LINKAGES J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 4 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 1

S P E C I A L

P O I N T S O F

I N T E R E S T :

Factory Tour

Past Events

Upcoming

Events

Human Pow-

ered Vehicle

Competition

3D Printing

Tips

ASME.org

Social

Networking

Referral Drive

FLORIDA SECTION

On Friday, October 18th, 2013, ten

ASME members and their guests toured

the JBT Aerotech production facility off

of Presidents Drive in Orlando.

George Vagelakos, Senior IT

Engineer with JBT Corporate,

led the tour. JBT Orlando

makes cargo loading equipment

and de-icers for all of the major

cargo carriers such as FedEx and

DHL, as well as most of the air-

lines in the world.

The cargo loaders are as large as a

dump truck, can carry several tons of

cargo, and employ hydraulic lifts and joy-

stick control of the cargo loading process

from a single cockpit position. Mike

Leon, one of the ASME members on the

tour, was a former employee of JBT. Mr.

Leon described the patented drive sys-

tem that allowed cargo containers to

move in two directions and rotate on the

conveyor system, allowing cargo to be

loaded in tight access situations. As large

as the cargo loaders and de-icing equip-

ment appeared when viewed close up,

they are dwarfed when viewed

in photos next to the airplanes

they service. The division was

a former FMC division, and

many of their products can be

seen in service at airports the

world over.

Facility Tour Assembly starts

with a welded steel

chassis which are

painted on site.

Axles, engine, cab,

and all of the cargo

conveyor systems are added to the chas-

sis. The final test is conducted in a huge

room allowing the cargo bed to be raised

to its maximum height. Final shipments

are sent all over the world to Customer

sites. The facility has a hardware supplier

who maintains an on site store where

spare parts and tools can be purchased

with the swipe of an employee badge.

There is even a small vending machine

where small tools can be obtained by

employees using their badges.

Former Chair Jim Stana arranged the

tour after meeting George Vagelakos for

the first time a few weeks ago. Our

thanks to George for taking the time to

set up the tour and conducting it after

hours with the approval of JBT Safety and

Security.

Mike Leon Jim Stana

De-icer

Cargo

Loader

Recent Event

L I N K A G E S

P A G E 2 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 1

In September 2013, Dr. LeRoy

Alaways presented the fascinating

subject of baseball aerodynamics.

National conversation of the pos-

sibility of a curveball took center

stage in the New Yorker, Life, and

Look publications and among aca-

demic researchers in the 1940’s. Dr. Alaways dis-

cussed the historical background of baseball research

and how he discovered and analyzed some unpub-

lished data collected by Igor Sikorsky.

He explained that the ball generates lift, drag, and

cross-force components of aerodynamic forces due to

the pressure and viscous shear forces that act on the

ball while in flight. The spin induced on the ball by the

pitcher is the basis of the deviation from the normal

gravitational parabolic arc. For the curveball, the an-

gled top spin causes the ball to drop lower than the

normal arc and to deflect laterally.

He also talked about the

seam orientation, as it relates

to the number of seams the

catcher sees per revolution

of the ball in flight. A four-

seam pitch (rotating about

the z axis) can curve more

than a two-seam pitch for low spin parameter

values. The seam orientation influence de-

creases with increasing value of spin parameter.

Lastly, Dr. Alaways asked the attendees,

“Which ball goes farther after being hit with a

baseball bat?” Both the fastball and curveball

have a backspin after being hit, but the curve-

ball gets more backspin due to the initial

pitched topspin, generates more lift, and can go

farther in the field.

Dr. LeRoy Alaways has a diverse research

and engineering background that includes de-

veloping a system to track javelins in-flight,

building a virtual reality bobsled simulation for

the US Bobsled team, and tracking baseballs at

the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. He was

also instrumental in designing the “world’s

best” baseball pitching machine. He has over

10 years of mechanical engineering teaching

experience at Villanova University, Temple

University, UC-Davis, and the U.S. Military

Academy, West Point. He received a Ph.D. in

Engineering from the University of California,

Davis, and his Ph.D. dissertation on the aero-

dynamics of baseballs is in the National Baseball

Hall of Fame.

One PDH was offered to P.E.s who attended.

"Aerodynamics of a Curveball" by LeRoy Alaways

Ball

Orientation

Upcoming Events January 16 — “The Mechanics of the R&B Guitar” by Mike Sedlack.

Louie and Maria’s, 9728 E. Colonial Dr.

Networking 6:30pm, Dinner 7pm, Presentation 8pm

RSVP by COB Jan. 14 at floridasection@asme.org

February 16-22 — National Engineers’ Week

February 19 — UCF Student Design Presentations at UCF Campus

March 20 — “Life with a 3D Printer” by Jim Stana

April 11-13 — East Coast Human Powered Vehicle Competition at UCF Campus

*Schedule

subject to change

LeRoy Alaways

Recent Events

L I N K A G E S

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 1

“Axisymmetric Whole Engine Modeling” by David Cusano

ture data was then cou-

pled to the structural

analysis to obtain the dis-

placements using ANSYS.

