The Singapore Engineer October 2021

THE MAGAZINE OF THE INSTITUTION OF ENGINEERS, SINGAPORE

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER

www.ies.org.sg

October 2021 | MCI (P) 020/03/2021

Ngee Ann Polytechnic launches Robotics Research & Innovation Centre

PLUS

CHARTERED ENGINEER PROFILE: A commitment to Continuing Professional Development STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT: Upcoming launch of new railway standards ENGINEERING EDUCATION: SIT and industry partners launch competency-based workplace learning to upskill Singaporeans

CHARTERED ENGINEER (SINGAPORE)

❑ AEROSPACE

❑ RAILWAY & ❑ PORT & MARINE TRANSPORTATION

❑ ENERGY

❑ ENVIRONMENTAL ❑ SYSTEMS ❑ DIGITAL (New!) & WATER

❑ CHEMICAL & PROCESS

❑ INFRASTRUCTURE ❑ ENGINEERING PROJECT MANAGEMENT

*** Get your skills and competency Certified! *** *** Apply Now! Visit us at www.charteredengineers.sg *** (Terms and Conditions Apply: Washington Accord Degree, 4 years working experience and be an IES member)

CONTENTS FEATURES COVER STORY

10 Ngee Ann Polytechnic launches Robotics Research & Innovation Centre

Together with industry, it will help to co-create customised robotics solutions and develop a talent pipeline for the growing sector.

CHARTERED ENGINEER PROFILE

14 A commitment to Continuing Professional Development

Besides providing proof of competency, expertise and the right work ethic, the internationally recognised CEng qualification also enhances employment prospects and mobility.

STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

10

16 Upcoming launch of new railway standards

The objective is to foster a common understanding and consistency among stakeholders.

SUSTAINABILITY

17 PUB to increase renewable energy sources and leverage innovative solutions The aim is to achieve net zero emissions.

20 Lighting to play a major role in the ‘new normal’ Technological developments are proving to be beneficial.

17

20

President Dr Richard Kwok Chief Editor T Bhaskaran t_b_n8@yahoo.com

02

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Publications Manager Desmond Teo desmond@iesnet.org.sg Snr Publications Executive Queek Jiayu jiayu@iesnet.org.sg

Editorial Panel Dr Chandra Segaran Prof Er Meng Joo Dr Ang Keng Been Mr Gary Chiam Dr Victor Sim Mr Syafiq Shahul Dr Alexander Wiegand Media Representative Multimedia Communications (2000) Pte Ltd sales@multimediacomms.sg

Design & layout by 2EZ Asia Pte Ltd Cover designed by Irin Kuah Cover images by Ngee Ann Polytechnic Published by The Institution of Engineers, Singapore 70 Bukit Tinggi Road, Singapore 289758 Tel: 6469 5000 I Fax: 6467 1108 Printed in Singapore

www.ies.org.sg

SUSTAINABILITY

23 Smart and energy-efficient buildings are the future They have also to be safe and people-centric.

DIGITALISATION

26 Supercharging the information age with millimetre-wave technology Overcoming the existing limitations.

ENGINEERING EDUCATION

28 SIT and industry partners launch competency-based workplace learning to upskill Singaporeans Addressing industry skills gaps in the Infocomm Technology and Land Transport sectors.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING 30 Extending the application of a practical and easy method to calculate short circuit currents based on the flow of Equivalent KVAs in an electrical power system A new approach is presented.

23

REGULAR SECTIONS 04 INDUSTRY NEWS 37 PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS 40 IES UPDATE

30

The Singapore Engineer is published monthly by The Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES). The publication is distributed free-of-charge to IES members and affiliates. Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of the Editor or IES. All rights reserved.

No part of this magazine shall be reproduced, mechanically or electronically, without the prior consent of IES. Whilst every care is taken to ensure accuracy of the content at press time, IES will not be liable for any discrepancies. Unsolicited contributions are welcome but their inclusion in the magazine is at the discretion of the Editor.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

03

INDUSTRY NEWS

BENTLEY SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES FINALISTS FOR THE 2021

GOING DIGITAL AWARDS IN INFRASTRUCTURE

Bentley Systems’ Year in Infrastructure 2021 (YII 2021) series of events and the Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure, will be held in virtual format, from 1 November through 2 December 2021.

Bentley Systems Incorporated, a leading, international infrastructure engineering software company, recently announced the names of the finalists for the 2021 Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure. The annual awards programme honours the work of Bentley software users in advancing infrastructure design, construction, and operations throughout the world.

FINALISTS IN THE 2021 GOING DIGITAL AWARDS IN INFRASTRUCTURE

Sixteen independent jury panels selected the 57 finalists from nearly 300 nominations submitted by more than 230 organisations from 45 countries and encompassing 19 categories.

• Hatch – Lathams Road Bridge, Carrum Downs, Victoria, Australia

Winners of the students’ Future Infrastructure Star Challenge will also be announced. This challenge provided students from around the world with a platform to develop a concept or an idea on how they can change the world with infrastructure. Five independent jury panels of Bentley experts selected the Top 10 finalists from 144 project submissions from 61 countries representing different infrastructure domains. Winners will be selected by a panel of Bentley and external expert judges.

All winners will be revealed during keynote presentations on 2 December 2021, as part of the Year in Infrastructure series of virtual events, which runs from 1 November through 2 December 2021.

04

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Bridges • CCCC Third Harbor Engineering Co Ltd – Nanyanjiang Intercity Railway Front-End Engineering Project, Changshu, Jiangsu, China

• New York State Department of Transportation – East 138th Street over the Major Deegan Expressway, New York City, New York, USA Buildings and Campuses • Arab Engineering Bureau – Al Thumama Stadium, Doha, Qatar • Center for Industrial Technological Studies and Services No 33 – CETIS 33 BIM Workshop, Mexico City, Mexico • Volgogradnefteproekt LLC – High-tech Multifunctional Medical Complex, Yukki, St Petersburg, Russia Digital Cities • Hubei International Logistics Airport Co Ltd, Shenzhen S F Taisen Holdings (Group) Co Ltd, Airport Construc-

INDUSTRY NEWS

tion Engineering Co Ltd – Ezhou Huahu Airport Project, Ezhou, Hubei, China • University of Birmingham – Implementation of Project and Asset-based CDE, Birmingham, United Kingdom Digital Construction • Clark Construction Group LLC – SeaTac Airport International Arrivals Facility, Seattle, Washington, USA • Qitaihe Jianhe Investment and Construction Management Co Ltd, Heilongjiang Big Data Industrial Development Co Ltd –Taoshan Lake Ecological Water Conservancy Project in Qitaihe City, Qitaihe, Heilongjiang, China • Zachry Industrial Inc, a Zachry Group Company – Golden Pass LNG Export Project, Sabine Pass, Texas, USA Geotechnical Engineering • China Water Resources Beifang Investigation, Design & Research Co Ltd (BIDR) – Geological Survey of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Tibet, China • Research Center of Construction - Gersevanov Research Institute of Bases and Underground Structures (NIIOSP) – Geotechnical Aspects of the Moscow Luzhniki Stadium Reconstruction, Moscow, Russia • Royal HaskoningDHV – Moondrian, Netherlands Land Site and Development • Korea Land and Housing Corporation, BasisSoft Inc – BIM Design for the Hanam Gyosan, Hanam-si, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea • Liaoning Water Conservancy and Hydropower Survey and Design Research Institute Co Ltd – Dongtaizi Reservoir Project, Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, China • Pennoni – Longwood Garden Overflow Parking, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA Manufacturing • Dow Chemical – Integration of Advanced Work Packaging (AWP) into Global Project Methodology, Houston, Texas, USA • Shenyang Aluminum & Magnesium Engineering & Research Institute Co Ltd – Phase II C5 Plant Digital Twin Application Project of Neusoft Healthcare International Industrial Park, Shenyang, Liaoning, China • WISDRI Engineering & Research Incorporation Limited – Converter-based Continuous Casting Project of Jinnan Steel Phase II Quwo Base Capacity Reduction and Replacement Project, Quwo, Shanxi, China Mining and Offshore Engineering • CNOOC Energy Development Design and R&D Center – Digital Twin Project of the FPSO Offshore Oil Gathering and Transportation Platform, South China Sea, Guangdong, China • Fujian Yongfu Power Engineering Co Ltd – Fujian Changle Zone C Offshore Wind Farm, Changle/Fuzhou, Fujian, China

• Polyus – Construction of the Blagodatnoye Mill-5, Krasnoyarsk, Krasnoyarsk Krai, Russia Power Generation • Capital Engineering and Research Incorporation Ltd – The World’s First 60MW Subcritical Blast Furnace Gas Power Generation Project, Changshu, Jiangsu, China • PowerChina ZhongNan Engineering Corporation Limited – Wuqiangxi Hydroelectric Power Station Expansion Project, Changsha, Hunan, China • Shandong Province Metallurgical Engineering Co Ltd – The 2x65MW Surplus Gas Resources Comprehensive Utilization Power Generation Project of Shandong Iron & Steel Group Co Ltd Laiwu Branch, Jinan, Shandong, China Project Delivery Information Management • Mott MacDonald Systra JV with Balfour Beatty Vinci – HS2 Phase 1 Main Civil Construction Works, London, United Kingdom • Riverlinx CJV – Silvertown Tunnel Project, London, United Kingdom • WSP – Port of Melbourne - Port Rail Transformation Project, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Rail and Transit • Network Rail + Jacobs – Transpennine Route Upgrade (TRU), Manchester/Leeds/York, United Kingdom • PT MRT Jakarta (Perseroda) – MRT Jakarta Phase II, Jakarta, DKI Jakarta, Indonesia • Western Program Alliance – Level Crossing Removal Project, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia Reality Modelling • HDR – Diablo Dam Digital Twin Modeling, Whatcom County, Washington, USA • La Société Wallonne des Eaux – Deep Convolutional Neural Network on 3D Reality Mesh for Water Tank Crack Detection, Juprelle, Liège, Belgium • Singapore Land Authority – Advancing Singapore National 3D Reality Mapping for a Changing World, Singapore Road and Rail Asset Performance • Wisconsin Department of Transportation – Oversize/ Overweight Permitting System Improvement Project, Madison, Wisconsin, USA • Collins Engineers Inc – Stone Arch Bridge Rehabilitation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA • Province of Manitoba, Department of Infrastructure – MB MOOVES - Manitoba Infrastructure SUPERLOAD Upgrade, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada Roads and Highways • Larsen and Toubro - Transportation Infrastructure IC – Mumbai Vadodara Expressway - Package I, Vadodara, Gujarat, India THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

05

INDUSTRY NEWS

• PT Hutama Karya (Persero) – Trans Sumatera Toll Road Project Section Serbelawan-Pematangsiantar, Pematangsiantar, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia • Sichuan Highway Planning, Survey, Design and Research Institute Ltd, Sichuan Lexi Expressway Co Ltd – Mega Project Le-Xi Expressway, Leshan, Sichuan, China Structural Engineering • Arab Engineering Bureau – Rosewood Doha, Doha, Qatar • HDR – The Pavilion at Penn Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA • Louis Berger SAS (A WSP Company) – Detailed Design of Bridges for BG Rail Link between Rishikesh to Karnaprayag (Package -3), Rishikesh and Karnaprayag, Uttarakhand, India Utilities and Communications • Mott MacDonald and National Grid – London Power Tunnels 2, London, United Kingdom • PESTECH International Berhad – Digitization of Koh Kong 230/22kV Substation, Koh Kong, Cambodia • PowerChina Hubei Electric Engineering Co Ltd – Suixian and Guangshui 80MWp Ground-based Photovoltaic Power Project of Hubei Energy Group, Guangshui, Hubei, China Utilities and Industrial Asset Performance • Canadian Energy Company – Asset Data Lifecycle Program, Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada • Itafos Conda LLC – Asset Care to Support Long-term Sustainability of a Fertilizer Manufacturing Facility, Soda Springs, Idaho, USA Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants • Brown and Caldwell – Implementing Digital Twins on a Fully Collaborative Project, Brighton, Colorado, USA • Jacobs Engineering – F. Wayne Hill Water Resources Center Membrane Improvements, Buford, Georgia, USA • L&T Construction – Khatan Group of Villages Water Supply Scheme (Surface Water Treatment), UP, India, Khatan, Uttar Pradesh, India Water, Wastewater and Stormwater Networks • ATLC Infraconsultants Pvt Ltd – Leduki Group of Village Water Supply Scheme, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India • Companhia Águas de Joinville (CAJ) – Contingency Plan to Ensure Supply in the Event of Drought (Joinville-Santa Catarina), Joinville, Santa Catarina, Brazil • Maynilad Water Services Inc – Pump Operation Optimization through Hydraulic Modeling Using OpenFlows WaterGEMS, Muntinlupa, Manila, Philippines Chris Bradshaw, Chief Marketing Officer, Bentley Systems, said, “We decided to keep the events virtual this year for everyone’s safety, due to the ongoing pandemic. Our users continue to demonstrate their resilience through the quality of the nearly 300 nominations for the Going Digital in Infrastructure Awards programme. We are 06

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

excited to honour our users’ extraordinary work from around the world”.

The YII 2021 and the Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure virtual events will include important insights and perspectives from key industry executives and thought leaders sharing with attendees the latest on infrastructure trends, sustainability goals and digital advancements.

The Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure finalists’ presentations will be held in November 2021.

The keynotes and Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure presentations, on 1 and 2 December 2021, will include: • Executive Perspectives and Infrastructure Insights from Bentley Systems CEO, Greg Bentley; Chief Success Officer, Katriona Lord-Levins; and Chief Product Officer, Nicholas Cumins.

• Presentations by Infrastructure Experts and Guest Speakers, including Matthias Rebellius, Member of the Managing Board of Siemens AG and CEO of Siemens Smart Infrastructure; and Andrej Avelini, Co-Founder and President of AEC Advisors LLC. Award winners will be unveiled during the sessions.

More information on YII 2021 and Going Digital Awards in Infrastructure, and on registering for the events, may be obtained from yii.bentley.com.

Bentley Education Program expands globally Bentley Systems recently announced the global expansion of the Bentley Education program – offering seamless access to learning licences of over 60 popular Bentley applications, at no cost, to all eligible students and educators, from middle schools through higher education levels, via the Bentley Education portal.

