Advanced Power Systems Research Center
Annual & Core Facilities Report
Director: Jeffrey D. Naber
October 15, 2015
Table of Contents
1.
Overview ............................................................................................................................................... 3
2.
Purpose: ................................................................................................................................................ 3
3.
Mission Statement: ............................................................................................................................... 3
4.
Center Awards and Fiscal Summaries: .................................................................................................. 3
5.
Funding: ................................................................................................................................................ 5
6.
Center Faculty and Staff:....................................................................................................................... 6
7.
Participating Faculty:............................................................................................................................. 7
8.
Facilities and Other Resources: ............................................................................................................. 7
9.
8.1.
APSRC Building .............................................................................................................................. 7
8.2.
AERB Building .............................................................................................................................. 10
8.3.
Mobile Lab Facilities:................................................................................................................... 11
Safety .................................................................................................................................................. 13
9.1.
Means of Access and Contact Information ................................................................................. 13
9.2.
General Safety Requirements ..................................................................................................... 14
9.3.
Specific Lab Equipment Safety Requirements ............................................................................ 14
9.4.
Machine Shop Equipment ........................................................................................................... 14
9.5.
Cleanliness Expectations ............................................................................................................. 15
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1. Overview
This report covers the Fiscal Year 2015 (FY15) annual report requirements for the Advanced Power
Systems Research Center and the APSRC Building as a core facility.
2. Purpose:
The purpose of the Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC) is to promote and facilitate
multidisciplinary activities that foster collaborative research and education in the areas of clean, efficient
and sustainable power generation and powertrain technologies. The center develops both fundamental
and applied knowledge that is required for the next generation of low-emission, high-efficiency power
systems. We bring together and coordinate investigators working on a wide array of power systems
including internal combustion engines, transmissions and hybrid powertrains, fuel cells, and batteries for
on-highway and off-highway powertrains along with energy conversion for power generation including
biomass and waste streams. The center has a wide range of laboratories, test and instrument resources
including the Advanced Power Systems Research Building, the Alternative Energy Research Building
(AERB), dedicated test cells, and a Mobile Laboratory for education, outreach, and research. The result is
an interdisciplinary research organization that is responsive to the energy and economic needs of the
state and the nation.
3. Mission Statement:
To promote and facilitate education and research in critical technologies for the development of clean,
efficient, and sustainable power and powertrain systems.
4. Center Awards and Fiscal Summaries:
Since its establishment in 2007, the center has supported investigators in the development of programs
in education and research. The details of the Center’s numerical accomplishments are summarized in
Figures 1, 2 and 3. Figure 1 summarizes the award amounts for the last five FY’s. Figure 2 summarizes the
number of awards and projects, and Figure 3 gives the centers IRAD balances at the end of each FY. Table
1 gives the expenses in FY15 paid from the center IRAD.
Two additional awards were given in FY15 as part of the core facilities, one for development of user build
bays and a second for building two test labs. The award dates and amounts are given in Table 2. More
details are available in the APSRC facilities section below.
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4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
FY 11
FY 12
FY 13
FY 14
FY 15
Awards $k
Figure 1 Awards in $1,000’s per fiscal year for the last five years.
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
FY 11
FY 12
FY 13
Awards
FY 14
FY 15
Projects
Figure 2. Number of awards and projects per fiscal year for the last five years.
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40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
FY 2011
-5,000
FY 2012
FY 2013
FY 2014
FY 2015
-10,000
IRAD Balance $'s
Figure 3. IRAD Balance at the end of the last five fiscal years.
Table 1. Center IRAD expenses for FY 15
Expense
Amount
S&W & Fringes
$19,007
Supplies & Equipment
$53,489
Travel
$5,281
Professional Services
$14,023
Internal Services
$11,365
Total =
$103,165
Award Date
September 10, 2014
March 27, 2015
Table 2. Core Facilities Awards
Project
Amount
Build Bays
Two New Test Lab Builds
$31,673
$75,000
Total =
$106,673
5. Funding:
Funding for the center comes from external grants from industry, state, and federal agencies for research,
outreach and education. Total awards per each of the last five FY’s is given above in Figure 1. A significant
increase in total awards of nearly $3.5M was achieved.
