In Hot Water: A Cooling Tower Case Study
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| Audience/Grade: | College Freshman-Graduate |
| Discipline(s): |
Engineering Ethics Mechanical Engineering |
| Special Topic(s): | |
| Learning Resource Type: |
Teaching - Case Study |
| Media Type: |
Unknown |
| Author(s): |
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| Publisher(s): |
LITEE, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Aubur |
| Description: | The courseware describes a decision situation that actually occurred at Vogtle Electric Generating Plant. Vogtle depends on their natural draft cooling towers to remove heat from the power cycle. Depending on the efficiency of the towers, the cycle can realize more or less power output resulting in savings of millions of dollars. In an effort to improve the efficiency of the towers from 91% to 100%, a modification had been made and had resulted in a decreased efficiency of 79%. At this point, a recommendation had been made for a further modification of this tower, but there was some uncertainty how effective the change would be. Therefore, the Vogtle plant had to make a decision: either choose to revert to the previous configuration of the tower with a guaranteed 91% efficiency, or try the new modification in an attempt to reach the tower’s expected capability of 100%. The courseware makes the reader integrate engineering topics such as thermodynamics, heat transfer, evaporative cooling, and cooling tower design with business aspects such as decision making, financial assessment, project management, and risk management using a real-world problem. The courseware uses video clips, audio messages, still pictures, and documents from the plant to bring the problem into the classroom. The use of this courseware provides engineering students an ability to apply engineering and business theories learned in classroom to a real-world problem faced by a nuclear power plant thereby enhancing their learning experience. |
| Rating: |
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| Related Resources | |
| Keywords: | thermodynamics heat transfer risk management nuclear power case study plant cooling tower |
| Is Component of: |
Laboratory for Innovative Technology and Engineering Education - LITEE |
| Usage Tip | |
| Related ABET Criteria: |
(f) Understand professional and ethical responsibility (j) Integrate knowledge of contemporary issues |
| Use of Resource: |
Interactive multimedia case study Part of the <a href=http://litee.auburn.edu/mambo/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=53&Itemid=45> LITTE</a> series of multimedia case studies. The LITTE site has more information available and sample pages from the case. |
| Difficulty: |
Medium |
| Interactivity Level: |
Very high |
| Version Info | |
| Publication Date: | July 2001 |
| Platform/Format: |
PC |
| Cost: |
Free |
| Download URL: | http://www.lulu.com/content/589125 |
| Installation Notes: |
Requires video player such as Real Player, Windows Video Player. |
| Copyright and Use Restrictions: |
Copyright 2001 |
| Metadata: |
IEEE LOM Record |
| Collection: |
NEEDS
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