An Investigation into the Options for Increasing the Extent of Energy Efficiency Knowledge and Skills in Engineering Education

Society is increasingly calling for professionals across government, industry, business and civil society to be able to problem-solve issues related to climate change and sustainable development as part of their work. In particular there is an emerging realisation of the fundamental need to swiftly reduce the growing demand for energy across society, and to then meet the demand with low emissions options. A key ingredient to addressing such issues is equipping professionals with emerging knowledge and skills to address energy challenges in all aspects of their work. The Council of Australian Governments has recognised this need, signing the National Partnership Agreement on Energy Efficiency in July 2009, which included a commitment to assist business and industry obtain the knowledge, skills and capacity to pursue cost-effective energy efficiency opportunities.2 Engineering will play a critical part among the professions, with Engineers Australia acknowledging that, ‘The need to make changes in the way energy is used and supplied throughout the world represents the greatest challenge to engineers in moving toward sustainability.’

Energy Efficiency Resources for Undergraduate Engineering Education: Final Report

This report presents the findings of an investigation of energy efficiency resources for undergraduate engineering education, undertaken by web-based research, conversations with educators, and a university survey. The investigation draws on the results of a number of previous investigations undertaken by the research team for NFEE related to energy efficiency education and presents the following findings and recommendations, as explained in greater detail in the body of the report. The findings suggest that even though certain EE concepts and principles have been identified by lecturers as being important there is little to no coverage of a number of these concepts in some programs/courses. Similarly, many topics relating to the most important EE workforce skills and significant shortages as identified in industry research, do not rate highly in terms of both perceived importance by lecturers, or coverage within existing courses. Overall, these findings suggest that despite growing awareness of the importance of EE in both industry and academia, the current depth and breadth of EE content in courses does not reflect this. It confirms that efforts in these areas can be better supported.

Project-based civil engineering courses

Problem solving is an essential element of civil engineering education. It has been observed that students are best able to understand civil engineering theory when there is a practical application of it. Teaching theory alone has led to lower levels of comprehension and motivation and a correspondingly higher rate of failure and “drop-out”. This paper analyses the effectiveness of introducing practical design projects at an early stage within a civil engineering undergraduate program at Queensland University of Technology. In two of the essential basic subjects, Engineering Mechanics and Steel Structures, model projects which simulate realistic engineering exercises were introduced. Students were required to work in small groups to analyse, design and build the lightest / most efficient model bridges made of specific materials such as spaghetti, drinking straw, paddle pop sticks and balsa wood and steel columns for a given design loading/target capacity. The paper traces the success of the teaching strategy at each stage from its introduction through to the final student and staff evaluation.

Design, modelling and measurement of a hybrid powerplant for unmanned aerial systems

Hybrid powerplants combining internal combustion engines and electric motor prime movers have been extensively developed for land- and marine-based transport systems. The use of such powerplants in airborne applications has been historically impractical due to energy and power density constraints. Improvements in battery and electric motor technology make aircraft hybrid powerplants feasible. This paper presents a technique for determining the feasibility and mechanical effectiveness of powerplant hybridisation. In this work, a prototype aircraft hybrid powerplant was designed, constructed and tested. It is shown that an additional 35% power can be supplied from the hybrid system with an overall weight penalty of 5%, for a given unmanned aerial system. A flight dynamic model was developed using the AeroSim Blockset in MATLAB Simulink. The results have shown that climb rates can be improved by 56% and endurance increased by 13% when using the hybrid powerplant concept.

Multi-level neural modelling : an application of object-oriented software engineering

Neu-Model, an ongoing project aimed at developing a neural simulation environment that is extremely computationally powerful and flexible, is described. It is shown that the use of good Software Engineering techniques in Neu-Model’s design and implementation is resulting in a high performance system that is powerful and flexible enough to allow rigorous exploration of brain function at a variety of conceptual levels.

Shared values : diverse perspectives – engaging engineering educators in integrating Indigenous engineering knowledge into current curricula