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Staff is sported by these external contracts and Institutional Research and Development Fund (IRAD)
returns to the center. Additionally staff contributing to the educational programs of the MechanicalEngineering and Engineering - Mechanics Department are funded based upon standard disbursement
based upon number of credit hours taught. The center Director’s academic salary comes from the ME-EM
department supplemented by the Vice President of Research Office for center development. The IRAD
distributions to the PI (10%), Center (20%), Department (10%) and College (10%) are set by the VP of
research in a memo dated September 18, 2012 and follow the standard distributions that match most
other academic based Centers and Institutes. A portion of the remaining 50% of the overhead is captured
to fund the APSRC building and is managed by KRC.
6. Center Faculty and Staff:
The center staff is listed in Table 3. Five of these, Worm, Davis, Dice, Schmidt and Pinnow are currently
funded primarily through external contracts. In addition Adam Johnson as appointed by the VPR, provides
support for program development and industry relations.
Table 3. Center Staff
Jeffrey D. Naber, Center Director
Ronald and Elaine Star Professor of Energy
Systems, ME-EM Department
Tina Sarazin
Staff Assistant
Jeremy Worm
Director Mobile Lab
Chris Davis
Research Engineer
Mobile Lab Operations Manager
Paul Dice
Research Engineer
APSRC Operations
Henry Schmidt
Research Engineer
AERB Operations
Christopher Pinnow
Research Engineer
(25% APSRC/75% GLRC)
Adam Johnson
Director, Industry Program Development
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7. Participating Faculty:
The center currently has 49 faculty and staff participating in the center as listed in Table 4.
Table 4. List of participating faculty and staff
Amitabh Narain
Bo Chen
Carl Anderson
Chuck Van Karsen
David Shonnard
Ezra Bar Ziv
Fernando Ponta
Gopal Jayaraman
Gordon Parker
Greg Odegard
Jaclyn Johnson
Jason Blough
Jeff Allen
Jeff Naber
Jim DeClerck
John Beard
John Johnson
Kazuya Tajiri
KVC Komaravolu
Mahdi Shahbakhti
Antonio Gauchia
Lucia Gauchia
Jeremy Worm
Paul Dice
Stan Vitton
ME-EM
ME-EM/ECE
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM/APSRC
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ECE/ME-EM
ME-EM/APSRC Staff
ME-EM/APSRC Staff
CEE
Nina Mahmoudian
Reza Shahbazian Yassar
Robert DeJonge
Scott Miers
Seong-Young Lee
Song-Lin Yang
William Endres
William W. Predebon
Youngchul Ra
Tulu Shokuhfar
VC, Rao Komaravolu
Kzauya Tajiri
Dana Johnson
Mark Johnson
Susan Bagley
Tony Rogers
Bahne Cornilsen
Pasi Lautala
Wayne Weaver
Duane J. Bucheger
Jay Meldrum
Stephen Hackney
Franz Tanner
Paul Sanders
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
ME-EM
School of Business
School of Technology
Biologcal Sciences
Chemical Engineering
Chemistry
CEE
ECE
ECE
Keweenaw Research Center
Materials Science & Engineering
Mathematical Sciences
Materials Science & Engineering
8. Facilities and Other Resources:
The Center and its members operate or have access to a wide variety of test facilities, equipment and
laboratories at Michigan Tech. The center operates two off-campus facilities; the 55,000 sq ft APSRC
Building (see Figures 3 & 4) in collaboration with KRC and the 3,500 sq ft AERB Alternative Energy Research
Building (see Figure 5).
8.1.
APSRC Building
The University purchased the APSRC Building in September 2010 (shown in Figure 3). The APSRC, in
cooperation with the KRC, has been in the process of developing the APSRC building focused on advanced
powertrain and power systems. The 55,000 sq ft foot facility brings several of the existing laboratories
into one central location and allows expansion of capabilities. The building currently houses the Mobile
Vehicle Laboratory developed under a DOE curriculum program, two test labs (engine and powertrain),
the torrefaction and gasification area and other test facilities. An overview of the existing and planned
laboratories is given in Figure 4.
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Figure 3. Photo of APSRC building
The APSRC building was denoted as a university core facility in FY 15. Since being set as a core facility, the
APSRC building has received two core facilities funding awards during FY 15. Through the first award we
have completed four building bay areas to support users in project setup to use in the test labs. The second
was just awarded at the end of FY15, and we are in the process of constructing two additional test
labs/facilities: (1) an ORV laboratory moving a test cell out of the ME-EM building and (2) the shell for a
heavy-duty test cell.
