Start the switch to hydrogen
I was pleased to read Jeremy Retford’s letter (Your Voice, Professional Engineering No 6, 2020) as I don’t understand why, having got hydrogen into a road vehicle, it isn’t just burnt in its adapted internal combustion engine.
The potential advantages over fuel cells I see are as follows. Vastly reduced investment and lead times for the motor industry, leading to earlier widespread availability of products and therefore quicker and greater impact on CO2 emissions.
Speed of introduction can be further improved by retrofitting and by producing “hydrogen ready” vehicles before the hydrogen is widely available. Lighter vehicles with lower hydrogen consumption. Vehicles cheaper to buy and run. No need to plough up the ocean beds in search of rare metals for batteries and catalysts.
“Hydrogenheads” can still experience the scream of a V12 and my son’s beloved MGB can run forever.
I join with Retford in urging full analyses and discussions.
Chris Burrows
Cure for cladding concerns?
Is there a fire retardant which could be sprayed onto the existing cladding of buildings to make them acceptably safe?
If there is a fibrous layer between the cladding and the wall, could this also be treated by introducing a liquid retardant behind the cladding? Or even a water spray as an external addition to the internal sprayers?
These modifications could easily be tested. If found satisfactory, they would surely be cheaper than replacing the existing cladding.
Thomas Collins, Ifold, West Sussex
Earthquake-proof design
The article “Engineering at… Atkins” reminded me of the Magnox reactor built by GEC/Simon Carves at Tokai-Mura in Japan.
The power plant included a single reactor of 166MW output capacity and it operated successfully for almost 32 years from 1966 to 1998, when it was closed down as scheduled. In view of the location, it was designed to be earthquake-proof, having substantial design margins relative to the worst earthquake in the area over the previous 10,000 years.
The design was innovative in various ways, including a hexagonal graphite core lattice and hollow, cylindrical Magnox fuel elements – the only such example among Magnox reactors. The graphite bricks featured interlocking keys along their length, giving the core great stability as well as enhanced nuclear properties due to the hexagonal configuration. In addition the hollow fuel elements gave a higher fuel rating than conventional solid ones.
Steam turbine-driven fans were employed to provide the circulator power needed to deal with the high thermal rating; they formed an intrinsic part of a reheat steam cycle. My recollection is that a model of the core was tested using a shaker table, although I can’t say whether the real thing was ever put to the test!
Ian Berry, Enfield, Middlesex
Reinforce our duty of care
As a profession, we need to ensure that competent engineers carry out and manage crucial design, manufacture, construction and inspection duties.
However, it appears normal for major projects to run late and be grossly over budget. Product recalls and construction rework have become commonplace. The list of faults covers all disciplines and products – domestic appliances, transport, buildings, structures, civil works and electrical/electronic equipment.
Mistakes are bound to occur, but the purpose of quality assurance is to prevent those mistakes getting through to the final product. After 33 years, ISO 9000 appears not to have achieved its basic goal: “to embed a quality management system within an organisation, increasing productivity, reducing unnecessary costs, and ensuring quality of processes and products”.
We appear to have forgotten our duty of care to the society that supports us. Economic considerations overwhelm ethical choices. Long product life is sacrificed to deliberate obsolescence; mobile phones are an example. To the detriment of society, the cheapest route wins.
In the US and Canada, key documents are required by state/provincial and federal law to be signed and sealed by qualified professional engineers. Examples of key documents are specifications, drawings (or 3D models), design reports, critical calculations and inspection certificates. This duty is taken very seriously because the engineer of record is liable to the client for errors and omissions. Subcontractors and vendors have identical obligations.
In the UK, this responsibility is diffused, no one is accountable, and there is a systemic lack of competence in project execution. To clarify responsibility, the signing and sealing of documents by suitably experienced chartered engineers should be embedded in UK law.
We need to instil a sense of obligation, integrity and duty of care to our profession.
Ian A Crossley, Brixham, Devon
Nuclear memories
I was interested in Jon Wonham’s letter (Your Voice, Professional Engineering
No 6, 2020) about the potential for nuclear power at sea as I was part of a project team that worked on this nearly 60 years ago!
We almost made it, getting as far as a heads of agreement between the Ministry of Transport and the shipbuilder/shipowner who had agreed to build and operate the ship. However, a general election intervened before we could get to the contract stage and so the ship was never built.
A nuclear ship would be more expensive and also heavier than a conventional ship partly because of the reactor but also because of the collision barrier which would surround the reactor.
There were a small number of nuclear merchant ships built (US, Germany, Russia) but as far as I know there are now only naval vessels (surface and submarine), and perhaps Russian icebreakers.
Apart from cost, the fundamental problem which we never solved – and which remains unsolved – is what to do with the spent reactor core.
Brian Crangle, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire
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Content published by Professional Engineering does not necessarily represent the views of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.