Past AIST Committee Activities
Current Activities
The Sensor Systems Subcommittee of the Electrical Applications Technology Committee met on May 3, 2010, at AISTech in Pittsburgh, Pa. Carvel Hoffman opened the meeting as the Subcommittee chair and thanked everyone for participating in the meeting. Chris Burnett of Thermo Scientific volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed and agreed to. Formal minutes from the previous meeting on March 4 were not available, but were read from the raw notes taken by the minute taker at that meeting; no changes were made. The subcommittee elected their officers for the 2010–2011 term as: Chris Burnett, chair; Henryk Tomala from ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc., vice chair; and Rob Ricciatti from Kelk, papers chair. The Subcommittee mission statement was read and reviewed by all. No changes need to be made, so it will remain as follows: “To foster the awareness of sensor needs for the improvement of metals manufacturing processes or product quality, and the availability of existing and emerging sensor technologies that may meet such needs. To this end, the committee provides the forums for the AIST constituency to discover, understand, and evaluate the various sensors, instrumentation and measurement systems and their applications.” A couple of fall meeting locations and topics were discussed, including a “sensors day” at a mill site or a topic of “temperature measurements throughout the mill,” with the final decision to be made during a July conference call. The spring 2011 meeting will be co-located with the Process Systems Specialty Training Conference on Feb. 25, 2011, in Orlando, Fla.
The Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met on May 4, 2010, at AISTech in Pittsburgh, Pa. Kevin Bort of Steel Dynamics Inc. welcomed everyone to the meeting, and the attendees introduced themselves. Mr. Bort reminded everyone that the meeting would be conducted following the AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines. There was a review of the previous EATC meeting minutes, and they were approved as written. Ron Tessendorf of TM GE Automation reviewed the Process Systems Specialty Conference, which will be held in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 21–24, 2011, and will be co-located with the Cold Rolling Training Course. The committee elected Dave Magee of MagTech Solutions to be its chair. The EATC mission statement was reviewed and approved without changes as: “To advance the design, application, maintenance, and safety of electrical systems, by providing opportunities for publication, training, technology exchange, and networking.” Committee objectives were reviewed, it was decided, in addition to the Specialty Conference, there would be at least one meeting, several Webinars and a review of the previous conferences to see what could be developed into a standing or “canned” program. Jeff Mason of Avtron presented the Farrington Award to Ljubomir Kojovic, Martin T. Bishop and Dharam Sharma for their paper entitled, “New Fault Detection Technology for Electric Arc Furnace Electrical Systems.” Dave Magee presented the outgoing chair plaque to Kevin Bort for his outstanding service to the EATC as chair this past year. The fall 2010 meeting is tentatively scheduled for Sept. 21–22, 2010, in Columbia City, Ind. The meeting will include a tour of Steel Dynamics Inc.’s new medium section mill, second caster and rail welding facility. The EATC also held a Webinar on July 12, 2010.
The Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) had a conference call meeting on March 19, 2010. The committee chair, Kevin Bort of Steel Dynamics Inc., opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and thanking them for their time. Mr. Bort reviewed the AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines, and everyone agreed to abide by them. Dave Magee of MagTech Solutions agreed to take the meeting minutes. The minutes from the Jan. 21 WebEx meeting were reviewed and approved without correction. The AISTech 2010 EATC sessions were reviewed in detail, and the session chairs were advised of possible problems in the programming so they could take appropriate action. The EATC 2010 Farrington Award voting was reviewed. The AIST Farrington Award was established by the former AIST Electrical Engineering Operating Committee in 2005 to honor James Farrington, founder and first president of AISEE. The Farrington Award recognizes an exceptional technical paper in an EATC-sponsored technical session or specialty conference. The committee agreed to award the Farrington Award to Ljubomir Kojovic of Cooper Power Systems, Martin Bishop of Cooper Power Systems, and Dharam Sharma of Nucor-Yamato Steel Co. for their submission entitled, “New Fault Detection Technology for Electric Arc Furnace Electrical Systems.” The committee then discussed nominations for the EATC leadership positions for the coming year. The elections took place during the committee meeting at AISTech 2010 in May. The next EATC meeting will take place in the fall of 2010.