Currently, the Engines and Combustion group within the APSRC utilizes 14 test facilities,
•
•
•
•
•
including 11 engine test cells capable of testing up to 16 engines
a motoring and absorbing pair of dynamometers for testing drivetrain components currently
focused on torque convert studies
two vehicle chassis dynamometers with emissions capability
an environmental chamber for the study of IC engine cold start and fuel cells
a vehicle environmental chamber appropriate for testing light duty vehicles
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Figure 4. APSRC planning phases as composed in a study by HED April 2012 (Top building, bottom in use)
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8.2.
AERB Building
The 3,500 sq ft Alternative Energy Research Building (AERB) is home to three main test facilities. A 1.1
liter optically accessible constant volume combustion chamber, a shock tube lab, and a cold room. The
combustion vessel facility is used to investigate sprays and combustion of various conventional and
alternative liquid and gaseous fuels and is commonly supporting the research and development efforts of
fuel injectors and spark plugs for industry partners. The shock tube test facility is used to simulate and
investigate weak shock waves common to small-scale volcanic eruptions. The cold room facility has a
configurable pressure vessel which is used to investigate sprays and ignition at temperature down to 40 °C.
Emergency
Exit
N2
Booster
N2
Tank
Compressor
Room
10'10" x 10'10"
Mixer
I
Optical Receiving Table
(8' x 4')
Air
Compressor
To Building
Figure 5. Alternative Fuels Combustion Laboratory in AERB (top layout, bottom in use).
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N2 N2 N2
N2 N2 N2
Optical Source Table
(6' x 4')
O2
N2
Generator
CO2
O2
CO2
Future H2
Generator
Gas Room
8' 10" x 15' 0"
Air
Receiver
Tank
H2
Tank
H2 H2
H2 H2
Gas Manifold (8')
Emissions
Analyzer
AFCL
20 ft x 15.5 ft
Electronics
H2 H2
PDPA
HP Liquid
Fuel System
H2
X-Y-Z Translation Base
(4' x 4')
Camera
CH4
YAG Laser
Combustion
Vessel
(22"x20")
CO
PDPA
C2H2
Ar IonLaser
C2H2 CO
Control
Room
8' x 15'6"
CH4
Heater
Control Box
8.3.
Mobile Lab Facilities:
As discussed above, in addition to the engine and powertrain test labs, the Mobile Laboratory (see Figures
6-8) is operated from the APSRC building. The Mobile Lab has been operational since 2012, and over these
last three years, $356,000 in externally sponsored contracts in research and education are attributed to
the lab and faculty and staff. Furthermore, the laboratory provides the base for delivery of three oncampus courses, each with a lab fee structure.
The Mobile Lab’s primary, externally funded, operational modes are:
•
•
•
Professional Development Training
STEM Outreach
Product & Technology Demonstrations
The strategy for Calendar Year 2016 and beyond is to increase the number of Professional Development
contracts executed. This is a market with significant growth potential, and the Mobile Lab offers a unique
solution. Four short courses are fully developed and ready to be deployed, another five course topics
have been developed as short (4 hour) seminars, and a menu of another twenty courses is ready for
development, pending interest. Instructors for these courses come from Mechanical Engineering,
Electrical Engineering, and Materials Science Departments at Michigan Tech.
Figure 6. Mobile Lab on the road, classroom area and test cell
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Figure 7: The Mobile Lab prior to a technology demonstration on Navy Pier in Chicago.
Figure 8: A short course being delivered at Ford.
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9. Safety
The core facility annual inspection was completed with a pass on January 21, 2015 by Dave Dixon, Al
Niemi, and Aparupa Sengupta. This was the conclusion of several months’ of effort to work on process,
guiding and enforcing existing rules for participants, and improvements in the APSRC building.
As an essential component of the centers operating principle, providing and maintaining a safe work
environment is critical to the center, its staff and participating faculty and students. Significant efforts are
underway for continuous improvement. As part of this, two of the center staff engineers Paul Dice and
Henry Schmidt, are currently working towards a MIOSHA Level 1 certification. Funding for support of this
is coming from the ME-EM department. This will ensure continuous improvement in safety and the
process of developing a safety and health management system while becoming familiar with MIOSHA
Standards.
9.1.
Means of Access and Contact Information
AERB and APSRC building access
The AERB building is accessed via Tech ID proximity card.
