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Pond Life For Birkenhead Students
May 2003 — Promising engineers from Birkenhead
Sixth Form College near Liverpool have been sponsored by
Air Products' Ellesmere Port facility to undertake an engineering
challenge as part of the 2002/2003 North West Engineering
Education Scheme (EES).
Working with facility manager Richard Wood and CDP Graeme
Calvert, the four students were able experience a real engineering
project; Air Products benefited by getting to know high
calibre students and developing stronger community links.
This particular project required the students to implement
cooling-water pond levels using a borehole pump. The pump
flow had to be limited to a rate set by the Environmental
Agency.
The team had visited the Ellesmere Port site several times
and taken measurements allowing them to make a model of
the cooling-water system. In December, the students presented
the project to the EES panel at the University of Liverpool.
Further work involved writing the control programme and
helping to install and commission the system. In May, the
team made a formal presentation to the EES panel and field
questions on the project.
Richard was pleased with the work undertaken by the students:
"The Royal Academy of Engineering suggested that we
get involved with the EES and we haven't regretted it",
he said. "It seems to be a symboiotic relationship:
we had a project that needed completing and the team from
Birkenhead seemed to be enjoying the challenge. I feel happy
that with Graeme's help, the borehole ceased to be a problem
for us."
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