Following the initial announcement, in May 2021, of the launch of Bentley Education in Australia, the UK, Singapore, Lithuania, and Ireland, more than 500,000 students and educators across many countries have visited the Bentley Education portal. Now, with global expansion, the Bentley Education program is accessible to all students and educators at middle schools, high schools, community colleges, polytechnics, institutes, and universities across the world.

With a blend of learning content created for students, the Bentley Education portal provides access to comprehensive training resources and project-based learning content that is maintained in collaboration with major universities and industry partners. Students and educators can also gain access to bonus resources such as insights from industry professionals, firsthand perspectives of current students, and updates on the latest industry trends.

INDUSTRY NEWS

AVEVA RELEASES FIRST SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software, driving digital transformation and sustainability, has released its first sustainability report, summarising the company’s commitment to a better future for all.

The report demonstrates AVEVA’s pledge to drive progress through its software by putting sustainability at the heart of the business. It sets out AVEVA’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) priorities and highlights key activities in 2021, from across the company’s three sustainability programme areas - operational footprint, technology handprint and inclusive culture.

These three sustainability pillars, and AVEVA’s mobilising ambitions for each one, were shaped by listening to stakeholders and conducting a detailed materiality assessment. Serving as a roadmap for the company’s

first sustainability report, AVEVA’s ESG framework also defines the scale and scope of its ambitions which include enabling global acceleration of sustainable industries, safeguarding the planet for coming generations, acting ethically and with integrity in all business matters, and championing a more inclusive future.

“With the clock ticking on delivering the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, AVEVA is committed to being part of the solution to a more socially just and environmentally sustainable world. We fully recognise the significance of ESG aspects of business performance.

This first report is intended to provide additional insight into the steps we have taken in this past year to more deeply embed sustainability and ESG into our culture and corporate strategy”, said Mr Peter Herweck, CEO of AVEVA.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

07

INDUSTRY NEWS

BENTLEY SYSTEMS AND SMRT TRAINS COLLABORATE TO IMPROVE SAFETY AND RELIABILITY OF METRO RAIL SERVICES Bentley Systems Incorporated and SMRT Trains, the pioneer Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) operator in Singapore, have successfully completed the implementation of a Predictive Decision Support System (PDSS) for Singapore’s North-South and East-West lines - the oldest MRT lines in the country.

SMRT Trains’ PDSS, which is based on Bentley’s AssetWise Linear Analytics, contributes to improving the reliability of the two lines across 282 km of track and has helped SMRT Trains achieve more than 1 million km between failure (MKBF).

MKBF is a measure of reliability used by train operators around the world, where a failure is defined as a service delay of more than five minutes.

Based on the success of the PDSS implementation on the North-South and East-West lines, SMRT Trains has started the implementation of the PDSS solution on the Circle Line (CCL) in Singapore.

With many owner-operators of large metro networks in Asia Pacific cities focusing on improving reliability to provide uninterrupted services to riders, Bentley Systems and Strides Engineering (previously SMRT Services), a business arm of SMRT Corporation, that provides a range of station-based engineering services, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly market a rail predictive maintenance solution in the Asia Pacific region.

The MoU establishes a partnership between the two companies that combines strong technology expertise and rail operational capabilities to help urban rail and metro operators. Under the terms of the MoU, both organisations will market a rail predictive maintenance solution that visualises all rail asset information and manages, monitors, and analyses rail conditions. Bentley Systems will continue to sell, implement, and support its AssetWise solution while Strides Engineering will market and deliver its domain experience and add-on applications for track maintenance.

Mr Lam Sheau Kai, President of SMRT Trains, said, “Leveraging technology and taking pre-emptive actions are two very important components in the plan to help us improve and maintain rail reliability for the train lines SMRT Trains operates. PDSS represents both components, and its successful implementation for the North-South and East-West lines has given us much confidence to scale it for the rest of our lines”.

Commenting on the new partnership, Mr Gan Boon Jin, President of Strides Engineering, said, “Strides Engineering’s collaboration with Bentley Systems on the PDSS demonstrates a firm partnership in combining 08

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Mr Kaushik Chakraborty, Vice President, Bentley Asia South, and Mr Gan Boon Jin, President of Strides Engineering, after signing the MoU.

strong domain and rail operational capabilities with proven technological expertise. The PDSS will enhance and optimise decision-making in rail maintenance. We look forward to bringing the best practices and results of PDSS to other train operators in the region”.

Mr Kaushik Chakraborty, Vice President, Bentley Asia South, said, “We are extremely happy and honoured to partner with Strides Engineering to forward our common objective of advancing infrastructure. With our combined strengths and industry experience, we will empower rail and metro operators in the region to improve reliability of the infrastructure that serves citizens and residents”.

SMRT Trains SMRT Trains Ltd (SMRT Trains) is the first and largest train services provider in Singapore. As a subsidiary of SMRT Corporation Ltd, SMRT Trains manages and operates train services on the North-South Line, East-West Line, the Circle Line, the new Thomson-East Coast Line and the Bukit Panjang Light Rail Transit.

Strides Engineering Strides Engineering, a business arm of SMRT Corporation Limited, has deep, proven experience in exploiting advanced innovative technologies as well as digital solutions and services to deliver safety, reliability, and comfort for commuters.

Bentley Systems Bentley Systems provides innovative software to advance the world’s infrastructure. The company’s software solutions are used by professionals, and organisations of every size, for the design, construction, and operations of roads and bridges, rail and transit, water and wastewater, public works and utilities, buildings and campuses, mining, and industrial facilities.

INDUSTRY NEWS

NANYANG POLYTECHNIC PARTNERS WITH MATERIALISE TO

ENCOURAGE ADOPTION OF 3D PRINTING IN SINGAPORE Nanyang Polytechnic (NYP) is collaborating with Materialise, a global leader in 3D printing solutions, to promote the adoption of this digital production technology by Singapore companies.

3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), provides performance enhancement, weight saving and time- and cost-advantages, paving the way towards a true end-to-end digital manufacturing process.

A report by Reports and Data last year estimates that this market will be worth USD 26.68 billion by 2027. 3D printing applications range from production of prototypes, on-demand spare parts and personalised goods to manufacturing of different components. 3D printing is already being used in aerospace, marine, automotive, medical, and many other industries. Industrial users can learn and unlock these benefits and apply 3D printing to gain competitive advantage in the market.

Companies in Asia-Pacific, while eager to be part of this manufacturing revolution, apparently lack the appropriate know-how to take advantage of it. In a survey commissioned by Materialise in November 2019, among manufacturers in China, 41% cited a lack of expertise as a major hurdle in adopting 3D printing for their manufacturing processes.

To stimulate the adoption of AM, NYP and Materialise have developed a Continuing Education and Training course for working professionals – ‘Deep Dive into Professional 3D Printing’. Additionally, Materialise will equip NYP’s Additive Manufacturing Innovation Centre (AMIC) with its advanced 3D software.

Professionals will be able to explore the design possibilities of 3D printing and the various uses and digital processes. They will discover practical and economic insights on how the technology creates business value.

AMIC Centre Director and Deputy Director at the NYP School of Engineering, Desmond Tan, said, “NYP is excited to co-develop and deliver this course with Materialise, to equip Singaporeans with comprehensive knowledge for the application of 3D printing and AM technologies.

This will allow them to leverage growing opportunities and incorporate these technologies into their business, and also enable regional companies to innovate and enhance their operations”.

As part of the collaboration, Materialise will also provide NYP’s AMIC with its latest software – Materialise Magics 3D Print Suite.

AMIC, which supports both plastic and metal 3D printing, is committed to helping companies with adoption of this technology. This may include early stages of research and

development work such as rapid prototyping, proof-of-concept, and more. AMIC will also offer industries a platform for co-creation, collaboration, and incubation services.

Materialise Malaysia’s Sales Director, Kelvin Wee, said, “3D printing has developed into a valuable, complementary production technology. Because of its design freedom, it enables lightweight design and improved functionality of parts. Its digital nature facilitates flexible manufacturing – on-demand, decentralised, and networked. We are looking forward to working with NYP to guide companies along their 3D printing journey”.

Future collaborations between NYP and Materialise will include training sessions and overseas attachment opportunities with Materialise.

PTC joins A*STAR's Industrial Internet-of-Things Innovation programme PTC, the digital transformation (DX) company, and Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) recently announced that PTC has joined as a strategic member of A*STAR's Industrial Internet-of-Things Innovation (I3) programme.

The collaboration will embark on and enhance the deployment of Industrial Internet-of-Things (IIoT) and digital transformation in the Singapore market.

The I3 programme is an industry-driven initiative by A*STAR, that brings together best-in-class global and local companies with R&D capabilities in Singapore to leverage lloT research to develop industry-ready solutions. Such a strategic public-private collaboration provides PTC the avenue to embark on its Industry 4.0 initiatives quickly and effectively, by bringing together the domain expertise and vast use cases from across Singapore's R&D ecosystem.

The collaboration will bring a clear value proposition and ROI to the customers’ DX roadmaps through cross-learning from different sectors PTC has worked in, use-case workshops to derive financial impact calculations, and the pooled research resources from I3. The collaboration also allows customers to benefit from the early co-development of technologies and test-bedding solutions executed with PTC. PTC provides digital innovation solutions to enable clients’ digital transformation roadmaps. Customers can derive value from the successful digital transformation and implementation of Industry 4.0.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

09

COVER STORY

NGEE ANN POLYTECHNIC LAUNCHES ROBOTICS RESEARCH & INNOVATION CENTRE Together with industry, it will help to co-create customised robotics solutions and develop a talent pipeline for the growing sector.

Unveiling of the Robotics Research & Innovation Centre at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, by Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Principal & CEO, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (left) and the Guest-of-Honour, Mr Tung Meng Fai, Director (Ecosystem Development), National Robotics Programme (right).

Companies looking to streamline their business processes and accelerate growth can get greater access to customised robotics solutions at Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s (NP) Robotics Research & Innovation Centre (RRIC).

The centre was officially launched, recently, by Guest-ofHonour, Mr Tung Meng Fai, Director (Ecosystem Development), National Robotics Programme.

Located in NP’s TechSpace@8, RRIC brings together NP’s multidisciplinary expertise in infocomm technology, engineering, health, and life sciences, to advance capabilities in the key areas of Service Robots, Autonomous Vehicles, Autonomous Underwater/Marine Vessels and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles.

The RRIC will provide a platform for industry players to share problem statements and collaborate with it to develop and trial new solutions. NP staff and students will also get opportunities to work on deep tech projects. It underscores NP’s commitment to nurture a strong pipeline of robotics talent and ensure that staff stay abreast of industry needs, following the launch of the Future City Programme in 2019.

“As the COVID-19 pandemic has intensified the need for digital transformation and innovation, the RRIC is seeing 10

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

an increased demand for tailor-made robotics solutions. With extensive experience in developing robotics solutions since 2014, NP is well positioned to partner our industry stakeholders to co-create and deploy innovative solutions. The launch of the RRIC is a testament to our commitment to prepare our graduates for the future and accelerate Singapore’s digital transformation”, said Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Principal & CEO, Ngee Ann Polytechnic.

“The RRIC will bring industry and academia together to create an ecosystem for applied research in robotics, and allow our students and staff to work on real-life problem statements to deepen skills in this in-demand field”, he added.

MoU with SingHealth Polyclinics In conjunction with the launch of the RRIC, NP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SingHealth Polyclinics to develop a disinfection robot, HIRO (Healthcare Assistive Robot for Frontline Infection Control), that will soon be deployed at SingHealth’s polyclinics. Jointly developed by NP’s School of Engineering, School of Health Sciences and School of Life Sciences & Chemical Technology, along with SingHealth Polyclinics, HIRO uses UV-C light – which can eliminate more than 99.9% of

COVER STORY

Robots on display at the Robotics Research & Innovation Centre.

bacteria and viruses – to disinfect high-touch and hardto-reach places remotely and independently.

In addition, the smart robot also doubles up as a safe management ambassador. It can detect visitors and patients who are not wearing masks or following safe distancing rules, record their temperature and display location information. It can even serve as a guide to show patients and visitors the way to the different service points in the polyclinic. These automated functions help the polyclinic to save manpower and manage its facilities more efficiently and safely.

The robot is currently on trial at Tampines Polyclinic.

Clinical Associate Professor (Dr) Tan Ngiap Chuan, Director of Research at SingHealth Polyclinics and ViceChair, Research, SingHealth-Duke NUS Family Medicine Academic Clinical Programme (FM ACP) said, “The HIRO robot is potentially a game-changer to mitigate infection risks in primary healthcare facilities, saving on manpower and enhancing safety of patients, visitors and staff. Due to the high patient load in the polyclinics, there is a need to disinfect the premises regularly without disrupting the clinical services, especially in this current COVID-19 pandemic. We are thankful for the opportunity to collaborate with NP and bring this innovation to our polyclinics”.

Mr Lim Kok Kiang, Principal & CEO, Ngee Ann Polytechnic (second from left) and Dr Adrian Ee, CEO, SingHealth Polyclinics (second from right) signing the MoU between Ngee Ann Polytechnic and SingHealth.

Co-developing new Specialist Diploma with SGInnovate To meet the anticipated demand for robotics engineers in the era of automation, NP will be partnering SGInnovate to launch a new Specialist Diploma in Robotics Engineering, that aims to equip adult learners with essential skills and knowledge in machine learning, computer vision and coding. Learners will have the unique opportunity to participate in Power X Robotics, a nine-month traineeship programme.

Mr Lim Kok Kiang and Dr Adrian Ee watch the functioning of a robot on display.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

11

COVER STORY

This part-time full-qualification course will start in April 2022.

“As we lean more heavily on robotics to address some of our biggest challenges in areas such as healthcare and manufacturing, we need to ensure that Singapore’s innovative start-ups are equipped with the right talent to scale. Collaborations with partners like NP will be critical to lowering the barrier of entry into Deep Tech careers, and encourage learners of all ages to pick up in-demand skills and continue to remain relevant”, said Ms Juliana Lim, Executive Director, Talent Networking, SGInnovate.

Inaugural Robotics e-Symposium To further seed interest in the growing field of robotics, RRIC also hosted a robotics e-symposium. Titled ‘Robotics Solutions for the Pandemic Era’, the conference brought together more than 12 partners and more than 300 participants to explore how robotics applications can overcome challenges brought forth by the pandemic. It also featured 10 robotics solutions that NP has developed over the years and how they have been deployed across various sectors.

Robotic solutions presented Autonomous Campus Bus (MooVita) In collaboration with MooVita, a Singapore high-tech company specialising in developing autonomous vehicle solutions, RRIC has jointly conducted several autonomous shuttle trials on the NP campus.

