CHEMMAT 750A/B : Design Project

Engineering

2024 Semester One (1243) / Semester Two (1245) (30 POINTS)

Course Prescription

Specification, planning and executing a specific process design project. The detailed considerations in the project to include environmental impact, safety and occupational health issues, material selection, process energy demand and efficiency, costing and economics, process start-up and operation.

Course Overview

This is a capstone process design course.  In this course, a student, working both individually and within a group, will apply the process of design by walking from the initial concept, the fundamental heat and material balances, PFD, P&ID, early feasibility based on economics and sustainability. This course will focus on large scale multicomponent systems.  Business cases will be reviewed in more detail.  Modern safety case analysis will be discussed. 

The timeline below provides a suggested timeline for project activities and key deadlines. These are generic tasks; students must prepare a detailed workplan specific for their project and assign specific activities to each group member. The detailed workplan must be presented in the form of a Gantt Chart as an appendix in all written reports. The workplan will be updated or modified as the year progresses.

750A / Semester 1
Week: Activity / Task
Prior to Start of Semester Form groups; explore project ideas
Week 1: Project allocation; contact project supervisor
Week 2: Kick-off meeting with supervisor; prepare action plan for the term; establish project management structure; initiate literature review; explore design options
Week 3: Continue literature review; rank design alternatives; select most promising option(s)
Week 4:  Perform basic evaluation of chosen design alternative: simple material balances, property estimations, market survey
Week 5: Complete basic evaluation of selected design; prepare interim progress report including process diagrams, product specifications, or sketches as applicable
Week 6: Midterm progress report due; Midterm group presentations
Midsemester break
Week 7: Design review period: consult with industry mentors, supervisors, and/or teaching assistants, on ways to improve or modify design as needed
Week 8: Design review period: consult with industry mentors, supervisors, and/or teaching assistants, on ways to improve or modify design as needed
Week 9: Develop detailed evaluation of design, e.g., complete base case simulation or detailed property estimations
Week 10: Continue detailed evaluation of design; document your work and agree on final report structure with your group and supervisor
Week 11: Evaluate social, environmental, safety, and health impacts of your design; finalize major design tasks
Week 12: Complete financial evaluation of proposed design; perform sensitivity analysis; compile report and proof read it;
Design Basis Memorandum (DBM) report due
750B / Semester 2
Week: Activity / Task
Week 1: Review meeting with supervisor: go over DBM comments and prepare plan of action for the winter term
Week 2: DBM review: modify DBM and proposed design based on your supervisor’s feedback
Week 3: Continue DBM review. Submit updated Project Plan and Contract.
Week 4: Explore design modifications: attempt to optimize one or more performance metrics; document all design changes
Week 5: Perform detailed evaluation of your improved design
Week 6: Midterm progress report is due; Midterm group presentations
Midsemester break
Week 7: Explore detailed or advanced elements in your design
Week 8: Continue exploring detailed or advanced elements in your design
Week 9: Establish final report structure and start filling gaps in it
Week 10 Continue putting the finishing touches in your report.
Week 11 Complete design testing and evaluation
Week 12 Compile final report and proofread it; Final report is due
After Lectures Finish: Final Presentations

Course Requirements

Prerequisite: CHEMMAT 306 or 331 Restriction: CHEMMAT 431, 432 To complete this course students must enrol in CHEMMAT 750 A and B

Capabilities Developed in this Course

Capability 3: Knowledge and Practice
Capability 4: Critical Thinking
Capability 5: Solution Seeking
Capability 6: Communication
Capability 7: Collaboration

