Papers by Thomas Stanford
Evaluation and implementation of control strategies for moving-bed coal gasifiers using mgas
The Chemical Engineering Journal and the Biochemical Engineering Journal, 1995
The mgas (Morgantown Energy Technology Center gasifier advanced simulation) model can be used to ... more The mgas (Morgantown Energy Technology Center gasifier advanced simulation) model can be used to simulate dynamically standard moving bed gasifiers and novel gasifier configurations. The mgas code is written in fortran and takes into account specifications such as reactor geometry, reaction schemes, kinetics and thermodynamics. In this paper, well-proven control methods are demonstrated on a standard moving-bed gasifier using mgas
Model identification of nonlinear time variant processes via artificial neural network
Computers & Chemical Engineering, 1996
This paper demonstrates that neural networks in conjunction with recursive least squares can be u... more This paper demonstrates that neural networks in conjunction with recursive least squares can be used effectively for model identification of nonlinear time variant processes. The developed approach updates the process model partially at any given sampling time. By updating only a subset of parameters at a given time sample, rather than all network parameters, convergence time is significantly reduced. In
Control of nonisothermal CSTR with time varying parameters via dynamic neural network control (DNNC)
Chemical Engineering Journal, 2000
Dynamic neural network control (DNNC) is a model predictive control strategy potentially applicab... more Dynamic neural network control (DNNC) is a model predictive control strategy potentially applicable to nonlinear systems. It uses a neural network to model the process and its mathematical inverse to control the process. The advantages of single hidden layer DNNC are threefold: First, the neural network structure is very simple, having limited nodes in the hidden layer and output layer
This is the first of four papers prepared for a special panel session focusing on approaches and ... more This is the first of four papers prepared for a special panel session focusing on approaches and processes that represent the current insight into the way humans learn. It is particularly focused on how this knowledge is poised to guide professional graduate engineering education for creative engineering practice and leadership of technological innovation to enhance U.S. competitiveness. This panel session is a part of the evolutionary development effort being made to energize the members of the American Society of Engineering Education response to the urgency of engineering education reform, voiced by Wm. A. Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering in the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) 2002 Annual Conference's-Main Plenary Address 1. As the panel leadoff paper of this session it introduces Constructivism as the learning theory and process that is most efficient in the development of professional competence. And that effectively guides the philos...
Ethylene production using oxidative dehydrogenation: effects of membrane-based separation technology on process safety & economics
Catalysis Today, 2020
Abstract Previous work from this group utilized a HYSYS simulator to predict the performance of a... more Abstract Previous work from this group utilized a HYSYS simulator to predict the performance of an ethylene oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) production facility using alternative diluents and separation technology not currently used in the standard industrial process. An ODH process system has been previously modeled with ethane being fed along with air into a reactor with simultaneous mixing with pure methane to lower the product gas temperature. The methane feed was later separated from the other product gases and eventually fed into a recycle stream. This process was fairly expensive due to the use of a demethanizer within the process recycle stream. Safety and operational improvements for the ODH process was another aspect of this analysis that yielded interesting results. By the inclusion of storage vessels before and after the ODH reactor, the reactor unit can operate even in the event of an upstream or downstream failure, resulting in less downtime for the process. This current work has investigated the development of membrane-based separation technology for the production of ethylene for the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) reaction of ethane using a HYSYS simulator with MEMCAL extension software in concert with economic and safety analyses. The application of polymer-membrane separation and non-cryogenic distillation alternatives, such as bottom-flash, heat-pump assisted and low-temperature distillation, were simulated and evaluated individually and in-tandem with membrane separation.
A mathematical model of the voloxidization process, a 'head-end' reprocessing step for the remova... more A mathematical model of the voloxidization process, a 'head-end' reprocessing step for the removal of volatile fission products from spent nuclear fuel, has been developed. Three types of voloxidizer operation have been considered; cocurrent operation in which the gas and solid streams flow in the same direction, countercurrent operation in which the gas and solid streams flow in opposite directions, and semi-batch operation in which the gas stream passes through the reactor while the solids remain in it and are processed batch wise. Because of the complexity of the physical and chemical processes which occur during the voloxidization process and the lack of currently available kinetic data, a global kinetic model has been adapted for this study. Test cases for each mode of operation have been simulated using representative values of the model parameters. To process 714 kgm/day of spent nuclear fuel, using an oxidizing atmosphere containing 20 mole percent oxygen, it was found that a reactor 0.7 m in diameter and 2.49 m in length would be required for both cocurrent and countercurrent modes of operation while for semibatch 3 operation a 0.3m reactor and an 88200 sec batch processing time would be required.