These trials have helped the project team to better anticipate future transport mobility needs, hone their understanding of the technology, and engage the wider NP community on the readiness and safety of the operation of autonomous shuttles.

itors to the Student Services & Visitors Centre located at the NP campus. Designed to interact with visitors, using speech recognition technology, the Concierge Robot elevates the chatbot experience for them while increasing productivity of the staff manning the facility.

Bio-aerosol Containment Unit (Ng Teng Fong General Hospital) In collaboration with the Ng Teng Fong General Hospital (NTFGH), RRIC developed a bio-aerosol containment unit (BCU) which functions as a portable individual biohazard safety cabinet to protect healthcare workers from infectious droplets during aerosol-generating procedures such as non-invasive ventilation or high-flow nasal cannula therapy.

HIRO (Healthcare Assistive Robot for Frontline Infection Control) (SingHealth Polyclinics) HIRO (Healthcare Assistive Robot for Frontline Infection Control) is co-developed by the NP School of Health Sciences (HS), School of Engineering (SOE) and School of Life Sciences and Chemical Technology (LSCT), along with SingHealth Polyclinics. HIRO is designed to improve the infection control of healthcare settings such as polyclinics via UV-C light to reduce the spread of germs.

The BCU mimics a negative pressure isolation room when it is connected to a negative pressure wall suction system that extracts air from the inside of the box. It can be mounted to a hospital bed to reduce the spread of infectious droplets during transfers of COVID-19 patients across facilities, such as from the Emergency Department to the wards.

In addition, HIRO assists to remind visitors and patients to wear their masks and records their body temperature.

HIRO is equipped with technology to ensure that it can safely navigate through the passageways and it can serve as an usher to direct visitors to the various service points in the precinct.

The transparent acrylic box has four hand holes to facilitate airway management and nursing care, and a clear plastic drape on the front to serve as an additional protective layer for the healthcare worker during close contact with the patient.

Concierge Robot ROSY (Ngee Ann Polytechnic’s Student Services & Visitors Centre) RRIC developed a Concierge Robot to host and assist vis12

HIRO (Healthcare Assistive Robot for Frontline Infection Control) will soon be deployed at SingHealth’s polyclinics.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Fish-ball Forming & You Tiao Processing System (Thong Siek Food Industry) Commissioned by Thong Siek Food Industry, RRIC provided a proof-of-concept solution to develop a Fish-ball forming device and You Tiao processing system. The spirals of the forming device are fabricated out of food-safe filaments used in 3D printing technology.

The development of the You Tiao processing system was the result of a close collaboration with Thong Siek Food

COVER STORY

Apart from enhancing the monitoring of safe management measures, the Park Patrol Robot can also detect incidents of smoking and illegal fishing in the gardens.

Upon detection, the robot will send an audio advisory to alert the offender and record the incident for documentation purposes.

The Park Patrol Robot will help to monitor the safe management measures that NParks has put in place to safeguard the health of visitors.

Industry, and started off as a Final-Year Project. This project was an eye-opener for the students in getting insights to the automation of food processing. Thong Siek Food Industry and RRIC moved forward to further develop and improve the process.

Mozzie Drone (National Environment Agency) Under Project Wolbachia-Singapore, the National Environment Agency (NEA) releases male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes as a vector control tool. When these mosquitoes mate with female urban Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that do not carry Wolbachia, their eggs will not hatch, thus reducing the population of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in the community.

In collaboration with the Environmental Health Institute (EHI) of NEA, RRIC has developed a rapid release device for mosquitoes (Mozzie Airlifter), which is capable of carrying out the releases using an autonomous UAV. Attached to a drone, the Mozzie Airlifter can release the male Wolbachia-carrying Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in mid-air. Further development and tests will be needed to determine the potential and feasibility of using UAV technology for mosquito releases in the field.

Park Patrol Robot (National Parks Board) To safeguard the health of visitors during the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Parks Board (NParks) has put in place safe management measures across parks, gardens and nature reserves. To complement the efforts by NParks staff to ensure safe distancing and appropriate mask-wearing, RRIC developed a Park Patrol Robot that helps to monitor these safe management measures.

The Park Patrol Robot is able to navigate independently around the gardens and detect visitors who breach safe management measures, such as individuals who are not wearing masks, or are gathering in large groups. It will send audio advisories to visitors to the gardens and capture images of such incidents to alert NParks staff.

Visitors to the gardens can also communicate verbally with the robot, which is equipped with chatbot and tele presence functions, to get directions to garden facilities or seek help in an emergency.

Plant Health Monitoring Robot (National Parks Board) To mitigate the impact of climate change and maximise green spaces, interest in indoor horticulture, where plants can grow in controlled environments, has increased. Developed by NParks’ Plant Science & Health branch and RRIC, the Plant Health Monitoring Robot will be able to monitor the growth of plants, using cutting-edge hyperspectral imaging technology and automation for indoor horticulture. The robot will reduce the manpower required, minimise the need for close contact between staff who carry out such inspections, and enhance detection sensitivity beyond the capacity of the human eye.

Smart Vending Machine (Cover Projects Pte Ltd) With contactless transactions on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic, RRIC jointly developed the Smart Vending System for local budget hotel operator, Cover Projects Pte Ltd. Designed to serve guests when they arrive at the hotel, the automated Smart Vending System dispenses card keys to the guests upon registration. In addition, the system also minimises the need for guests to interact with hotel staff or other guests, by providing cafeteria services. Guests can order their meals through the hotel portal and use their card key to collect their food from the built-in lockers in the system.

Teaching Assistant Robot CoDDiE (Coding buddy in Education) (Hougang Primary School) RRIC, in collaboration with a local primary school, has developed a teaching assistant robot aimed at making learning more interactive in the classroom. The robot has been deployed in an action research project to study its effectiveness in engaging and motivating students in the learning and reinforcement of mathematical concepts.

The robot augments the teacher’s lesson delivery by playing relevant video clips on the screen mounted on its body, that can also be projected on a screen in the class.

Designed for interactivity, the robot generates questions for students to attempt, allowing them to check their understanding in an engaging way. Teachers are also able to obtain real-time feedback on the students' learning, to guide them in their lesson design.

In socially distanced classrooms, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the teaching assistant robot enhances, enlivens and enriches the students’ learning experience in the classroom, with strict safe management measures in place. Beyond the classroom, the school has also been able to deploy the robot as a campus hygiene ambassador, to remind students, in a fun way, to ensure personal hygiene and maintain safe distancing.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

13

CHARTERED ENGINEER PROFILE

A COMMITMENT TO CONTINUING PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Ir. Karel Vysata tells ‘The Singapore Engineer’ that besides providing proof of competency, expertise and the right work ethic, the internationally recognised CEng qualification also enhances employment prospects and mobility.

The Singapore Engineer (TSE): Could you provide a few highlights of your education and career to-date, including the qualifications and certifications obtained?

Karel Vysata (KV): The first four years of my elementary education even date back to the times when Czechoslovakia, the place of my birth, was a communist country.

The political regime eventually collapsed in 1989, which initiated many social and educational reforms. This had a profound impact on my personal development as a teenager. When I turned 18, I grounded my aviation dreams and decided to study Civil Engineering at the Czech Technical University in Prague. That is where I found my passion for bridge engineering.

After receiving my master’s degree in 2004, I moved to the United Kingdom where I spent a decade working for consulting companies on various infrastructure projects, ranging from strengthening works for existing railway bridges to large highway schemes such as the Queensferry Crossing. This was a brilliant project that gave me a great opportunity to engage in the planning and scheme design of the longest, three-tower, cable-stayed bridge in the world. In 2010, I successfully passed my Chartered Professional Review with the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

Since 2014, I have been living in Southeast Asia and working on mostly large D&B projects such as KVMRT (Line 2) in Malaysia, Central Kowloon Route in Hong Kong and North-South Corridor in Singapore. I also became a member of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the Institution of Engineers, Singapore (IES). Recently, I have registered myself as an IntPE with the British Council and as a CEng with IES in the Infrastructure sector. In addition to that, I am a Professional Reviewer for ICE. TSE: Could you comment on your career thus far, highlighting some of the achievements?

KV: In general, I value my engineering skills and competencies, which I developed by working with some outstanding engineers on many different civil engineering projects, over the years. When those abilities are used wisely and ethically, they can make a tangible difference to people's lives. That is what makes my work rewarding.

Perhaps I should share some real accomplishments from my work as a Design Engineer. For example, on a project in Hong Kong, I certified complex temporary steel works 14

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Ir. Karel Vysata

for a Specialist Contractor erecting a precast segmental deck over the existing highway. On a different assignment, I inspected and assessed existing highway bridges for a heavy haulage company seeking a permit to safely transport abnormal loads. Another example would be my engagement in a multidisciplinary engineering team, designing various flood prevention structures commissioned by a local council to protect its communities.

TSE: What are some of the projects that you are currently involved in?

KV: Currently, I am working as a Specialist Bridge Engineer on Contract N101 of the North South Corridor (NSC) project. In this site-based role, I provide bridge-related technical support and expertise to QP(S) and LTA teams.

The proposed works involve the construction of an NSC tunnel between ECP and Victoria Street and include several viaducts required to connect the new expressway with the existing road network. The contract was awarded to GS Engineering & Construction Corporation at a contract sum of SGD 640 million.

TSE: Could you briefly describe the scope of your current duties?

KV: My current duties involve reviewing the Contractor’s design and execution documents such as design reports, construction drawings, method statements, risk assessments or erection sequences relating to proposed viaducts and associated temporary works. As the construction gradually progresses on site, I will get more involved in the inspection, supervision and monitoring of the actual works.

What makes this contract technically challenging is the interface of the proposed NSC tunnel and viaducts with a new underground facility building and the existing MRT lines, in combination with the complex geology of Kallang Formation. Moreover, the construction works have to be carefully staged, to ensure minimum disruption to road traffic as well as to tenants and businesses occupying adjacent high-rise buildings.

TSE: What motivated you to become a Chartered Engineer?

KV: To be honest, I was just happy to have a degree and a paid job at the start of my career. However, it did not take me long to notice that some of my older colleagues put in a lot of time and effort in signing off on some kind of competency objectives. It made me curious until I

CHARTERED ENGINEER PROFILE

eventually realised how I could benefit from obtaining the certification needed to perform this role.

I was also motivated by my manager who mentored me through the whole process and helped me to prepare for my Professional Review. In the end, it took me over five years to become a Chartered Engineer.

TSE: How do you think becoming a Chartered Engineer has assisted you in the progression of your career?

KV: By working towards my CEng qualification, I got familiar with the concept of Continuing Professional Development.

This self-directed and reflective approach to ongoing learning and upskilling enabled me to further enhance my engineering knowledge and strengthen various transferrable as well as interpersonal skills.

Ir. Karel in Japan. Behind him is the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge.

Being professionally qualified not only shows my commitment, skills and experience as an Engineer, it also demonstrates to employers and clients that I have competencies, expertise and the work ethic that they value. Besides, the qualification is recognised internationally.

Hence, it has enhanced my employment prospects and mobility too.

TSE: What are some of the other benefits in working towards and acquiring the CEng registration?

KV: One of the requirements for a CEng The Hong Kong Link Road Bridge project, photographed during a site visit in 2015. registration is to be an IES member. I use my membership as a good source of now. In his working life, he pursued ideals of ‘Total Archiindustry-related information, engineering knowledge and tecture’ and promoted humanitarian values. His philotraining opportunities. In addition, I would like to take sophical, artistic and practical approach to engineering more advantage of networking opportunities, in order to and business earned him a good reputation and influcreate closer links with the local engineering community. ence within the profession. Many people know him for In fact, it is one of the reasons why I agreed to particithe design of Sydney Opera House in Australia, but I also pate in this Q&A session! It is a good way to reach out to appreciate Arup’s design of Kingsgate Bridge in Durham, other members and share my professional experience.

England.

TSE: What advice would you give engineers who aspire TSE: Any other information that you would like to provide? to become a Chartered Engineer?

KV: To conclude, I generally believe that working towards KV: I would advise them to find a good mentor. It is much a CEng qualification helps to instil in every Engineer a easier to go through the process of developing profescommitment to professional development and a moral sional competencies with someone who can give you obligation to society and the environment. the right guidance, advice and feedback. Also, it helps to work for a company that is committed to providing its However, obtaining the qualification is not a route to employees with on-the-job training. obvious success. It is just a small step on the way. Engineering has never been about how many qualifications TSE: If you had the opportunity to meet one particular you have, but rather how you can apply your knowlEngineer of your choice (living or dead), who would edge to solve problems or to develop new ideas. A good that person be and why? example of that is Isambard Kingdom Brunel, an English Civil Engineer, who became one of the 19th century KV: I would choose to meet Sir Ove Nyquist Arup, the engineering giants. founder of the engineering firm which bears his name THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

15

STANDARDS DEVELOPMENT

UPCOMING LAUNCH OF

NEW RAILWAY STANDARDS Mr Yee Boon Cheow, Co-Convenor, Working Group on TR 81, TR 85 and TR 90, Standards Development Organisation, IES, tells ‘The Singapore Engineer’ that the objective in developing the standards is to foster a common, consistent understanding among stakeholders.

The Singapore Engineer (TSE): What were the reasons for the creation of the Technical References (TRs)? Is solving problems faced by Singapore’s rail transport industry their main purpose?

Mr Yee Boon Cheow (YBC): Each stakeholder in our rail transport ecosystem has been operating, based on the individual stakeholder’s established practices and procedures. These TRs will help to pull together the common knowledge and wisdom of the various key stakeholders, in order to establish a common baseline. The TRs have not been created mainly to solve problems.

TSE: What are the objectives of the TRs? Which sectors of the industry are they relevant to and how?

YBC: These TRs are intended to be the base and common language in communications among railway organisations and regulatory bodies.

For TR 81 : 2020 (TR 81) Terminology and abbreviations for the Permanent Way, it aims to promote a common understanding in the technical definitions of terms and abbreviations for works related to the Permanent Way. For TR 85 : 2021 (TR 85) Maintenance regime for the Permanent Way, it aims to enable consistency through the provision of requirements and expectations for the maintenance regime for the Permanent Way assets.

And for TR 90 : 2021 (TR 90) Maintenance of vehicle gauges for railway, it ensures that users have a common understanding of the definitions of various types of railway vehicle gauges and their purposes, as well as the maintenance management system and processes to be adopted to ensure compliance with the gauges.

