A joint project between the Wisconsin's Focus on Energy program, the Milwaukee School of Engineering (MSOE), City of Milwaukee, and We Energies to develop a 60-kW microturbine demonstration facility is described. All the salient mechanical and electrical data (speed, torque, voltage, current, etc.) from the microturbine and its associated equipment is made available to the students at the Milwaukee School of Engineering, and, in the future, other educational institutions. A subset of the data, in particular the energy costs, break-even points, and reliability statistics, are made available to the general public. Since the site is several kilometers from the MSOE campus, all of the data is made available remotely via the Internet. The facility has provisions for student tours of the site and a secure entrance and student work area for graduate students or senior projects. A multidisciplinary team of students and faculty (ME and EE) specified the desired parameters, assisted in development of the data acquisition system, and oversaw the development of the web-based delivery system. One of the more challenging aspects of this project was the number of entities involved. All told, ten different organizations played a role in the project. One of the major tasks for the students was to coordinate between and among these various organizations. A driving force for the students was to provide a useful tool for the students that came after them. This paper includes a description of the facility and microturbine technology, information on the data acquisition system, descriptions of the webbased instructional materials, and experiences with student recruitment and interactions.
The second phase of a joint project between the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the City of Milwaukee, WE Energies, and Wisconsin's Focus on Energy to develop a 60-kW microturbine demonstration facility is described. In Phase I the facility was designed, constructed, and commissioned. A multidisciplinary team of students and faculty (ME and EE) continues work on the project in this second phase. Coordination among the various stakeholders is crucial to the success of the project. Instrumentation has been acquired, installed, and calibrated. A grid connection agreement with the local utility, WE Energies, has been achieved. Milwaukee School of Engineering personnel interface with City of Milwaukee engineers concerning dispatch of the unit. During the heating season, the unit has been dispatched on thermal demand, and the economics of this mode of dispatch have been evaluated. Website development has continued: all instrument readings are accessible on the Website, and equations necessary for a First and Second Law analysis have been proofed and placed on the Website. Use of the facility as an offsite laboratory for the Milwaukee School of Engineering has begun. An important aspect of this second phase has been the handoff of the project from one team of students to the next. Information transfer has been smooth, and continuity has been maintained. The experiences of the students in working through this phase of the project are described.
The second phase of a joint project between the Milwaukee School of Engineering, the City of Milwaukee, WE Energies, and Wisconsin's Focus on Energy to develop a 60-kW microturbine demonstration facility is described. In Phase I the facility was designed, constructed, and commissioned. A multidisciplinary team of students and faculty (ME and EE) continues work on the project in this second phase. Coordination among the various stakeholders is crucial to the success of the project. Instrumentation has been acquired, installed, and calibrated. A grid connection agreement with the local utility, WE Energies, has been achieved. Milwaukee School of Engineering personnel interface with City of Milwaukee engineers concerning dispatch of the unit. During the heating season, the unit has been dispatched on thermal demand, and the economics of this mode of dispatch have been evaluated. Website development has continued: all instrument readings are accessible on the Website, and equations necessary for a First and Second Law analysis have been proofed and placed on the Website. Use of the facility as an offsite laboratory for the Milwaukee School of Engineering has begun. An important aspect of this second phase has been the handoff of the project from one team of students to the next. Information transfer has been smooth, and continuity has been maintained. The experiences of the students in working through this phase of the project are described.
The second phase of a joint project between the MilwaukeeSchool of Engineering, the City of Milwaukee, and Wisconsin’s Focuson Energy to develop a 60-kW microturbine demonstration facilityis described. In Phase I, the facility was designed, constructed, andcommissioned. A multidisciplinary team of students and faculty (me-chanical and electrical engineering) continues work on the project inthis second phase. Coordination among the various stakeholders iscrucial to the success of the project. Instrumentation has been acquired,installed, and calibrated. A grid connection agreement with the localutility has been achieved. Milwaukee School of Engineering person-nel interface with City of Milwaukee engineers concerning dispatchof the unit. During the heating season, the unit has been dispatchedon thermal demand, and the economics of this mode of dispatch havebeen evaluated. Website development has continued; all instrumentreadings are accessible on the website, and equations necessary for aFirst and Second Law analysis have been proofed and placed on thewebsite. Use of the facility as an off-site laboratory for the MilwaukeeSchool of Engineering has begun. An important aspect of this secondphase has been the handoff of the project from one team of studentsto the next. Information transfer has been smooth, and continuity hasbeen maintained. The experiences of the students in working throughthis phase of the project are described.
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