Chemical Engineering
 

Undergraduate
Facilities

The Department is fortunate in having outstanding facilities. The chemical engineering building, Benson Hall, contains classrooms, offices, stockrooms, well-staffed machine and electronics shops, and laboratories. Students also may use the services of the glass-blowing shop in neighboring Bagley Hall and the Chemistry Library in addition to other libraries on campus.

Jump to Links : Go to link Undergraduate Computer Facilities
Go to link Undergraduate Laboratories
Go to link Departmental Facilities
Go to link Other Facilities
Go to link Keys, Building Permits and Lockers


Undergraduate Computer Facilities
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Computer facilities are excellent. Benson Hall's computer facilities include a network of 24 Pentium III machines running Windows NT -- located in a keyed room for the exclusive use of chemical engineering students. Ten of these machines have hardware for computer data acquisition (to collect experimental data and support experiments on process automation). All have fast connections to the Internet and to larger UW computers.


Undergraduate Laboratories
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Unit Operations Laboratory (CHEM E 436 and 437)

The Unit Operations (UO) laboratory is located in Benson B35, a room with 2,665 sq. ft. of space. This laboratory holds a variety of experiments designed to give undergraduate students the experience of using real chemical process equipment and to deepen their understanding of chemical engineering fundamentals of fluid flow, heat transfer, separation processes, and reactor behavior. In many cases, computers are used to acquire experimental data. The experiments include:

(For CHEM E 436 students)
 
  1. student-built and student-tested devices to measure mass diffusivity, viscosity, and thermal conductivity;
  2. heated rods to observe fin temperature profiles under heat conduction and convection;
  3. tanks and pumps to assess common fluid transfer operations;
  4. an air flow loop for measurement of flow rates and velocity profiles;
  5. a water flow loop to assess friction and drag in piping systems;
  6. a water flow system to evaluate orifice coefficients and pressure losses; and
  7. a high-vacuum system for study of molecular flow through various fittings;
(For CHEM E 437 students)
 
  1. packed towers to measure flow characteristics, separation efficiency, and humidification;
  2. heat transfer loops to measure heat duties, overall heat transfer coefficients, and fouling;
  3. distillation unit to measure separations under batch conditions;
  4. continuous distillation unit with four types of contacting methods (trays) to illustrate staged operations;
  5. liquid-liquid extraction unit with reciprocating plates to illustrate liquid separations;
  6. catalytic reactor to illustrate rapid, continuous reactions typical of automotive exhaust emission control (based on automotive catalyst); and
  7. gas-liquid absorption column to study recovery of carbon dioxide from a gas mixture.

Surface and Colloid Science Laboratory (CHEM E 455)
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The Surface and Colloid Science Laboratory, located in Benson 123, introduces students to the fundamentals of surface and colloid science as well as to a variety of up-to-date experimental techniques used by both research scientists in this area and in industrial laboratories for quality control, pollution monitoring, etc. The laboratory experiments (20 in all) are divided into four categories: (1) measurement of surface/interfacial tension; (2) adsorption, wetting, spreading and wicking; (3) properties of colloids and dispersions; and (4) interfacial hydrodynamics.

Electrochemical Engineering Laboratory (CHEM E 461)
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The Electrochemical Engineering Laboratory, located in Benson 215, provides students a foundation in electrochemical science and engineering. The laboratory includes experiments that probe the fundamental aspects of electrochemical equilibrium, electrode kinetics, and mass transfer phenomena. Two additional experiments, allow the students to study a variety of electrochemical technologies, including electrochromic materials, rechargeable battery technology, alloy electrodeposition, and environmentally benign cation separations.

Process Dynamics and Control Laboratory (CHEM E 480)
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The Process Dynamics and Control Laboratory is part of the required course in process control (CHEM E 480). The laboratory, located in Benson 125, gives students hands-on experience with modern process control strategies. There are eight laboratory stations, each equipped with a small liquid transport process that is interfaced to a PC. Students attend a weekly three-hour lab session in which they: (1) take data and identify dynamic models of the lab process; (2) design feedback controllers for it; (3) measure its frequency response; (4) integrate feedforward and feedback control; (5) implement cascade control; and (6) apply decoupling and model-based control.


Libraries
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Departmental Facilities
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  • Machine Shop
    • Mill
    • Lathe
    • TIG-Arc Welder
    • Tool Cutter
    • Sand Blaster
    • Design Services
  • Electronics Shop
    • Electronic Repair and Maintenance
    • Assistance with Electronics Purchases
  • Computer Shop
    • Network Support
    • Computer Support and Repair
    • Backup Support
    • Assistance with Computer Purchases
    • Audio/Visual Checkout
  • Business Office
    • Administration and Payroll
    • Purchase Orders
    • Keys and Building Permits
    • Account Tracking
  • Main Office
    • Assistant to Chair
    • Academic Counselor
    • Grant Proposal and Classroom Support
    • Reception and Development Support
  • Computer Lab (24 PIII machines)
  • Darkroom (user run and supplied)
  • Undergraduate Student Lounge
  • Graduate Student Lounge
  • Conference Room
  • Cold Storage Room
  • Flammables Storage Room
  • Shower Room


Other Facilities
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  • Chemistry Shop
    • Glass-blowing
    • Instrument Fabrication
  • Physics Shop
    • Instrument Fabrication
  • Applied Physics Shop
    • Instrument Fabrication
    • CNC Facilities


Keys, Building Permits, Lockers
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Upon acceptance into the Department of Chemical Engineering, graduate students will be issued keys to their appropriate laboratories and offices in addition to the building key. These keys can be picked up in the Business Office (Benson 105) at which time, a $50 deposit will be required. Upon departure from the Department, the deposit will be fully refunded after the keys are returned. A building permit also will be issued, allowing for the use of Departmental facilities during hours the building is closed.

Lockers are available upon request to both graduate and undergraduate students, and are located on the first, second, and third floors of Benson Hall. Lockers in the shower room in the basement (room B8B) are only available to the faculty, staff, and graduate students in the Department.