Archimedes Screw Pump Redesignated as an ASME Landmark

Archimedes Screw Pump Redesignated as an ASME Landmark Archimedes Screw Pump Redesignated as an ASME Landmark Archimedes Screw Pump Redesignated as an ASME LandmarkNov. 4, 2016 The Archimedes Screw Pump in Hayward, Calif., is one of the oldest surviving examples of the wind-driven Archimedes screw pump in the United States. The wind-powered Archimedes Screw Pump of the San Francisco Bay, a nearly 200-year old invention that enabled the local production of salt in the San Francisco area, welches recently redesignated as an ASME landmark at a ceremony in Hayward, Calif.The Archimedes pump was originally designated as a Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark by ASME in 1984. Approximately 60 people attended the redesignation ceremony, which took place at the pumps current location roughly three-quarters of a mile from the Hayward Shoreline Interpretive Center in Hayward, Calif. The redesignation, supported by the ASME San Francisco Section, marked the presentation of the pumps ori ginal landmark plaque, which was refinished to restore its original patina, and celebrate the screw pumps relocation from its former site, the Cargill Salt Co. (formerly the Leslie Salt Refining Co.) in Newark, Calif. ASME Past President Terry E. Shoup, Ph.D., P.E., was one of the speakers at the redesignation ceremony on Oct. 21. Dr. Shoup served as the Societys 125th president in 2006-2007.The pump in Hayward is one of the oldest surviving examples of the wind-driven Archimedes Screw Pump in the United States. The device, which moves water from low to higher ground, was originally designed and built by Andrew Oliver in the 1870s. It was used for more than a century in the San Francisco Bay area for harvesting salt through the process of solar evaporation, where brine from one salt concentrating pond was shifted to another pond of higher salinity.The landmark ceremony was attended by several representatives from ASME, including Past President Dr. Terry E. Shoup, P.E. Robert O. Woo ds, P.E., of the ASME History and Heritage Committee and Lynden F. Davis, P.E., and Eric Worrell from the ASME San Francisco Section. Also participating in the event were Don Holmqvist, the former pond superintendent at Leslie who was responsible for restoring the Archimedes pump in 1978 Minane Jameson, president of the Hayward Area Recreation Park and District Sara Lamnin, member of the Hayward City Council and A.T. Stephens, executive director of the Hayward Area Historical Society. The refinished original landmark plaque for the Archimedes pump was unveiled during the landmark ceremony.

ASME to Convene Pipeline, Oil and Gas, and Power Generation In...

ASME to Convene Pipeline, Oil and Gas, and Power Generation In... ASME to Convene Pipeline, Oil and Gas, and Power Generation In... ASME to Present Robotics for Inspection and Maintenance Forum in HoustonMay 25, 2018 Next month, ASME will hold a special two-day forum focusing on the application of robotics and unmanned aerial systems (UAS) for the inspection and maintenance for the pipeline, oil and gas, and power generation industries. The event, the Robotics for Inspection and Maintenance Forum (RfIM), will take place June 26-27 at the Pipeline Research Council International (PRCI) Technology Development Center in Houston.The forum is intended for engineers, non-destructive testing (NDT) managers, asset managers, inspectors, purchasing managers, and outage and turnaround planners in the oil and gas, power generation and pipeline industries who are interested in learning how leveraging robotics and UAS technologies including drones, submersives and crawlers can increase safety, l ower the cost of inspection or maintenance of industrial assets, and improve business outcomes.The RfIM program will feature a combination of panel discussions, case studies, presentations and live product demonstrations that will help attendees understand how robotics solutions can transform their business models learn about new robotics technologies optimize asset management through data analytics, data workflow, modeling, digital twin and artificial intelligence and connect with regulatory agencies, inspection certification organizations and notifying bodies. Presenters will include representatives from the American Petroleum Institute, Avitas Systems (a GE Venture), Cyberhawk Innovations, Diakont, DNV GL, Doosan Babcock, IBM Watson, JIREH Industries, NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, Shell, Sonomatic, Southwest Research Institute, and the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.ASME members who sign up by June 8 can register for $395 a savings of $100 off the regular member registr ation price. Non-members can register through June 8 for $595 and save $100 on the regular non-member price. Seating is limited, so early registration is recommended.For more information on the Robotics for Inspection and Maintenance Forum, or to register, visit https//roboticsforinspection.asme.org.

