Blog Update

I'm writing this post mostly to make a record of the progress I have made on my SRP and to document what has happened since my last post (which is quite a lot!). I came back from Seattle a little over two weeks ago (although my project ended in the last week of March). Ever since then I have been working on my presentation and also on my research paper. My presentation is almost ready to go, and I just have a few finishing touches to put on it. I don't want to say too much about my research beyond the fact that it's coming along quite nicely. I have finally managed to integrate my internship with my research question (this took me a while to do), which has made things quite a bit easier as this was a major hurdle that was hindering my presentation. Beyond that there isn't much else to report in regards to my SRP, but I may talk a bit about my research in a future post (projects are almost over so that could end up being a nice closing post). To this post I have decided to attach some images that I have not yet posted to my blog that are (for the most part) not related to my project but may be interesting nonetheless.

Mt. Rainier

Partly-cloudy Sky

Elliot Bay

Seattle skyline from Upper Queen Anne

Elliot Bay commercial harbor

Door of engineer at Casne, Inc.

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

Butchart Gardens

First day of homeless man's vigil at top of Seattle tree

Drafting table at Casne, Inc.

Olympia, WA

Amazon Bookstore, University Village, Seattle

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge



Nearly-buried street sign, Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

My aunt in front of a snowbank, Hurricane Ridge

Hurricane Ridge

Daily political cartoons posted by an engineer at Casne, Inc.

 

Ladybug on Argosy Cruise tour boat

Ladybug on Argosy Cruise tour boat

 

Edmonds, WA

Where There's a Will, There's a Way

Well, it's been a while! I have been refraining from posting because I wanted to clear some things up in regards to my research (I swear I wasn't putting it off!). When I initially got in contact with my on-site advisor, I thought that my internship would be easily complementary to the focus of my SRP, but having been here for a good deal of time, I have realized that this company does not operate on such a macro scale as I initially thought. What I mean by that is that instead of doing power distribution on a large scale (as they say on their website: "With the redevelopment of older intercity sites more and more municipalities choose to improve the aesthetic appeal of their neighborhoods. Casne Engineering assists City’s and electric utilities with the detailed coordination required to develop construction cost estimates, bid documents, and construction engineering that provides smooth relocation of overhead electric, telephone, cable TV, and fiber to underground ducts and manholes along with other the overhead utilities relocated underground http://www.casne.com/highvoltage/services3.html), the power distribution that they do is mostly on a small scale, such as placement of wiring and junction boxes and such within a building or complex, usually working with Boeing, Sea-Tac airport, etc (at least from what I have seen thus far). In terms of wastewater collection and treatment and water systems, I have seen a little bit more of this on a macro scale, but they are only conducting a few such projects right now (although they are projected to do more municipal projects in the future). So far I have done work with control systems, the IT department, and arc-flash analysis and power system design. It has given me insight as to the general process (how projects are initiated and completed and what regulation and steps are in between), however I want to make sure that I am getting the most out of my internship in relation to my research. I have decided to try and integrate the two things, by focusing on the processes on a small scale and then relating them to the large scale impact on the environment. I will use the time I spend with my on-site adviser and his colleagues to examine the larger scale environmental issue created by such infrastructures, and to further investigate if there is a balance between the need for infrastructures and the need for conservation of habitats. Does the company take this (balance between the need for infrastructures and the need for conservation of habitats) into consideration, beyond the framework of laws and regulations? What policies are in place within the company? Is new technology helping to minimize the environmental impact of these infrastructures, and if so, how?

Things Which Hurt, Instruct



This week was undoubtedly the least eventful week I've had so far. Alan had a big project for the Boeing plant in Renton that he had to finish by the end of the week, so as a result I ended up going in to the office only twice. On the first day I was there, Alan showed me more arc-flash analysis, as well as his work with the power distribution of a local King County municipal water pipeline facility (I will mention more about this in a later post, as the power distribution part ties in to what I will be seeing in the municipal department). On the second day that week, Alan sat me down with Jason, who works in the IT department. Naturally I was quite apprehensive, as while I am able to operate a computer just fine I have next to no experience when it comes to computer programming (fortunately he did not show me much code, which was completely fine by me to say the least). What Jason's section of the department does is system integration, which is basically the process of bringing together component subsystems into one system and ensuring that they function together as a system, by linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or in function, to act in coordination with one another. They design data centers (shown below), which are facilities used to house computer systems and such components, like telecommunications or storage systems.