The model size was opti-

mized at 7 million nodes

and, and analysis results

showed that there was a

bow in the rotor shaft of 7

mils during engine cooling.

Dr. Cusano has also worked for United Technolo-

gies' Pratt & Whitney, where he developed the first (for

P&W) gas thrust bearing design for the Space Shuttle

Main Engine Hydrostatic Bearing Test Rig. He has de-

grees in Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering, Aero-

space Engineering, and has a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engi-

neering from Purdue University.

In addition to the technical

content, this meeting facilitated

great networking opportunities

for students and professionals.

Our thanks to the Students’ Sec-

tion and Advisor Dr. Ali Gordon

for organizing this meeting.

On October 24th, ASME Senior members met with

the UCF Student members at the Fairwinds Alumni

Center on the UCF campus. Dr. David Cusano, Chief

Engineer and part owner of Parametric Solutions, Inc.,

presented the project he led:

Axisymmetric whole engine

modeling using CFD and

Thermal and Structural

Analysis. Mr. Ron Lewis and

Mr. Ashish Jaiswal from AN-

SYS also came to give an

overview of the ANSYS

Workbench which facilitated Dr. Cusano’s work. The

goal of his project was to simulate the structural dis-

placements caused by the natural convection cooling in a

gas turbine. This was accomplished by modeling an un-

steady conjugate heat transfer problem using ICEM and

Workbench for meshing. The mesh

was optimized to obtain accurate

values of heat transfer coefficient

and Nusselt number and good reso-

lution of the flow. These results, as

well as the metal temperatures,

were obtained by performing CFD

analysis using CFX. The tempera-

David

Cusano

Ron Lewis

In August 2013, Josh Kovac from Siemens Energy

talked about the operational flexibility of gas turbines.

Gas turbines are uniquely suited for the gap between

traditional steam turbine power plants and renewable

sources. Their advantages include fast start-up and load

ramp rates, which enable them to quickly deliver power

resources during peak load times. They do, however,

induce more thermal stress on the components due to

the higher temperatures, requiring more thermal man-

agement. Mr. Kovac discussed hydraulic clearance opti-

mization, where the rotor shaft shifts longitudinally to

adjust the gap clearance between the blades and the

casing. This provides mechanical aid when the materials

experience thermal expansion and contraction and en-

ables better control of turbine efficiency. Overall, gas

turbines provide operational flexibility to combined cy-

cle and gas turbine power plants, while lowering life cy-

cle costs through extended service intervals and re-

duced repair costs.

Josh Kovac has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical

Engineering and a Master’s degree in Engineering Man-

agement from the University of Central Florida. Since

1996, Mr. Kovac has been engaged in advanced gas tur-

bine development for Siemens Energy and has worked in

Berlin, Germany, and Orlando, Florida. He currently is

an Engineering Manager of the SGTx-8000H product

line.

One PDH was offered to P.E.s who attended.

“Gas Turbine Operational Flexibility” by Joshua Kovac

P A G E 4

L I N K A G E S

Recent Event

In November for our last dinner meeting of

the year, Richard Bunce presented his work

with Siemens Energy involving a novel gas tur-

bine exhaust temperature measurement sys-

tem. This system uses a circular array of 8

acoustic pyrometer horns as sound transmit-

ters and 8 microphones as receivers arranged

around the outside circumference of the tur-

bine exhaust duct. Each receiver captures the

sound transmitted from each horn, which cre-

ates a grid of path intersections. The Active

Acoustic Method is the

fundamental principle of

this measurement sys-

tem: the speed of signal

sound is calculated, and

isentropic relations are

employed to calculate

the average tempera-

ture across each signal path. It then uses ad-

vanced algorithms to map the temperatures at

every path intersection.

This acoustic pyrometer array measure-

ment technique has proven to be robust and

effective in two test engines of different power

ranges and different combustion and exhaust

duct configurations. This technique was first

reported at the ASME Turbo Expo in San An-

tonio in June 2013.

Richard Bunce, P.E., is a Principal Engineer

at Siemens, has worked in gas turbine blading

heat transfer development, and currently

works in the Siemens Gas Turbine Advanced

Sensors and Instrumentation Systems group

where his technical interest is temperature,

pressure and flow measurement. Mr. Bunce

holds 5 patents and has written several re-

viewed, published papers. He is a Past Chair of

the Florida Section ASME and currently serves

as the ASME Vice President, Global Communi-

ties in the Knowledge and Community Sector.

His technical interest is the ASME International

Gas Turbine Institute where he serves on the

Controls, Dynamics and Instrumentation Com-

mittee.

One PDH was offered to P.E.s who at-

tended.

“Gas Turbine Exhaust Temperature Measurement System”

by Richard Bunce

Richard Bunce

Human Powered Vehicle Competition

Friday, April 11, 2014

12:00 pm to 7:00 pm — Vehicle Display, Presen-

tations, and Safety Inspection

Location: ENG 2 Building, Harris Engineering

Center Lawn, CREOL Parking Lot C

Saturday, April 12, 2014

6:00 am to 12:00 pm — Drag Race Event

Location: Central Florida Blvd, ENG 2 Bldg.

