Using high performance fibres that are already impregnated with resin is, say the proponents of prepregs, a sure way of building consistent quality into fibre reinforced plastic (FRP) products. Aircraft builders became convinced some time ago, but constructors of marine craft have followed suit as customers for premium yachts and some commercial craft seek top performance with structures that are exceptionally light, stiff and strong.
Prepregs have become a primary means to achieve this winning combination. These materials avoid the nagging inconsistencies associated with traditional FRP processing, especially the variable quality achieved by different laminators working on different days in different conditions with non-consistent material mixes. Bulk material manufacture under controlled factory conditions ensures that prepregs provide high and consistent fibre-to-resin ratios, along with even fibre wet-out during cure. For their part, fabricators are happy to abandon messy wet lay-up and spray-up operations together with their associated volatile emissions. They can worry less about resin viscosity since this is controlled as a function of the cure, while concerns over precise mixing of catalyst, accelerator and resin are avoided. Less resin is wasted and laminators operate in a cleaner and healthier working environment. Multilayer materials simplify the lay-up process because some of the lay-up has already been done and is inherent in the material.
Although carbon epoxy composite has become a marine industry mainstay in recent years, glass and aramid prepregs are also available, with polyester, vinyl ester or epoxy resins. In the past, prepregs had to be cured under pressure at high temperature – typically 175°C for aerospace structures – and this held back any penetration into the marine sector, where most constructors have neither the desire nor the finance to acquire and operate large autoclaves. However, the advent of materials that cure at lower temperatures and with vacuum bag consolidation, with only minor sacrifice of performance and quality in the cured product, made prepregging viable for high-end marine craft constructors. Low temperature prepregs now available can be cured at atmospheric pressure (vacuum bagging) at temperatures as low as 65°C, avoiding the need for autoclaves and reducing energy needed during the cure cycle. Resin chemistry manipulation has made this possible. Prepreg suppliers use resins from various manufacturers, though some have developed their own bespoke formulations to meet specific customer needs.
Thursday, July 18, 2013
Sunday, July 14, 2013
Types of renewable energy
The power of water is abundant—approximately 73 percent of all renewable energy according to the Energy Information Administration (EIA). Hydropower is generated using the mechanical energy of flowing water by forcing it through piping called a penstock, which then turns a generator in order to produce electricity. Water power also consists of wave and tidal energy, which are both in the infant stage of research, as scientists try to discover how to harness the energy produced from movement of the ocean. The Hoover Dam is the largest hydropower system in the U.S.Solar cells made from silicon absorb the sun's radiation, also called photovoltaic cells. The photovoltaic process involves the movement and displacement of electrons to absorb the sun's radiation and create electricity, but there are also solar systems that use large-scale mirrors to heat water, or produce high temperatures and generate steam, which is used to turn a generator.Wind power is a very simple process.
A wind turbine converts the kinetic energy (motion) of wind into mechanical energy that is used to generate electricity. The energy is fed through a generator, converted a second time into electrical energy, then fed into the grid to be transmitted to a power station. Wind power is abundant in California and Texas, with the two largest wind farms in the world residing in West Texas. Wind is unique because it carries incentives for farmers to give parcels of land for building wind turbines, and has the most potential as far as widespread adoption due to the large areas of land with consistent wind available to harness.The process involves trapping heat underground, then building energy that rises near the surface in the form of heat. When this heat naturally creates hot water or steam, it is harnessed and then used to turn a steam turbine to generate electricity. The Italians were the first to use geothermal energy for commercial purposes in the early 1900s.Biomass is a very versatile form of renewable energy. Biomass power plants burn biomass fuel in boilers to heat water and turn a steam turbine to create electricity. Biomass fuel is everything from wood to landfill trash, which is currently being used to convert into methane for the production of dry natural gas. Agricultural research is seeing unique results, including dairy farms in Texas converting cow manure into energy.
