HoT Site
To achieve the LNG Center of Excellence’s vision of “developing a well-informed LNG workforce utilizing modern technology and safe practices through formal and informal education, training, and research,” an outdoor Hands-on-Training (HoT) site is actively being designed through a collaboration with LNG companies, GTI Energy, Polaris Engineering (a Southwest Louisiana EPC), and the McNeese State University Engineering and Computer Science Department.
The HoT site will be located on a one third acre plot outside of the LNG Center of Excellence.
The initial design includes three main units:
Refrigeration Trainer
Amine Training Unit
Gas Dehydration Unit
For safety reasons, the training units will utilize propane instead of natural gas. These units will be controlled by a DCS and will be extensively equipped with modern technology, enabling meaningful education, training, and research.
Once these units are built, industry personnel and McNeese State University engineering students would be able to perform the following tasks/training (still under consideration and development):
Thermodynamic and Process Design
- Cycle Analysis: Engineering to calculate compressor work, expansion work, condenser/evaporator heat duties, and coefficient of performance (COP) for both closed and open loops.
- Heat Exchanger Design: Study log mean temperature difference (LMTD), pressure drops, and HX sizing trade-offs between efficiency vs cost.
- Expansion Technology Comparison: Evaluate the Joule–Thomson valve vs expander performance — energy recovery, Δh effects, and vapor–liquid separation efficiency.
- Multi-Pressure System Behavior: Model the “High/Medium/Low Pressure” cascade — observe how pressure balance and interstage cooling influence liquefaction yield.
Process Control & Automation
- Control Loop Design: Design PID loops for suction pressure, discharge temperature, and evaporator level; identify tuning constants and loop interactions.
- Safety Instrumented System (SIS) logic: Build cause-and-effect diagrams for compressor trips, high-high alarms, and ESD activation (using the safety concepts discussed earlier).
- Dynamic Simulation: Model transient responses during startup/shutdown to teach control valve sizing and anti-surge logic principles.
Energy & System Integration
- Energy Balance / Pinch Analysis: Quantify how duty shifts between the R134a closed loop and the open hydrocarbon loop affect COP and energy intensity.
- Design Optimization: Introduce “what-if” studies — different refrigerants, expander sizes, or additional stages — to teach optimization and design margining.
Participants will also be able to perform all the related cross-functional roles in support of engineered solutions such as:
| Theme | Application |
|---|---|
| HAZID / HAZOP | Participants jointly identify hazards on the PFD and propose safeguards |
| Management of Change | Simulate design modification (e.g., swapping refrigerant type) and update documentation |
| Root Cause Analysis (RCA) | Induce a fault (blocked exchanger, faulty PT) and run a structured RCA |
| Performance Benchmarking | Compare theoretical vs measured COP under different load conditions |
| Competency Verification | Trainees completes a startup, fault diagnosis, and s shutdown cycle observed by instructor |