 

They generally include redundant or backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections, environmental controls (such as air conditioning and fire suppression) and various security devices (large data centers are industrial scale operations that can use as much electricity as a small town). They also remotely troubleshoot for data centers, using technology given to them by clients. For example, Jason received a complaint (also known as a "ticket") sent in by Microsoft while I was there with him. In order to gain access into the system, he had to use a computer sent to the company by Microsoft specifically for the purpose of troubleshooting, and had to make sure to contact Microsoft before he entered their system and after he left, for security reasons. Despite the fact that I was showed, and learned, a lot of the smaller technical details involved in this process, this experience has more than anything taught me about systems integration in general, as even though in this particular case the work is oriented towards creating and smoothing the connections between computer subsystems, it shows a lot about how larger, physical systems must be similarly designed and managed, especially since our technological systems are so much more advanced and interconnected than our municipal ones.

Random happenings:

• Because of the fact that this week I did not have much to do, I decided to go to the Seattle Central Library to do some research and see if I could find a few reference books. Even though I have been to this library before, the last time I visited it was years ago, and I don't think I remembered how large it was.

  

  Seattle Central Library Exterior

  
  It has 11 stories -even though it has a lot more stories than that ;)- and is absolutely massive. In addition to having three whole floors dedicated to just reference books, it also has a reading "room" (it's actually an entire floor), children's floor, a public performance space, and a bunch more specialized areas. In addition to finding early 20th century newspaper archives (which kept me occupied for hours), I found two music practice rooms and (my favorite) an entire section devoted to music scores. There was sooooooooooo much music there...

Music

 

Books on a shelf

 

Top of the library

 

Dizzying heights

Library interior

 

 



Early Bird Gets the Worm

       I'm in Seattle! It has been about a week since my arrival, and the weather is perfect (cold and gray with a nice chance of showers). I have mostly rested since my arrival (thank you jet lag), but have also been conducting further research on electrical engineering, with a focus on power distribution and utilization, which is what I would like to focus on next week. After my arrival on Saturday I was notified by my on-site advisor Alan Younker, a senior engineer at the company, that I could come in on Wednesday to see the office (because he works quite varying hours, our schedule is flexible and on a week-to-week basis).
       Just to give a little more background about my internship (about which I believe I have not delved into great detail thus far), my internship is with Casne Engineering, Inc. (their website is http://www.casne.com/), an electrical engineering firm that has about 50 employees. My advisor is in the industrial section, and does power distribution and lighting design, plus analysis of power distribution systems. He mostly does projects at various Boeing plants (of which there are plenty in the Washington area), but also does design and analysis for projects for the Port of Seattle (aka the Sea-Tac airport and other affiliated transportation). Casne also does design for the University of Washington, BNSF railroad, etc, and their IT department designs data infrastructure for projects all over the country. There is one engineer here who specializes in municipal projects, so he does the electrical design for water treatment plants, wastewater processing plants, water well facilities and such (I am very much interested in working with him in the future because of the scope of his focus and how it is related to mostly larger scale infrastructure).
       As I mentioned earlier, Wednesday was the first day of my internship, and I had to be at the South Kirkland Park and Ride (a bus station which is nearly thirty minutes away from Seattle) by 9:00am. The office complex in which the engineering firm resides is conveniently close to the station, so upon my arrival all I had to do was punch in a code to get through the gate to the next lot and then enter the building. The day was one of introductions and explanations, and I was able to see most of the office (which is split into two parts, on the opposite sides of the building). In fact, due to the departure of an engineer over the summer, the office next to that of my advisor is vacant (thus I will be occupying it for the duration of my project).



My desk :)

Messy engineer stuff

        I also met with most of the staff (two project managers, many specialized engineers, the drafters, and even the president of the company). In addition, Mr. Younker explained to me in greater detail what it is exactly that he does. His main task is to do power distribution design, providing electrical specifications, power one-line diagrams, panelboard schedules, and load flow analysis for different types of projects. Power distribution design includes evaluating voltage drop, harmonic distortion, and power factor within the electrical system. Besides power distribution, his other job is to do arc-flash analysis. This job is highly specialized, and I believe he is the only one in the entire firm who can conduct arc-flash analysis. An electric arc is basically a radiant bridge of electricity formed in the space between two electrodes, and thus an arc-flash is when a fault (a short circuit) passes through that opening, via the arc (pictured here).

 



 

 This is important because an arc-flash can be extremely dangerous. As shown in the diagram, the effects of an arc-flash (usually a higher level one) can include the melting or sublimation of the electrode, a supersonic shockwave, temperatures hotter than those at the surface of the sun, and a blinding explosion coupled with shrapnel and toxic air.

