Engineers and the Human Condition

Engineers and the Human Condition

A little unusual for a title, but I am Human and always an Engineer, a Mechanical Engineer. As I have said from time to time, my blogs are really 'Stories based on fact, as I remember them' and goodness me I have so many stories I can barely contain my excitement, when I 'Think' of all the achievements Engineers – Mechanical; Structural; Electrical and Electronic et al – have made for the benefit of the 'Human Condition', over many decades.

During this tribute to Engineers World wide I will to refer to three of my blogs in particular.

1. AIRCRAFT MISSING – An Integrated Electronic Search System. May 2014
2. INOPERATIVE – Anti-Terrorist Measures. September 2014
3. TOYOTA – Lead Vehicle Supplier To Terrorists. June 2015

As I look at a plaque next to my computor 'University of Birmingham' England and “PER ARDUA AD ALTA” A kind of striving for the best and all things are possible , which is exactly how I went about things, complete with absolute disasters, like trying to design and build a Super- Sonically diffused centrifugal compressor , to be saved from ridicule by a kind Chief Engineer at AEI Ltd, a Mr Huittson I recall, Rugby, England.

 

Ok, I am a product of the old 'Graduate School of Thermodynamics and Related Studies', which was lead by a charismatic Professor F K Bannister and a team of brilliant and not so brilliant lecturers, of course the best were the mature students and me the youngest.

I just don't know where to start, rubbish , yes I do. In Dartmouth, Devon England there is a museum and inside is a machine that defied imagination in 18 something and for me still does today. It is one of those steam powered engines designed and used by a Cornish Engineers for use in their Tin and later Copper mines. De-watering pumps, as many of the shafts were under sea level and very near to the ever present danger. This particular one is really a vacuum engine, in that from a relatively low press boiler, steam entered the cylinder and water was injected, causing a vacuum and up went the piston and round went the massive Flywheel ----- Fantastic

From then, came the true pressure engines and the study by Engineers of super heated steam and its use. The age of steam had begun, leading to those locomotives of fame, like the Flying Scotsman and Mallard class's; those wonderful creations in the USA ; France and Germany, Then on to Turbines for Industry and shipping.

I have to tell you of one, as a young lad, I actually saw a steam power unit working. It was in the late fourties when I lived in Lydney Gloucestershire England, where there was Tin Plate works. They heated the ingots and rolled successively thinner, then folded and rolled again a number of times. Finally when the sheets had been trimmed men using leather gloves with Lead palm pieces separated the sheets for the tin plate and on to cans we knew so well – Golden Syrup was one. Ah, what was up front of the rollers in series, line , An enormous Triple Expansion Steam Engine, with a Flywheel that must have been at least 6 Metres Diameter. It was at this time I learned my first Metallurgy lesson and property of molten metals, To make the lead separating pieces, a brick was chipped to make a 'well' of about 50mm by 50mm, 20mm deep. Melted the leads to molten stage then poured into the 'well' and there was your Palm piece. Great, that is when you have thouroughly dried the brick, if not, molten lead spate and flew every were. ---- Goodness that was educational. Engineering, thats me. My first lesson in Metallurgy and the properties of metals.

Steam made history with its use and development, by Engineers for advancement of 'The Human Condition'. Steam for power to run Industry, Shipping and general transport, as in Locomotives. My goodness, from simple loco's to those most immpresive magnificent machines produced by UK; Germany; France and the USA. Piston engines through to Steam turbines, the first turbine powered train I think was in Switzerland in the thirties? . Steam always seemed like a living being, from firing up to listening to the engine and the first Hiss of life and to watch the pressure gauge rise, until the piston started to move --- shear joy. Me of course went on to study Super Heated Steam with its almost gas like behavior. Enough now Mason on matters steam. Maybe, but I am going ask the question – Do some machines have souls. Not so long agoe a broadcaster was in Japan and he stumbled upon a garage where young men were working on Special Vehicles, built out of old American cars, with all the spray art to go with them. The chap asked – Why the fasination with old cars ---- The reply

' Old cars have souls'. If that is true , certainly it applied to Steam power.

Engineers were and are responsible for nearly everything about us, we just have to look around.

Insects can be Engineers and Ants of all kinds in particular, like the Iconic Terrmite Mound., Look and you will see. Ah yes, I was somewhere up the Kyber Pass between Pakistan and Afghanistan with a chap, a tribal man of the area and we sat very high up,looking down and across the valley – scary for me. He pointed across the valley and said What do you see?. Whew , nothing I thought, just rock.