The Sensor Systems Subcommittee of the Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) had a meeting March 4, 2010, in Independence, Ohio. Chris Burnett of Thermo Fisher Scientific, vice chair of the committee, welcomed everyone to the meeting. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed and agreed to. Mr. Burnett also agreed to take the meeting minutes. The minutes from the Nov. 18–19, 2009, meeting in Baltimore, Md., were reviewed and approved as written. The status of the AISTech sensor session was reviewed, and Henryk Tomala of ArcelorMittal Dofasco Inc. was added as a session chair. The EATC 2011 Call for Abstracts text was reviewed and agreed to as: “Design, application and/or engineering of power quality and distribution; AC/DC motor/drive technology; HMI systems; open architectural systems and other networks; electrical maintenance and electrical safety applications; and electrical upgrades/retrofits. Application of sensors for process control; efficiency and cost-effective solutions; on-line and off-line shape and flatness measurement; mechanical properties testing; automated surface inspection; oil thickness measurement; surface cleanliness; soft sensors (i.e., modeling of a variable that cannot be measured directly); and other unique sensors that provide new and innovative uses to the primary and finishing sides of the steelmaking process.” The committee joined the Computer Applications Technology Committee for presentations by systems and automation specialists from ArcelorMittal Cleveland about the upgraded hot-dip galvanizing line and a subsequent tour of the facility. The Sensor Systems Subcommittee wishes to thank the mill personnel for their time and hospitality. The next meeting will be at AISTech on May 3, 2010.
The Sensor Systems Subcommittee of the Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met Nov. 18, 2009, in Towson, Md. The committee chair, Carvel Hoffman, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone, and he asked the attendees to introduce themselves. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed and agreed to. Christopher Burnett of Thermo Fisher Scientific volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The Sensor Systems Subcommittee currently has 34 members, and 10 attended this meeting. The previous meeting minutes were reviewed and approved as written. Three presentations around the theme of profile gauges were given: Mr. Burnett presented “Profile Gauging Overview,” Brian Smith of Siemens presented “Shape Control,” and Mr. Hoffman presented “Process Improvements Without Actuators.” Cal Keeney of Severstal Sparrows Point offered a number of ideas on how to get young steel professionals involved, including holding a meeting focused on “How the AIST Sensor Systems Subcommittee Can Help Your Operations” and arranging a bus to take mill personnel to the AISTech exhibition in Pittsburgh in May. The next Sensor Systems Subcommittee meeting is tentatively scheduled in conjunction with the AIST Hot Flat Rolling Fundamentals Seminar in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 21–25, 2010.
The Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met Oct. 14, 2009, in Merrillville, Ind. The committee chair, Kevin Bort of Steel Dynamics Inc. – Columbia City, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the meeting and asked all the attendees to introduce themselves. Steve Sontag of Reliacheck Mfg. volunteered to take the meeting minutes. Mr. Bort reviewed the AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines. The 2009 Steel Mill Fatality Report was reviewed. The EATC chose abstracts for AISTech 2010 and arranged them into sessions. Plans for the next Process Control Specialty Training Conference, which is preliminarily scheduled for February 2011, were then reviewed. The EATC then had a joint tour, with the Computer Applications Technology Committee, of Purdue Calumet’s Visualization Lab and ArcelorMittal Research and Development Center. The EATC thanks Professor Chenn Zhou for hosting the committee at Purdue Calumet and Mike Masleid of ArcelorMittal for hosting the committee at the R&D Center. The next EATC meeting is scheduled as a Webinar for Jan. 21, 2010.
