Engineering

I've been working on a project to evaluate the performance of an air-handling unit with a counter-flow heat exchanger. When I simulate outdoor air that is hot and humid, in order to investigate the efficiency my results are generally very low. A typical simulation might be: Tout = 33 deg C, Tin = 25 deg C & RHout = 85%, RHin = 55% I measure all the temperatures and humidities in the ducts and calculated the efficiency and get a low result, usually less then 50%. I calculated the dew point temperature (Td) to be about 30 deg C in the conditions described. Td = Tout - ((100 - RHout)/5) approximately Is the reason for the low efficiency due to conde…

I was wondering, due to the increase in natural gas prices this year if it would be feesable to supplement home with solar energy. I was thinking of building a tightly sealed and insulated box appx 6 feet by 4 feet with reflecting mirrors on the bottom; sealed plexiglass on the top.. The light would be reflected onto iron piping that would be painted black and have a slight circulation of air through or past them by means of an intermittantly running fan. Does anyone know of this currently being used or have anything to add to this? Thanks.

Hello I am a senior in high school participating in a competition called Engineering Design where I am to design a solution to a common problem. I have come up with the idea of creating a model of a MagLev train to act as tourist transportation and mass evacuation means for the state of Florida. I have been doing research on the Flux trapping effect, the Meissner effect, Diamagnetic materials, and super conductors and I was wondering if anyone could help suggest ideas for creating the maglev train without using supercooled superconductors.

Every year America's highways kill 10 times the number of people who died on 9/11, and in every bit as gruesome a manner. The overwhelming cause of this carnage is the fact that a human operator is easily distracted and unpredictable. The obvious solution would be to take the human driver out of the equation and automate the system. My question is what would be the best system of automation? Two possible solutions are to use tracks (like rail, monorail, or overhead systems), which are expensive to build, or imbed an optical or magnetic grid in the road (or beside or above) for onboard sensors to follow and translate for directional purposes. I would appreciate any feedbac…

Does anyone know of a place where superdonctors are manufactured?

After see make: magazine's Joule Thief I want to "make: a toroid transformer":D. Does anyone know any link to a comprehensive explanation on transformer calculations(like turns of primary, or secondary coil for upping or downing voltage/amperage)? I think some the the variables are primary wire turns, primary voltage, primary amperes, secondary wire turns, and secondary resistance load?

Open rotor designs are being pushed as a more energy efficient alternative to jet engines. The design uses two counterrotating propellers which push the aircraft along. What do you think about this approach?

hiya, i need some help for a project im working on, basicly i have a compressor pump that runs at 500rpm and @ 12 hp. now the problem is (this is a theoretical problem) i have to power it using a 3480rpm ac motor which has to be less than 10 hp (cost reasons). rough calculations show that a 20cm pulley on the compressor pump and a 3cm pulley on the motor will give me the correct speed reduction, but what do i do about power?. will the speed reduction increase torque giving me the power i need? if this is the case what is the minium sized motor i could use? what if i used gears, id be looking at a ratio of 1:0.15? hope thats clear, any websites or calculati…

I am trying to find a new idea for thias year's science fair. My previous idea proved to be impossible without certain resources. But I want do something involving engineering. Any ideas? Maybe something involving increasing fuel efficiency in anything? Or designing a device of some sort that could help people with with not so strong of grips that need immense grips for something they do? Haha. I am just going through a rediculous brainstorm. I don't want something too simple because I want to get to ISEF this year not just states. Thanks for any help. I'm willing to put in the work.

I haven't read articles about lithium-ion batteries in a while, but I continue to think they are biased. Sometimes things just say to me, "Manufacturers trying to manipulate people like CNET." I have read articles that state review editors were given batteries that were twice as long or just very different from what has/was regularly sold in a store. If not for CNET, then many other websites. So, I've felt for the past few years that knowledge about lithium-ion batteries for laptops has been biased. I'm wondering if anyone here has any scientific knowledge about these things, the proper way to maintain them, and research that has been conducted. I've found…

Hey all, this is my first post on these forums so hello! I am doing an assignment at the moment and it is about the effects on mechanical properties of finishings and coating on metallic materials. I have been able to find info on hot dip galvanising and powder coating however i can't seem to find any info on how painting metallic materials effects it's mechanical properties. Hope someone is able to help me or point me in the right direction, i just need to find out how it effects (if it does) tenisle strength, impact, ductility, bend etc any info would be much appreciated guys! Cheers Pete

NEW TECHNIQUE FOR RESIDUAL STRESS MEASUREMENT NDT Introduction Internal stresses are to be considered as the following: 1) Operational strains referring to loads that the material is subject and calculated 2) Residual stresses in the material caused by heat treatments or stresses caused by welding, forging, casting, etc. The new technique is able to measure the applied load and residual stress that are balanced on the surface of the material, and in a relatively large volume, at times even the same size as the entire structures. This stress is part of the metal’s elasticity field and has a three axis spatial orientation. Description Elastic oscilla…