After a while he said , now look at one spot and suggested a certain direction, I see nothing I said. No, keep a steady eye on that small area and then I saw a slight movement, look on and there and behold a man sitting with a rifle across his legs. My man praised me and advised that the chap across the valley had probably seen us arrive and start our search, he gave us a sporting chance by moving, but had I been assumed hostile, would probably not be here to tell the tale.

OK. Another lesson by the same chap. Sit anywhere you think there is no life. Now look down at' the same spot and something will come along, usually an insect . Nothing said I – very Patient this fello, so for a about ten minutes I looked, when of course an ANT came passing by.

This is all about Engineers and Humans and their ability to Observe and Identify.

Before I move on there is one thing a Engineer must be able to do and what I have advocated for many years. 'Listen to the Wind' and more correctly ' Listen to the Winds of Change'

Engineers Observe and they Listen and what a World we have created.

In order to design and creat things for 'The Human Condition' ENGINEERS had to be able to measure. A science in itself from very ancient times,I believe from Egypt and others like Messomatiania?, Cubits ,Furlongs and others. Angles were a special part of measurement,from Geometry of course, see how the Pyramids were built- What was that angle,a strange one but absolutely on the marker. Ah yes, I rang my friend and fello Engineer, David Greenhill, again a product of Birmingham Universities department of Mechanical Engineering, did he know that angle?. Of course like all good Engineers, he looked for the facts and here it is 51 degrees 52 minutes. I looked further and they are both Triangular numbers 1326 and 1378. Enough Mason.

It was in the early fifties , whilst studying for my Higher National Diploma , and taking a City and Guilds Machine shop operators course, that I attended a special short course on measurement = Sounds good I thought , so I turned up with lads of all kinds, Fitters, Machinists, Loom Tuners and we assembled in a room full of steel Balls; Rollers; flat plates with their scribing blocks and all manner of measuring instruments. This will be boring I thought- How wrong I was.

Right on time, a fello entered the room,not in a brown jacket with cleaning rags in his pocket, but an immaculately dressed gentleman in a grey suit, white shirt with a silver tie and shoes of which the shine would do a Sergent Major proud. He looked at us and smiled and all most like a top artist on a London stage, he became alive with his subject and had us all captivated with the topic of measurement and interpreting that measurement for the manufacture of products for the Human Race.

We were all fascinated with the world of Micrometers; Verniers and very accurate steel balls; rollers and steel rulers . To show us that we could achieve good measurement in simple ways, we all had a Flat Plate, with a scribing block and needle with which to scribe on a piece of steel a set height of one inch. Goodness it was difficult and of course the winner was a machine shop foreman. Our man then took us to a Timken Limited bearing works , to see how accuracy , repeated accuracy is achieved on a daily basis. We all rely on ball and roller bearing for our cars to proceed, Jet engines to rotate and machinery of all kinds to function. At that time there were things they did not show us, as they were regarded as trade secrets,sought after by competitors, particularly Japanese. Well known now , mind you the Chinese still, fail sometimes, as with my wind turbine. Very tight to start with, then progressively deteriating to destruction- mainly a metalurgical problem I think.

Engineers and the Human Condition. Let us have a look around at things that could not have been possible without Engineers of all kinds. COMPUTORS, lap tops iPads etc-lids; casings; keys; batteries and chargers plus plugs and sockets etc. PRINTERS and TYPE WRITERS, take a closer look, its nearly all mechanical mechanisms. CARS; TRUCKS; TRACTORS; BULLDOZERS and EXCAVATORS. GENERATORS of all sizes, piston and turbine. COAL and NUCLEAR power stations. POWER lines; COMPRESSORS, tiny to one I was associated with – 20,000 cfm, eight stage ,water inter-cooled, Centrifugal Air Compressor for a mine in South Africa. Whow and of course our beloved Passenger Aircraft, transporting Humans almost where ever they want go. Too many of them of course as polluters of the skies. Fighter aircraft, lethal weapons, used all too indescriminently at times, by good and bad governments. For good measure, there is the massive Space industry and almost equally the Medical categary , with all their MECHANICAL devices they use on a daily basis including research Microscopes. How say you people?.

Many books have been read on defining the small and the great engineering acheivements in history,so we will leave them in our libraries – for the moment.

Engineers have always been aware of their responsibililties regarding standards of measurement, observation and the reporting and sharing of facts. I have over the years advocated that Engineers of all categories endeavour to keep a very high standard, even when thinking outside of the square. There are rogue manfacturers who ignore their Engineers and produce rubbish or faulty goods. Remember the TAY Bridge, a Victorian railway bridge, of Cast Iron colunm design. The design was good but the manufacturers in the casting works failed to achieve compete air cavity free products. Thus the bridge collapsed, sending a passenger train into the river. Apparently only a few days earlier the good Queen Victoria crossed and declared it a marvel of Engineering.

