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News Articles
Dr. S. Kosugi Passed
Away on October 14 th, 2004
Dr.
Sanai Kosugi, a world renowned expert in freight pipeline, passed away
in Tokyo on October 14, 2004, due to cancer.
Dr.
Kosugi, the General Manager of the Pipeline Department of the Sumitomo
Metal Industries, Ltd., was instrumental in bringing the new technology
of pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP) for use to transport freight in
Japan. He designed and supervised the construction of several PCPs in Japan for transporting
different materials: minerals, solid waste and construction material.
The one in the town of Kuzuu, Japan, constructed in 1980 and still being
used today to transport 2 million tons of limestone each year from a
mine to a cement plant over a distance of 3.2 km, is especially
significant because it demonstrated the first successful and economic
use of the modern PCP technology. For his contribution to the technology of PCP, Dr. Kosugi received the
“Distinguished Lecture Award” of the International Freight Pipeline
Society (IFPS) in 1992, and the “Land Development Award of Japan Institute of Construction
Engineering in 2003. His Distinguished Lecture, entitled “A Capsule Pipeline System for
Limestone Transportation,” was presented at the 7th
International Symposium on Freight Pipelines, which took place in
Woloongong, Australia, 1992. Japan’s success in using PCPs, made
possible through Dr. Kosugi’s contribution, is described in a new book
“PIPELINE ENGINEERING”, published by the CRC Press in 2003.
According
to Dr. Henry Liu, an expert in PCP and the President of Freight Pipeline
Company in Missouri, U.S.A., “Dr. Kosugi has made enormous
contribution to the field of capsule pipeline. Japan and the world have lost a giant in freight pipeline and in
engineering.”
The
successful use of PCP in Japan led by Dr. Kosugi has laid the foundation
for expanded future use of this new technology for freight transport not
only in Japan but also around the world. For instance, under the
sponsorship of the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA), a study was completed in August 2004, which showed
that the same PCP technology used in Japan, with minor modifications,
can be used economically in New York City for underground transportation
of freight carried on pallets or in boxes, crates, and containers. Such
future use of PCP in large cities including New York City and Tokyo will
reduce their reliance on trucks for transportation, thereby reducing
traffic congestion and air pollution caused by trucks. Dr. Kosugi was a
key consultant for this study.
Dr.
Yutaka Tsuji, Professor of the Osaka University and the President of the
International Freight Pipeline Society (IFPS), said the following about
Dr. Kosugi’s death: “All of
his friends are shocked and saddened, but we should succeed to continue
his great achievement in freight pipelines.” Dr. Masatoshi
Tomabechi, the former boss of Dr. Kosugi at Sumitomo Metal Industries,
said of Dr. Kosugi’s death: “He was a sincere and honest person, and
an excellent research engineer dealing with pioneering research. He
pursued the PCP technology for industrial use as his life-time endeavor,
and has left us with ever-lasting achievements.”
Dr. Kosugi received his
Master Degree from the Department of Applied Mathmatics and Physics,
Kyoto University, in 1971. In 1985, he received his Doctor of
Engineering Degree from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Osaka
University. The title of his doctoral dissertation is “Fundamental
Study of System Design of Pneumatic Capsule Pipeline Transportation.”He first joined Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. in 1971.
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News Release on Henry Liu, June 1, 2003
1. New York City Underground Freight
Transportation Feasibility Study Completed
An
engineering study to determine the technical and economic feasibility of
using large-diameter pipelines (conduits or tunnels in some cases) for
underground transportation of freight in New York City (NYC) has been
completed and submitted to New York City and State for review. Six
different applications were examined, including: (1) using a
l-meter-by-1-meter square conduit to transport construction materials in
and out tunnels during tunnel construction, (2) using a 1-meter-diameter
steel pipe to transport the solid waste of NYC from the existing waste
transfer stations to a remote location in another state for processing,
recycling and landfill, (3) using a 1-meter-diameter steel pipe with
multiple inlets/outlets to transport mail and parcels between NYC and
Washington, D.C., and serving areas along this corridor, (4) using a
network of underground tunnels of 7-foot diameter to ship goods on
pallets or in boxes, bags or crates, (5) using both large underground
tunnels and large buried conduits connected in series to dispatch
containers away from harbors for safe inspection and intermodal
transport in a remote location, and (6) using a large underground
conduit in the Hunts Point peninsula to shuffle trucks between the Food
Center and freeways. In all the cases, the pipeline, conduit or tunnel
used are parallel twin lines so that the capsules, which are
freight-laden wheeled vehicles without engines and drivers, can move in
both directions and circulated through the system.