This is the second paper in the panel session of the National Collaborative Task Force for reform... more This is the second paper in the panel session of the National Collaborative Task Force for reform of professionally oriented engineering graduate education to make it more relevant to the needs of industry and to ensure a strong U.S. engineering workforce for competitiveness. The mission, purpose, methods, motivations, talents, and experience of engineering professionals who conceptualize, design, develop, innovate, and lead the purposeful development of new and improved technology are quite different from those of the academic scientific researcher. It is now evident that innovative professional graduate education programs do not fit organizationally into traditional disciplinary research-oriented academic departments. This paper focuses on new types of innovative organizations that are required to initiate, develop, and sustain high-quality professional graduate education at 21 st century universities in collaboration with industry. This paper begins the exploration of new types of innovative learning organizations that must be implemented into the mainstream of university operations. These organizations must foster a collaborative engineering culture for technological creativity, innovation, and technological leadership that enable the continuous growth of working professionals through all levels of engineering responsibility in industry.
This is the second paper in the special panel session focusing on issues driving reform of facult... more This is the second paper in the special panel session focusing on issues driving reform of faculty reward systems to advance professional graduate engineering education for creative engineering practice and to stimulate leadership of technology innovation to enhance U.S. competitiveness. This paper addresses the characteristics that differentiate the pursuits of basic academic scientific research and of professional engineering practice for the systematic creation, development, and leadership of new and improved technology for purposeful innovation in industry and government service.
There is growing recognition worldwide that traditional graduate engineering education neither fi... more There is growing recognition worldwide that traditional graduate engineering education neither fits the engineering innovation process necessary for competitiveness in the global economy nor reflects the way that graduate engineers and technologists learn and develop as professionals, innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders in industry. In today's global economy, engineering innovation is recognized as a continuous, systematic needs-driven process, which is highly dependent upon the provision for lifelong learning, growth, and development of the nation's graduate engineers and technologists in industry beyond their entry-level undergraduate baccalaureate preparation. Because of profound changes in engineering practice for real-world innovation, a transformation is underway in the U.S. Science and Engineering (S&E) innovation system. A concurrent, nonlinear model of needs-driven systematic engineering innovation, which is supported by directed scientific research, is replacing the sequential, linear research-driven model of engineering innovation. Graduate education must be responsive to this change and must build a new type model of in-service graduate professional education which reflects the substantial changes and characteristics of the engineering innovation process itself, and the stages of lifelong growth, professional dimensions, and leadership responsibilities associated with the modern practice of creative engineering in a knowledge-based, innovation-driven economy. Whereas traditional research-based graduate engineering education and teaching have resulted during the last three decades as a byproduct of the linear research-driven model of innovation, a new model of graduate professional education has been developed which focuses on lifelong professional education for emerging and experienced engineering leaders in industry as creative problem-solvers, technical program makers, technology policy makers, and leaders in the modern context of engineering practice for creative technology development and innovation.
This is the first of four papers in the special panel session focusing on issues driving reform o... more This is the first of four papers in the special panel session focusing on issues driving reform of faculty reward systems to advance professional graduate engineering education for creative engineering practice and leadership of technological innovation to enhance U.S. competitiveness. This panel session is in direct response to the urgency of engineering education reform and improvement of faculty reward systems, voiced by Wm. A. Wulf, president of the National Academy of Engineering at the 2002-Main Plenary Address to the American Society of Engineering Education. Since the Grinter Report, scientific research has become a primary condition for tenure and promotion at many of the nation's schools of engineering across the country. In his seminal work, Scholarship Reconsidered, Ernest Boyer identified the need to broaden the range and the definition of scholarship beyond the limits of scholarship of research and discovery. As the panel overview paper, this paper introduces the need to implement a comprehensive faculty reward system for those professional-oriented adjunct faculty from industry and for those professional-oriented core faculty within schools of engineering and technology, who are at the leading edge of advancing the practice of engineering through their teaching, industrial engagement, and original professional scholarly work relevant to creative engineering practice and its leadership for technology development. The paper raises fundamental questions that must be answered to design a complementary faculty reward template of creative professional scholarly work, teaching, and engagement for high-caliber engineering professionals in parallel to the academic scientific research template, which predominantly exists at schools of engineering and technology across the nation.