A wind turbine converts the kinetic energy (motion) of wind into mechanical energy that is used to generate electricity. The energy is fed through a generator, converted a second time into electrical energy, then fed into the grid to be transmitted to a power station. Wind power is abundant in California and Texas, with the two largest wind farms in the world residing in West Texas. Wind is unique because it carries incentives for farmers to give parcels of land for building wind turbines, and has the most potential as far as widespread adoption due to the large areas of land with consistent wind available to harness.The process involves trapping heat underground, then building energy that rises near the surface in the form of heat. When this heat naturally creates hot water or steam, it is harnessed and then used to turn a steam turbine to generate electricity. The Italians were the first to use geothermal energy for commercial purposes in the early 1900s.Biomass is a very versatile form of renewable energy. Biomass power plants burn biomass fuel in boilers to heat water and turn a steam turbine to create electricity. Biomass fuel is everything from wood to landfill trash, which is currently being used to convert into methane for the production of dry natural gas. Agricultural research is seeing unique results, including dairy farms in Texas converting cow manure into energy.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Birds, bats, and wind farms
The Wildlife Society Bulletin reports that wind farms kill over 573,000 birds in the United States annually, including about 83,000 hawks, eagles and falcons. Research suggests that the number of bats that are killed may be double that of birds, making it well over 1,000,000 bats killed annually. As one official told me, large bats such as the Big Brown Bat and Hoary Bat are being “decimated at an alarming rate” particularly in the Eastern United States. However these numbers may not be entirely accurate since not all information is made available to the public – at least in Idaho that is. In Idaho, information on wind farms located on private land is proprietary and therefore not available to the general public.Furthermore, there is no state oversight for wind farms and their relationship with agencies such as the state Fish and Game (F&G) Department is cooperative rather than regulative; in other words, to some degree wind farm owners and developers can choose whether or not to cooperate with the state F&G Department. On private land, any regulation comes from county Planning and Zoning committees although F&G has input. So the regulation of wind farms on private land can be inconsistently applied from one county to the next.In speaking with various officials, it became clear that there are some State legislatures and representatives who have leased their land to these wind farms, so it’s highly unlikely that the State of Idaho would support any changes in wind farm regulation or their releasing of information. To further complicate matters, the federal government turns a blind eye to wind farms and has never fined a wind farm for any of the deaths, although each one of the 83,000 raptors killed annually is a federal crime.
One of the reasons for so many bird deaths is that wind farms are constructed in areas of strong wind currents – the exact wind currents that birds use, which drives the birds directly through the wind farms. In Idaho, some of these large wind farms have been constructed in Sage Grouse and Sharptail Grouse habitat. The impact to sage hen (grouse) is not necessarily death by turbine blades, but loss of habitat; sage grouse avoid tall structures such as trees, etc. and wind farms located in sage grouse habitat drive the birds away, further reducing their habitat. For years now, there has been a debate over whether or not to list the sage hen as an endangered species, and Idaho is working to bring back the sharptail, both of which could be detrimentally affected by wind farms. In Bingham county, several proposals to construct a wind farm at the mouth of Wolverine Canyon have been denied and residents strongly opposed their construction in this recreational area. Should this wind farm be constructed, essentially 45 miles of the Blackfoot Mountains from Blackfoot to Ririe would be in wind farms.Yet ironically, environmentalists who can so severely impact the oil and logging industries, turn a seemingly blind eye to ecological devastation caused by this source of “green energy”; the State of California can shut off water to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to preserve the delta smelt – an endangered fish, yet allow 10,000 bird deaths annually in the Altamont Pass wind turbines. The federal government has prosecuted oil and power companies with federal crimes for birds killed in waste ponds or electrocuted on power lines. In 2009, Exxon Mobile paid $600,000 for killing 85 birds in five states. PacifiCorp paid more than $10.5 million in 2009 for electrocuting 232 eagles along power lines and at its substations. According to the Canada Free Press, 28 dead birds were discovered in oil waste pits and maximum penalty for each charge under the Migratory Bird Act is six months in prison and a $15,000 fine.