Hi, I am researching the discoveries made by and the technology developed by Nikola Tesla and I would like to speak with Eric Dollard, a scientist and engineer who is an expert on the research of Nikola Tesla. I have watched the video lectures and demonstrations of Eric Dollards work at Borderland Sciences Research Foundation and I recently ordered a few of his books on the theory of Tesla's technology. I am interested in paying Eric Dollard to consult my research group on replicating Tesla's wireless transmission of energy system. I have been unable to find Eric's contact information; I know that he gave a lecture in San Francisco during March 2007. I would appreciat…

Hi all, I am designing a power supply to allow me to continuously vary the voltage to an atmospheric plasma rig. I intend to amplify a signal from a 10 V signal generator source by means of a continuous amplifier (operational frequency 0-90 khz) to c. 300 V 5 A output. To be able to maintain a plasma under our conditions it may be necessary to boost the voltage to c. 5-6 kV. This I intend to do by means of a transformer. I have been searching for a design that may suit but am finding it difficult to obtain one. Can anybody offer suggestions? Niall

http://english.pravda.ru/science/tech/04-09-2008/106296-electromagnetic_super_weapon-0 They claim the power generation capacity is comparable to that of a nuclear power plant, what do you think?

What we really need is a real space ship to not only explore the solar system but to lift huge payload to earth orbit and to bring those same payloads back. This space ship should be reusable and durable enough to be used many times. I envision this space craft not only being used for Earth to orbit and back but as a interplanetary space craft. What I am talking about is described in this article. http://www.nuclearspace.com/Liberty_ship_menupg.aspx

Hi everyone I am trying to create a RC Helicopter able to work as a monitoring tool to look for invasive plants in remote areas of the Galapagos Islands. Ideally the helicopter will be able to fly a least for 30 minutes and be controlled at the distance of 500 to 1000 m, it has to include a GPS to guide the monitoring route and a transmitter camera to transfer the imagines of the vegetation. I am new in this field and so any suggestion about types of helicopter, brands and any additional technical information will be very useful. We are looking for the most economical but effective material which can be able to helps us to reduce costs. Any suggestion? Thanks Jorge

Suppose someone offered you a golden parachute, made of 24 carat gold, under the condition that you jump from a plane with it, would you accept? How big could you make the golden parachute?

I've been struggling to understand the whole problem with the storage of electricity. The topic of storage of energy has been treated before, although it was not the main topic in that thread. The popular view is: No wind, no electricity. No sun, no electricity. And storage is a problem, and hydrogen will save the day (eventually). I do not understand why hydro (water) power is no suitable candidate to solve this problem. Is it just not advertised in the right way (marketing problem) or is there a technological disadvantage so serious that we should abandon this idea and continue to wait for other technologies (which are not yet mature)? The Plan The task of…

i'm making a rc helcopter and i need help making the main rotor blades. i live in saudi arabia where there are very few hobby shops therefore i cant buy them. can someone plz give me advice on what materals to use or on how to make them. thnx alot:embarass:

I want to coat outdoor slate tiles in either oil, or a lacquer. Any advice on which way to go? Or another good alternative? They will be walked on. Any experience with this is appreciated.

Any engineer worth their salt knows that a large percentage of generated electricity is lost during transmission. This fact along with the discovery of superconducting materials has inspired people to begin work on a superconducting power grid. While I am aware that this is not technologically feasible at the moment, superconductivity research is progressing rapidly and a new grid seems to me something worth planning to upgrade toward soon. My question is what kind of space considerations must be given for such a grid? Would it be possible to safely run it on current utility rights-of-way with no extra buffer zone? Is anyone in this forum involved in superconductor resear…

I'm new here so please excuse me if this is in the wrong section. Is this true? Is there a simple tool/method to measure any loss which can be acturatly reproduced over time e.g. every 6 months? I have been told that magnets loose their strength with use. I've used one in my tool box for sometime and it still seems as powerful as when I first got it. Any help with this will be very much appreciated. Bern Tewkesbury (That's not an instruction)

1. Gasoline powered cars- Use refined oil to make gasoline. Chemical reaction between the gasoline and oxygen pushes the pistons. Their advantages are it's already been done for you, you need to just refine the oil. The disadvantages are oil is a non-renewable resource that we will eventually run out of, and it causes lots of pollution. 2. Biodiesel powered cars: gas can be derived/made from crops. And is less polluting than gasoline. But, we'd need a lot of space to grow the crops as well as well as chemically change it so it can be used as fuel. 3. Hydrogen powered: Uses a chemical reaction between hydrogen and Oxygen to propel the pistons. It would require us t…

hi, I'm a total noob so excuse my stupid topic. Lately I've been wanting to go into engineering but I'm having a tough choice between Electrical and Computer engineering. I more or less understand that EE will deal with manipulation of electricity from large scale power to small circuits and even integrated circuitry in computers, phones, etc. I understand that a CpE will specialize with both computer hardware, software and how to perfectly integrate the two to work together. I've also done many searches on Google and job sites like monster.ca and workopolis (yes, I'm Canadian), so i have a fair understanding of the job opportunities available for an EE, but I haven't bee…