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THE BIAPWS AWARD FOR UNDERGRADUATES
The British and Irish Association for the Properties of Water and Steam introduced the BIAPWS Award in 2002 and first awarded it in 2003. The BIAPWS Award is currently established as a co-sponsorship between BIAPWS and one of the BIAPWS industrial members. This will support a 10 week summer vacation, salaried placement for an undergraduate in an establishment working in areas related to the properties of water and steam in industrial applications. Typically, this will be in areas related to the power generation industry and could cover topics such as: the chemistry/ corrosion protection of steam and water systems; steam turbine design and performance; steam boiler engineering.
To register interest in an application for a sponsored placement contact us
by e-mail using this address 
The 2008 Award is a proposed co-sponsorship with E.ON Engineering (UK), at Ratcliffe-on-Soar Technology Centre, in the area of combustion technologies. A suitable candidate has been identified for the 2008 Award. Details of the 2009 Award will be posted on this site in the autumn of 2008.
The reports prepared by the 2006 and 2007 Award Students are provided here to demonstrate the type of industrial experience that the Award can offer to undergraduates.
BIAPWS Award Summer Intern 2007 Report by Rochelle Green 3rd Year Chemical Engineering Undergraduate Imperial College London
BIAPWS CHAIRMAN, Andy Rudge congratulates Rochelle Green, the 2007 award winner when she gave her presentation at the BIAPWS Symposium in Nottingham in April 2008.
In summer 2007, I was given the opportunity to participate in a 12-week BIAPWS Award research project with Thames Power Services at Barking Power Station in Dagenham, Essex. Through this project I was able to gain valuable experience of working on a 'real-world' problem within the power industry, an industry which previously I had limited knowledge of. My time at Barking enabled me to learn a significant amount about the systems, processes and environmental considerations involved in power generation. It also allowed me to appreciate the importance of water and steam system chemistry control in enabling these plants to operate successfully. Following its completion I am now pursuing a career within the power industry. I would thoroughly recommend the BIAPWS Award to any undergraduate student doing a science or engineering degree and seeking industrial experience.
THE PROJECT
Barking Power Station is a combined cycle power station. Corrosion control issues had previously been experienced within Barking Power Station's closed circuit cooling water systems. These systems are used to supply cooling water to the power station's auxiliary equipment. Past application of chemical biocides to the system had subsequently led to serious corrosion related problems within the system coolers. I was asked to investigate the past issues involving corrosion and fouling in the closed circuit cooling water systems and look at possible methods of preventing their reoccurrence.
Through extensive research on the system, operation methods, corrosion and prevention techniques I was able to carry out an analysis of the corrosion problems and issues experienced. I was also able to make feasible recommendations for the station's existing system and propose design improvements for a future development. I compiled a project report and presented my findings and recommendation to the station managers, engineers and chemists. I also made a second presentation to the BIAPWS committee.
MY EXPERIENCE
The scale and complexity of power generation systems was initially quite daunting. However, I benefited from close supervision and also support from my colleagues. Their knowledge and guidance allowed me to gain better understanding of the system processes and to rapidly obtain the resources I required to complete the project.
I consider this project an achievement from which I have benefited a great deal. Not only did I gain confidence in my ability to apply the analytical skills gained on my course to a real problem but I also managed to substantially improve my technical communication and presentation skills. I feel this project has opened a window for me into career opportunities within the power generation industry.
Report on the BIAPWS Ten Week Student Summer Placement - 2006.
During the ten week summer vacation placement I was based within the central
engineering and technical department of a major UK power generation company.
I worked alongside two established power plant chemistry specialists, with one
acting as my mentor by assisting me throughout the placement.
My principle task whilst on placement was to write a report reviewing water and
steam cycle chemistry within possible new build nuclear power plants. This
involved a literature search using both the internet and in house library
resources. I started the report with almost no knowledge of the nuclear power
plant designs in question and no detailed knowledge of how water chemistry is
used within power plant cooling systems. Initially, this made the report very
challenging. However, I quickly gained a further understanding of water
treatment technology, the basic nuclear power plant system designs and how
fossil power plant chemistry compares with nuclear power plant chemistry.
I also carried out several other tasks, including:
- Technology tracking of recent fossil fuel power plant water chemistry advances.
- Analysis of online chemistry data from a variety of coal and gas fired plants. This analysis comprised of obtaining an overview of the plant water chemistry cycle, downloading the data from the logging system, creating graphs and tables to represent the pertinent information in an easy to see form and generating a report to summarise my findings.
- Scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis of turbine blade deposits.
I found the nuclear review particularly enjoyable, as it was previously an area
that I was unfamiliar with. The research I carried out not only gave me a
better understanding of the nuclear power industry, but it also helped me to
put the fossil power plant water chemistry, learnt elsewhere, into a better
perspective.
The skills that I have learnt whilst in my placement will definitely benefit me
in the future. I feel that there has been a significant improvement in my
report writing ability and I have increased my knowledge of Excel and its use
in data manipulation. Both of these skills will hopefully be beneficial both
during my final year project at university, as well as further on into my
career. During my placement, I have realised that the role of chemistry within
many industries is significantly more extensive than I previously thought.
This has led to me considering a career within industries that I previously
thought lacked opportunities for chemists.
I would like to thank both the sponsoring company and BIAPWS for the opportunity
that I have been given. I feel that the experience it has given me will serve
me well in the future and may possibly lead to me pursuing a career within
the industry.
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