The Sensors Subcommittee of the Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met on May 6 during AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo. Dan Cunningham of Consero opened the meeting and asked the attendees to introduce themselves with a brief description of what their company does. Members stated that the quality of papers was good, and the networking with fellow vendors and producers was good. Many members remarked that, while the attendance was down, the proportion of vendors to steel producers was significantly up. Chris Burnett of Thermo Fisher Scientific volunteered to take the meeting minutes. Mr. Cunningham reminded all EATC members to promote not only AIST, but also committee membership, even by inviting those in other metals production (aluminum, for example) to join AIST and this committee. The next Process Control Specialty Conference will be pushed to the spring of 2011, at which time the economy should be better and allow more people to attend the conference. The details of the conference are still to be worked out, but the suggestion was to hold it in Atlanta, which most travelers could reach in just one flight. The committee elected Carvel Hoffman of ArcelorMittal as chair, Mr. Burnett as vice chair and Robert Ricciatti of Kelk as papers chair. The Sensor Subcommittee mission statement was reviewed and approved without change. It reads, “To foster the awareness of sensor needs for the improvement of metals manufacturing processes or product quality, and the availability of existing and emerging sensor technologies that may meet such needs. To this end, the committee provides the forums for the AIST constituency to discover, understand, and evaluate the various sensors, instrumentation, and measurement systems and their applications.” Brian Smith of Siemens Energy and Automation offered to prepare a presentation on flatness measurement and control. After some discussion, it was decided that the length of the Webinar would be 45 minutes, where the presentation would last 30 minutes and allow for 15 minutes of questions. If additional questions were posed, those interested could stay on the line. If the subject could not be condensed to 30 minutes, it was suggested that the committee could host a series of these Webinars. The next Sensor Systems Subcommittee meeting would take place either before or after the Electrical Applications Technology Committee meeting, which is tentatively scheduled to take place at Purdue in the fall.
The Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met at AISTech 2009 in St. Louis, Mo., on Tuesday, May 5. Ron Tessendorf of TMEIC GE thanked everyone for attending and asked the attendees to introduce themselves. Dave Magee of MagTech Solutions volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The AIST Anti-Trust Guidelines were reviewed, and the past meeting minutes were approved without change. The attendance at the Process Controls Specialty Training Conference held in February 2009 was half to a third of the expected attendance due to the downturn in the economy. The EATC believes the content was very good and proposed having the conference again the third week of February 2011 in a city that is easily reached by most participants with only one flight. The EATC officers for 2009–2010 are: Kevin Bort of SDI as chair, Mr. Magee as vice chair, and Jeff Mason of Avtron Manufacturing as papers chair. The committee members reviewed the EATC mission statement and accepted the statement without change. The mission statement reads, “To advance the design, application, maintenance, and safety of electrical systems, by providing opportunities for publication, training, technology exchange, and networking.” Dave Woodward of Avtron Industrial Automation presented the Farrington Award to Michael A. DeCarli and Richard M. Baker of TM GE Automation Systems for their paper entitled, “Medium Voltage Drive Application at U. S. Steel – Lorain Tubular Operations No. 3 Seamless Mill.” A plaque was presented to Mr. Tessendorf to thank him for serving as chair of the EATC. The next meeting was a Webinar on July 21, 2009.
The Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met on Feb. 2, prior to the start of the Process Systems Specialty Training Conference (STC) in Jacksonville, Fla. Ron Tessendorf of TM GE Automation opened the meeting and thanked everyone for attending. After introductions and a review of the AIST Antitrust Guidelines, the Process Systems STC was discussed. The committee would like to have a similar conference in the fall of 2010, once the business climate improves. The EATC’s AISTech 2009 sessions were then discussed. The EATC will sponsor three sessions at AISTech 2009, with 16 technical presentations. The paper order and session chairs were reviewed and adjusted as needed. The session chairs were encouraged to contact the authors within their sessions and discuss with them their responsibilities and upcoming deadlines for participation. Nominations for EATC officers were discussed. The general consensus is for the position of committee chair to alternate between a producer and a supplier. The EATC topic for the AISTech 2010 Call for Papers was reviewed and updated to include topics for the Sensor Systems Subcommittee. The EATC plans to present the Farrington Award (for best paper presented at an EATC session) during the next EATC meeting, which will take place at AISTech 2009 on May 5.
The Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) met at AIST headquarters in Warrendale, Pa., on Oct. 30, 2008. Committee chair Ron Tessendorf, of TM GE Automation, welcomed everyone to the meeting and asked each person to introduce themselves. Brian Crumpler of Converteam volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The status of the Process Systems Specialty Training Conference, being presented Feb. 2–5, 2009, in Jacksonville, Fla., was discussed. All the presenters have been invited. The brochure was distributed to the attendees. The EATC then selected the abstracts for AISTech 2009, organized them into sessions with titles, and assigned session chairs. The Sensors Subcommittee also selected and organized papers into a session. The Farrington Award, which is for the best paper presented at the last conference, was then discussed. It was decided that AIST would send the nominations to the entire committee for judging. AIST will receive the rankings and reveal the winners to the EATC during their next meeting. The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 2 in conjuction with the Process Systems Specialty Training Conference.
The Sensors and Instrumentation Operating Committee (SIOC) met at AISTech 2008 on May 7. The committee chair, Dan Cunningham of Consero Inc., welcomed everyone and thanked them for attending. Steve Sontag of Reliacheck Manufacturing Inc. volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The committee discussed the AISI/AIST committee integration. The new name for the SIOC will be Sensor Systems, and it will be a subcommittee of the Electrical Applications Technology Committee. The election of officers took place, with Mr. Cunningham being elected as chair, Carvel Hoffman of ArcelorMittal as vice chair, and Jeff Webster of the Timken Co. as papers chair. The current mission statement was approved without change: “To foster the awareness of sensor needs for the improvement of metals manufacturing processes or product quality, and the availability of existing and emerging sensor technologies that may meet such needs. To this end, the committee provides the forums for the AIST constituency to discover, understand, and evaluate the various sensors, instrumentation, and measurement systems and their applications.” It was agreed that various Sensor Systems committee members would attend the other Technology Committee meetings, and begin interaction with them about common interests. The general consensus of the group was that this task was very important. Mr. Sontag and Florian Kongoli of FLOGEN Technologies Inc. presented Mr. Cunningham with a plaque for his service as the chair of the SIOC for 2007–2008. The next meeting is tentatively scheduled for October. Visit www.aist.org for current information.
The Electrical Engineering Operating Committee (EEOC) met during AISTech 2008 on May 6. The committee chair, Elizabeth Shaw of ArcelorMittal Dofasco, welcomed everyone to the meeting and thanked them for their time and participation. Cal Keeney of SeverStal Sparrows Point volunteered to take the meeting minutes. The committee discussed the AISI/AIST committee integration. The EEOC was renamed the Electrical Applications Technology Committee (EATC) and is included in Technology Division VII: Energy and Control. The roster for the EEOC included 28 members, but the addition of the Sensor Systems Subcommittee brought the total roster for the new EATC to 79. The 2008 Farrington Award, which is awarded by the EEOC for the best technical paper presented during an EEOC-sponsored event, was presented to Dharam Sharma of Nucor-Yamato Steel Co., Ljubomir Kojovic of Cooper Power Systems, Chris Birkbeck of Nucor Steel–Indiana and Martin Bishop of Cooper Power Systems for their paper entitled, “Innovative Solutions for Differential Protection of Electric Arc Furnace Transformers.” The 2009 Process Control Specialty Conference is scheduled for February 2009 in Jacksonville, Fla. Spearheading this effort is Ron Tessendorf of TM GE Automation Systems, and he presented an outline for a two-and-a-half-day conference. Later, at one of the AISTech 2008 sessions, Mr. Tessendorf reviewed the outline and received comments from the audience. He summarized the results and incorporated them into a revised conference outline. The election of officers took place, with Mr. Tessendorf being elected as chair, Kevin Bort of Steel Dynamics Inc. as vice chair, and David Woodward of Avtron Manufacturing Inc. as papers chair. The mission statement was reviewed and remains without changes: “To advance the design, application, maintenance, and safety of electrical systems, by providing opportunities for publication, training, technology exchange, and networking.” Mr. Tessendorf presented a plaque to Mrs. Shaw on behalf of the committee for her exceptional service and dedication as committee chair for 2007–2008. Visit www.aist.org for further details.
