Flownex and PADT Sponsor University of Houston’s Rankin Rollers Team

A group of enthusiastic students at the University of Houston are doing their part at solving that age old academia problem: not enough hand’s on experience.  They are designing and building a working steam turbine for the schools Thermodynamics lab so students can experiment with a Rankin cycle, learn how to take meaningful measurements, and study how to control a real thermodynamic system.

After meeting a team member at the 2014 Houston ANSYS User conference, PADT saw a great opportunity to help the team by providing them with access to a full seat of Flownex SE so that they can create a virtual prototype of their steam turbine and the control system they are developing. 

The four team members have the following goals for their project:

1. Create a fully automated system control
2. Create system with rolling frame for ease of transport
3. Create system with dimensions of 4x2x3.5 ft
4. Deliver pre-made lab experiments
5.  Produce an aesthetically pleasing product

Flownex should be a great tool for them, allowing the team to simulate the thermodynamics and flow in the system as well as the system controls before committing to hardware. 

You can learn more about the team on their Facebook page here, or on their website here [This link is no longer available]. 

We hope to share their models and what they have learned when their project is complete. If you are interested in using Flownex for your work or school project, contact PADT.