Building a Better Helmet

Building a Better Helmet Building a Better Helmet Building a Better HelmetThe Schutt DNA Pro+ and Riddell Revolution Speed helmets are among the preferred choices in collegiate and professional football. Each is the end product of in-depth research and development at two of the fruchtwein recognizable sporting goods companies in the United States. Both the DNA Pro + and Revolution Speed are designed to exacting specifications for safety and durability, and each helmet is certified by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). They are comparatively priced.But one of the football helmets, the Speed, receives a higher rating in tests assessing the capability to protect against concussion. The differences among the helmet models could be a determining factor in purchase decisions on the part of players and team personnel, particularly in view of the increased awareness of concussions and head trauma injuries in football.The ratings are compiled at Vir ginia Tech, which for the last two years has been evaluating many of the popular helmet designs in an elaborate testing laboratory run by research experts in biomedical engineering and injury biomechanics. Based on the success of the research program, Virginia Tech is considering extending the testing program to helmets used in baseball, lacrosse, and other competitive sports.A Two-Pronged Research ProgramThe research for football helmets involves monitoring head impacts in addition to the lab tests on helmets. Since 2003, the researchers have been collecting and analyzing data from head impacts sustained in practice sessions and games by selected members of the Virginia Tech Hokies football team. We instrument each helmet with an accelerometer that monitors the head impacts experienced by a player during the course of a football season, says Steven Rowson, assistant professor in biomedical engineering at Virginia Tech.The data collected provides the basis for methods used to evalua te helmets in the lab. In the tests, a head-form instrumented with the accelerometer and equipped with the test helmet is attached to a carriage positioned at the top of a twin-wire drop tower. A mechanical quick release allows free fall of the carriage and helmet, which strikes a padded steel anvil at the base of the tower. Rowson and his team put each helmet through a variety of drops, each one distinct according to impact location (front, rear, side and top) and drop height. Linear head acceleration is measured via the accelerometer in the test helmet, and the data is collected and analyzed.We can calculate an incidence of concussion by knowing how frequently each drop configuration is experienced by players, and the probability of injury associated with the head acceleration generated from the drop, explains Rowson, who spoke on the subject at the ASME 2012 Summer Bioengineering Conference in June. These values are then summated to produce an overall prediction of the number of concussions a player will experience over a full football season while wearing a given helmet.The Virginia Tech testing methodology, named STAR (Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk), assesses the overall ability of a helmet to reduce the probability of concussion. The researchers apply a complexity of mathematical equations and computations derived from real-world biomechanical data collected from on-field head impacts. The results of the assessments are reflected in the STAR values assigned to popular models of football helmets, and made available for public consumption. Rowson and his research colleagues have carried out measurements on more than 165,000 head impacts.The purpose of our program is to provide quantitative insight into the protective performance of football helmets against concussions, says Rowson. An objective of STAR, he says, is to provide sporting goods manufacturers with a set of criteria for helmets that reduce the probability of concussion.Expanding ST AREfforts are currently underway at Virginia Tech to expand the STAR evaluation system to other sports, such as baseball. Given the unique dynamic in which a batted or thrown baseball impacts a helmet, the testing methodology in baseball will differ from the established system used in football. For example, projectile tests, rather than drop tests, would be performed in the evaluation of baseball helmets. Says Rowson While we have developed methods to test baseball impacts, we need to better understand the exposure to head impact in this sport prior to implementing an evaluation system for baseball helmets.In addition, Rowson and his colleagues have turned their attention to youth sports, particularly youth football. Researchers at Virginia Tech and Wake Forest University have begun a program to characterize the head impact exposure of youth football players, and this fall will instrument 300 participants to obtain quantifying data on exposure and tolerance levels. Youth players imp act their heads at different rates, severities, and locations compared to collegiate and professional players, and so a modified evaluation system including different weightings for drop tests will be required, says Rowson.There exists widespread concern today about the safety of contact sports, particularly in light of recent media exposure of concussions in professional football. Some of the attention has been focused on whether helmets provide the essential capability to protect against concussions and other head injuries. Opinions vary.Rowson believes football helmets, for the most part, are well-designed in conformity with the NOCSAE standard. He says the recent rash of concussions in football, particularly professional football, is likely a result of elevated awareness of the injury in media reports and other public forums.The purpose of our program is to provide quantitative insight into the protective performance of football helmets against concussions.Prof. Steven Rowson, V irginia Tech