Chattanooga
Engineers Club Newsletter
http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/
NEXT
MEETING____________________
Monday
September 27
–
Richard Parsons - Engineering Services
“Geothermal
Heat Pump Installation at Riverview Animal Hospital”
Richard
Parsons will discuss the advantages of ground source heat pumps in general, and
the recent installation at Riverview Animal Hospital in particular.
Richard
Parsons is General Manager and Partner at Engineered Services Co-Operative,
LLC. He has 35 years experience in the Heating Ventilation and Air
Conditioning (HVAC) industry.
FUTURE
MEETINGS ____________________
Monday
October 4
–
Dale Bradshaw– Consultant to NRECA
“Carbon
Capture and Sequestration.”
Dale will give an overview of carbon capture and sequestration
(CCS) technologies that will remove or concentrate CO2 (post
combustion capture, pre-combustion capture, and OxyCombustion). Once a
concentrated stream of CO2 is produced, options for sequestering CO2
will be discussed will be discussed along with an overview of potential options
that use CO2.
Monday
October 11
–
No Meeting - in Observance of Columbus Day
Monday
October 18
–
Dr. John Rather - Rather Creative Innovations Group
Inc.
“Superconductivity,
a Transformative Technology”
Dr.
Rather will describe some of the important uses of superconductivity, with a
special focus on MagLev applications.
Dr.
Rather earned a BS from UT, and an MA and PhD in Astronomy at UC
Berkeley. Early in his career, Dr. Rather performed hands-on research
work at the Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories and the
National Radio Astronomy Observatory. In his mid-30s, he progressed to
senior management positions in the aerospace industry. Subsequently, he held
Senior Executive Service appointments in the U.S. Government that required
deep, comprehensive knowledge of science and technology. After a decade
in medical and microelectronic research in an academic setting, he founded RCIG in 2006.
Monday
October 25
–
TBD
PREVIOUS
MEETING____________________
Monday
September 20
–
Mr. Gordon Smith III (Trip) - The Lighting Gallery
“Deepwater Horizon Oil
Spill”
Gordon
‘Trip’ Smith gave an overview of the oil exploration and
development process. Potential sites are identified studying seismic
vibrations that pass through, and reflect off various geological layers.
Deep water drilling may be done from ships or semi-submersible platforms.
In either case, active propulsion systems are required to hold the rig
stationary. Well casings taper as the well goes deeper, for example from
36 inches near the sea floor to about 9 inches at 18,000 feet. As the
well is drilled, drilling mud is circulated to the surface and provides
information about the composition of subsurface layers. Oil or gas may
bubble up as the well approaches a target zone. This buoyancy can be
somewhat offset by the use of a heavier mud, which can help prevent
blowouts. There are also multiple mechanical systems to prevent
blowouts.
In
this case, the blowout may have been prevented if those in charge had reacted
properly to changing characteristics of the circulating mud. However,
multiple mechanical systems also failed.
Trip
showed U-Tube videos posted on the web by BP to illustrate the process of
drilling the relief well and capping the original well.
Mr.
Smith pointed out that taxes from offshore wells amount to $160 Billion over ten
years, and that the last major blowout was in 1979. There are some 4,000
deepwater oil wells. Oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico produce a major
fraction of US oil consumption.
Pressures
at the sea floor can be calculated from the density and height of the water
column. At 5000 ft, pressures are about 2500 psi. Pressures at the
well depth are a function of the drilling mud density. At 18,000 ft, the
pressure could be about 14,000 psi.
Gordon
Smith III has a BS in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Oklahoma and
a MBA from Southern Methodist University. He has worked as a Petroleum
Production and Drilling Engineer for Chevron, and as Chief Engineer for the
Pitts Energy Group. Later he served as Vice President, Oil and Gas Division,
North American Royalties and as CEO of Griffin & Griffin Oil Exploration.
CHATTANOOGA
ENGINEERS CLUB — CORPORATE SPONSORS_____________
We gratefully acknowledge the corporate sponsorships listed
below.
2010 — Robbins & Bohr, LLC
2009 — Coca—Cola
2008 — Alstom
2008 — Chattanooga State
MEETING
LOGISTICS_______________________
The
Chattanooga Engineer's Club meets at the DOUBLETREE HOTEL,
407 Chestnut St., Chattanooga, TN 37402. Free parking may be
available in the gated parking lot on the south side of the Hotel. Plan
to arrive before 11:30 a.m., if you intend to park in the limited space
available. Late arrivals may need to pay for parking on the street or in
a nearby public parking garage. Lunch is $14. If you do not plan
to purchase a lunch, please use the chairs around the perimeter of the room,
and not those at the round tables. The Doubletree charges the club
for lunch if you sit at the round tables.”
QUESTIONS
and SUGGESTIONS______________
If
you have any questions, items that would be of interest to the Chattanooga
Engineers Club, or suggestions for future programs, please contact Ralph
Boroughs by e-mail at rdboroughs@gmail.com or by
phone at 423-227-0412. 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.
Links
to local engineering societies are available to you at: http://www.chattanoogaengineersclub.org/engineer/
For
a calendar of local technology related events see: http://chatc.org/