BEEF, Inc. Team Projects in CHEG 200
A team project assignment of about two-week duration contains six problems. One problem addresses the
semester-long flowsheet simulation project of determining the process requirements and "best" operating
conditions to manufacture styrene monomer from methanol and toluene using the HYSYS processor
simulator. Four analysis problems focus on manually solving the material balances, energy balance,
and/or phase equilibrium of process equipment. These four problems are intended to help our sophomore
engineers get a better understanding of how HYSYS does it calculations. The sixth problem is related to
a laboratory experiment conduct in our Unit Operation Laboratory. Each problem for the flowsheet
simulation project is taken from the blue manual entitled Chemical Process Simulation and the HYSYS
Software, Version 2.2, authored by Michael Hanyak. The four analysis problems are taken from
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, Third Edition, by Felder and Rousseau. The laboratory
problem requires a team to plan, conduct, analyze, and document a laboratory experiment that solves a
problem presented by one of our clients, Hawbawg Chemical Company.
HYSYS Problems
The blue HYSYS manual contains eight tutorials (Chs. 2-9) that introduce you to the HYSYS process
simulation software, five process unit assignments (Ch. 3) that help you to develop your abilities and
confidence to simulate individual equipment using HYSYS (like pumps, heaters, reactors, and distillation
columns), and seven process flowsheet assignments that your team solves to determine the process
requirements and "best" operating conditions to manufacture styrene monomer from methanol and
toluene using HYSYS.
The tutorials and exercises in the blue HYSYS manual are to be independently documented (ID) in your
technical journal. You are encouraged to consult with your teammates while doing these ID assignments.
The HYSYS problem in a team project will be an extension of one or more tutorials (or exercises) that
your team must solve, document, and report in the project memorandum. You and your team are to plan,
analyze, implement, and review the solution to the team HYSYS problem in a project. You are
responsible to know the materials associated with the HYSYS tutorials and exercises, as well as the team
HYSYS problems. Some of these materials will appear on the two examinations and final exam, which
are open-book tests that you complete by yourself.
Analysis Problems
In our company, sophomore chemical engineers must learn to apply the principle of material balances,
phase equilibrium, and energy balance, when their four-member team solves well-defined problems.
They must distinguish between different types of systems—continuous with no chemical reaction, batch,
semi-batch, and continuous with chemical reaction. Starting with the fundamental conservation law of
matter, you can write material balances based on mass, moles, or atoms to solve process-related problems.
You and your team are asked to explicitly practice the following six steps of a problem solving
methodology to solve well-defined problems:
Activity
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Outcome
understand the problem
define the problem
devise a plan
carry out the plan
review the problem solution
report the problem solution
conceptual model, a diagram
mathematical model
mathematical algorithm
numerical solution
heuristic observations
formal documentation
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BEEF, Inc. Team Projects in CHEG 200
This methodology provides a step-by-step structure that helps you and your team to reach the final goal, a
single correct answer. Although these steps or stages are sequential, feedback exists between stages. For
example, while reviewing the problem solution, a team might observe the need to calculate another
quantity, which was forgotten in the original mathematical model.
Your four-member team is assigned a two-week project that contains four analysis problems (P1, P2, P3,
P4) to solve the material balances, phase equilibrium, and/or energy balance for different systems.
During the two weeks, a two-hour, cooperative session is devoted to each step in the problem-solving
methodology, as illustrated in the following diagram:
Project:
Student
Coordinator
Observer
Monitor
Assembler
Monday
Diagram, P1
Diagram, P2
Diagram, P3
Diagram, P4
First Week
Wednesday
Model, P2
Model, P3
Model, P4
Model, P1
Friday
Algorithm, P3
Algorithm, P4
Algorithm, P1
Algorithm, P2
Monday
Laboratory
Laboratory
Laboratory
Laboratory
Second Week
Wednesday
Solution, P4
Solution, P1
Solution, P2
Solution, P3
Friday
Heuristics, P1
Heuristics, P2
Heuristics, P3
Heuristics, P4
The documentation step is done continuously, starting with the diagram and ending with the heuristic
observations. During the second Monday, your team will conduct an experiment to solve a project
laboratory problem, which is described later.
At each cooperative session, all students in a team are focusing on the same step in the problem-solving
methodology, but each is doing it on a different analysis problem. Before a cooperative session, a team
member must develop a draft outside of class and bring it to the next session. These drafts are used to
