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Transformer Failure: Frequency and Causes

Transformers are among the most reliable and robust elements in the electric utility system. A transformer is basically two sets of wires (the windings) wrapped around a steel or iron core (see schematic in Figure 1). The windings and the core are immersed in oil and enclosed in a steel tank...

Black Liquor Recovery Boiler 

In a prior blog post I introduced you to the basic steps involved in the manufacture of paper, from trees to paper using the Kraft Paper Process. In this blog we will review an integral component in the Kraft Paper Process known as the Black Liquor Recovery Boiler. To refresh your memory, the Kraft...

Combustion Basics and Pitfalls

Combustion is a subject that can be intimidating. The form of combustion that most people are familiar with is burning wood or paper. Believe it or not, most combustion processes are much simpler than those. We’ll get to that later. With most combustion processes, a fuel reacts with an oxidant. Take...

Gearhead Quandary: Be Flat or Be Crossed?

Most, if not all, of us know that deep rumbling sound of a V8-powered muscle car or even your garden variety V8-powered daily driver. There is almost something primal about the deep throaty sound of a V8. In modern times V8 engines are becoming more and more of a rare breed, with turbo-charged four...

Drone Use with Loss Investigations

As technology advances, drones have been made available to the average person. A drone can be a powerful tool with loss investigations. With many losses, safety concerns may prevent access to examine a site, equipment, or other important items. With drone advancements, we are now able to examine and...

Common Arc Welding Processes

Chris Spies

Chris S. Spies, P.E.

Welding is a fabrication process whereby two or more parts are fused together by means of heat, pressure, or both, forming a joint as the parts cool. While it is possible to weld materials other than metal (plastics for example), the process is most often associated with the joining of metal parts...

What Is the Relationship Between MPH and PSF?

EDT

You typically hear weather forecasts that include wind speeds in your neck of the woods. But how does a wind speed in miles per hour (mph) translate into a wind load in pounds per square foot (psf)? The general public is not aware of how strong (in the structural sense of the word) a 50-mph wind is...

Concrete Floats?

Have you ever heard of a concrete ship? The idea of a concrete ship may contradict your initial reaction – concrete doesn’t float. In fact, concrete can float. Objects can float in almost any medium under one of two techniques. The first, perhaps simplest, technique is: an object of lesser density...

I Just Tightened It… So Why Is It Loose?

EDT

I recently noticed that the glass on my oven door was hazy and needed to be cleaned. However, after cleaning both sides of the door, the haze was still there. Upon closer examination, it became apparent that the haze was located on the inside surface of the glass sheet that was a part of the multi...

Rendering - Odor and Opportunity

A colleague once commented to me, “that new assignment that you have at the rendering plant, just go ahead and throw up before you get there, it will save some time.” This engineer did not fully understand what the colleague was talking about until he arrived at the rendering plant during the summer...

Circuit Breakers

EDT

Circuit Breakers. Most everyone has heard the term. Any residence built after 1960 has them, power plants have them, commercial buildings have them. But what are they, how do they work, and why do we need them? Wikipedia defines a circuit breaker as "an automatically operated electrical switch...