TSE: What is the scope of each of the TRs? What specific challenges are addressed by each of them?

YBC: TR 81 covers all works related to the Permanent Way including the trackside environment. The terminology and abbreviations include the collection system installed on the wayside of the track, but excludes the overhead collection system.

Mr Yee Boon Cheow

cle load gauge and kinematic envelope.

As mentioned earlier, these TRs are not developed just to resolve problems. The bigger picture is to achieve a common understanding and benchmark among stakeholders for the betterment of the railway industry.

TSE: Could you provide some details on the forthcoming webinar on 24 November, that coincides with the launch of these three standards?

YBC: The webinar launch will cover the three aforementioned standards and there will be panel discussions for questions the participants might have. We highly recommend this webinar for anyone who has an interest in the rail industry. The webinar is complimentary with the purchase of these 3 TRs, available via the QR code provided. Further information on the webinar will be sent thereafter. Registration closes 17 November 2021.

Mr Yee Boon Cheow is Group Director (Rail Asset, Operations and Maintenance), and Group Director (Rail, Electrical & Mechanical), Land Transport Authority.

TRs FOR THE PERMANENT WAY (RAIL) WEBINAR WEDNESDAY, 24 NOVEMBER 2021 (3 PM - 6 PM) The webinar will introduce three new TRs related to the Permanent Way (Rail): TR 81 : 2020 • TR 85 : 2021 • TR 90 : 2021 They aim to promote common understanding and consistency for all works related to the Permanent Way in the rail industry.

To register for the webinar, scan the QR code below:

TR 85 covers all works related to the Permanent Way, excluding the trackside environment and the power rail.

Lastly, for TR 90, it covers all code works related to the railway gauges such as the structure gauge, service vehi16

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Or visit: https://bit.ly/TRPW_webinar

SUSTAINABILITY

PUB TO INCREASE RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES AND LEVERAGE INNOVATIVE SOLUTIONS The aim is to achieve net zero emissions.

Having successfully closed the water loop by recycling used water nearly two decades ago, thereby boosting the nation’s water security, PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency, is now turning its attention to closing the carbon loop, to ensure water sustainability and also contribute to a low-carbon future.

In addition to the current suite of initiatives and research that PUB is already actively pursuing to reduce its carbon footprint, it has now also launched a ‘Carbon Zero Grand Challenge’ with attractive prize funding for gamechanging solutions for removing carbon emissions from water treatment facilities.

PUB Chief Sustainability Officer, Ms Chong Mien Ling said, “Sustainability has always been at the core of PUB’s work – we have diversified Singapore’s water sources through its Four National Taps strategy and manage the entire water system in an integrated manner. As we grapple with the challenges of climate change, it is imperative that we continue to ensure that Singapore’s water supply remains resilient but also sustainable. With water demand projected to almost double by 2060, the energy required to produce water is also expected to quadruple if we continue business-as-usual”.

Floating Solar Farm at Bedok Reservoir.

Floating Solar Farm at Lower Seletar Reservoir.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

17

SUSTAINABILITY

“Our ambition is to achieve net zero emissions by midcentury and we have mapped out a strategy to close the carbon loop by using more clean renewable energy and reducing the energy consumption of PUB’s water treatment processes. Without the luxury of space, as a small country, it is important to think creatively and embrace technology. Through this open innovation challenge, we are inviting researchers and companies from around the world to co-create carbon sequestration and utilisation technologies that can be integrated with PUB’s operations. We hope to see game-changing solutions that can meet the operational needs of water utilities, while at the same time, are capable of reducing carbon emissions”, Ms Chong added.

STRATEGY TO CLOSE THE CARBON LOOP PUB has a three-pronged strategy to close the carbon loop, comprising initiatives to ‘Replace’ carbon-based energy sources, ‘Reduce’ carbon emissions and ‘Remove’ carbon emissions.

To ensure sustainable operations, PUB has been actively replacing carbon-based energy sources with solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, deployed on facility rooftops and reservoirs, over the years. There is also ongoing research and use of new technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy required for water treatment processes. With these efforts, PUB expects to eliminate approximately 600 kt CO2e/year (kilotons carbon dioxide equivalent / year) or 60% of total emissions, by mid-century.

Capturing and removing carbon released into the atmosphere is the next big task on hand. PUB is already studying new technologies such as carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and removal solutions that can be integrated with water treatment facilities, to remove the remaining 40% or 400 kt CO2e/year of emissions.

Replacing carbon-based energy sources with solar power In July this year, the Sembcorp Tengeh Floating Solar Farm, one of the world’s largest in-land floating solar farms, with a rated power output of 60 megawatt-peak (MWp), was opened.

Following this milestone, two smallerscale floating solar farms, at Bedok and Lower Seletar Reservoir, have also commenced operations. These two floating solar farms, at about 1.8 hectares in size, can generate 1.5 MWp each. PUB currently harvests some 70 MWp solar power from both its land-based installations and floating solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, which can offset 8% of PUB’s annual energy needs.

PUB will be conducting feasibility studies, next year, for two other large-scale floating solar PV systems - at Lower Seletar (100 MWp) and Pandan Reservoirs (44 MWp). It 18

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

will also continue to explore and assess suitable sites and facilities to deploy solar PV systems in an environmentally-sensitive manner.

Reducing carbon emissions Water treatment processes to desalinate sea water and recycle used water to produce NEWater are energyintensive. PUB has been working with industries and research institutes to develop and test next-generation membranes that can substantially reduce the energy required, by 50% or more. It is also constructing an energy self-sufficient water reclamation plant (Tuas Nexus) that can utilise the rich carbon content in used water to produce additional biogas for electricity generation. On the demand side, PUB will continue to push for water conservation and water recycling among households and industries.

PUB is also progressively replacing its diesel-powered vehicles with Electric Vehicles (EVs) to reduce energy consumption and emissions, in line with Singapore’s vision to phase out vehicles with internal combustion engines (ICE) and have all vehicles run on cleaner energy, by 2040. The first batch of six EVs will be deployed from November this year.

Removing carbon emissions Carbon removal is an emerging technology focus area and PUB has already started two projects – with the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), from the US, and with A*STAR's Institute of Chemical and Engineering Sciences (ICES), to advance the work in this area.

With UCLA, PUB is exploring the use of electrolysis technology to capture CO2 in seawater to produce solid carbonates and hydrogen, as well as a softened stream of seawater that can be desalinated at lower energy.

PUB is also working with ICES to explore the feasibility of removing CO2 from biogas and carbonising it with waste materials (e.g. incinerated ash, to produce aggregates or alternative sand) which can potentially be used in the building and construction industry or in land reclamation applications.

PUB’s first batch of EVs will be deployed from November 2021.

SUSTAINABILITY

CARBON ZERO GRAND CHALLENGE

– a Proposal Phase and a Proof of Concept Phase – and a pilot-scale demonstration.

In the Proposal Phase, solvers will submit a detailed proposal addressing net carbon abated, cost, and other critical aspects of their solution.

Up to six proposals will be awarded SGD 250,000 each to develop a Proof of Concept. In the Proof of Concept Phase, solvers will showcase how their ideas or solutions could be integrated within PUB’s operations, through a desktop simulation and/or lab-scale study and develop a detailed design for a pilot project. Up to two proposals will then be awarded SGD 2.5 million each to demonstrate an approximately 1 kt-scale version of their solution at a PUB facility in Singapore.

The Carbon Zero Grand Challenge was launched on 19 October 2021. Hosted on HeroX, the leading platform and open marketplace for crowdsourced solutions, the Carbon Zero Grand Challenge seeks to incentivise innovative solutions that can help PUB to achieve net-zero emissions and scale to other water facilities elsewhere.

The total prize purse will be SGD 6.5 million (approximately USD 4.8 million).

While ongoing efforts are able to reduce the future carbon footprint substantially, PUB is seeking solutions from around the globe and beyond the water sector, for carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), and removal, in order to remove an additional 400 kt CO2e/year associated with its facilities.

The Proposal Phase for the Carbon Zero Grand Challenge is open from 19 October 2021 till 24 February 2022.

Carbon Zero Grand Challenge structure and timeline The Grand Challenge will have two phases of competition

All images by PUB, Singapore’s National Water Agency

Description Grand Challenge opens; Proposal Phase commences Solvers register and develop submissions Proposal Phase registration deadline and submission deadline

Proposal Phase evaluation Proposal Phase awards announced Proof of Concept Phase commences; Solvers selected to participate in this phase develop proof-of-concept submissions Proof of Concept Phase submission deadline Proof of Concept Phase evaluation Proof of Concept Phase awards announced Pilot Project, including 6-12 months of operation

The Grand Challenge will last a total of about 45 months, including approximately 21 months for the first two phases of competition and 24 months for the pilot project.

Interested parties can obtain more information by logging on to https://www.herox.com/PUBCarbonZero.

Duration

Date(s)

-

October 19, 2021

4 months

October 2021 – February 2022

-

February 24, 2022

3 months

March – May 2022

-

June 2022

9 months

June 2022 to March 2023

-

March 2023

3 months

Q1/Q2 2023

-

Q3 2023

24 months

Q3 2023 – Q3 2025

Carbon Zero Grand Challenge - expected timeline.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

19

SUSTAINABILITY

LIGHTING TO PLAY A MAJOR ROLE

IN THE ‘NEW NORMAL’ Mr Rami Hajjar, Cluster Leader for South East Asia, Signify (formerly Philips Lighting), explains how developments in lighting technology are proving to be beneficial.

The Singapore Engineer (TSE): How will key technological advancements in lighting help address the major issues of today, such as climate change, food security and the post-pandemic new normal?

Rami Hajjar (RH): Advancements in lighting technologies are indeed playing crucial roles in addressing current and future global challenges.

Climate change LED lights have already allowed people around the world to lower their carbon footprint in a simple and quick manner. By switching to LED lights which can last up to 100,000 hours or more, compared to traditional fluorescent lights that last 10,000 hours on average, less waste is produced.

New lighting technologies adopt ‘circular economy’ principles to ensure that waste is minimised during the ‘end of product lifespan’ and are designed with ‘postlife’ in mind. Lighting solutions are now designed with recyclability as an important consideration and together with innovative services such as ‘lighting as a service’, are enabling users to have the benefits of a well-illuminated workplace, without incurring high maintenance costs.

Food security As the rapidly growing global population puts pressure on food security, significant changes in agriculture are needed to ensure that there is enough safe and affordable food for everyone now and into the future.

New lighting technologies have become a key way to sustainable agriculture, where artificial lights are being used in horticulture to increase supply without driving up resource usage.

The new Philips LED A-class bulbs consume 60% less energy compared to standard Philips LED bulbs and have a longer lifespan.

Science-based lighting solutions contribute to the development of indoor agriculture.

20

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Mr Rami Hajjar

SUSTAINABILITY

‘Grow lights’ can either complement natural daylight or replace it completely. They make possible the creation of a controlled farming environment even in places deemed unsuitable for growing food. This puts the ability to tweak quality and enhance yield, in the hands of growers, along with many other advantages. Such lights also reduce the usage of land, water and pesticides, and the distance food travels to reach our plates, thereby lowering environmental impacts.

Signify focuses on providing science-based solutions for indoor agriculture. Our horticultural lighting range supports vertical farms, to grow crops indoors in multi-layered systems that take full advantage of available space. By using LEDs, indoor farms create significantly less impact on the environment than large-scale traditional outdoor farms that use diesel-powered heavy machinery and huge amounts of water, and destroy large areas of land.

As urbanisation continues and the amount of arable land shrinks, crop growers could move towards farming indoors and upwards. The key to making this successful lies with smart, energy-efficient artificial lighting and Signify is continuing to create such solutions.

For example, Signify is partnering &ever (an indoor vertical farming company) and the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) to conduct research focusing on reducing energy consumption and optimising yield in indoor vertical farms.

merely two to five minutes and was found to kill 99.99% of germs in a room within 10 minutes.

In Singapore, many establishments, including Changi Airport Jewel, Tan Tock Seng Hospital and some hotels have already piloted UV-C disinfection systems to sanitise air and surfaces.

As we transition to living with the endemic, UV-C will play a bigger role in supporting the disinfection of public transportation, offices and industrial, public and retail buildings, keeping people safe, as more activities resume.

TSE: How can lighting play a part in the repurposing and reconfiguration of buildings and facilities, as well as in new projects, to fulfil the new regulatory and worker-centric requirements, whilst ensuring business efficiency and sustainability?

RH: As we all start to adopt sustainable strategies in existing and new buildings, smart lighting has to be mentioned.

IoT-connected lighting is the future, with its ability to improve sustainability through data collection, well-timed maintenance and energy savings, while improving the experiences of building occupants, through personalised lighting recipes, daylight imitation and various programmes that can be utilised with the data collected.

Post-pandemic new normal Lighting technologies are making important contributions in efforts to fight against COVID-19 and transition our society towards normalcy.

Lighting, in particular ultraviolet-C or UV-C lighting, is playing an increasingly crucial role in disinfecting our homes, workplaces and public spaces. UV-C technology uses radiation, in the wavelengths from 100 nm to 280 nm, that is highly effective in killing microbes such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, spores and mould, by breaking down their DNA. Apart from disinfecting surfaces, UV-C can be used to kill the SARS-COV-2 virus in the air. A ceiling- or wall-mounted UV disinfection luminaire can achieve the equivalent effect of 20 air changes per hour.

UV-C lighting is playing an increasingly crucial role in disinfecting homes, workplaces and public spaces.

For instance, Philips Upper-Air UV-C disinfection devices, that are wallor ceiling-mounted, at a height of above 2.1 m, can effectively kill the SARS-COV-2 virus and other microorganisms in the air, while people are still in the room.

Tests performed by Innovative Bioanalysis in a Certified Safety Reference Laboratory in California, USA, have shown that the Philips Upper-Air UV-C device removed most of the germs (including the SARS-COV-2 virus) in a room after

The Interact Office Workspace app enables companies to use their connected lighting infrastructure for indoor navigation.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

21

SUSTAINABILITY

Interact Office is Signify’s smart IoT-connected lighting solution for office buildings. It is a solution that prioritises employee performance without compromising on comfort. It also optimises the lighting system, to save energy and reduce the building’s carbon footprint.

Occupants are able to utilise scene management to personalise their environment, creating the ideal lighting scene for their tasks. Occupants are also able to use indoor navigation that uses real-time lighting data to find the location they need to go to. Using geolocation and lighting data, safe-distancing practices can be encouraged, as well, through the safe-distancing feature that shows uncrowded areas in the office.