12:00 pm to 6:00 pm — Innovation Event

Location: ENG 2 Building

Sunday, April 13, 2014

6:00 am to 12:00 pm — Endurance event

Location: Parking Lots C and D

Come witness an exciting

competition where university

students from the East U.S. display

their talents and passion for Engineering!

is coming to UCF

Click for more info and promo video!

Printing with Colors

Recently, I have been printing flat

objects like key chains with multi-

ple colors. First, let me say that

the change of color is not as easy

as it could be. First, you have to

pause the print at an appropriate

time. I always add a small pillar of

material outside of the model and

try to pause the print when the

print is on this portion (see bottom

of key tag photo). It would be nice

if you could imbed a “pause” com-

mand into the STL or print file and

have the head go to a "neutral cor-

ner". The head does raise up but

the pause occurs wherever it hap-

pens to be printing. The nozzle

also starts to immediately cool. So

to keep the print head hot and

make the transition to the new

color as fast as possible, you hit the

“pause” button, then the

“withdraw” material button, and

pull out the old color. If you

wait too long to hit the

“withdraw”, the print head will

cool down and you will have to

wait a little before you can pull

out the first color

material. Then

you have to replace

the spool with the

new color, feed it

into the plastic guide

sleeve, and slip it

into the print head

and hit “extrude”.

By then, the print

head has cooled, so

it might take a min-

ute to get the feed

to start again with

the new color. And it extrudes for

about 30 seconds so the new color

comes out and starts to drip onto

your new model. I will likely

mount the new color and buy an-

other guide tube to eliminate some

of the steps above, but it is still not

ideal.

It would be best if you could spec-

ify a neutral corner where the

model was not being built, have the

print head do a “change material”

command and have it keep the

print head hot during the process.

It would allow withdrawal, and then

begin to feed after you hit a ready

command. An option to set the

time of feed might allow someone

to extrude out the old color or just

allow the material to keep printing

since you will cover the material

with a few layers anyway. I have

some other work-around ideas to

make color changes easier, but I

think I will keep them to myself for

awhile and debug them on my own.

Printing a Model with 2 Colors

My wife had an idea for a logo that

she wanted me to use on a key-

chain for her. It is for an online

Master’s degree program she is

currently taking from FSU. I saw

this as a chance to show off my

new capability. She had sketched

the logo on a piece of paper. I was

able to model it by first sketching it

to scale, importing it into SketchUp

(a 3D modeling program originally

from Google), and creating a 3D

Life with an Afinia 3D Printer P A G E 5

Design of

Experiments

L I N K A G E S

model from it. That all took a few

days of evening work. The first

copy printed in two colors in 35

minutes.

Letter/Feature Widths

My wife loved the results, but the

second color didn't stick well in a

few places, so I would need to

improve my color changing tech-

nique. Also, some of the lettering

appeared well filled while others

did not. I decided to tackle the

second issue by running a simple

design of experiments (see photo).

I created a model of rectangles

with different print widths and

oriented them along both the x and

y axes, as well as 45 degrees to the

axis. The print widths varied from

1 to 2.9 mm. I had looked at a few

examples of earlier prints and made

the observation that the nominal

print width was about a 0.5 mm

wide. So when the print object

was 1 mm wide, the object was

created with 2 lines of print,

each 0.5 mm wide. If it was

wider than that, there was a gap

between the print lines. As you

got to 1.5 mm, 3 lines appeared.

You can see the results in the

photo. The numbers next to the

rectangle represent the width in

mm. I remodeled the key tag so

that the lettering was in multiples

of 0.5 mm width wherever possi-

ble. The final print of the key tag is

shown in the key tag photo, while

still on the print bed perf board.

The outside material is the “raft”

that the printer creates to ensure a

good starting surface. The whole

object is about 18 grams, or about

$0.90.

Stay tuned for more results of Jim’s

explorations on his 3D printer.

“3D printing” and “additive manufacturing” are upward trending technologies in diverse industries for

building concepts and working models and are quickly becoming popular and attainable technologies for

the consumer. We continue here from the previous two Newsletter installments, to follow Jim Stana

(past FL Section Chair) as he experiments with the Afinia 3D printer extrusion width and troubleshoots

the issues he encountered when printing with different colors.

Afinia H-Series 3D

Printer

Key Tag

P A G E 6 V O L U M E 4 , I S S U E 1

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Leadership Vice President, Global Communities Richard Bunce

Florida Section Chair George Cera

Vice-Chair Matthew Smolowitz

Secretary Andrea Wesser

Treasurer Stan Wells

Past Chair Jim Stana

Executive Committee Members

Monica Hansel, Lisa Schott, Alex Socha,

Pete van Caulil, Diane Vazquez, Mark White,

Terrell Yon

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Newsletter Chair Diane Vazquez

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