Power System Hands-on Skill Enhancement through Senior Design Project

Weican Xiao

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Conference: 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Publication Date: June 26, 2016
Start Date: June 26, 2016
End Date: June 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-692-68565-5
ISSN: 2153-5965
Conference Session: CEED Paper Session 2: Leveraging Internships and Experiential Learning in Higher Education
Tagged Division: Cooperative & Experiential Education
Page Count: 9
DOI: 10.18260/p.25921
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/25921
Download Count: 511

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Weican Xiao Michigan Technological University

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Weican Xiao is currently a lecturer in the Electrical Engineering Technology program in the School of Technology at Michigan Technological University. Dr. Xiao earned master degree in Engineering System at Colorado school of mines in 2002. He obtained another master degree in Electrical Engineering from Rutgers University in 2006 and the PhD degree in Electrical Engineering from Old Dominion University in 2012. Dr. Xiao’s research interests include power system, instrumentation and semiconductor power device fabrication. He is also specialized in using microwave power for diamond thin film fabrication and convert tar to light hydrocarbon species while working as a postdoc in Norfolk State University. Dr. Xiao is a member of American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) and a member of ASEE Engineering Technology Division.

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Abstract

Power System Hands-on Skill Enhancement through Senior Design Project

A power system is a network of electrical components used to generate, transmit and consume electric power. It is a very important sub-discipline of electrical/electronic engineering technology (EET). Students graduated from the EET department usually have a high placement rate due to their hands-on experience and skills. EET focuses more on application, applied design and implementation; while traditional electrical engineering (EE) focuses more on theory and conceptual design. EET graduates can work in the field with minimum training compared to EE graduates; thus saving cost and time for the employer.

Most of the courses offered by EET department are accompanied by a lab. So students learn knowledge not only from the lecture in the class, but also from the lab by exposure to current equipment and technology. Typically graduates from EET have outstanding hands-on skills and experience; thanks to the labs offered for each course. However, the power system course deals with voltage from 120 volts up to hundreds and thousands of volts; it is dangerous and economically unfeasible to have a lab on campus dealing with such high voltage. Therefore, students in the power system sub-discipline of EET do not have enough exposure to current equipment and technology like other sub-disciplines do. Their hands-on experience and skills are not so prominent in that aspect, thus hindering employers from hiring such EET students for co-ops, internships or full time jobs.

In this paper, improving exposure and skills related power systems was accomplished through a senior design project with a local paper mill corporation. Students were tasked with designing a completely new electrical system which included one-line drawings, elementary drawings, two transformers, panel schedules, a bill of materials, cable schedule, conduit plan, lighting plan and construction package. The team was also responsible for assembling two electrical panels and shipping them to the mill.

In order to complete the project successfully, the team went through a training class of the National Electrical Code (NEC). The NEC is developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as a regionally adoptable standard for the safe design, installation and inspection of electrical wiring and equipment to protect people and property from electrical hazards in the United States. The NEC is extremely important for an electrical engineer to design and work in the field. Nevertheless, none of the students really knew about it before the training.

In the process of completing this project, the team gained a great deal of real-world experience. It gave the students a very good example of the type of work that power engineers deal with every day. The experience will equip them well in the power field and also guide them in deciding whether that is what they would like to pursue in the future. A similar project will continue to be pursued in the near future to enhance the experience.

Citation
Format

Xiao, W. (2016, June), Power System Hands-on Skill Enhancement through Senior Design Project Paper presented at 2016 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Louisiana. 10.18260/p.25921

TY - CPAPER
AB - Power System Hands-on Skill Enhancement through Senior Design Project

A power system is a network of electrical components used to generate, transmit and consume electric power. It is a very important sub-discipline of electrical/electronic engineering technology (EET). Students graduated from the EET department usually have a high placement rate due to their hands-on experience and skills. EET focuses more on application, applied design and implementation; while traditional electrical engineering (EE) focuses more on theory and conceptual design. EET graduates can work in the field with minimum training compared to EE graduates; thus saving cost and time for the employer.

Most of the courses offered by EET department are accompanied by a lab. So students learn knowledge not only from the lecture in the class, but also from the lab by exposure to current equipment and technology. Typically graduates from EET have outstanding hands-on skills and experience; thanks to the labs offered for each course. However, the power system course deals with voltage from 120 volts up to hundreds and thousands of volts; it is dangerous and economically unfeasible to have a lab on campus dealing with such high voltage. Therefore, students in the power system sub-discipline of EET do not have enough exposure to current equipment and technology like other sub-disciplines do. Their hands-on experience and skills are not so prominent in that aspect, thus hindering employers from hiring such EET students for co-ops, internships or full time jobs.

In this paper, improving exposure and skills related power systems was accomplished through a senior design project with a local paper mill corporation. Students were tasked with designing a completely new electrical system which included one-line drawings, elementary drawings, two transformers, panel schedules, a bill of materials, cable schedule, conduit plan, lighting plan and construction package. The team was also responsible for assembling two electrical panels and shipping them to the mill.

In order to complete the project successfully, the team went through a training class of the National Electrical Code (NEC). The NEC is developed by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) as a regionally adoptable standard for the safe design, installation and inspection of electrical wiring and equipment to protect people and property from electrical hazards in the United States. The NEC is extremely important for an electrical engineer to design and work in the field. Nevertheless, none of the students really knew about it before the training.

In the process of completing this project, the team gained a great deal of real-world experience. It gave the students a very good example of the type of work that power engineers deal with every day. The experience will equip them well in the power field and also guide them in deciding whether that is what they would like to pursue in the future. A similar project will continue to be pursued in the near future to enhance the experience.

AU - Weican Xiao
CY - New Orleans, Louisiana
DA - 2016/06/26
PB - ASEE Conferences
TI - Power System Hands-on Skill Enhancement through Senior Design Project
UR - https://peer.asee.org/25921
DO - 10.18260/p.25921
ER -