Over the years has grown organisations that form the very basis of standards today. The Americans with their Department of Transport DOT seen on your Tyres; Brake fliuds and many more . Society of Automotive Engineers SAE, lasting standards and Technical Papers without end.

Then there is one of the originals, Deutsche Industrie Normal DIN , I believe started with standards for photographic emulsions. Of course for Engineering there are many standards a nd papers published, over the years.

For me and many around the World the most important organisation for Mechanical Engineers,is “The Institution of Mechanical Engineers”, still at 1 Birdcage Walk, London, I gather. The home of learned Engineering and Promotion with many Papers Published and lectures arranged and enjoyed by all. When one writes to them,they actually respond, doing their best to assist. Bravo.

Before we bring our liitle dicusssion to a close, I wish to tell you of some of the major, problems I have been involved in- very briefly.

Lockerbie – I have numerus times said I have filed my input to this tradegy. It started with the initial Photograghs of the 747 in a field in Scotland, which clicked my little grey cells into action. It was all about Boeing series of aircraft at the time, being involved in terrorist attacks, namely High Jacks.This was interesting in that at first, no one listened to my report, until I wrote to the then PM Margaret Thatcher and she opened the doors I needed. Thus Pan Am, UK authorities and I think Boeing. The real identification on how the Crash landing accurred, will remain under strict security and there the matter lies and I for one, feel its best that way.

Lockerbie – I have numerus times said I have filed my input to this tradegy. It started with the initial Photograghs of the 747 in a field in Scotland, which clicked my little grey cells into action. It was all about Boeing series of aircraft at the time, being in volved in terrorist attacks, namely High Jacks.This was interesting in that at first, no one listened to my report, until I wrote to the then PM Margaret Thatcher and she opened the doors I needed. Thus Pan Am, UK authorities and I think Boeing. The real identification on how the Crash landing accured, will remain under strict security and there the matter lies and I for one, feel its best that way.

HRH Princess Diana and her friend in Paris – I placed my submmision with the Royal Courts of Justice and were accepted by them. It was of course a Motor Industry associated matter, involving a non armoured vehicle in not that good condition. The submission also went to HRH Prince Charles.The contents were then and now in confidence and I was pleased with my efforts.

MH370 – The most read of my blogs and I remain convinced of my area of location, far from the multi million Dollar search,still on going. The blog was full of Aircraft design and operational matters

Airport Protection Program – Anti Terrorist - Was written a while agoe and covered many topics including my ideas for Neutron Radiation to be used in luggage and cargo inspection. Since developed in the USA. Ticketing Systems and lots more. Distributed around the World, at the time taken seriously by a number of Airport Security authorities, particularly UK and Australia.

Many papers were written a nd submissions made, all ENGINEERING inspired. My deceased University John McWaters and I made I believe the first colour Photographs of an Air Shock Wave, still have the Photo somewhere. I then in a fit of brilliense wrote a paper on Transient and Thermal Stresses in Rotors. For turbines and Aircraft turbines in particular. The computor people did their bit. Solved the QE 11 problems I gather, plus many Jet and Gas Turbine Rotors. Stable speeds are easy to calculate both Mechanical and Thermal stresses --- Transients were the problem. If you listened to a cockpit conversation,. At some point you will hear the co-pilot say 'Engines Stable', at which point, there is every chance and the ENGINEERS have done their job, all will well, for the main event-- Engines nearly full on and off you go, up up and away.

All Engineers of some kind,all related to the Human Condition. All good men and true, they diversified from Hydrualics Laboratories and Wave effects on ships; Involved with Concord and their air intakes, through Standing Shock Waves, transposing Super Sonic Air to Sub sonic as the engines were indeed well designed and developed sub-sonic.; Mentioned in other blogs and the Graduate School, Tony Marsall being the fello in charge of Chubb s largest firetenders. Mason got himself involved again suggesting Armoured units, which could get in Close and Personal- sounds familiar?. Tony became a Fello of the Institution I believe, passed away last year, in fact only me and the Concord man, another Graduate school friend, David Hall, appear to be around.

Engineers and this is only a few of them, all involved in the interests of the Human Condition.