focus the discussions and then plan for the next cooperative session. When team members move to the
next cooperative session, they will all have the same focus but on a different problem. At the end of the
two weeks, all team members will have worked on all four analysis problems and interacted with each
other. In the sixth session, teams are required to spend time doing group processing; that is, doing selfassessment to examine and enhance their teamwork skills. They also start to work on the next project.
While using the five tenants of cooperative learning, your team members will rotate their roles from
project to project to complete the four analysis problems. The roles are coordinator, observer, monitor,
and assembler. The coordinator helps the team to identify and understand its goals and keeps everyone on
task during the work sessions. The observer double-checks the problem solutions before they are
submitted and conducts the group processing activity. The monitor checks that everyone understands the
problem solutions and the strategies used to get them. The assembler prepares the project report packet
and makes sure it is turned in on time. For teams with only three members, the coordinator will also
assume the duties of the monitor. All four team members actively participate in drafting the team
memorandum report with its accompanying appendices, which are the problem solutions.
Finally, you are responsible to know the materials associated with all four of the analysis problems.
Some of these materials will appear on the two examinations and final exam, which are open-book tests
that you complete by yourself.
Laboratory Problems
During the 14-week continuing education course, your team will plan, conduct, analyze, and document
five laboratory experiments that solve material and energy problems presented by Hawbawg Chemical
Company. Your team must purchase a bound laboratory notebook, which you will use to document your
laboratory-related activities. Your team will, again, have the assigned roles of coordinator, assembler,
observer, and monitor, which you will rotate from project to project. The responsibilities for the four
laboratory roles are defined as follows:
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BEEF, Inc. Team Projects in CHEG 200
Before Monday Laboratory
Coordinator
Observer
Monitor
Assembler
-
Establishes the objectives and models the experiment.
Examines the equipment or environment and constructs a diagram.
Develops the experimental procedure and identifies safety issues.
Develops the data tables and methods of analysis.
During Monday Laboratory
Coordinator
Observer
Monitor
Assembler
-
Coordinates the specific roles and the experimental operation.
Observes and records the experimental operation in the lab notebook.
Monitors and modifies the experimental procedure in the lab notebook.
Collects and records all experimental data in the lab notebook.
After Monday Laboratory
Coordinator
Observer
Monitor
Assembler
-
Writes the introduction, results, and conclusion sections in the memo.
Prepares the data tables and graphs in the lab notebook.
Performs the data analyses and documents them in the lab notebook.
Writes the discussion section for the experimental results in the memo.
All documentation for these responsibilities is to be done in the team’s laboratory notebook, except for
the introduction, results, discussion, and conclusions, which appear in the project memo report. The
documented experiment in the lab notebook will be copied and placed as an appendix in the project memo
report.
The Unit Operation Laboratory (Room 3) in the Dana Engineering Building is where most of the five
following experiments will be conducted:

Piping Design and Construction

Small Distillation Column (Dana 107)
Gas-Gas Membrane Separation
Plate-and-Frame Filtration Press
Spray Dryer with Methane Combustion



All teams will do the first experiment as part of Project P1. The last four experiments will be conduct
during each of the remaining projects—P2, P3, P4, and P5. Teams will rotate through the last four
experiments, from project to project.
For each laboratory problem in Projects P1, P2, P3, and P4, your project supervisor will provide guidance
and feedback, in order to develop your team’s technical, teamwork, and documentation skills. During
Project P5, your team will demonstrate how well you have learned to plan, conduct, analyze, and
document a laboratory problem. Your project supervisor will not provide guidance and feedback when
your team solves the laboratory problem for Project P5. Basically, the P5 laboratory problem serves as a
test of your team’s abilities to complete the lab assignment, independently.
Your team will produce two memo reports for Project P5. The first memo will include the HYSYS and
four analysis problems only. The second memo report will document your team’s solution to the
laboratory problem. Your team will use this lab solution to prepare and deliver a 20-minute oral
presentation on the last Monday of the continuing education course. Your participation in solving and
presenting the P5 laboratory problem will be used to determine the team laboratory portion of your final
grade.
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