BACKGROUND Engineering is a problem-based practically oriented discipline, whose practitioners aim to find effective solutions to engineering challenges, technically and economically. Engineering educators operate within a mandate to ensure that graduate engineers understand the practicalities and realities of good engineering practice. While this is a vital goal for the discipline, emerging influences are challenging the focus on ‘hard practicalities’ and requiring recognition of the cultural and social aspects of engineering. Expecting graduate engineers to possess communication skills essential for negotiating satisfactory outcomes in contexts of complex social beliefs about the impact of their work can be an unsettling and challenging prospect for engineering educators. This project identifies and addresses Indigenous engineering practices and principles, and their relevance to future engineering practices. PURPOSE This Office of Learning and Teaching (OLT) project proposes that what is known/discoverable about indigenous engineering knowledge and practices must be integrated into engineering curricula. This is an important aspect of ensuring that engineering as a profession responds competently to increasing demands for socially and environmentally responsible activity across all aspects of engineering activity. DESIGN/METHOD The project addresses i) means for appropriate inclusion of Indigenous students into usual teaching activities ii) assuring engineering educators have access to knowledge of Indigenous practices and skills relevant to particular engineering courses and topics iii) means for preparing all students to negotiate their way through issues of indigenous relationships with the land where engineering projects are planned. The project is undertaking wide-ranging research to collate knowledge about indigenous engineering principles and practices and develop relevant resource materials. RESULTS It is common to hear that such social issues as ‘Indigenous concerns’ are only of concern to environmental engineers. We challenge that perspective, and make the case that Indigenous knowledge is an important issue for all engineering educators in relation to effective integration of indigenous students and preparation of all engineering graduates to engage with indigenous communities. At the time of first contact, a rich and varied, technically literate, Indigenous social framework possessed knowledge of the environment that is not yet fully acknowledged in Australian society. A core outcome of the work will be development of resources relating to Indigenous engineering practices for inclusion in engineering core curricula. CONCLUSIONS A large body of technical knowledge was needed to survive and sustain human society in the complex environment that was Australia before 1788. This project is developing resource materials, and supporting documentation, about that knowledge to enable engineering educators to more easily integrate it into current curricula. The project also aims to demonstrate the importance for graduating engineers to appreciate the existence of diverse perspectives on engineering tasks and learn how to value - and employ - multiple paths to possible solutions.

Technoeconomic analysis of an integrated microalgae photobioreactor, biodiesel and biogas production facility

As fossil fuel prices increase and environmental concerns gain prominence, the development of alternative fuels from biomass has become more important. Biodiesel produced from microalgae is becoming an attractive alternative to share the role of petroleum. Currently it appears that the production of microalgal biodiesel is not economically viable in current environment because it costs more than conventional fuels. Therefore, a new concept is introduced in this article as an option to reduce the total production cost of microalgal biodiesel. The integration of biodiesel production system with methane production via anaerobic digestion is proved in improving the economics and sustainability of overall biodiesel stages. Anaerobic digestion of microalgae produces methane and further be converted to generate electricity. The generated electricity can surrogate the consumption of energy that require in microalgal cultivation, dewatering, extraction and transesterification process. From theoretical calculations, the electricity generated from methane is able to power all of the biodiesel production stages and will substantially reduce the cost of biodiesel production (33% reduction). The carbon emissions of biodiesel production systems are also reduced by approximately 75% when utilizing biogas electricity compared to when the electricity is otherwise purchased from the Victorian grid. The overall findings from this study indicate that the approach of digesting microalgal waste to produce biogas will make the production of biodiesel from algae more viable by reducing the overall cost of production per unit of biodiesel and hence enable biodiesel to be more competitive with existing fuels.

Bioprocess engineering of microalgae to produce a variety of consumer products

Microalgae biotechnology has recently emerged into the lime light owing to numerous consumer products that can be harnessed from microalgae. Product portfolio stretches from straightforward biomass production for food and animal feed to valuable products extracted from microalgal biomass, including triglycerides which can be converted into biodiesel. For most of these applications, the production process is moderately economically viable and the market is developing. Considering the enormous biodiversity of microalgae and recent developments in genetic and metabolic engineering, this group of organisms represents one of the most promising sources for new products and applications. With the development of detailed culture and screening techniques, microalgal biotechnology can meet the high demands of food, energy and pharmaceutical industries. This review article discusses the technology and production platforms for development and creation of different valuable consumer products from microalgal biomass.

Large-volume methacrylate monolith for plasmid purification : process engineering approach to synthesis and application

The extent of exothermicity associated with the construction of large-volume methacrylate monolithic columns has somewhat obstructed the realisation of large-scale rapid biomolecule purification especially for plasmid-based products which have proven to herald future trends in biotechnology. A novel synthesis technique via a heat expulsion mechanism was employed to prepare a 40 mL methacrylate monolith with a homogeneous radial pore structure along its thickness. Radial temperature gradient was recorded to be only 1.8 °C. Maximum radial temperature recorded at the centre of the monolith was 62.3 °C, which was only 2.3 °C higher than the actual polymerisation temperature. Pore characterisation of the monolithic polymer showed unimodal pore size distributions at different radial positions with an identical modal pore size of 400 nm. Chromatographic characterisation of the polymer after functionalisation with amino groups displayed a persistent dynamic binding capacity of 15.5 mg of plasmid DNA/mL. The maximum pressure drop recorded was only 0.12 MPa at a flow rate of 10 mL/min. The polymer demonstrated rapid separation ability by fractionating Escherichia coli DH5α-pUC19 clarified lysate in only 3 min after loading. The plasmid sample collected after the fast purification process was tested to be a homogeneous supercoiled plasmid with DNA electrophoresis and restriction analysis.