Signify’s Interact Industry focuses on creating a smart warehouse or manufacturing facility. It encourages productivity and efficiency while increasing safety at the workplace. Using the same technology as Interact Office, which is repurposed for warehouses and manufacturing facilities, Interact Industry can enable more efficient indoor navigation, while its hyper-accurate indoor positioning, logistics and production features can be optimised with the use of customised software. Apart from that, there is also the space management ability, with heatmap visualisations, that provides users with the data to introduce inventory strategies and optimise space usage.

TSE: Could you elaborate on the role of lighting in the new digital ecology, leading towards a ‘system of systems’. In particular, could you explain how lighting systems can be deployed in data communication?

RH: Lighting is essential and is in every corner of a building.

Its established and widespread network allows sensors to collect data that complements other systems or functions.

This is also true of the lighting infrastructure of cities and countries. For example, as part of the Smart Nation Sensor Platform’s (SNSP) Lamp Posts as a Platform (LaaP) project in Singapore, lamp posts are fitted with sensors and cameras that complement urban planning and operations.

Also contributing to data communication is Signify’s Trulifi wireless connection. Trulifi is a high-speed, wireless system that uses light waves as opposed to traditional radio waves to connect. It provides a consistent, low latency, secure connection for users and can be integrated into existing lighting systems. Trulifi employs Light Fidelity (LiFi) which uses visible light to transmit data. Currently, LED lamps are able to produce LiFi which is used much like the familiar WiFi which uses crowded radio waves, instead.

LiFi provides an uninterrupted connection via a dongle.

to support employee well-being by allowing for individually personalised lighting for different workspaces.

Apart from that, Signify’s NatureConnect allows for nature to be brought indoors. It is built on proven biophilic design principles, mimicking daylight patterns indoors, to ensure that occupants receive the right amount and quality of light. Such a solution is very much in line with Singapore’s approach that seeks to create a garden cityscape where buildings are designed with biophilic principles that combine urbanism and nature.

In support of Singapore’s ‘30 by 30’ plan to self-produce 30% of Singapore’s own nutritional needs by 2030, Signify is launching a Center of Excellence, with the support of the Economic Development Board. The Center of Excellence encourages vertical indoor farming and provides local growers access to 80 years of horticulture lighting experience and research, and introduces them to smart IoT-connected farming that utilises innovative grow lights and lighting recipes. Together with the existing climate controls in the farms, these lighting recipes will allow for a controlled environment, much akin to a lab compared to a traditional farm, and lead to better yields, both in quantity and quality.

For consumers, we have also launched exciting innovations from our Philips Hue product line, this year. In June, we introduced our fully revamped Philips Hue app. Over 100 improvements have been made to the app, to give the consumer more control and improved performance, functionality and communication with the smart lighting system.

In September, we launched Philips Hue + Spotify, the first-of-its-kind deep integration of lighting and music, that provides a unique immersive experience.

TSE: Any other information that you would like to provide?

RH: Lighting has immense potential that has not been maximised by both consumers and businesses. Its pervasiveness, in all aspects of our lives, provides enough reasons for us to pay more attention to it.

Ninety percent of our time is spent indoors, resulting in a high reliance on artificial light. By optimising indoor lights, we can significantly improve the quality of our lives and our efficiency at work. Adopting innovative lighting services will also enhance energy savings, sustainability and well-being.

TSE: What are some of the new products and solutions that Signify has introduced, or will soon be presenting?

RH: Innovation is at the heart of every Signify solution. One example is our Interact platform that can be scaled and catered to various businesses and organisations. For example, our Interact Retail uses scene management and light recipes to highlight promotions and different zones, encouraging visitorship, while Interact Office uses scene management 22

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Philips Hue + Spotify integrates lighting and music.

SUSTAINABILITY

SMART AND ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUILDINGS ARE THE FUTURE

by Tanaya Wagle They have also to be safe and people-centric.

Looking back at the past decade, the world has experienced some scorching temperatures. The island of Sicily in Italy registered a temperature of 48.8° C on 11 August 2021. In Tokyo, Japan, which is known for its summer heat and humidity, the number of days with a temperature of 33° C or higher has more than doubled since the 1960s, according to a Greenpeace report. Elsewhere, the USA, Australia, and the Asia Pacific region have had to contend with raging fires, cyclones, hurricanes and floods, that are increasingly becoming the new normal.

Emissions are 62% higher now than in the 1990s.

Buildings typically generate nearly 40% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per year. Of the total emissions, building operations are responsible for 28% annually, while building materials and construction are responsible for an additional 11% annually. Without decarbonisation of buildings, on a global scale, these buildings will still be responsible for CO2 emissions in 2040.

Achieving zero emissions from existing buildings will require interventions to accelerate energy upgrades.

According to a UNEP report, ‘A Practical Guide to Climate-resilient Buildings and Communities’, investing in more resilient infrastructure could save humanity USD 4.2 trillion from climate change damages.

A modern city demands intelligent combinations of data, people and technology to create inclusive and sustainable solutions. Smart buildings are increasingly taking the lead in the development of smart cities and are widely recognised as essential tools in meeting today’s many challenges, including achieving net zero targets, security, and demand for greater interoperability. The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that smart buildings can save 230 exajoules (EJ) in cumulative energy through 2040. This can lower the global energy consumption by up to 10%.

To reduce Singapore’s greenhouse gas emissions and achieve its target goal of 80% green buildings by 2030, the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) launched the Super Low Energy Building (SLEB) Smart Hub, a centralised, national, digital database that includes green technologies and powerful tools for data analytics.

Currently, the building sector accounts for approximately 20% of Singapore’s emissions.

As we move into the new normal, there will also be a greater focus on health and safety. More buildings are likely to be upgraded with products that function using con-

tactless technology, such as hands-free doors, voice-activated elevators, and phone-controlled door locks.

Optimising building performance Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ) by Lendlease, comprising three office towers, a retail mall and a residential component, achieved a BCA Green Mark Platinum rating, for the non-residential buildings. PLQ’s sustainability vision focuses on creating an active, green and engaged environment and has incorporated various features to efficiently use resources throughout the buildings’ life cycle. With the installation of high efficiency water fittings along with monitoring and leak detection systems, the non-residential buildings expect to save over 40% of water annually during operations, and achieve 30% in energy savings.

The energy savings stem from a variety of design solutions, from high performance facades to the use of light emitting diodes (LED) and more efficient air-conditioning systems.

Smart building management platform Simplifying complex processes while enabling new forms of collaboration, artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) are powerful drivers for transforming commercial buildings into intelligent, proactive living and working worlds. Working at breakneck speed, these innovative digital solutions boost efficiency through continuous analyses with the help of intelligent technologies, management software systems, and sensors.

Arming operators with information and data, Siemens’ Desigo CC allows for the easy development of short- and long-term energy strategies. The integrated smart building management platform offers a wide range of features that enable operators to monitor and optimise the energy performance of buildings and, at the same time, provide comfort, health, and safety to the occupants.

Equipped with powerful graphics and floor plan visualisations, the platform presents a unified view and control of all connected devices. With easy cloud connection, it is accessible to operators anytime, anywhere, without the need for a VPN connection.

Efficient air management After electricity, water and gas, compressed air is often referred to as the fourth utility that offers energy savings and environmental benefits. In modern buildings, the regulation of air flow is a crucial and intrinsic part of heat THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

23

SUSTAINABILITY

PLQ’s sustainability vision focuses on creating an active, green and engaged environment.

and moisture control. An efficient compressed air system can save energy, reduce maintenance, and avoid damage due to moisture.

BOGE, a leading air compressor systems provider, says that its BOGE bluekat Converter can ensure the flow of clean, dry, and oil-free compressed air. The catalytic converter is said to actively filter and break down particles into water, CO2 and silicate, reducing the production of carbon monoxide (CO) to a level <0.1%, whilst also reducing bacteria and viruses. Effectively saving energy, the heat exchanger uses the high compressed air temperature from the converter tank to preheat the incoming compressed air to a high level. The energy consumption of the BOGE BC series is said to be a low 0.01‑0.005 kWh/Nm. Facing a loss of process reliability, Bette, a German specialist for exclusive bathroom objects, replaced all its existing compressors with BOGE screw compressors, microfilters and the BOGE bluekat Converter. Incorporating heat recovery as an integral part of its solution, BOGE boosted cost savings and reduced the overall environmental footprint at Bette. Through the new system, the heat generated as a by-product of producing compressed air was used to not only heat the manufacturing areas but also warm up the administration building. This heat recovery provided additional support to the cogenera24

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Equipped with powerful graphics and floor plan visualisations, Siemens’ Desigo CC platform presents a unified view and enables control of all connected devices.

tion unit, reducing the running time of the natural gas boiler by around 30%.

Similarly at Armitage Shanks’ factory in Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK, BOGE was able to slash energy costs by 27% and achieve carbon emission savings of around USD 4,856.73 a year.

SUSTAINABILITY

Energy saving windows Transforming windows and skylights from an energy liability to an energy source, electrochromic glass is the next major advancement in energy-efficient window technology.

Saint-Gobain, the French multinational corporations says that with its SageGlass, architects and builders can resolve solar-control challenges without sacrificing aesthetics, design or energy-efficiency. A smart solution for buildings grappling with solar control, the electrochromic coated glass can block sunlight on hot days and harness

the sun’s energy on cold days, while dramatically reducing energy demand and the need for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. In addition to reducing the up-front material costs of shading systems, the dynamic glass is said to decrease building operating costs by reducing overall energy loads by an average of 20%, and peak energy demand by up to 26% over a building’s life cycle. With its advanced proprietary algorithms, users can operate automatic control settings to maximise solar energy and minimise light, glare, energy use and colour rendering.

A flexible and digitally connected future With technology advancing at an extraordinary pace, applying best practices in the design and construction of buildings is just as critical to meeting occupier requirements. It takes smart thinking to leverage innovative technology to help people work with greater flexibility and efficiency in a more sustainable environment.

“The industry is evolving but today’s global demands will continue to push its transformation. To succeed as a developer, owner and operator, you will need to embrace the power of the all-digital, all-electric world, with a more sustainable, resilient, efficient and people-centric building”, said Mr Nalin Amunugama, General Manager of BOGE Kompressoren Asia Pacific.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has also increased the need for better air quality and more effective ventilation in buildings to minimise the survival rate of viruses”, he added.

The energy consumption of the BOGE BC series is said to be a low 0.01 0.005 kWh/Nm.

(Ms Tanaya Wagle is a freelance writer covering environment and sustainability issues)

SageGlass is a major advancement in energy-efficient window technology.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

25

DIGITALISATION

SUPERCHARGING THE INFORMATION AGE WITH

MILLIMETRE-WAVE TECHNOLOGY

by Giovanni D’Amore, Director of Product Marketing, Keysight Technologies Overcoming the existing limitations.

Forecasts have shown that there will be more than 29 billion networked devices by 2023, with machine-tomachine (M2M) connections representing half of the total. This type of communication needs to rely on very high transmission speeds and low latency to enable mission-critical applications such as self-driving cars and advanced driver-assistance systems.

Move up to millimetre-wave The millimetre-wave (mmWave) radio spectrum is the part of the electromagnetic spectrum with frequencies from 30 GHz to 300 GHz. Until recently, frequencies used for communications were limited to the microwave band, typically 3 GHz to 30 GHz. Most commercial wireless networks use the lower part of this band - between 800 MHz and 6 GHz. The 3G/4G/5G cellular connection on smartphones, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth connection on any wireless headset, and almost anything we can think of, uses those frequencies to transmit information.

But while the number of users and devices consuming data increases exponentially, the radio spectrum frequency band available to telecom carriers has not changed. Each user is allocated a limited amount of bandwidth, leading to slower speeds and frequent disconnections.

One way to solve this problem is to transmit signals on bands where spectrum is readily available. The mmWave band offers a huge amount of under-utilised bandwidth, frequency reuse and channel bandwidth - making it particularly suited for multi-gigabit mobile communication systems and high-throughput satellites.

Components working in the mmWave bands are more compact and smaller in size, making them particularly useful in scenarios with a high density of devices operating simultaneously and in close proximity.

Those advantages make mmWave technology the way to boost performance of data transmission and become the turbo of the information age engine.

Multi-gigabit connectivity for capacity and speed Satisfying demand for high-quality services for greatly increasing subscribers accessing mobile cellular networks is essential for network operators.

More users and more connections mean stress on 26

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Mr Giovanni D’Amore

the network. But while we assume the air is used as a wireless transmission medium and does not have bandwidth limitation, the reality is that it does.

If the number of connections increases and the network does not adapt to this new need, it is like being at a big football game and not being able to call or message our friends due to the overwhelming number of users that want to do the same thing at the same time.

New technologies like 5G or Wi-Fi (802.11ay) are designed to overcome those challenges and guarantee what is defined as ‘great service in a crowd’. To meet anticipated data throughput demands, high frequency bands in the mmWave range need to be adopted to accommodate more users in a spectrum section still free of interference, and not yet allocated. The mmWave bands give information bandwidth allowing data transfer rates up to 10 Gbit/s. This is comparable to optical fibre, and is 100 times faster than current 4G technology.

Due to the properties of high frequencies in relation to atmospheric absorption, as you move to higher frequencies, transmission range gets shorter. Millimetre waves allow close-range communication up to 100 metres, rather than up to kilometres. In this scenario, frequency can be reused, allowing simultaneously operating networks that do not interfere with each other.

Technologies such as beamforming also increase cellular network capacity, improving the transmission efficiency by targeting the users.

Enabling more flexible satellite communications Satellite communications play a vital role in the global telecommunications system. More than 3,000 operational satellites are currently in orbit and more than 1,800 of them are communications satellites.

In the past two years, multiple commercial satellite operators have begun launching high-throughput satellite constellations. These next-generation satellites will be able to provide far more throughput - up to 400% more, compared to conventional fixed, broadcast, and mobile satellite services.

This significant increase in capacity is achieved by using a ‘spot beam’ architecture to cover a desired service area, as in a cellular network, in contrast to the wide beam used in traditional satellite technology.

DIGITALISATION

This architecture benefits from a higher transmit/receive gain, permitting the use of higher order modulation, so as to achieve higher data rates. Also, with a service area being covered by multiple spot beams, operators can configure several beams to reuse the same frequency band and polarisation, boosting capacity where needed and requested for.