The
study, co-funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development
Authority (NYSERDA), reported that all the six aforementioned
applications are technically feasible by using current technologies, and
beneficial to the City through reduction of air pollution and congestion
caused by trucks. Implementation of any such system in NYC will also
create jobs and enhance economic development. Furthermore, five of the
six applications were found to be cost effective as compared to using
existing freight transportation modes in NYC – mainly trucks. At
present, over 97% of freight in NYC is transported by trucks.
The
main technology chosen for underground freight transport in this project
is pneumatic capsule pipeline (PCP), which is a new technology evolved
from the century-old technology of “tube transport”, also called
“pneumatic tubes,” familiar to many NYC residents. Unlike “tube
transport,” which uses small-bore pipes less than 1 foot in diameter
and capsules (carriers) without wheels, the modern PCPs use large pipes
of 3-foot diameter or greater and wheeled capsules, each of which carry
more than one ton of cargo. Japan has used PCP successfully in the last
20 years in several applications ranging from transporting minerals and
solid wastes to tunnel construction. However, the PCP systems considered
in this project for possible use in NYC are larger, longer, and more
advanced than the Japanese systems. While some of the applications
considered by this project use PCPs driven pneumatically by blowers
(fans), the most sophisticated systems use linear induction motor (LIM)
for propulsion. LIM is currently being used commercially in a number of
applications including roller-coasters and magnetically levitated
trains.
This
project was conducted by Dr. Henry Liu of Freight Pipeline Company. Dr.
Liu is a former professor and the director of a National Science
Foundation (NSF) sponsored research center – the Capsule Pipeline
Research Center (CPRC) at University of Missouri-Columbia. The new PCP
technology considered for use in this project is a result of 8 years of
R & D by Dr. Liu and his colleagues under NSF sponsorship. A current
project directed by Liu to design a special advanced PCP system for
mining use is being sponsored by the National Energy Technology
Laboratory of the U. S. Department of Energy.
For
more information about the project, contact the following sources:
- Media information:
Ray Hull, NYSERDA; phone: 518-862-1090, ext 3356.
- Technical information:
Henry Liu, Freight Pipeline Company; phone: 573-442-0080.
- www.freightpipelinecompany.com.
(A copy of the Final Report of this New York City project, as
approved by NYSERDA, can be downloaded without cost from the
“Company Publications” section of this website.)
2. Henry Liu Publishes a Book: PIPELINE ENGINEERING
Dr. Henry Liu, a past President of IFPS and the former Director of Capsule Pipeline Research
Center (CPRC), University of Missouri-Columbia (MU), just published a book entitled PIPELINE ENGINEERING.
The book was published by the CRC Press in Florida, USA, in May 2003. The book was written as a college
textbook for students interested in understanding the principles, analysis, planning, design, construction,
operation and maintenance of various types of pipelines used in industry, covering not only the pipelines to
transport liquids and gases, but also non-Newtonian fluids, slurry pipelines, pneumatic conveying of solids,
and capsule pipelines. The book also gives extensive coverage of pumps, turbines, compressors, pipe materials,
valves, pressure regulators, pipeline pigs, instrumentation, corrosion prevention, and trenchless technologies
for pipeline construction and renovation. For further information, visit the CRC Press website
at www.crcpress.com. To find the book within the CRC website,
type in the book title "Pipeline Engineering"
in the "Search" space and click.