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Identify and characterise chemical process engineering problems and formulate and execute a solution for such problems (Capability 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1)
  2. Incorporate and assess economic, environmental, ethical, health & safety and sustainability impacts in the process design (Capability 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1)
  3. Summarise, analyse, synthesise, and evaluate evaluate information from a wide variety of sources; and develop strategies to identify and address gaps in own knowledge (Capability 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1)
  4. Develop process flow sheets and solve steady state mass and energy balances involving multiple unit operations using appropriate tools (e.g., process simulation) (Capability 3.2 and 4.1)
  5. Communicate engineering knowledge in the form of written documentation (e.g., block diagrams, PFDs, P&IDs, DBM, final report) and oral presentations (Capability 3.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
  6. Select and size materials and equipment including vessels and rotating equipment based on plant configuration (Capability 3.1, 4.1 and 5.1)
  7. Design process instrumentation and control systems, including constructing piping and instrumentation diagrams (P&IDs) (Capability 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1)
  8. Ensure compliance with existing technical codes, regulations, standards, and best practices, in particular as it concerns process safety and environmental protection (Capability 5.1 and 6.1)
  9. Develop a Process Hazards Analysis including hazard identification & evaluation, consequences analysis, risk analysis, and proposed recommendations to address identified hazards (Capability 3.1, 4.1, 5.1 and 7.1)
  10. Plan and manage team’s organizational structure, team effectiveness through individual action, and engineering activities within time and resource constraints (Capability 5.1, 6.1 and 7.1)

Assessments

Assessment Type Percentage Classification
Participation 10% Individual Coursework
Reports 62.5% Group & Individual Coursework
Orals 27.5% Group & Individual Test
Assessment Type Learning Outcome Addressed
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Participation
Reports
Orals
A more detailed breakdown of the assessments is as follows:

750A/Semester 1
Assessment Type, Percentage, Learning Outcomes
Participation 5.0% 10
1st Mid-term report 10.0% 1-3, 5, 6, 10
1st Mid-term oral 10.0% 1, 2, 6, 10
Project D.B.M. 25.0% 1-6, 10

750B/Semester 2
Assessment Type Percentage Learning Outcomes
Participation 5.0% 10
2nd Mid-term report 7.5% 2, 4, 5-10
2nd Mid-term oral 7.5% 7-10
Final Project report 20.0% 1-10
Final presentation 10.0% 2, 4, 5-10

Please note that all assessments are compulsory, and in-line with the University’s assessment policy, 40% of the marks will be awarded on an individual basis, and peer assessment marks will be included.

Workload Expectations

This course is a standard 15 point course and students are expected to spend 10 hours per week involved in each 15 point course that they are enrolled in.

For this course, you can expect 4 hours of class discussion, 1 hours of reading and thinking about the content and 5 hours of work on assignments and/or test preparation.

Delivery Mode

Campus Experience

Attendance is expected at scheduled activities including in class tutorials.
Lectures will be available as recordings.
The activities for the course are scheduled as a standard weekly timetable.

Learning Resources

Course materials are made available in a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas which also includes reading lists and lecture recordings (where available).

Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

The following reference texts are recommended:
1) Sinnott's and Towler's Chemical Engineering Design
2) Perry's and Green's Chemical Engineers' Handbook

Health & Safety

There are no laboratories. However, the course includes significant HSE learnings. Further, students are expected to adhere to the guidelines outlined in the Health and Safety section of the Engineering Undergraduate Handbook.

Student Feedback

At the end of every semester students will be invited to give feedback on the course and teaching through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions.

Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students.

Class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

Feedback from students this year has been positive with above average SET evaluations and strong anecdotal feedback.  

Introducing peer assessment earlier and trying to ensure more clarity around expectations will be the changes we plan to make next year.

Academic Integrity

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Class Representatives

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Inclusive Learning

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website http://disability.auckland.ac.nz

Special Circumstances

If your ability to complete assessed coursework is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due.

If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/academic-information/exams-and-final-results/during-exams/aegrotat-and-compassionate-consideration.html.

This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

Learning Continuity

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

Student Charter and Responsibilities

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/students/forms-policies-and-guidelines/student-policies-and-guidelines/student-charter.html.

Disclaimer

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about the course will be available for enrolled students in Canvas.

In this course students may be asked to submit coursework assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations for this course online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.