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ISSN Online: 2379-1748
ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-483-0
ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-482-3
4th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference
THE INTEGRATION OF A POWER PLANT ANALYSIS PROJECT AS PART OF A TRAINING PERIOD AT SEA
Abstract
This paper discusses the use of plant analysis projects incorporating practical problems based on thermal fluid principles of the engines and auxiliary equipment installed on a training ship operated by Maine Maritime Academy (MMA). Maine Maritime Academy is a small college with an approximate enrollment of 950 students located in Castine, on the central Maine coast. Many of MMA's students are enrolled in programs leading to licenses to serve as officers in merchant ship engineering departments, in addition to their Bachelor of Science degrees. Undergraduate students in three distinct majors (each of which includes different levels of formal education in the thermal fluids area) are required to go to sea each summer to apply what they learned in classrooms ashore. At the end of their first and third years, they cruise for several weeks aboard the Training Ship "State of Maine", a 152-meter ship propelled by a 5,965-kilowatt turbocharged diesel engine. The paper focuses on the practical plant analysis project performed by each student during his or her third and final at-sea period. The project serves as a "thermal-fluids capstone" experience where students apply academic course material to actual equipment on the training ship. The integration of this project, as well as the assessment of the project results as part of the overall cruise grade, are discussed in detail.