you have any
questions, items of interest to the Chattanooga Engineers Club, or suggestions
for 2009 programs, please contact Joe Robbins by e-mail at jrobbins@robbinsbohr.com or by phone at 423-756-4430. You can
find membership application forms, references to future programs, historical
data, and other info at: http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org. To receive future meeting announcements by email, join
the Chattanooga Technology Organization mailing list at: http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org/email