One of the reasons for so many bird deaths is that wind farms are constructed in areas of strong wind currents – the exact wind currents that birds use, which drives the birds directly through the wind farms. In Idaho, some of these large wind farms have been constructed in Sage Grouse and Sharptail Grouse habitat. The impact to sage hen (grouse) is not necessarily death by turbine blades, but loss of habitat; sage grouse avoid tall structures such as trees, etc. and wind farms located in sage grouse habitat drive the birds away, further reducing their habitat. For years now, there has been a debate over whether or not to list the sage hen as an endangered species, and Idaho is working to bring back the sharptail, both of which could be detrimentally affected by wind farms. In Bingham county, several proposals to construct a wind farm at the mouth of Wolverine Canyon have been denied and residents strongly opposed their construction in this recreational area. Should this wind farm be constructed, essentially 45 miles of the Blackfoot Mountains from Blackfoot to Ririe would be in wind farms.Yet ironically, environmentalists who can so severely impact the oil and logging industries, turn a seemingly blind eye to ecological devastation caused by this source of “green energy”; the State of California can shut off water to farmers in the San Joaquin Valley to preserve the delta smelt – an endangered fish, yet allow 10,000 bird deaths annually in the Altamont Pass wind turbines. The federal government has prosecuted oil and power companies with federal crimes for birds killed in waste ponds or electrocuted on power lines. In 2009, Exxon Mobile paid $600,000 for killing 85 birds in five states. PacifiCorp paid more than $10.5 million in 2009 for electrocuting 232 eagles along power lines and at its substations. According to the Canada Free Press, 28 dead birds were discovered in oil waste pits and maximum penalty for each charge under the Migratory Bird Act is six months in prison and a $15,000 fine.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
Drummond Schools wind turbines finish the first month of electricity production
After the first month of energy production, Drummond Public Schools joins a small population of state schools turning to wind power.The five Drummond wind turbines completed the first month of production in June, as the grant for the project closed out Friday. A provision of the grant stipulated 50 kilowatts of wind power. Originally, the plan was to build one wind turbine to generate that amount of power, but instead, five 10-kilowatt turbines were built, said Mike Woods, Drummond superintendent.The town of Drummond was the recipient of the grant. Collaboration between the town and the school allowed the school to benefit from the grant. Wecc LLC, a renewable energy consultant company, was instrumental in helping develop the project and make decisions about the turbines.David Burford, Drummond’s mayor during a majority of the grant process, sees the turbines as an investment.“Why not spend the money toward the future?” Burford said. “Anybody that’s looking toward the future should be looking at the schools.”The school could not secure the funds for the project because it was not eligible. After presenting the project to the town board, the town applied for the grant, Burford said. The board was supportive of the idea.“As long as I see those blades moving I can see them generating electricity for the future, which is our school,” Burford said.Mike Steinke, executive managing partner at Wecc, helped get the needed information to decide if wind energy was the right option for the school, and also aided officials in obtaining grant funds, Woods said. Typically, Wecc is involved more with the development of wind farms and distributed energy project. However, Steinke said the company helped Drummond with the project because of the educational benefits.“It’s such a good one from an educational standpoint,” Steinke said.Few schools in Oklahoma have turbines to help cover costs. Steinke said Drummond would be one of a handful using such an innovative idea.“It’s cutting-edge for a small community,” Steinke said. “It’s something for them to be proud of.”