Before I shut down this conversation,as a Motor man, I must bring up the topics of VW and Sunrise Oil debacles. From my experience of compliance with regulators edicts, the fines etc imposed on VW are extreme and totally ridiculus. Here we have the manufacturer of the worlds best small diesel engines in cars and vans being indited and aimed at - Germany and in particular older Germans (Directors)- who still have some form of collective guilt from times past. These good people have let down their Engineering/Design/Developement divisions, being daft enough to Roll Over and be got at. They shou;ld simply have said, really?. We will look into your complaint and make any Engineering changes we consider necessary to correct matter. Full Stop.

What VW did or did not do, to undermine the Human Condition, is MINEQUELE compared with what TOYOTA and JAPAN have done towards the devastation of Human Beings , by allowing the unrestricted flow of vehicles to Terrorists groups, including ISIS , over many years and not one Head of Governmet or Nation, has done a damn thing about it. It saddens me to know that the very distribution network, taken over by Toyota in the Sixties and seventies was the Austin- Morris net set up so delegenlty over decades by dedicated people, some like me Engineers. I remember coming back to our Birmingham HQ from Singapore 1961? to report the start of the takeover (For Free) of the Network – Dealers, Supply routes every thing. I felt like the sole suvivor in 1874 of the 16,000 men, women and children, after the British retreat from Kabul, at a British post in Jalalabad. Like now the news what not taken well, and action taken too damn late. NB Later ISUZU went for Bedford and GM . Mitsubishi for Chrysler/Rootes networks. I was in Geneve when they actually asked a Vice President for full details of all World dealers. What do you say,asked the good man, I said absolutely NO and they watered down the request- Someone somewhere leaked a lot of confidential information, now lost in time.

Anyway, there is always silly story to tell and true as far as I remember. In 19 seventy something a Jaguar was presented to the Japanese vehicle regulators . They looked tested and deliberated and then declared the vehicle did not comply. Why not replied the houghty Jaguar man and they said the headlikes were too high or too low ,I don't recall. May Jaguar man said ,I say , Thats not fair and pondered what he would tell Coventry. Well the Technical (Engineer) bloke said hang on boss, give me a little time.

So, our man came back and said , hey boss the Datsun180B does not comply either. With great applom our houghty Jaguar executive, informed the Japanese authorities.

They replied “The Datsun180B is a Japanese car and a not an Import and does NOT have to comply with this particular regulation”.
The problem was resolved for the benefit of all, including Mercedes Benz, BMW etc My goodness, those were the days. OK VW stand tall and do not take any nonsense from any one. You make the best and have some of the best Auto Engineers in the World. My goodness, wouldn't be wonderful to have people like these, working on my Aircraft Missing- An Integrated Electronic Search System. For missing Aircraft. How well I remember Porshe cominng to the resqoue, when Austin had so much trouble with syncromesh in the MINI gearbox.

Nearly there and I will now relate a story, going back to the beginning where I said “Engineers and Humans with their ability to Observe and Indentify. Its about me; Professor Bannister; Primo Levi and Tullio Regge. The later two were Phyisists , but we won't hold it against them , in fact the first Radio Celebrity Physisists. Their programs published in book” Conversations “1987 in Italian.

I wrote this and Ver Batum I will quote it

“Once upon a time in the Graduate School Of Thermodynamics at the University of Birmingham England, a brilliant Professor Frank Bannister was exposing to his students about a 'Particle of Matter'. With great authority he pointed out that it takes students;lecturers;Professors;Readers and Researchers years of deep study to even guess at the activities of a 'Particle of Matter' under any set of conditions ----- and yet without any education or training, that 'Particle of Matter' under any set of conditions KNOWS EXACTLY what to do and it does it.

Young Mason pondered on this, asking the question – Does our Professor think that a 'Particle' behaves the same whether it is being looked at, or not.--WHAT, said the Professor and it remained dorment all these years until an older Mason read this book, given to him on his sixtieth birthday. 22-8-95.”

And so, thats about it from me on Engineers and the Human Condition.----------For Now?.

Malcolm E Mason

Mogood (Shallow Crossing State Forest) NSW, Australia

The search for the project which produced John Mc Waters and my colour photo of a Shock Wave, using products of the day and Ilford film?.was successful now comes the problem of how do I get onto this blog – My computor man Bryan Henshaw with his three screens, will make it look easy.

Plate 1

The graduate School of Thermodynamics and Related Studies - Iconic year 1959 . Thats me fourth from the left, behind the good Professor.

Plate 2

B&W two dimentional photogragh of a three dimentioal probe – Super Sonic Air M ?. Difficult to get the full analysis. Modern Supersonic intakes are Square, I wonder who thought of that. Great stuff.

Plate 3

The first Colour Photogragh of nearly the same as Plate2. Of things yet to be.Will published separately.

   

Malcolm E Mason

X@malcolmemason       masonedgar@gmail.com