Valiant sponsors five OSU students for Engineering senior capstone projects in spring of 2018
Each Spring, senior Engineering students at Oklahoma State University embark on a capstone project where they are challenged to work outside their curriculum and apply their skills in a real-world scenario. This semester, Valiant Artificial Lift Solutions volunteered as a sponsor for the OSU capstone projects, asking the students to design a motor support frame for a horizontal pump system. In addition to satisfying certain manufacturing and safety requirements, the frame needed to be capable of supporting the weight of a 2,500-horsepower motor as well as handling the torque from the motor without any vibrational issues or mechanical failure.
According to the students, the opportunity to design a tangible product and gain experience in a professional environment made Valiant’s proposal an ideal candidate for their capstone projects. “It was really interesting applying my knowledge to something I’ve never seen before (an HPS motor support frame). Also, it was a great way to utilize the knowledge I gained from school as well as apply things I learned outside of class,” said Andrew Nguyen, one of the students on the Pistol Pete Team.
Team Pistol Pete in the first photo, from left to right: Bill Haffey (Valiant), Andrew Nguyen, Gareth C. Ford (Valiant), Patrick McKenzie, Mike Card (Valiant). Team Cowboys in the second photo, from left to right: Bill Haffey (Valiant), Jake Coppick, Gareth C. Ford (Valiant), Ali Alqazwini, Stefan Kraycik, Mike Card (Valiant).
The two teams, Pistol Pete and the Cowboys, worked directly with Mike Card, Vice President of Engineering, and Bill Haffey, Product Engineer, throughout the semester to develop and refine their designs. “Valiant was very good about responding quickly and answering all of our questions in detail,” said Stefan Kraycik from the Cowboys team.
In fact, some of the students’ questions spurred discussion among Valiant’s team. According to Bill Haffey, “There were times when the students would ask us something, and we’d actually need to do a bit of research to find them an answer. This pushed us to challenge ourselves by looking at old problems from a new perspective.”
By the end of the day, the students’ hard work had paid off. Not only had they successfully developed and presented designs which impressed even the most senior members of Valiant staff, but they also helped advance the engineering work for a real Valiant product, an accomplishment that they can take with them as they develop their careers.
“To be honest, everything, even the difficult parts, were enjoyable. When we encountered problems we couldn’t solve, it forced us to be creative and work around it,” added Ali Alqazwini from the Cowboys team.
Gareth C. Ford, Valiant’s President, Founder and CEO, applauded the students for their work and congratulated them on their upcoming graduation. “It’s clear that the students put a lot of work into their final designs. It’s not easy to come here and present to professionals in their area of expertise, but they did it commendably.”
Through this experience, the students were able to collaborate with engineering experts and apply their skills in a professional environment, helping them prepare for careers after graduation. Valiant plans to continue involvement with programs like this in the future to provide unique learning opportunities for students while increasing their exposure to career paths in the oil and gas industry.
Horizontal Pumping Solutions Designed To Meet Your Needs
We pride ourselves on our ability to provide high-performance systems that are tailored to your specifications. If you need reliable surface pumps, Valiant’s horizontal pump systems are designed with versatile configurations and abrasion-resistant metallurgies to ensure peak performance despite the presence of scale and abrasives. To learn more about how we can help you reduce downtime and improve efficiency for your high-pressure fluid movement applications, visit our horizontal pumping page.