Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Coal Gasification Pilot Plant Project Update #2

Construction continues on the Gasification Plant Project. The gasification tower is complete and the main process building is standing. Construction teams are focused on completing the instrumentation and final electrical work for the gasifier tower. Additional crews are focused on completing the installation of the many systems housed in the process building intended to duplicate the operation of the major commercial plants. VEC has begun actively supporting the general contractor and our client in the field to assist in final construction and commissioning activities.

The end of construction is drawing near and the initial gasification system test is tentatively planned for January 2009. This will be a great way to ring in the new year with a resolution that demonstrates the commitment to clean energy derived from the most abundant domestic natural resource, coal.

There’s even rumor that President-elect Obama may make a personal site visit.






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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.

Monday, December 8, 2008

Coal Unloading Facility Project Update

VEC is providing mechanical and structural design services for a facility that will unload unit trains and deliver the coal to an existing power plant. Seven conveyor belts and transfer stations will transport the coal over 6,000 feet at a rate of 4,400 tons per hour.

The transfer chutes are being designed using Discrete Element Modeling (DEM). DEM is used to simulate the flow of bulk materials to ensure that the chutes will perform as intended, and that plugging, dust, wear, and several other potentially damaging operational problems are fully understood and resolved.

The initial step is to build a 3D model of the chute work in AutoCAD. The chute geometry, bulk material properties, system dynamics (belt speed, direction, etc) are loaded, and the simulation is 'run' through the DEM numerical analysis software. The simulation results are viewed with and interactive 3D viewer. The design process entails iterative geometry changes and DEM analysis until a desirable flow path is achieved.

The animation shows multiple particles falling through the transfer chute. The colors of the particles represent their velocity; red is zero velocity while blue is the highest velocity. Perhaps the greatest benefit is the feeling an experienced engineer can develop by visualizing the performance prior to committing to a final design. From this feel, the designer can arrange the components in order to eliminate unwanted behavior. Other data can also be captured including impact and wear areas on chute walls.



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Valdes Engineering Company (VEC) sets the standard for excellence in engineering serving regional, national and global corporations with on-time, on-budget projects. VEC is a Chicago-based engineering consulting firm, specializing in the petrochemical, refining, coal gasification, power, chemical, alternative energy, and manufacturing industries.