Access to the APSRC building has been upgraded to a Tech ID proximity card in Q2 2014 and has been
operating successfully with this system. All exterior doors, as well as the door allowing access into the
torrefaction area from the main lab area, are connected to a central IT closet controlled by the campus IT
dept. Equipment in the IT closet is connected to an Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS) so that in the
event of a power failure, the proximity card system will still operate for at least one hour. In the event of
a longer outage, one building door has a keyed lock on it that can be opened with a metal key kept by KRC
security staff and by ASPRC staff Paul Dice.
Campus standard “Tech ID” proximity cards are used by a person desiring entry to the building. When
their card is scanned, an online database compares their card number to an online database to determine
if the user is allowed entry at that time. Access levels are set by APSRC Staff Tina Sarazin and can be edited
instantly from any computer with internet access. Student level access is M-F 7am-7pm and will
automatically expire at the end of the semester identified by their advisor. Employee level access is 24/7.
Contractor cards are also available to provide to contractors or external service companies who need
access to the building. Access levels for contractor cards are set based on the nature of the contractor or
service. All access attempts are recorded and can be retrieved by contacting campus public safety. A door
bell is also provided at the main entrance for guests. Access lists are reviewed quarterly by the APSRC staff
to ensure only authorized personnel have access.
In the event that access for student laboratory work is needed outside normal hours, the PI for their
project can meet them at the building to let them in and verify what their work will be for that day. The
PI may then leave, but at least one person involved in the work must be either an MTU employee or a
supported graduate student and there must be at least two people present at all times. Students working
must also send Paul Dice (pwdice@mtu.edu) if working in the APSRC or Henry Schmidt
(hschmidt@mtu.edu) if working in the AERB, an email when they start work and when they leave. In the
interest of safety, no work is allowed after 10pm or before 4am any day of the week.
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To ensure access is limited to only authorized personnel no un-attended doors are to be left open and if
a faulty, staff, or student sees anyone they are not familiar with they are to check with the person about
why they are there and what projects they are working on.
For building access to the AERB or APSRC you must include your full name, M number, contact information
and authorization email from your advisor to:
Tina Sarazin
cmsarazi@mtu.edu
906-487-4525
Ms. Sarazin will confirm with the advisor beginning and end of access semester dates per above.
9.2.
General Safety Requirements
There are several safety requirements in place to work within the APSRC and AERB facilities. All users
must first complete their departmental general safety training, then complete the APSRC or AERB building
safety training, and finally complete a specific area safety training conducted by the manager of that area.
Documentation of training at each level is kept on record by Paul Dice or Henry Schmidt per facility.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is covered in the various forms of safety training and is required to
be used as indicated. At minimum EVERYONE (including students, guests, and employees) must wear close
toed shoes, safety glasses, and long pants at all times when in lab and machine shop areas. These areas
are marked when you enter. As per departmental safety training, students are required to provide their
own PPE equipment. Safety glasses are available for guests at each entrance but must be cleaned and
returned, ear plugs are provide for comfort in areas where they may be desired and their proper use is
covered in the training for that specific area. Enforcement has been a significant effort over the last year.
9.3.
Specific Lab Equipment Safety Requirements
Due to the wide range of research at the APSRC and AERB buildings, a large number of unconventional
research equipment exists and it would not be practical to train each student on every piece of equipment.
Instead, laboratory specific training is provided to each student by the training supervisor for the area
where the student is working to ensure that locations, procedures, safety equipment, PPE, etc. are all
clear before any work can be done. Afterward, case-by-case training of specific equipment is handled by
the lab supervisor and the additional training is recorded. Determination of specific equipment training
is subject to the “hoses or wires” policy, anything that has hoses or wires requires contacting the lab
supervisor before use. Forklift training falls under this category and is handled by an annual training
session provided onsite at the APSRC by the ME-EM Departmental staff.
9.4.
Machine Shop Equipment
Machine shop equipment use is handled in a similar way to lab equipment; however, the student must
first take the training for the equipment in their respective departmental training session on that specific
tool before APSRC machine shop training. This serves to make sure that the student is familiar with the
operation in a formal training session, and then can be shown the differences in the equipment at the
APSRC before operation.
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9.5.
Cleanliness Expectations
Users of the APSRC and AERB are require to put all tools and equipment in their proper location, cleanup
any fluid spills, and sweep loose debris from the floor. If a project is ongoing at the end of the work day,
the investigators are required to place their components and supplies in the temporary project shelves
and cabinets provided. Receptacles for the disposal of all waste are provided and their use covered during
general lab orientation. Repeated offences of this policy will result in loss of access to the building and
facilities.
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