Students at The University of Western Australia can now explore the thermodynamics of marine engines, from last-century diesel ships through to modern LNG tankers and future hydrogen tankers, using a state-of-the-art simulator thanks to a partnership with South Metropolitan TAFE (SM TAFE).
Professor Guy Littlefair, UWA’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education and Student Experience), said the new initiative, funded by a collaboration between UWA and Woodside Energy, created an innovative approach to teaching, learning and industry engagement.
“It’s really important for our students to have the opportunity to learn in cutting-edge environments that provide a gateway to industry placement,” Professor Littlefair said.
The Kongsberg K-Sim Engine Simulator, used at the Fremantle campus of SM TAFE to train Advanced Diploma of Marine Engineering (Class 1) students, is part of UWA’s second-year chemical engineering students’ thermodynamics unit.
Student Frankie Fiumano, who became interested in studying chemical engineering after work experience on a mine site, said the simulator enhanced the learning experience.
“I learnt a lot about the dynamic side of the engines and the simulator made it a lot easier to visualise and understand what’s going on,” Frankie said.
“I would like to go into the mining industry in particular oil and gas, and renewable energy — chemical engineering is worth it as you can never have enough people in the world who can sort out problems.”
Students explore foundational engine technologies in use today: a single-fuel gas turbine system and a multi-fuel steam propulsion system.
They learn how to assess engine performance and efficiency and explore choice of fuel source and the effects of the transition time between heavy oil and diesel fuels.
David Guan, who’s also studying chemical engineering, said it was interesting to see the type of systems they would deal with in the real world.
“Seeing all the streams and how they change in real time gives you an intuitive sense as to how the system works,” David said.
Kerry Banyard, Portfolio Manager Maritime at SM TAFE, said the State Government invested $2 million to upgrade the simulator suite at the maritime centre.
“The upgraded simulators and partnership provide an opportunity for UWA students to broaden their skills and venture into maritime at some point in their careers,” Ms Banyard said.
Fourth-year chemical engineering student Holly Lindsay, who just finished a Woodside internship, said she enjoyed hands-on learning and, after being given a brief introduction to the simulator, wished this training opportunity had been available when she was studying the same unit.
“It would have been helpful to be hands-on and see what’s happening in real time,” Holly said.
“What they’re seeing in the simulator would translate really well into industry as the dashboards are similar to the facilities on offshore platforms where you can see pressure, temperature, density and loading flow rates.”
The student exercises are designed and assessed by UWA staff, while the experience is co-delivered by SM TAFE and UWA staff members.
Media reference: Annelies Gartner (UWA PR & Media Adviser)
