Our Learning

Here at Iron Range Engineering, we are required to teach each other classes that some have not taken yet. The ultimate goal is passing the Fundementals of Engineering Exam. We have several ways to address this need. One way is having a few students teach a class (such as Mechanics of Materials or Fluid Mechanics) for two hours of the day. The other is doing practice problems from an FE Exam booklet.
In the past week there has been disagreement in choosing these teaching methods. Some feel that working in a smaller group is the best way to learn and others prefer a big group meeting. Personally, I think both methods are effective. As long as everyone is truly trying to learn and they are giving an effort, then the method shouldn't matter. Yes, a bigger group would be more organized than smaller groups, but at the same time smaller groups are formed because they know what they don't know. Both ways are effective in a learning environment and I don't think that is an issue that should cause tension.
I hope in the future that there will be time to use both methods. Lately, time has been limited. Efficiency is our focus and that is why there is conflict with the techniques we use. However, I believe the method does not measure efficiency. I think that we need to make what we do more efficient.

Proofed by: Tyler Bartek

Communication

There are many aspects of our interactions at IRE. The one that I am most concerned about is our communication as a large group. So far, this blog has seemed like a daily journal rather than an inside look at Iron Range Engineering. By no means are we a well oiled machine yet. We still have a long way to go until we’re as efficient as we could be.
We often come together as a whole group to make decisions for many things. I have found that these meetings are usually not efficient and they usually end in many people being very frustrated. From what I have witnessed, we are a group of 14 very strong minded, dominant individuals and we have learned to argue and “discuss” in much the same way. We are all used to taking leadership roles in a group and we’re all very used to voicing our opinions. When we discuss things in a large group, it is no different. I know that everyone’s opinion is valid, and I’m glad that everyone has input. However, it seems that a lot of people do not know how to properly convey their ideas and more importantly, it seems that a lot of people do not know how to respect other people’s ideas if they don’t agree with the idea. On the other side, people are immediately going on the defensive if someone doesn’t agree with their idea. This creates a lot of tension, a lot of arguing rather than discussing, and it makes for a very hostile group meeting. Because of all these factors, we tend to have some rather long meetings that do not end in a decision. The decision gets delegated off to someone, which could have been done at the beginning of the meeting…saving time.
Two bits of advice for everyone, including myself: learn how to convey your idea in a non-threatening, overbearing way, allow people to constructively criticize your idea without going on the defense right away. And respect other people’s ideas.

Proofed by: Cory Moran

Connecting Your Experiences in the Classroom and Community

Funds Available for Students

Two $1,000 awards are available to full-time students interested in
connecting their experiences in the classroom and in the community.
Fill out a brief application by November 30th, 2009 to be considered
for one of two Carter Academic Service Entrepreneur awards given to
Minnesota college and university students. The awards support
innovative service learning projects that feature strong partnerships
between students, faculty, and community partners. To learn more,
visit mncampuscompact.org.

CASE-GP program provides a $1,000 grant for a student to implement a community service project, a certificate of merit from the Foundation for the student. The project will be published on their website.

GP scholarship students who have innovative ideas to use their academic discipline to solve a community problem or to address an environment need or otherwise strengthen the community are encouraged to apply.

Application and Info: http://www.servicebook.org/

Project Lead the Way Fall Student Survey

IRE Students

Please take the time to fill out a short survey on Engineering Education
in Minnesota. This is an important survey and offers a great chance to enter
to win a $50 Barnes and Noble gift certificate. This survey is open to all
students who are taking an Engineering or Engineering Technology class during
the 2009-2010 school year. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
This survey is open until November 6th, and the Gift card drawing will take
place on November 13th. Limit one entry per student.


Please follow this link to take the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=33PpGMQfjYJUDmGiwII0Vg_3d_3d

Daily Journal

Wednesday was spent fulfilling various side tasks. A majority of us travelled to Itasca Community College to work on three dimensional modeling and a recycling project, while a few stayed behind to represent the students in an industry meeting. Overall, it was a very productive day. We designed and built three different recycling containers made from a corrugated plastic material manufactured locally by MDI. We have implemented them in our classroom and have plans to teach younger students the process of building them as a volunteer activity. The 3D modeling group learned some of the more complex tools and features of the Pro-Engineer program. We also received exciting news from the industry meeting. It looks as if there are several local industries and businesses with real life engineering opportunities for us; one of which could start within the next few weeks.

Proofed by: Deric Phillips

As Students

Recently I have been encouraged to gain a clearer understanding of what will change as we start our first semester as IRE students. Well I have discovered that we will still be in the classroom 8-4 on a typical day, but we will also be getting 4 hours of homework a day. We will be spending on average about three days working with industry to every one day in a classroom setting. We will be creating our own learning, but we will not be teaching one another. We will be learning together as a group and when the correct time comes, we will then be given the information we need. We will be doing projects for industry partners and leading EPD projects at ICC. We will be doing service work and writing technical papers. It will be a new, enjoyable and effective learning experience.

Proofed by Tyler Bartek

Target Field Tour

On Friday October 2, 2009 a group from Iron Range Engineering toured the new Minnesota Twins stadium, Target Field, located in downtown Minneapolis. The tour was led by Kyle Fritze, a Mechanical Engineer from M-E Engineers. Kyle acts as a consultant engineer, providing the link between the architecture firm Populous Architecture and the general contractor Mortenson Construction. Kyle would interpret the problems the contractor had with the design and relay the information to provide options for the architect. His title is Representative Engineer of the Mechanical and Electrical Processes. These processes are used in the building of the stadium, his specialty, however, is HVAC systems.