One provision of the grant specified the turbines had to be made by an American manufacturer, Woods said. The 10-kilowatt turbines in Drummond were produced from Bergey Windpower Corp., a company based in Oklahoma.The energy produced belongs to the school and first will be used to power the new ag building; however, it will only take an estimated 30 percent of produced energy to run it. To power the whole school with wind energy would require a bigger grant and a bigger turbine, Steinke said. The cost to power the entire school would be too high. The remaining power will be sold to OG&E Electric Services, Woods said.“Small schools have to be innovative or we’re not going to survive,” Woods said.The blue and gold turbines — Drummond Public Schools’ colors — will serve some educational purposes, too, Woods said. The data collected from the turbines hopefully will be used in the classroom, especially for science and math purposes. Woods hopes the turbines can serve as a model for businesses and other schools to see whether it would be a viable option for someone considering wind power.Drummond school’s next project is a monolithic dome structure: 32 feet tall by 125 feet in diameter, to hold a PE area, large classroom and a stage. The entire building also will be a safe room rated to withstand an EF-5 tornado.For now, though, Woods said the school is going to enjoy the fact the project is done, after the grant was awarded to Drummond nearly four years ago in 2009.“We’re catching our breath … letting the dust settle,” Woods said. “We’re enjoying watching them spin.”
One provision of the grant specified the turbines had to be made by an American manufacturer, Woods said. The 10-kilowatt turbines in Drummond were produced from Bergey Windpower Corp., a company based in Oklahoma.The energy produced belongs to the school and first will be used to power the new ag building; however, it will only take an estimated 30 percent of produced energy to run it. To power the whole school with wind energy would require a bigger grant and a bigger turbine, Steinke said. The cost to power the entire school would be too high. The remaining power will be sold to OG&E Electric Services, Woods said.“Small schools have to be innovative or we’re not going to survive,” Woods said.The blue and gold turbines — Drummond Public Schools’ colors — will serve some educational purposes, too, Woods said. The data collected from the turbines hopefully will be used in the classroom, especially for science and math purposes. Woods hopes the turbines can serve as a model for businesses and other schools to see whether it would be a viable option for someone considering wind power.Drummond school’s next project is a monolithic dome structure: 32 feet tall by 125 feet in diameter, to hold a PE area, large classroom and a stage. The entire building also will be a safe room rated to withstand an EF-5 tornado.For now, though, Woods said the school is going to enjoy the fact the project is done, after the grant was awarded to Drummond nearly four years ago in 2009.“We’re catching our breath … letting the dust settle,” Woods said. “We’re enjoying watching them spin.”
Monday, June 17, 2013
Texas Gulf Coast is prime for offshore wind turbines
In the race to establish the country’s first offshore wind farm, the University of Maine's Advanced Structures and Composite Center drifted across the finish line recently, when it launched a small, floating-platform research wind turbine off the coast of Castine, Maine. The Center hopes to connect a full-size turbine to their power grid by 2016, NPR’s web site StateImpac reports.In Texas, however, where steady winds and a gently sloped shoreline could make for ideal conditions to harvest wind, offshore wind is racing to catch up.Offshore wind farms are typically more efficient than their onshore counterparts because there’s fewer physical obstructions and a more predictably consistent flow of wind. But critics of offshore wind cite potential problems, like impacts on wildlife and scenery. Then there’s the hefty price tag: offshore turbines can be twice as expensive to build as onshore ones.The Texas Gulf Coast was at one point thought to be the best candidate for the country’s first offshore wind farm, but efforts by companies such as Coastal Point Energy and Baryonyx have yet to launch. But that might change in the next few years.Off the coast of Texas, a consortium of universities, energy companies and manufacturers have come together to bring offshore wind farms to the Gulf Coast. The Department of Energy (DOE) is partially funding the design of several offshore wind energy projects over this next year, including the Texas Gulf Offshore Wind Project (GoWind), which plans to install three turbines in the Gulf.
