PT&P again sponsored a University of Houston Mechanical Engineering student design project during the Fall ’97 term. The team of Sandra Ramos, Dorsa Froutan, Irma Adame and E.J. Del Valle titled their project Deasign, Test and Modeling of Cryogenic Pipe Supports. All were Seniors enrolled in MECE 4334: Mechanical Engineering Systems Design. Similar courses are required for Industrial Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering students.

The U of H faculty requests companies to submit problem statements for projects they are willing to sponsor. If their project is chosen by a student team, companies designate an engineer-in-charge who helps their faculty consultant advise the students. The students prepare a written proposal defining their plan during the first four weeks and make weekly progress reports thereafter. Companies provide facilities and equipment as required. The students prepare a final written report and make an oral presentation at their campus at the end of the semester.

This team did a series of experiments both at ambient and cryogenic temperatures using pipe shoes with polyurethane (PUF) of various densities. They studied compressive strength, heat transfer rates and clamping forces required to maintain contact with a pipe under axial loading. This was the fifth project sponsored by PT&P. We thank these students for their hard work, and we wish them much success during their professional careers.

Customers Mail Back Survey Cards

Thanks to the many customers who mailed back survey cards from our Fall ’97 mailings. We received a number of good suggestions and potential topics for future technical bulletins. The statistics on four Yes or No questions are:

• 91%: Yes, the PT&P technical bulletins are useful to their jobs.
• 89%: Yes, their job requires use of the PT&P catalogs.
• 99%: Yes, PT&P newsletters cover topics of interest to them.
• 61%: No, the photos on PT&P’s annual calendars should not be changed.