Most of the high-throughput satellites in operation today work in the Ku-band (12 GHz to 18 GHz) and Ka-band (26.5 GHz to 40 GHz), but frequencies are getting higher, with deployment on the way in the Q- and V-band (40 GHz to 75 GHz).

Automotive radar Automotive radar is the most reliable technology for range-detecting an object’s distance and motion, including velocity and angle, in almost all conditions.

It uses reflected radio waves to detect obstacles behind other obstacles and has low signal processing requirements.

Automotive radar sensing technology, mainstreamed by the 24 GHz narrow band sensors, is now rapidly evolving towards sthe high frequency 76 GHz to 81 GHz band and wide 5 GHz bandwidth, offering superior range resolution and immunity to obscurants such as fog and smoke. The magnitude of improvement delivered by the higher frequency and wider bandwidth is significant, because the errors in distance measurement and minimum resolvable distance are inversely proportional to the bandwidth.

Transitioning from 24 GHz to 79 GHz delivers 20x better performance. With the smaller wavelength, resolution and accuracy of velocity measurement increases proportionally.

Therefore, by transitioning from 24 GHz to 79 GHz, velocity measurements can be improved by a factor of 3x.

Another advantage of the transition from legacy 24 GHz to 79 GHz systems is gain in size and weight. With the wavelength of 79 GHz signals being a third of a 24 GHz system, the total area of a 79 GHz antenna is one-ninth of a similar 24 GHz antenna. Developers can use smaller and lighter sensors and hide them more easily, for better fuel economy and car designs.

Beginning a new age of extended reality Extended reality (XR) is an emerging term that encompasses all the immersive technologies, including all the ones we already have - augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR) and the area interpolated among them. XR will have exciting applications in diverse fields such as entertainment, medicine, science, education and manufacturing, changing the way we see and interact with the world around us, real or computer-generated.

While VR and AR applications already exist, adoption is slow, with the main reasons being bandwidth and latency, because today’s wireless networks place serious limitations on those applications, which can negate the user experience entirely.

Millimetre-wave technology, as implemented in 5G with increased transmission bandwidth and low latency, will strengthen existing experiences and enable new ones, paving the way for mass adoption.

But, to provide a truly immersive AR, at least a tenfold increase in data rate is needed, and this still poses major challenges for 5G technology. With continued technology innovation, the mmWave radio spectrum will be pivotal in tackling those challenges for 6G. 6G will be the sixth generation of wide-area wireless technology, expanding the availability of frequency bands to terahertz (THz) bands, above the mmWave frequency range where 5G operates. 6G will also increase the data rate from 5G’s 20 gigabits per second (Gbps) to 1 terabit per second (Tbps). In addition, 6G will reduce the latency to less than 1 millisecond. As a result, 6G’s traffic capacity will increase from 5G’s 10 Mbps/m to a theoretical maximum of 10 Gbps/m.

Holographic communication, tactile internet and fully immersive virtual/augmented reality are among other applications that this future technology will make possible, and once again, mmWave will be the engine of change, and probably the trigger for the beginning of a new age, where creativity and imagination will play a central role in our existence.

Keysight and Orolia advance 5G location-based services Keysight Technologies, a leading technology company that delivers advanced design and validation solutions, and Orolia have joined forces to advance 5G location-based services (LBS) based on global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technologies.

Working with Orolia, a world leader in Resilient Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) solutions, allows Keysight to extend its 5G device test solution portfolio with advanced global navigation satellite system (GNSS) simulation capabilities. As a result, existing users of Keysight's 5G device test solutions can easily address GNSS-related 3GPP protocol conformance and carrier acceptance test requirements by upgrading the software in Keysight's E7515B UXM 5G Wireless Test Platform and combining it with Orolia's GSG-8 simulator.

Accurate positioning is important in a wide range of sectors including healthcare, road and aerial transportation, entertainment and homeland security. Future applications, such as drones and autonomous vehicles, will depend on highly precise positioning services for reliable navigation and safe transportation of people, and goods. Mobile operators use GNSS technologies and non-GNSS technologies, such as beamforming, angle-based positioning and round-trip time (RTT), to deliver personalised services and support emergency calls.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

27

ENGINEERING EDUCATION

SIT AND INDUSTRY PARTNERS LAUNCH COMPETENCY-BASED WORKPLACE LEARNING TO UPSKILL SINGAPOREANS Addressing industry skills gaps in the Infocomm Technology and Land Transport sectors.

In early August 2021, as part of the efforts to forge greater resilience and upskill manpower for Singapore’s key sectors, the Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT) inked two separate Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with leading industry partners to provide more workplace learning opportunities – one Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ensign InfoSecurity Pte Ltd and the other MoU with the Land Transport Authority (LTA), SBS Transit Ltd (SBST) and SMRT Corporation Ltd (SMRT).

The collaborations will see the university piloting a new Competency-Based Workplace Learning Pathway, said to be the first-of-its-kind in Singapore, that will provide adult learners, regardless of their starting qualifications, a means to enhance their skills and pursue a degree while working.

The signing ceremonies were graced by Minister for Education, Mr Chan Chun Sing, during SkillsFuture Month @SIT. As part of the MoUs, SIT will collaborate with the industry partners to upskill their workforce to meet evolving industry needs and achieve greater alignment between academic achievement and work performance. This comes as Singapore’s key sectors, including cybersecurity and transportation, are expected to grow significantly, and critical to that development is a skilled and resilient workforce that will help power sustained growth in the post-pandemic economy.

The new pathway, designed in collaboration with industry partners, will adopt a different modality in delivering

two existing SIT degree programmes – in cybersecurity and in land transportation. Under this new pathway, adult learners will be able to acquire competencies and get recognition of skills at the workplace. They will also be assessed based on their displayed competencies.

“Through our engagements with industry, we see the increasing importance of workplace learning to drive lifelong learning in our workforce and enable our companies to transform and progress. If we can work with companies to curate workplace learning to allow in-employment learners to upgrade and gain relevant higher certifications that are useful to and hence recognised by the companies, we create win-win solutions for both the learners and the companies. That is why SIT is committed to driving Singapore’s first Competency-Based Workplace Learning Pathway”, said Professor Chua Kee Chaing, Deputy President (Academic) & Provost, SIT.

Growing the cybersecurity talent pool “This partnership with SIT will enable Ensign to help grow the cybersecurity talent pool in Singapore by grooming and upskilling cyber professionals. It will provide a much needed pathway for cyber professionals to deepen their knowledge and stay on top of their game while being employed, thereby contributing to our overall efforts to build a set of strong, localised, cyber-defence capabilities and nurture a sustainable workforce to defend our cyberspace, at the same time providing a helpful relief valve from the intensifying and somewhat

MoU signing between SIT and Ensign InfoSecurity: The signatories, seated from left, Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, SIT and Ms Tammie Tham, Group CEO, Ensign InfoSecurity. The witnesses, standing, from left, Mr Ng Yat Chung, Chairman, Board of Trustees, SIT; Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education; and Mr Lee Fook Sun, Chairman, Ensign InfoSecurity.

28

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

ENGINEERING EDUCATION

unhealthy market competition for cyber professionals”, said Mr Lee Fook Sun, Chairman, Ensign InfoSecurity.

High quality industry partnerships in transportation Over the next two decades, the Singapore Government plans to expand public transport connectivity with new rail lines and continue to improve rail reliability of existing lines through systems upgrading and renewal. Ramping up the development of local competencies to operate and maintain the rail systems is critical to these efforts.

To help pave the way for a career in the rail industry, the MoU signed between SIT and LTA, SBS Transit and SMRT Corporation, will see the development of a new Postgraduate Certificate in Urban Railway Technology, in addition to the competency-based degree pathway in land transportation.

This new postgraduate programme will be co-developed and delivered by SIT and LTA’s Singapore Rail Academy (SGRA), with the support of the two rail operators. Designed for engineering professionals within the local rail industry, the programme draws on SGRA’s industry-standard expertise and experience, as well as SIT’s applied learning approach, to equip them with deeper knowledge and practical skillsets in rail engineering, operations and maintenance.

LTA’s Chief Executive, Mr Ng Lang said, “Our rail engineering, operations and maintenance workers are the backbone of a safe and reliable MRT system. Today’s MoU is another step we have taken to continue to nurture and develop a strong pipeline of local talents with deep technical rail expertise and cross-functional capabilities”.

SBS Transit Chief Executive Officer, Mr Cheng Siak Kian, said, “We are very excited to be embarking on this journey with SIT. Our employees have always been at the heart of our business and we recognise the importance of continued education as a necessary investment for employees to broaden and deepen their rail competencies. This initiative will no doubt help our people grow professionally and gain recognition for their skills and expertise”.

Mr Neo Kian Hong, Group Chief Executive Officer, SMRT Corporation, said: “SMRT is delighted to be part of this MoU which provides professionals in the industry with structured and targeted opportunities to upgrade themselves through a workplace learning pathway. We encourage our staff to continually deepen their knowledge and skills as they strive for excellence in their professional development. With a highly skilled workforce, SMRT is also able to maintain a high level of operations and maintenance to better serve our commuters”.

SIT’s Competency-Based Workplace Learning Pathway The new Competency-Based Workplace Learning Pathway will adopt a collaborative approach with industry partners to make workplace learning more immersive and rewarding for participants, through ‘Recognition of Prior Learning’, ‘A Learner-Centric Approach’ and ‘Collaborative Engagement with Industry Partners’.

SIT will pilot the new Competency-Based Workplace Learning Pathway in the following degree programmes, from September 2021: • Bachelor of Engineering in Information and Communications Technology (Information Security), in collaboration with Ensign InfoSecurity Pte Ltd. • Bachelor of Engineering and Master of Engineering Technology in Sustainable Infrastructure Engineering (Land), in collaboration with LTA, SBS Transit Ltd and SMRT Corporation Ltd.

SkillsFuture Month @SIT Anchored around its theme of ‘Supporting Industry Transformation through Upskilling Singapore Workforce’, SkillsFuture Month @SIT featured a series of online workshops on trends in areas such as Digitalisation, Smart Manufacturing, Design Innovation and Sustainability, Health and Food Innovation, and Community & Social Services, amongst others. Held in partnership with SkillsFuture Singapore (SSG) and supported by the Institutes of Higher Learning (IHLs), participants at these workshops gained insights from industry leaders and IHLs, and discovered learning opportunities to be future-ready.

MoU signing between SIT, LTA, SBST and SMRT: The signatories, seated from left, Mr Neo Kian Hong, Group CEO, SMRT; Professor Tan Thiam Soon, President, SIT; Mr Ng Lang, CE, LTA; and Mr Cheng Siak Kian, CEO, SBST. The witnesses, standing, from left, Mr Ng Yat Chung, Chairman, Board of Trustees, SIT; Mr Seah Moon Ming, Chairman, SMRT; Mr Chan Chun Sing, Minister for Education; Mr Chan Heng Loon Alan, Chairman, LTA; Mr Bob Tan, Chairman, SBST; and Professor Cham Tao Soon, Chairman, SGRA. THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

29

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

EXTENDING THE APPLICATION OF A PRACTICAL AND EASY METHOD TO CALCULATE SHORT CIRCUIT CURRENTS BASED ON THE FLOW OF EQUIVALENT KVAs IN AN ELECTRICAL POWER SYSTEM

by Er. Lee Keh Sai Introduction

The concept of Equivalent KVA

The traditional or classical method for calculating short circuit currents (ISC) in electrical power systems is based on manipulating system circuit element impedances (Z) in some way. This manipulation is done to arrive at a single equivalent impedance (Zeq) for each point in the electrical system where there is interest in knowing the magnitude of short circuit current (ISC) that can flow into the fault.

The magnitude of current that an active electrical apparatus, such as a generator, can force to flow out of its terminals into a short circuit is directly related to what is called the ‘Equivalent KVA’ rating of that generator.

Till now, a separate calculation was required to determine the equivalent impedance (Zeq) for each such point.

Once the equivalent impedance (Zeq) is determined for a given point, the short circuit fault current (ISC) can be determined by dividing the phase to phase system voltage at the point by (Zeq) in accordance with the following equation:

The Equivalent KVA rating of active and passive devices

ISC

=

E Zeq

– Eq (1)

The discussion in this article introduces a new approach that determines the 'Equivalent Kilovolt-Amperes' (KVAs) instead of equivalent impedances (Zeq) and use it to calculate the magnitude of the short circuit current (ISC).

This approach is viewed as unconventional but it is a practical and easy method to calculate the short circuit current (ISC) in an electrical power system.

Likewise, the magnitude of the current that a passive device, such as an impedance, allows to flow is directly related to the Equivalent KVA rating of that impedance.

The concept of Equivalent KVA from motors or generators is easily imagined, but the concept of Equivalent KVA of impedance-based devices such as transformers, reactors and cables, requires more thought. If one imagines a constant voltage, infinite current source connected to a reactor, with impedance (Zreactor), then calculating the value of current (ISC) that could flow through the reactor if its load terminals short circuited together would be simply, through application of Ohm’s Law, as follows: ISC

E

= Zreactor

The need to perform short circuit calculations The basic goal of a fault short circuit calculation is to determine how much fault current (ISC) can flow into a short circuit, should one occur anywhere in the system.

Frequently, there are several contributors to short circuit KVASC, and their individual contributions must be properly summed together. This could be done by identifying and determining the contribution from each source, one calculation at a time, and then adding them together at each point in the power system. The process can be quite time-consuming.

However, there is a practical and easy method to sum them up simultaneously, using the ‘Equivalent KVASC’ method and make the time-consuming method of performing fault current (ISC) calculations, based on equivalent impedance (Zeq) manipulations, a thing of the past.

30

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Figure 1: Short circuit current.

Similarly, if one imagines a constant voltage, infinite power source connected to a reactor, with impedance (Zreactor), as shown in Figure 1, then calculating the value of KVASC that could flow through the reactor, if its

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

load terminals are short circuited together, would also be simply, as follows: KVASC

=

103 x E2 Zreactor

E in KV unit

This value is identified as the Equivalent KVA value of this reactor.

If two of these reactors are connected in series, as shown in Figure 2, then the total impedance opposing the flow of current (ISC), would be (Z1 + Z2) and the amount of current that could flow through the series string would be reduced to ( ½ .ISC ).

Another way of thinking this out is that the first reactor limits the current available to flow into the second reactor, and this is exactly what happens in actual circuits in the real world.

method, all short circuit values are calculated simultaneously in one simple calculation procedure.

This practical and easy method is based on manipulating Equivalent KVAs of system circuit elements rather than impedances.