GoWind is composed of research teams from several Texas universities, as well as companies like Baryonyx, and turbine and platform manufacturers. In addition to federal funding, the group has contributed between $20 to $25 million of their own money to the project.John Pappas, director of the Texas A&M Wind Energy Center, is one of the project’s leaders. He thinks that the GoWind project will succeed because of the Gulf’s inherent advantages, like its long history of offshore oil drilling.“What’s good about the Gulf of Mexico, first and foremost, is that we have the infrastructure and the people who know how to work offshore,” Pappas said. “In some other places, they don’t have the infrastructure necessary to bring [turbines] offshore and construct them.”Though offshore turbines are relatively common in other parts of the world (especially the United Kingdom and Scandinavia), this is not yet the case in the states. Some promising plans, such as the Cape Wind Project in Massachusetts, have stalled due to bureaucratic gridlock and vocal opposition.
GoWind is composed of research teams from several Texas universities, as well as companies like Baryonyx, and turbine and platform manufacturers. In addition to federal funding, the group has contributed between $20 to $25 million of their own money to the project.John Pappas, director of the Texas A&M Wind Energy Center, is one of the project’s leaders. He thinks that the GoWind project will succeed because of the Gulf’s inherent advantages, like its long history of offshore oil drilling.“What’s good about the Gulf of Mexico, first and foremost, is that we have the infrastructure and the people who know how to work offshore,” Pappas said. “In some other places, they don’t have the infrastructure necessary to bring [turbines] offshore and construct them.”Though offshore turbines are relatively common in other parts of the world (especially the United Kingdom and Scandinavia), this is not yet the case in the states. Some promising plans, such as the Cape Wind Project in Massachusetts, have stalled due to bureaucratic gridlock and vocal opposition.
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
For First Time, U.S. to Lease Offshore Wind Blocks
The U.S. government announced Tuesday that it would be going forward with long-discussed plans to auction federal leases off the Atlantic Ocean coast for the development of offshore wind energy.The sales, to take place in late July, will be the first time that federal lands have been offered on a competitive basis for the United States’ nascent offshore wind business. Proponents say the industry has significant potential, but for decades it has lagged far behind the country’s onshore wind sector – even as offshore usage has strengthened significantly in other countries.“Today’s announcement is an important milestone in efforts to launch the offshore wind industry in the United States,” Chris Long, manager of offshore wind and siting policy for the American Wind Energy Association, a trade group, told IPS. “Offshore wind energy represents a significant opportunity for our country, and developing this industry will help to create thousands of new jobs.”Currently, the Interior Department has approved nine companies to take part in the auction, which will offer around 165,000 acres in two blocks off the coast of the eastern states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. A third area off the coast of Virginia could be offered for lease later this year.According to recent analysis by the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the initial two blocks will be able to produce a regular supply of around 3,500 megawatts, enough to power around a million U.S. homes.Overall, the United States is thought to have around 4,000 gigawatts (or four million megawatts) of offshore wind potential. That’s almost four times the country’s current electricity production of all types.“This leasing announcement is a big deal, a significant move forward on what has been an extensive process to identify appropriate sites and give access to try to build in the water,” Dave Hamilton, the director for clean energy with the Sierra Club, a conservation group, told IPS.
“These are important steps, but now getting equipment in the water, finding communities or entities to buy the power at the price producers can make it – that’s all still ahead of this project.”Proponents have long noted that offshore wind has particular potential in the United States given that almost four-fifths of the electricity requirement comes from states along the coasts and Great Lakes, and thus windfarms could be positioned fairly near demand centres.According to estimates in a recent scientific paper, around a third of all U.S. power demand – or all demand from the East Coast, except during summer – can be satisfied from offshore wind power along the East Coast alone.Strengthened by government subsidies, the U.S. wind energy sector has grown significantly – albeit belatedly – in recent years, currently comprising some three percent of the country’s overall power mix. Meanwhile, the offshore sector has lagged far behind, in part due to the significantly higher costs and technicality associated with installing a turbine on water.The technology has long existed, however, and many models have already gone through a lengthy process of testing. Just last week, the Energy Department formally announced that a new prototype, a floating turbine in Maine, has been connected to the national electricity grid, the first offshore turbine now operating in the country and the first of seven such experimental projects currently underway.The U.S. government has green-lighted at least two smaller East Coast offshore wind projects, but these went forward without a competitive bidding process and are still awaiting regulatory approval. While around a dozen privately financed offshore projects are currently being developed, July’s leasing is being touted as the full opening-up of the new industry to the private sector.“If there is good interest in this one, then I think you will have this happening on a consistent basis,” Sally Jewell, the secretary of the interior, told reporters Monday.“I can’t promise that they will be in production in four years, but we don’t want to be a roadblock. The market will dictate, but we certainly don’t want to get in the way.”