This is the fourth paper in the special panel session of the National Collaborative Task Force on... more This is the fourth paper in the special panel session of the National Collaborative Task Force on Engineering Graduate Education Reform to ensure a strong U.S. engineering workforce for competitiveness. Whereas research cultures have been built into the nation's schools of engineering to enhance the educational experience of research-oriented graduate students, it is now evident that a complementary but different culture is needed also to make professionally oriented engineering graduate education more relevant to the needs of industry and to further the advanced professional education of the majority of the nation's engineers who are pursuing creative engineering practice for leadership of technology development and innovation in industry. The paper explores the type of organizational culture and attributes that must be built into high-quality professional graduate engineering education to facilitate systematic technological innovation, improve industry-university engagement for innovation, and enable the continuous positive growth of creative working professionals in industry for leadership of engineering innovation.
The third paper in this special graduate studies division panel session focuses on issues driving... more The third paper in this special graduate studies division panel session focuses on issues driving reform of faculty reward systems to advance professional graduate engineering education. Creative engineering practice and leadership of technological innovation to enhance U.S. competitiveness is mission critical to economic development and growth of jobs within the United States of America. The paper and presentation will addresses the need for appropriate recognition of adjunct industrial faculty in professional graduate engineering programs. As identified by the Council of Graduate Schools recently, faculty engaged in professional practice are a major attribute for developing and sustaining high-quality professional graduate programs in engineering and technology. Reward systems and professional recognition of these expert faculty must be improved in order to attract high-caliber, experienced, practicing engineers and industrial leaders from industry. Adjunct industrial faculty teaching in engineering and technology professional graduate programs add remarkable leading edge insight to the needs of industry to be more competitive. Because of current emphasis on research-driven graduate education and the university quest for federal funding, our nation's experienced professional engineering talent in industry has been one of the most underutilized U.S. faculty resources. The opportunity for innovative universities to better recruit, develop, and reward this unique resource of U.S. domestic engineering talent must not be ignored. Use of this experienced resource in combination with core university faculty, builds a formidable U.S. strength for engagement with industry to improve professional graduate engineering education for world-class competitiveness as a professional complement to the existing academic research strength.
2009 Annual Conference & Exposition Proceedings, Sep 3, 2020
Duties include the mentoring of structural analysts, overseeing structural analysis work, partici... more Duties include the mentoring of structural analysts, overseeing structural analysis work, participating in design reviews, reviewing/approving technical reports, reviewing/approving design layouts. Formerly, Manager, Structural Analysis-Fans, Compressors, & Turbines), at Rolls-Royce. This included directing/coaching/mentoring degreed engineers in the performance of detailed finite element analyses and life analyses, in support of the preliminary design, final design, upgrade, engine testing, and the failure analysis of military, commercial, helicopter, and industrial gas turbine engine components.
2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Jun 24, 2007
2007 Annual Conference & Exposition, Jun 24, 2007
Industry and higher education, Feb 1, 1999
International Journal of Hydrogen Energy, Jun 6, 2009
The hybrid sulfur thermochemical cycle has been proposed as a means to produce efficiently massiv... more The hybrid sulfur thermochemical cycle has been proposed as a means to produce efficiently massive quantities of clean hydrogen using a high-temperature heat source like nuclear or solar. The cycle consists of two steps, one of which is electrolytic. The reversible cell potential for this step and, hence, the resulting operating potential will depend on the concentrations of dissolved SO 2 and sulfuric acid at the electrode. To understand better how these are related as functions of temperature and pressure, an Aspen Plus phase equilibrium model using the OLI Mixed Solvent Electrolyte physical properties method was employed to determine the activities of the species present in the system. These activities were used in conjunction with the Nernst equation to determine the reversible cell potential as a function of sulfuric acid concentration, temperature and pressure. A significant difference between the reversible and actual cell potentials was found, suggesting that there may be considerable room for reducing the operating potential.
This is the fourth paper in the special panel session focusing on issues driving reform of facult... more This is the fourth paper in the special panel session focusing on issues driving reform of faculty reward systems to advance professional engineering education for creative engineering practice and leadership of technological innovation to enhance U.S. competitiveness. This paper explores the conceptual beginnings of a template for improved faculty reward systems that better reflect the practice of engineering for fulltime, tenure track professionally oriented faculty in schools of engineering and technology.
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Papers by Thomas Stanford