 

 

An arc-flash analysis involves categorizing, with the aid of software, and based on a short circuit and coordination study, the hazard present at specific equipment based on the incident energy (amount of heat energy that a fabric must absorb to lessen potential injury to a 2nd degree burn), as well as identifying the Arc Flash Protection Boundary (this is the closest approach allowed before Personal Protection Equipment must be worn).

 

 

If the level of danger is too high, the engineer might try to reduce it with the help of over current protective devices, and the settings of those devices. The device settings directly influence the duration of the fault for a given value of arc fault current. Using a temporary second group of settings which reduce the time a breaker takes to clear a fault when a person is working on energized equipment can greatly reduce the hazard risk category of the equipment.

 

 

After conducting the analysis, stickers (much like the one below) must be made denoting the hazard level of a particular piece of equipment to be referenced by the electrician maintaining it or using it.

Mr. Younker has recently been doing both power distribution design and arc-flash analysis for Boeing's aircraft manufacturing plant in Renton, and showed me some of his design plans. He also mentioned that he may be working on-site within the next couple of weeks, so he may be able to get me a badge to access the plant (we will see if this is possible within the next few weeks). Due to Mr. Younker's schedule, the next time I will be in the office will be next week, most likely Wednesday or Thursday. Thus I will next update my blog Thursday evening or Friday.

 

 

Random happenings:

• On Monday March 7th I will be attending a company meeting that occurs every other month regarding completed and ongoing projects (there may be clients present as well). We get free food when we attend (!!!), so I ordered Chicken Teriyaki with white rice (I wasn't about to be adventurous with a menu that has Mongolian Steamed Venison on it). I hope I'll be able to focus on the proceedings with a plate of food in front of me...
• The way I get to Kirkland is via bus 255, but before I get on that bus (which goes on the highway and crosses the 520 bridge) I have to take either buses 2, 13, or 29 down the hill from Upper Queen Anne to Downtown Seattle. On my first day I missed my stop (blame it on the fact that it's impossible to see out of the bus when you're sitting in the portion connecting the two cars). I did retrace the bus route (although I had to wander for a few blocks) and managed to get to University Tunnel Station
  
  (which is actually before Westlake Tunnel Station) and catch bus 255 early to make it there 15 minutes before 9:00am (good first impression!). On the way back to Seattle I made sure to be early at the station to catch bus 255 at exactly 2:24pm, but I hopped on the wrong bus (bus 249) and sat on it for maybe six or seven stops before I realized we weren't on the highway (which is supposed to be stop two of bus 255). Instead of going towards Seattle I had passed through Bellvue and was on my way to Renton...
  



Map of locale

 

All alone on a southbound bus...

• Farsi-speaking and -writing people  have oddly similar handwriting. One of the engineers at the company is Iranian, and I instantly recognized his handwriting on the food ordering form because it is exactly like my father's and my aunts' handwriting (I think it has something to do with stroke order).









If It Ain't Broke, Don't Fix It?

To expound upon the subject of my SRP a bit more:

My purpose for this senior project is to investigate the human infrastructure that is necessary to our everyday lives, from power lines to waste management to water pipelines, to determine its impact on the environment, and to determine what can be done to reduce said impact. Modern infrastructure (such as electricity pylons, sewage, phone lines, etc) has only been around since the 19^th century, and while it has since grown in efficiency and number, it has not tremendously decreased in environmental obtrusiveness. Electricity lines still stretch across the landscape, and water treatment is still terribly inefficient.

 

 

My goal is to discover more about the engineering process and what exactly it entails, from the requirements of the client to the considerations of the engineer to the regulations of the government, and where the environment fits (or should fit) into all of it. In order to find out more about this topic, I will need to delve into both the historical record to determine the way infrastructure has been managed up until this point, and into current research to evaluate what new, but as of yet unused (or possibly used in only certain areas or to a limited extent), developments have been made in specific areas of infrastructure (power distribution, water treatment plants, wastewater processing plants, water well facilities, etc). I have already conducted research online in regards to the different types of infrastructure that exist, their current state, and their environmental impact. My internship location should help me resolve the area of my research that includes the involvement of the client, engineer, and government in how the landscape of municipal engineering projects is (or isn’t) changing. This is important in the grand scheme of things because “environmental impact” does not just necessarily mean one’s carbon footprint, greenhouse gas emissions, pollutant emissions, etc. It also entails what kind of physical damage is being done to the environment, particularly through human habitation and infrastructure. Loss of biodiversity and habitable environment is a serious concern, and by monitoring the impact of such human activity on the nature that exists around us, and by finding better ways to moderate it, we can ensure that it won’t go too quickly for the next generations to enjoy and preserve.