“These are important steps, but now getting equipment in the water, finding communities or entities to buy the power at the price producers can make it – that’s all still ahead of this project.”Proponents have long noted that offshore wind has particular potential in the United States given that almost four-fifths of the electricity requirement comes from states along the coasts and Great Lakes, and thus windfarms could be positioned fairly near demand centres.According to estimates in a recent scientific paper, around a third of all U.S. power demand – or all demand from the East Coast, except during summer – can be satisfied from offshore wind power along the East Coast alone.Strengthened by government subsidies, the U.S. wind energy sector has grown significantly – albeit belatedly – in recent years, currently comprising some three percent of the country’s overall power mix. Meanwhile, the offshore sector has lagged far behind, in part due to the significantly higher costs and technicality associated with installing a turbine on water.The technology has long existed, however, and many models have already gone through a lengthy process of testing. Just last week, the Energy Department formally announced that a new prototype, a floating turbine in Maine, has been connected to the national electricity grid, the first offshore turbine now operating in the country and the first of seven such experimental projects currently underway.The U.S. government has green-lighted at least two smaller East Coast offshore wind projects, but these went forward without a competitive bidding process and are still awaiting regulatory approval. While around a dozen privately financed offshore projects are currently being developed, July’s leasing is being touted as the full opening-up of the new industry to the private sector.“If there is good interest in this one, then I think you will have this happening on a consistent basis,” Sally Jewell, the secretary of the interior, told reporters Monday.“I can’t promise that they will be in production in four years, but we don’t want to be a roadblock. The market will dictate, but we certainly don’t want to get in the way.”
Thursday, May 30, 2013
Different Types of Carbon Dioxide Incubators
As compared to the air jacketed incubators, it is always advisable to use water jacketed incubators as they lead to lesser temperature fluctuations.Customizable products are one the best and most basic ways to promote your business. Not all advertising has to bold and bombastic. Some of the most effective forms of advertising are subtler and gentler. One of the most effective types of promotional products is custom writing pads.You may buy custom writing pads from certain office paper product distributers. Companies that sell printing paper and shipping labels will probably also offer these products. Custom writing pads are the most affordable, effective, and usable promotional product. They are completely practical and offer free advertising for a company. A business' logo and contact information may be printed on each sheet of a promotional pad, so that regardless of who uses that piece of paper or what it is used for, the company will be on the person's mind, even if it is only in their subconscious.
Everyone needs notepads to write down messages, take notes, record phone numbers and addresses, or express thoughts. Therefore, custom notepads will be appreciated by all of your customers. Notepads are not necessarily targeted to a specific demographic; anyone who gets a promotional notepad will probably use it. And, when that person writes on it, he will be reminded of your business and its services. Additionally, this will probably be a positive connotation, which is which will encourage him to return to your business.In a medical laboratory, incubators play an important role, as they provide a controlled environment that regulate and adjusts the temperature, humiliation and ventilation. These units are used for keeping pre mature babies, nurture micro-organisms and hatch poultry eggs. Apart from these, nowadays, people are becoming curious on raising pets such as lizards and amphibians, rather than buying them. Therefore, to hatch a reptile egg there are certain temperature conditions that are required, and these can be only provided by these units.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)