This manipulation method is unique and provides for the resolution of the available short circuit KVASC at every point in the electrical power system - all determined at one time. Thus, only a simple calculation is required to determine the KVASC at every point in the electrical power system. Then, after determining the KVASC value at every point in the system, the short circuit current (ISC) information at a key point is determined by simply dividing the KVASC by the system phase to phase voltage, in accordance with the following equation: ISC

KVASC

= √3 × E

E in KV unit

– Eq (2)

Hence, in a three-phase circuit, the KVA can be determined in terms of the circuit voltage E (in KV) and the current (I) by using the following equation: KVA

= √3 × (E)(I)

– Eq (3)

Alternatively, in a three-phase circuit, the KVA can also be determined in terms of circuit voltage E (in KV) and impedance (Z), by using the following equation: KVA

Figure 2: Two reactors in series.

Similarly, if two of these reactors are connected together in series, where the Equivalent KVAs of the two reactors, individually, are KVA1 and KVA2, then the total let-through power or KVASC of the two reactors in series is simply calculated as: KVASC

=

1 1 1 + KVA1 KVA2

This general reciprocal form of calculation is important because the Equivalent KVA value of each impedance (Z) is proportional to the reciprocal of impedance (1⁄z), so the amount of fault power (Equivalent KVA) that will pass through a series string of impedances is easily found using a hand-held calculator that will calculate the reciprocal sum, for the KVASC.

=

103 x (E)2 Z

– Eq (4)

The examination of Eq (3) reveals that KVA varies directly with current (I). That is, as the current increases, KVA increases, and as current decreases, KVA decreases. This direct relationship between KVA and current (I) means that since current is ordinarily understood to flow in an electrical circuit, KVAs of power can be understood to flow in an electrical circuit, as well. Hence, we can view the power system as a KVA system.

During normal electrical power system operation, KVAs flow out of all power sources, such as generators, the direction of the flow of KVAs is ‘from the power source to the loads’, flowing through cables, transformers, and reactors. As the KVAs flow through these cables, transformers and reactors, the impedances of these devices limit the KVAs that can flow through them.

A practical and easy method to calculate short circuit currents

During short circuit (fault) conditions, motors can generate KVAs. Therefore, during short circuit conditions, KVAs flow out of the generators and motors, through cables, transformers and reactors and into the point of short circuit.

This unconventional method of calculating the short circuit KVASC values eliminates the vast quantity of calculations and manipulations of impedances, since with this

Examination of Eq (4) reveals that for every system circuit element impedance (Z), there must be a corresponding system circuit element Equivalent KVA defined by Eq (4).

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

31

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

By understanding that KVAs flow in electrical systems and that every electrical system circuit element has an ‘Equivalent KVA’ value, an electrical system can be understood to be a KVA system. Thus, only the manipulation of KVAs is required to determine the short circuit KVASC available at every point in the system. These KVASC values can then readily be used to determine the short circuit current (ISC) at a desired point in the electrical system.

The simple way in which Equivalent KVAs of electrical system circuit elements are manipulated is the essence of this method of performing short circuit calculations.

From a practical standpoint, the Equivalent KVA of a motor or generator is the value that will be generated and flow out of the rotating machine when a zero impedance short circuit is connected to the machine terminals. Also, from a practical standpoint, one can understand that the impedance in a conductor (Z) such as a cable, would limit KVAs from flowing through the cable to a finite value. A longer cable of a given cross-sectional area would permit fewer KVAs to flow through it than would a shorter cable.

The limited KVA value that can flow through the cable is the Equivalent KVA value of the cable.

The Equivalent KVA of passive system circuit elements such as transformers, reactors and cables is, by definition, “The KVAs that would flow into a short circuit (fault) connected to one set of the element terminals with the other set of terminals connected to an infinite source of KVAs at system voltage”.

The Equivalent KVA of active system circuit elements such as the electrical utility source, generators and motors is, by definition, “The KVAs that would flow into a short circuit (fault) connected to the element terminal with constant source (or internal) voltage maintained”.

Further, examination of Eq (4) reveals that KVA varies inversely with impedance (Z). That is, as impedance increases, KVA decreases, and as the impedance (Z) decreases, KVA increases. This inverse relationship between KVA and impedance means that Equivalent KVAs connected in series combine in the same manner as the impedances connected in parallel. It also means that Equivalent KVAs connected in parallel combine in the same manner as impedances connected in series.

Figure 4: Calculaion for circuit element connected in parallel.

The power system as a KVA system The common denominator of electrical systems is the Kilovolt-Ampere (KVA) because it is common throughout the entire electrical system, including on both sides of transformers. Even though utility customers pay primarily to operate their Kilowatt loads, corrected for the power factor, the electrical power system must be able to distribute and safely control KVAs. Feeder cables must transmit the total current, not just the in-phase-active component of current. The system generators, switchgear, and other equipment must be capable of supplying, controlling and interrupting ‘Reactive’ (quadrature) current as well as ‘real’ (in phase) current.

All these considerations are innate when dealing with KVAs. Thus, an electrical power system is a KVA system.

Since an electrical system is a KVA system, a technique to perform system studies and design calculations in terms of KVAs would be logical and expedient. This method for performing short circuit calculations uses such a system.

It allows the electrical engineer to perform short circuit studies in a routine manner by simply manipulating KVA values. With this method, the calculations are greatly simplified relative to the classical ‘per unit calculation’ method, since with this method, there are no complex algebraic calculations to perform and no trigonometry is involved. Further, with this method, no complicated formulae are needed to convert system element impedances to a common base. This method is totally independent of bus voltage (except that voltage is necessary to calculate the Equivalent KVAs of circuit elements using the standard formula), and the KVA values are the same on both sides of transformers, so they require no normalisation to a common base.

This method permits the engineer to move around within the electrical system, without complicated, abstract conversions. Further, KVA values are proportional to the reciprocal of impedance (1⁄z), and are combined accordingly, to effect an expedited solution.

In this method, the Equivalent KVA value must be determined for each system circuit element.

Figure 3: Calculation for circuit element connected in series.

32

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

The Equivalent KVA of passive devices, such as transformers, reactors, resistors or cables, is the KVA quantity that would be delivered into a short circuit connected to one set of the device terminals, with the other set of terminals connected to an infinite source of KVA at system voltage.

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

The Equivalent KVA of active devices such as the utility, generators or motors is the KVA quantity that would be delivered into the short circuit connected to the equipment terminals with a constant source. With this method for the calculation of KVA values, symmetrical short circuit amperes can be derived in a one-step calculation, by simply dividing the KVASC value by the Line-Line voltage (in KV) times √3, i.e.

ISC =

KVA ELL × √3

Adding Equivalent KVAs of circuit elements in an electrical system The Equivalent KVA of electrical circuit elements is proportional to the admittance, the reciprocal of impedance (1⁄z). This means that series KVAs combine in the way that parallel impedances combine, and parallel KVAs combine in the way that series impedances combine.

Series KVAs The total of all KVAs in series is the reciprocal of the sum of all series KVAs. This is simply expressed as: KVATotal

=

1 KVA1

1 1 1 + + KVA2 KVA3

For example, if three cables are in series, each having an Equivalent KVA value of 30 KVA, the total Equivalent KVA value (KVAT) of all three can be calculated as: KVATotal

=

1 1 30

+

1 30

+

1 30

= 10KVA

This answer makes logical sense. A single cable by itself will let through or conduct 30 KVA. It makes sense that an additional cable connected to the end of the first cable will cause even less KVA to be carried, and three cable in series will further reduce the KVA carried.

Parallel KVAs The total of all KVAs in parallel (KVATOTAL) is the sum of all parallel KVAs. This can be simply expressed as: KVATotal = KVA1 + KVA2 + KVA3 For example, if three cables are in parallel, each having an Equivalent KVA value of 10 KVA, the total Equivalent KVA value (KVATOTAL) of all three can be calculated as: KVATotal = 10 + 10 +10 = 30 KVA

Calculating the Equivalent KVA from voltage and impedance values The Equivalent KVA can be calculated from the following formula: Equivalent KVA

=

103 x (E2) Z

Where E (in KV) is the phase to phase voltage and (Z) is the impedance with the ohmic value of one phase - the phase to neutral impedance. For example, if the utility source has a phase to phase voltage of 22 KV, and a source impedance of 5.7 ohms to neutral, the Equivalent KVA of the utility source can be calculated as follows: Equivalent KVA

= = =

103 x (E2) Z 103 x (222) 5.7 84,912 KVA

i.e. the utility source has an Equivalent KVA value of 84,912 KVA.

Devices that oppose and limit short circuit KVA An electrical power system, in addition to including devices that generate short circuit KVA, also includes devices that are connected together through conductors and transformers that oppose and limit the value of short circuit KVA that can flow after a short circuit occurs.

In the previous discussion, we have shown that various system elements and each of these devices have KVA-limiting capability and the simple method for calculating their influence on the flow of short circuit KVA is provided. The most KVA-limiting of all these devices is the inductive coil of the type found in every transformer.

Determining the short circuit KVAsc in a complex electrical power system The calculations done here are conservative in that we have ignored the current limitations of the impedances of the conductors (cables) within the power systems.

Thus, the calculated KVA values are somewhat higher than would actually be available. However, in power systems where multiple voltage levels require that transformers exist within the power circuit, the transformer impedance is so large that it has a huge KVASC limiting effect on fault KVASC flow. Accordingly, the flow-through limiting effects of transformers are too great to ignore, as is demonstrated in the following example.

Figure 5 shows an electrical power system having three voltage levels. We can use Figure 5 also to demonstrate the proper procedure for using the practical and easy method for performing fault calculations. Taking a step-by-step approach, the procedure usually involves the following: THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

33

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Steps 1 to 3

The 1500 KVA transformer

1. Draw a one-line diagram of the system, including all significant circuit elements that will contribute to or limit the KVASC flow.

Equivalent Short Circuit KVASC =

=

2. On each bus, all motors smaller than 50 HP are added together to form a lump of load to which a subtransient reactance value of 0.2 is assigned. All motors of 50 HP or greater are also added together to form a second lump of loads to which a subtransient value of 0.17 is assigned, unless specific values are known for any of these motors.

3. In creating the diagram in Step 1, draw all generators or power sources above the bus and all motors below the bus.

The 1200 HP motor The equivalent KVA of the 1200 HP motor is calculated as follows: Motor HP rating Equivalent Short Circuit KVASC = X"d 1200 KVA = 0.167 7185 KVASC = note: taking 1HP = 1KVA for simplicity The 10,000 HP motor The equivalent KVA of the 10,000 HP motor is calculated as follows: Equivalent Short Circuit KVASC =

= =

Motor HP rating X"d 10,000 KVA 0.167 59,880 KVASC

= = =

100 x KVAT %Z KVAT Zpm 100 x 1500 KVA 5.75% Z 100 x 1500 5.75 26,087 KVASC

The 15,000 KVA transformer Equivalent Short Circuit KVASC =

100 x 15,000 KVA 6

= 250,000 KVASC Steps 4 to 6 4. Include, within the diagram, all long cables having high impedance. But frequently, to be conservative, the fault-limiting ability of cables is not considered. This is exactly what we have done here.

5. Draw an arrow at the transition points between all system circuit elements.

6. The next step is to convert all significant electrical system circuit elements to their Equivalent KVA values.

In the electrical power systems shown in Figure 5, there are two large motors. The motor subtransient Reactance is identified as %Z for these calculations, where %Z is equal to the subtransient Reactance (x"d) of each motor, for both the 1200 HP and 10,000 HP motors. The motor subtransient Reactance is stated to be 0.167, therefore, this is the value used, instead of 0.17. Write each of the Equivalent KVA values alongside the label for each circuit element and enclose each within parenthesis.

Steps 7 to 9 7. Begin with the most downstream circuit element and work upstream, combining circuit element KVA values as the calculation proceeds.

8. Below each arrow, write the combined KVASC value obtained at that point. In keeping with the direction of this step, the value of 7185 KVASC is contributed by a fault duty source on the load side of the 400 V bus. The value is entered below the arrow, with the arrow pointing to the conductor at the bus.

9. The next step is to sum up all of the contributions from the load side of the 400 V bus and write this sum below the arrow on the load side of the 1500 KVA transformer.

In this problem, there is only one fault contributor on the load side of the 400 V bus, therefore its fault contribution value of 7185 KVASC is brought up to the load side of the 1500 KVA transformer, and this value is written below the arrow.

Figure 5: Electrical power systems having three voltage levels.

34

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Determining how much of the 7185 KVASC fault power can pass through the 1500 KVA transformer on its way to the 3.3 KV bus, is done by obtaining the Equivalent KVA

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

rating of the transformer and then using the reciprocal sum method to add the Equivalent KVA of the transformer to the short circuit KVASC value of the 400 V bus power.

This is shown in Figure 6.

In this step, adding the Equivalent KVA of the 400 V bus to the Equivalent KVA of the transformer is done as follows: Total let-through Equivalent KVA

=

1 1 7185

+

1 26087

= 5633 KVASC

11. Continue to accumulate Equivalent KVA values from the loads. Figure 8 shows the next step is to determine how much of the 65,513 KVASC fault power can pass through the 15000 KVA transformer on its way to the 22 KV bus. This is done by determining the Equivalent KVA rating of the transformer and then using the reciprocal sum method to add the short circuit KVA values of the downstream loads coming from the 3.3 KV bus.

Since the 7185 KVASC is flowing from the load side of the 3.3 KV bus, its value is reduced due to the limiting characteristics of the transformer impedance. The 7185 KVASC is reduced to 5633 KVASC by the transformer impedance.

Since the 5633 KVASC is flowing from the load side of the 3.3 KV bus, its value is entered under the arrow located between the 1500 KVA transformer and the 3.3 KV bus.

Steps 10 to 11 10. Figure 7 shows that the next steps in this method of short circuit calculation are to determine all the contributions from the load side of the next bus, closer to the source.

In this problem, the next bus is the 3.3 KV bus. Therefore, write the sum of the contribution from the 10,000 HP motor below the arrow on the load side of the 3.3 KV bus. Figure 7 shows that the KVA values coming from the load side of the 3.3 KV bus are added and the total KVASC (5633+59880 = 65513) is entered on the load side of the 15000 KVA transformer, under the arrow.

Figure 6: Determining how much of the 1200 HP motor fault power can pass through the 1500 KVA transformer.

Figure 7: Determining all the contributions from the load side.