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2006 IFPS Election Results
President:
Haim Kalman
Vice-President:
Pavel Vlasak
Directors:
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5th International Conference for Conveying and
Handling of Particulate Solids
Visit http://www.ortra.com/solids/
for more information.
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MU RESEARCHER ADVOCATES USE OF FREIGHT
PIPELINES FOR URBAN DEVELOPMENT WORLDWIDE
by Jason L. Jenkins
According to the United Nations Center for Human Settlements,
the majority of the world's population will live in urban areas by 2005.
As a result, the need to develop cities where people can live and work
without excessive pollution, traffic congestion, accidents and noise
is of great concern. Although many steps are necessary, one University
of Missouri-Columbia researcher says that freight pipelines can solve
many of these problems.
For more than 15 years, Thomas Marrero, a professor of chemical engineering
and current president of the International Freight Pipeline Society,
has worked to develop freight pipeline systems. Though similar in appearance
to oil or gas pipelines, freight pipelines transport solids over a wide
range of distances. Since the early 1900s, these pipelines have been
used on a limited basis and in small-scale fashion, the most apparent
example being the pneumatic systems used at bank drive-up windows.
"In general, pipelines have not been considered as a transportation
alternative because there's no need for an alternative when you're up
against established, economical technology," Marrero said. "An
alternative has to be economically or environmentally desirable, and
unless the air gets so bad you can't breathe it, you're not going to
change your fuel or your vehicle."
This is changing, however. Earlier this spring, Marrero and a group
of American researchers took part in a U.N. conference in Tunis, Tunisia,
that focused on the sustainable development of Islamic capitals and
cities. As urbanization increases, demands on city housing and transportation
systems will increase. The Organization of Islamic Capitals and Cities
wishes to develop infrastructures that will accommodate the growth in
population, and one of the options under consideration is freight pipelines.
"In urban settings, freight pipelines could be used to transport
goods, grain, minerals, waste and even people," Marrero said. "Overall,
pipelines are cheaper, cleaner, faster and safer."
Marrero explained that freight pipelines are more cost effective than
traditional technologies when comparing total system costs. He cites
the following as benefits of using freight pipeline technology.
Cost - In most cases, the cost of constructing the pipeline is the
responsibility of the user and not the taxpayer, as is the case with
highways.
Cleanliness - Because pipelines rely on electricity for energy, they
produce fewer emissions and by-products, which significantly reduces
air and noise pollution.
Speed - Most pipeline systems are fully automated or semi-automated,
which allows for their non-stop use. This also allows them to run more
cost-efficiently than other traditional methods that are not automated.
Safety - Because pipelines are placed underground, accidents that occur
with traditional methods such as truck and railroad transportation are
non-existent.
Marrero said that freight pipeline technology is not limited to developing
urban centers and that systems could be constructed along highway right-of-ways
in any area. "The U.S. Postal Service has considered constructing
a pipeline between New York City and Washington, D.C., to move mail,"
he said. "Although administrators in Kansas City and St. Louis
haven't discussed it much, this technology could be implemented anywhere."
"As environmental and safety concerns continue to increase, freight
pipeline technology will become more and more attractive to urban centers
worldwide," Marrero said. "I believe we could see this technology
being used in widespread fashion within 10 years."
Research in pipeline technology is ongoing at the MU Capsule Pipeline
Research Center. Since 1991, the CPRC's staff has worked on pipeline
systems for the transport of a number of materials, including coal.
This spring, a $1.5 million coal log pipeline pilot plant, co-invented
by Marrero, is in its final stages of construction. When completed,
the 3,000-foot pipeline will be used to develop coal transportation
from mines directly to power plants.
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Single Line Reversing System Capsule
Pneumatic Freight Pipelines
Brink Weaver presented a detailed description of a unique
system, "Single Line Reversing System Capsule Pneumatic Freight Pipelines",
which is suitable for coal transportation. Contact Brink for more
details.
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