CHE 415

Winter 2016

Equipment Familiarization (Individual assignment, due end of lab period week 1)

There are several different unit operations experiments in CHE 415. For each, use the attached pages to create a
summary of the equipment, process, and key variables using the attached template. Review your work with an
instructor before leaving lab, and you can keep the document for your records. This process should take a
minimum of 2.0 hours. When your team completes this assignment, we will give you your first project
assignment.
Pre-Lab Preparation (Individual assignment, due in lab weeks 2, 5, and 8)
Successful people prepare themselves for challenges. For engineers, this means understanding project and
experimental objectives, principles, and challenges before beginning experimental work. This assignment is
intended to provide you a framework for preparing yourself.
You will complete this assignment for each lab project this quarter. It is due at the beginning of the first lab
period. Think of this as a homework assignment with several parts, not a report. It can be a combination of
type and handwriting, but if the latter is not legible it will not be accepted. We expect the typical student to
spend 4-6 h on this assignment, the complete version of which will be a resource for you, so you may want a
copy to have during lab.
Project Preparation:
1. Obtain the necessary MSDSs and identify the personal protective equipment (PPE) that will be
required.1
2. Write a three or four sentence description of your project. Explain why it matters, the process under
investigation, objectives, and how you plan to meet the objectives.
3. Which class(es) have you taken that most prepare you for this laboratory project? Be specific about the
relevant content of those classes.
4. Conduct your background research and describe the results of that effort here.
5. Draw a process flow diagram of the experimental system with which you will be working.
6. List independent variables (factors, knobs) you consider important in this project. For each, select a
variable (e.g. t for time), give a clear description, and estimate roughly the relevant range.
7. List the expected dependent variables (responses, outputs) and how each will be measured. For
each, select a variable (e.g. k for conductivity), give a clear description, and provide a rough guess of
where you expect the result to be, e.g. 4 kW/m2-K for the HX lab or 2 eq/L for the IX lab.
8. Identify important equations, plotting techniques, and calculations you will use and perform sample
calculations by hand. Demonstrate how your measurements will be used to compute your dependent
variables, e.g. flows, temperature, etc. to compute a heat transfer coefficient.
9. Build a spreadsheet that plots your predicted outcomes versus key independent variables in the
appropriate range.
10. Lay out a first draft experimental plan, plan to assess process error/variation, estimated time per run, and
verify whether there will be sufficient time to implement your experiment given time constraints.

Include a copy of only the first page of each MSDS with this assignment.

Harding and Schilke

School of CBEE

Oregon State University

NOTES:

Harding and Schilke

School of CBEE

Oregon State University

CHE 415 Labs

Process Flow Schematic
- Label streams, key variables and rough dimensions
- Equipment components

Gas Absorption (009 SE)

La
b

Process Variables
- Independent and
dependent
- Assign a variable & units to
each
Independent
-

Process Dynamics (009 SW)

Independent
-

Distillation (GLS 104)

Dependent
-

Independent
-

Harding and Schilke

Dependent
-

Dependent
-

School of CBEE

Oregon State University

CHE 415 Labs

Process Flow Schematic
- Label streams, key variables and rough dimensions
-

Plug Flow Reactor (104 East wall) (009 SE)Continuous Stirred Reactor

La
b

Harding and Schilke

Process Variables
- Independent and
dependent
- Assign a variable & units to
each
Independent
Dependent
-

Independent
Dependent
-

School of CBEE

Oregon State University

Plasma Etching (009 W)

Harding and Schilke

Independent
Dependent
-

School of CBEE

Oregon State University