Design and Layout
The stadium location was selected from one of two spots. The chosen location was downtown Minneapolis, near the Target Center. The stadium has a very small footprint, as this was all the location allowed. The stadium was designed and built to fit around interstate 394 by the right field plaza. On the other side, a set of railroad tracks runs parallel to the third base line. Traffic will be an issue, and the light rail and public transportation options will be highly recommended. A passenger train will be added to act as a shuttle service to long distance locations. The field contains three main gates for the general public. The fan capacity is reduced by 15,000 from the 55,000 provided by the HHH Metrodome. Target Field has a sellout capacity of 40,000 fans.

Building and Construction
The building of the stadium was constructed by four main cranes that were centered inside the walls of the structure. They started building in right field, home of Target Plaza, in August 2007. Construction continued to work its way around home plate and into left field, ending near the service gate located in center field where the cranes were removed. The field was laid out using GPS, which allowed maximization of the space and precision in the location of design. In right field, the bleachers come within two feet of the Parking Ramp, and a large ad- panel was constructed to keep onlookers from peering in. Six levels make up the stadium: service, service mezzanine, main concourse, club, suite, and terrace concourse. It also is home to the largest canopy in MLB. The canopy is designed with the Minnesota winters in mind. There are four large legs and a main truss that support each section of canopy. This heavy support structure will be adequate for bearing the weight of the numerous lights, speakers, and snow that will accumulate during the winter.
During the early stages of development, there were up to 1,000 employees working on the jobsite at any given time. Now, as the construction process wraps up, they have reduced the number of employees down to about 300. On any given day, Kyle would have an average of three problems brought to his attention. These problems often included conflicts with designs and layouts that were not physically feasible for the construction crews to build. Kyle commented on the fact that engineers and architects don’t always agree, but spend long hours coming up with solutions that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Technical Design
There are many different engineering aspects included in the operation of the stadium. These include, but are not limited to: heating, plumbing, electrical, environmental, and economical processes. The stadium contains four 400 ton air cooled chiller units that are in operational use. Each cooling unit contains 10 to 12 condensers. To improve efficiency of the heating system, exhaust air from the locker rooms is used to preheat incoming air. The exhaust air is blown over a heat wheel that rotates and heats the input air; therefore increasing efficiency and reducing cost. Believe it or not, one of the hardest things to configure in the construction of the interior design was the grease ducts. This was because of the 1/8 inch per foot slope from horizontal, required for the drainage of the steam and grease splatter given off while cooking. To keep all of the beer cold for the 12 bars and concession areas, 26 keg coolers were installed.
With all of the electrical needs of the building, two backup generators are required for emergency use. Both of the generators are diesel powered, one produces 1000 KVA while the other produces 800 KVA. NFPA Code requires them to run for a period of 30 minutes per month to maintain reliability and performance. Exhaust from the generators is routed out to interstate 394 to prevent it from blowing back into the stadium. For the lighting of the field, the canopy contains a light bar, on the outer face, that projects out on the field. The positioning of the lights will be done at night on a 10’ x 10’ grid. Each square foot of field is required to have 225-350 foot-candles of light intensity according to Major League Baseball.
The plumbing that ran exterior was surrounded by heat trace. Heat trace is a wrap that surrounds the exterior of the pipes. It is activated by a thermostat to maintain a pipe surface temperature above 32 F to prevent freezing in cold weather. The original design had only planned for 6,000 lineal feet of the heat trace; the actual stadium required 18,000 lineal feet. The domestic water enters the building at 50 psi from the city. Once it has entered, the water is pumped up to 100 psi to maintain the required 80 psi at the upper levels after head loss is taken into account. Below the surface of the field, 38 miles of heated water tubing runs throughout placed on six inch centers to keep the playing conditions of the field ideal. The water that flows through the pipes is heated by steam from a city garbage incinerator located near the third baseline next to the stadium.
Now that the Twins are going back to an outdoor stadium, there are many design features needed to make outdoor baseball possible in Minnesota. The field was cored out six feet deep and layered with six different levels of rock and soil to maximize the runoff of water. Underneath the playing surface, several miles of drain tile was laid out to handle up to a four inch per hour rain, which is required by Minnesota State Code. The sod for the field came from Colorado. During the winter months, a special, heavy duty, breathable tarp covers the field. It is designed to sit on the grass to minimize compaction due to heavy snow. The field will be heated during cold months by 38 miles of hot water pipe to prevent the problems that come with freezing. The stadium has many aesthetic features to provide a good experience to the fans while also being player friendly. One of these features is the big green backdrop built in center field to allow the batters to better locate the ball coming from the pitcher. The backdrop includes spruce trees to break up the design of the plain wall, while also giving the stadium some character. The seats of the stadium were also chosen to be green to give the fielders a better chance of picking up the balls in play. Because of the layout of the field and positioning of the stadium, the Twins are taking the first baseline dugout to utilize the sun and rain protection.
Target Field is an impressive engineering feat. As of right now, the field is right on schedule to be ready for play in the upcoming 2010 season. The cost to build the stadium was around 450 million dollars. The stadium is also on track to becoming Silver LEED Certified; this takes into account the efficiency and environmental impact. The stadium includes twelve bars, numerous suites, multiple seating levels, a large plaza in right field, and year round administrative offices for the Twins executives.