Figure 8: Determining how much of the 3.3 KV bus fault power can pass through the 15000 KVA transformer.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

35

ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

The Equivalent KVA of the 15000 KVA transformer with 6% impedance was determined as 250,000 KVASC. Adding the Equivalent KVA of the 3.3 KV bus to the Equivalent KVA of the transformer (using the reciprocal sum method), we get the following: Total let-through Equivalent KVA is reduced to

1 1 65513

+

1 250000

= 52083 KVASC

Since the 52083 KVASC is flowing from the load side of the 22 KV bus, its value is entered under the arrow located between the 15000 KVA transformer and the 22 KV bus.

Steps 12 to 13 12. Now that all fault contributions from the loads have been quantified, it is necessary to add in the fault contribution from the utility source. Beginning at the 22 KV bus, where the utility has available 1000 MVASC, write 1000,000 KVASC on the top of the arrow between the 22 KV bus and the 15000 KVA transformer. The KVAs coming from the utility (above the arrow) plus the KVAs coming from the loads (below the arrow) make up the KVA fault duty at the 22 KV bus (Figure 9).

By observation, the short circuit power available at the 22 KV bus is 1,000,000 + 52,083 = 1,052,083 KVASC. 13. Figure 9 shows that the next step is to determine how much of this 1,000,000 fault KVASC can pass through the 15,000 KVA transformer on the way to the 3.3 KV bus.

This is done by determining the Equivalent KVA value of the transformer and then using the reciprocal sum method to add the Equivalent KVA of the transformer to the Equivalent KVA of the 22 KV bus power, as follows: The Equivalent KVA of the 15000 KVA transformer at Z=6% was calculated as 250,000 KVA. Adding the Equivalent KVA of the 22 KV bus to the Equivalent KVA of the transformer:

Figure 9: Adding in the fault contribution from the utility source.

36

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

Total let-through Equivalent KVA is reduced to

1 1 1000000

+

1 250000

= 200000 KVASC

Since the 200,000 KVA is coming from the line side of the 3.3 KV bus, its value is entered above the arrow located between the 15,000 KVA transformer and the 3.3 KV bus.

By observation, the short circuit power available at the 3.3 KV bus is 200,000 +65,513 = 265,513 KVASC.

Step 14 14. Figure 10 shows that the next step is to determine how much of the 259,880 KVA fault KVASC can pass through the 1500 KVA transformer on its way to the 400 V bus.

This is done by taking the Equivalent KVA rating of the transformer (determined earlier as 26,087 KVASC) and then using the reciprocal sum method to add it to the Equivalent KVA of the 3.3 bus power to obtain the Total let-through Equivalent KVA. Total let-through Equivalent KVA is reduced to

1 1 259880

+

1 26087

= 23,753 KVASC

Since the 23,753 KVASC is coming from the line side of the 400 V bus, its value is entered above the arrow located between the 1500 KVA transformer and the 400 V bus.

By observation, the short circuit power available at the 400 V bus is 23,753 +7185 = 30,938 KVASC. At this point, the short circuit KVA values are known for every point in the entire electrical system. The short circuit current at any one point can be easily calculated by taking the short circuit KVA value at that point and dividing it by the Line-Line voltage multiplied by the square root of 3. So it is that simple and the job is done.

Figure 10: Total let-through Equivalent KVA.

PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS

ABB LAUNCHES

FAST ELECTRIC CAR CHARGER ABB recently launched an innovative all-in-one Electric Vehicle (EV) charger which is said to provide the fastest charging experience on the market.

wheelchair-accessible and features an ergonomic cable management system that helps drivers plug in quickly with minimal effort.

ABB’s new Terra 360 is a modular charger which can simultaneously charge up to four vehicles with dynamic power distribution. This means that drivers will not have to wait if somebody else is already charging ahead of them. They simply pull up to another plug, enabling greater efficencies and convenience in EV charging. The new charger has a maximum output of 360 kW and is capable of fully charging any electric car in 15 minutes or less, meeting the needs of a variety of EV users, whether they need a fast charge or need to top their battery up while grocery shopping.

In addition to serving the needs of private EV drivers at fuelling stations, convenience stores and retail locations, Terra 360 chargers can also be installed on an organisation’s commercial premises to charge electric fleet cars, vans and trucks. This gives owners the flexibility to charge up to four vehicles overnight or to give a quick refill to their EVs in the day. As Terra 360 chargers have a small footprint, they can be installed in small depots or parking lots where space is at a premium.

Many countries in Asia Pacific have put measures in place to lower carbon emissions as per the Paris Agreement in 2016. E-mobility and EVs are one of the industries, that is seeing heightened interest across the region, but the lack of charging infrastructure is one of the top concerns for consumers in the region.

Terra 360 chargers are fully customisable. To personalise the appearance, customers can ‘brand’ the chargers by using different foiling or changing the colour of the LED light strips. There is also the option to include an integrated 27inch advertisement screen to play videos and pictures.

Available in Europe from the end of 2021, and in the US, Latin America and Asia Pacific regions, in 2022, Terra 360 is designed to deliver speed and convenience along with comfort, ease-of-use and a sense of familiarity, to meet the needs of EV drivers.

Its innovative lighting system guides the user through the charging process and shows the State of Charge (SoC) of the EV battery and the residual time before the end of an optimal charge session. The EV charger is also

ABB’s new Terra 360 is a modular charger which can simultaneously charge up to four vehicles with dynamic power distribution.

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

37

PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS

VERTIV LIEBERT DM PROVIDES YEAR-ROUND COOLING AND INTELLIGENT CONTROLS Vertiv, a global provider of critical digital infrastructure and continuity solutions, recently introduced the Vertiv Liebert DM – its latest line of thermal management solutions designed for small- and medium-sized computer rooms, IT closets and other edge applications. With capacity ranges from 7 kW to 27 kW, the Liebert DM is now available across Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Using an intelligent algorithm, the floor-mounted Liebert DM thermal management solution provides enterprise-level cooling features to small computer rooms and network closets, to prevent overheating and downtime of IT equipment. It is designed to provide year-round temperature and humidity control for IT applications. In addition, the Liebert DM features a high sensible heat ratio (SHR) of greater than 0.9, making it ideal for cooling IT environments.

The Liebert DM series is a compact and sensible cooling solution for mission-critical applications such as in small IT rooms and edge computing infrastructure in the fields of banking, healthcare, government, transport and energy. This solution is ideal for those that require efficient, reliable and sensible equipment cooling, round-the-

clock operation and a precise internal environment. The Liebert DM can also support battery rooms, and control rooms in industrial and manufacturing applications.

Users have the option to connect up to four units of the Liebert DM series in a single network. With automatic rotation features, multiple Liebert DM units can be installed, configured and synced to ensure optimal management of heat loads in most IT environments. For example, a customer may opt to install four Liebert DM units in a computer room, and program them to run in a cycle and according to schedule, ensuring equal load distribution and greater efficiency. In addition, built-in emergency features in the Liebert DM will automatically detect any failure, triggering an alarm for immediate action, thus ensuring sufficient cooling.

The Liebert DM is equipped with user-friendly controls for ease of use, including a 7-inch touchscreen colour display as well as real-time, graphical display of return air temperature and relative humidity. The Liebert DM also has built-in intelligent features for added protection, including a three-level password protection feature and email and SMS notification features for remote monitoring functions.

Hypertherm’s New Powermax SYNC air plasma systems now available in Asia and Oceania Hypertherm, a US-based manufacturer of industrial cutting systems and software, recently announced the availability of Powermax SYNC air plasma cutting and gouging systems in Asia and Oceania. Featuring built-in intelligence and single-piece cartridge consumables, Powermax SYNC is said to simplify system operation, streamline consumable inventory, lower operating costs, and maximise performance for customers in the shipbuilding, construction & machinery, structural steel and transportation industries.

Powermax SYNC and its SmartSYNC torch replaces the traditional five-piece consumable stack-up, with an easy-to-identify, single-piece cartridge consumable that is colour-coded by process to eliminate confusion and simplify consumable inventory management.

Technology embedded in each cartridge automatically sets the correct amperage, air pressure, and operating mode and displays a prompt when a new cartridge is needed. Additionally, controls on the SmartSYNC torch allow operators to adjust the amperage and change the cartridge without returning to the power supply.

The Hypertherm cartridge for Powermax systems is manufactured as a single piece to ensure that all parts are aligned and optimised for the best possible performance. As a result, the cartridge will last up to twice

38

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

as long and deliver cleaner cuts when compared with traditional consumables. It can even track data – such as start and arc-on time – to identify trends, enhance the efficiency of cutting processes and improve end-of-life detection.

The Powemax SYNC family.

Powermax SYNC cartridges.

PRODUCTS & SOLUTIONS

NEW IGUS CABLE GUIDE FOR FOR SCARA ROBOT

PREVENTS KINKING OF CABLES Scara robots are ideal for pick-and-place or assembly tasks in industry. However, these dynamics have a limited lifespan due to the corrugated hoses wearing out within a very short time. igus GmbH has now developed an alternative – the SCARA Cable Solution which significantly increases the service life.

SCARA robots work at a rapid pace. The horizontal, articulated-arm robots work fast over four axes. The inner and outer arms pivot horizontally. The component for gripping objects, the ball screw, moves rotationally and linearly.

SCARA Cable Solution extends service life Tested in the 3,800 m2 laboratory at igus in Cologne, Germany, the new energy supply system is already proving itself. In cooperation with the robot manufacturer, EPSON, the behaviour of the energy supply in extreme positions is tested on a SCARA robot. Up to 6 G act on the system in some movements. As a result, it has already withstood over three million cycles at rotations over 5,000°/min and it continues to run.

This allows the robot arm to reach almost any point in its working radius. This is fast and precise, but it means that the externally routed cables and hoses have to be replaced or serviced frequently due to the high loads.

This was also the case for a manufacturer in the automotive industry who wants to optimise its energy supply both the corrugated tube and the rotary bearing.

“Inspired by this challenge in the market, we looked at the weak points of the hoses and connectors and developed the SCARA Cable Solution in a two-year research and testing process”, explained Mr Matthias Meyer, Head of Business Unit ECS triflex & Robotics at igus GmbH. The new development is a customised cable guide that safely guides the energy from axis 1 to the ball screw and prevents the cables from kinking even in continuous operation.

Ball bearings and an additional spine The SCARA Cable Solution consists of three components – the rotary bearing for the moving end and for the fixed end, as well as the corrugated hose with the e-rib. The special feature lies in the new rotary connection which absorbs the torsional forces.

Here, integrated ball bearings ensure a smooth-running energy supply system that is resistant even to high accelerations. The corrugated hose is reinforced with an e-rib so that it can move only in one spatial direction. The guide elements on the sides give the hose unsupported length.

igus has developed the new SCARA Cable Solution especially for high dynamics on SCARA robots. It consists of ball-bearing mounted rotary connections and an e-rib to stabilise the corrugated hose. Image: igus GmbH.

ADVERTISERS’ INDEX IES Chartered Engineer ––––––––––––– Inside Front Cover IES Membership –––––––––––––––––– Inside Back Cover Toppan Leefung Pte Ltd –––––––––––––––––––– Page 01

Who’s Who In Engineering, ––––––– Outside Back Cover Singapore (3rd Edition)

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

39

IES UPDATE

IES MEMBERSHIP RELATIONS GROUP & YOUNG ENGINEERS COMMITTEE SEPTEMBER WEBINAR ROUND-UP Managing exposure to risk On 15 September, the Risk Exposure and Risk Management for Engineers webinar took place over Zoom. This is the first of two Thought Leadership webinars, organised by the IES Membership Relations Group, in collaboration with insurance brokerage firm Lockton Singapore.

Helmed by Group Chairman and IES Vice President Er. S Yogeeswaran, this objective of this series is to bring to members not just engineering knowledge, but also that from other fields that have applications for the work of engineers.

Sharing the Zoom spotlight with Er. Yogee were Mr Frederic Boles, the CEO, and Ms Deborah Thomasz, the Vice President of Specialties of Lockton Singapore.

Together, they spoke on a few topics, including the roles and challenges of engineers in the construction industry, the importance of professional indemnity for businesses, key exposures to cyber risks, and how to effectively implement responses to cybersecurity breaches.

This webinar was brought to life with real-life case studies and ended with an engaging Q&A., with participants providing positive feedback that they were more aware about different kinds of risks and how to manage them.

is also chairman of the IES Sustainable Manufacturing Technical Committee.

Prof Seeram began his presentation with an introduction to sustainability in Singapore’s context, such as the Singapore Green Plan 2030 for reducing carbon emissions, and the Zero Waste approach. This is part of our transition to a circular economy to keep products and materials in use and regenerate natural systems, so as to mitigate the impact of climate change.

He also called out the practice of greenwashing by companies, warning that it would have unintended and counter-productive outcomes if not properly assessed.

For example, cotton tote bags that replace plastic bags can quickly pile up to create even more waste.

Prof Seeram noted that although Singaporeans were highly aware of green issues, they lagged in acting on them. Our daily habits, such as seven hours of airconditioner use, can generate up to 5 kg of carbon dioxide emissions, while travelling by car emits 12 times more carbon dioxide than by train, he noted.

In addition, he discussed some details related to Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies like robotics, AI, and IoT. For example, fashion company Uniqlo developed a way to distress (fray) denim using lasers, instead of sandpaper. This resulted in labour and material savings, and improved the work environment.

The webinar was well-attended, with more than three-quarters of participants being young engineers who were keen to learn more about green topics and technologies that were relevant to their lives and careers.

“Sustainability is an important concept and baseline for development as climate change is worsening. We need to incorporate it into how we live, work and play,” said Mr Ivan Yip.

Engineering the future of sustainability What is sustainability in the Singapore context? What is greenwashing about? How can sustainability be integrated with technology in the Fourth Industrial Revolution? These were some of the topics that were addressed at the third Young Engineers Career Series webinar on 27 September, organised by the IES Young Engineers Committee.

Titled “Pathway to Engineering Future of Sustainability”, the webinar was helmed by Professor Seeram Ramakrishna, a widely-cited academic and thought leader in this field.

Apart from holding various senior academic roles, such as the University Vice-President (Research Strategy) and Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at NUS, Prof Seeram 40

THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER October 2021

LYED! W E N NCH LAU

WHO’S WHO

IN ENGINEERING, SINGAPORE (THIRD EDITION)

A prestige publication that showcases over 250 Singapore’s prominent engineers and their outstanding contributions in the respective industries.

*

each

(incl. GST) * While stocks last

SCAN THE QR CODE TO PURCHASE YOUR COPIES NOW!