ASME HK NEWS

The Official Newsletter Published by the ASME HK Section June 2003

Hong Kong PolyU ME Students’ “ Moving on Up ”

First Place Winner in the 11th International Student Design Contest 2003

Major Event

In this issue
2
Message
from the Section
Chair
3
Secretary
Column

4 With full optimism and confidence before

the competition, a HKPolyU student team
News from Liaison
( Wong Kar Ho, Chan Wang Hay, Cheung Hoi
Sub-Committee
Yan, Cheung Ching ) and Ir K K LO, Faculty

Focus Adviser, made another success in the student

design contest. Prof M C So, Head of ME
6
Dept., was the champion of the project
Articles
entitled “Moving on Up”. It won the first K won the second place in Region XIII. The
Members’
place in the international contest. The team project was named “Baseball Frenzy”. The
Column
outperformed the previous first place team event took place at New Orleans November
8
from the Indian Institute of Technology. Photo 2002. Student members were Wu Ka Ho,
Year Plan of
(Top) : Ir C W TSO making an informal Cheng Man Kit, Li Man Fai and Cheung Chin
Industrial
evaluation of the setup while K K looked on. Fai (Photo with Ir K K Lo). The machine is
Committee
Last year, another team of undergraduate required to toss 30 balls into three target holes
Photo students in Mechanical Engineering led by K in less than two minutes. ¶ SN
Collection Disclaimer: neither the ASME International or its Section office bearers shall be held liable to any responsibility
whatsoever arising from the use or misuse of the information contained in this publication. June 2003.

©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
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 Message from the Section Chair

Ir C W TSO
I am very honoured and delighted to be elected as the Chair of ASME
International Hong Kong Section for the session 2003/2004 at the AGM held on 14
March 2003. Year 2002/2003 was an exciting one and indeed a great success in both
quantity and quality. I believe that it was a result of your unfailing support and active
participation in activities, the resourcefulness and hard work of our past Executive
Committee and most importantly the unquestionable dedication and visionary
leadership of our Past Chair Dr Chris Chao. Chris has set a very impressive track record on all fronts that I
certainly find it very difficult to match. On behalf of Hong Kong Section, I wish to register our deep
appreciation to Chris for his tremendous contributions during his two years tenure of Section Chair.

Trust you recall that the outbreak of Atypical Pneumonia in Hong Kong took place few months ago with
the first case of SARs recorded on 10 March 2003. It was in the interest of the heath and safety of participants
that the Executive Committee had to cancel the 6th Asia-Pacific Rim sROB Meeting scheduled on April 25-26,
2003, thus missing the rare opportunity to meet our President and Executive Director from HQs. Australia
Section has now agreed to host the next Asia Pacific Rim sROB Meeting on September 25-26, 2003 in Sydney,
and representatives from our Section will attend.

I would like to take this opportunity to share with you my thought on the threat to job security in the
current economic climate. We are all aware that many countries are still suffering from the global economic
downturn and the situation in Hong Kong is even more difficult as a result of the onslaught of SARs. In order
to stay in business in today’s knowledge-based, highly competitive marketplace, almost every organization
including our Government is striving to cut costs by various means, such as streamlining operation process,
outsourcing non-core service and work, cutting employment benefits, downsizing the work force, etc.

In order to survive and thrive, we have to prove to our employers that we are cost effective and are useful
assets to them. This means that we must keep on learning, and be versatile to acquire wider and needed
knowledge and skills to take up the challenges of today’s fast-changing business environment. I am of the view
that activities organized by the Hong Kong Section can facilitate interactions with engineering practitioners and
related professionals from the industry, universities, government authorities, and other professional institutions
to share information, to exchange experience and to build up contacts. I believe that this can help all of us
acquire some of the knowledge and skill needed to gain competitive advantages in our pursuit of career
advancement.

Finally, I must say that the Section is very fortunate to have in place very dedicated, energetic and talented
Executive Committee and Sub-committees. This together with your continued support, suggestions and
encouragement, I am confident that we can have another fruitful year so that our Hong Kong Section can grow
from strength to strength. ¶

©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
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The International Hong Kong Section of
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers
c/o Department of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong.
URL http://www.me.ust.hk/~asmehk
Section Officers List
Section Chair
Ir C W TSO
Email: cwtso@hec.com.hk
Imm. Past Chair
Ir Dr Chris CHAO
Email: meyhchao@ust.hk
Vice Chair
Ir Janet LAM
Email: janetlam@emsd.gov.hk
Section Secretary
Coriolanus LAM
Email: Coriolanus.lam@polyu.edu.hk
Advisory Committee Chair
Ir W K CHOW
Email: wkchow@clp.com.hk
Education Committee Chair
Ir K K LO
Email: mmkklo@polyu.edu.hk
Industrial Committee Chair
Ir Y H WONG
Email: yh.wong@towngas.com
Liaison Committee Chair
Ir Henry HO
Email: Henry.Ho@hko.gases.boc.com
Publication Committee Chair
Samuel W H NG
Email: ngw@asme.org
Treasurer
Dr Anthony LAW
Email: alaw@hk.net
©ASME International HK Section. June 2003.
Secretary Column
Having served the Executive Committee of Student
Section for the past four years, I am honoured and
delighted to be elected as the Secretary of the Hong Kong
Section of ASME International for 2003/2004 Session. As
pointed out by our Section Chair, the past session was
highly successful and I would like to pay tribute to my predecessor, Ir Janet
Lam, for her tireless efforts and significant contributions.
As a result of the continued shrinkage of primary industry in Hong Kong, it is
not surprising to have so many youngsters pursuing their tertiary education in
business, finance, accounting or non-engineering disciplines. This is based on
the belief that as Hong Kong is shifting more and more to become a “servicing”
business hub there are more opportunities for employment and better career
prospects in banking, insurance, accounting, legal, logistic and hospitality
sectors in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Section is working urgently in
conjunction with HKIE MMNC Division and IMechE Hong Kong Branch to
address this pressing issue and is striving to map out the way forward to correct
such misleading perception on engineering career. Members will be kept
informed of the progress and development of this important task.
On the operations of the Section, I wish to report that in order to address issues
timely and work out necessary action plans, the Executive Committee meeting
is now being held on a monthly basis. The Executive Committee has also
decided the need to align with the calendar adopted by our Headquarters on the
following:
-- Session starts in the month of July (instead of March/April in
the past) and so does the fiscal year
-- Next AGM will be held in June 2004 to facilitate the
commencement of Session 2004-2005 in July 2004
As the Section has to move with time to meet the needs and expectation of
members, the Executive Committee has set up a task force led by Ir Janet Lam,
Section Vice Chair, with the support of Ir W K Chow, Past Section Chair, to
conduct a thorough review of the Section’s By-Laws and Terms of Reference. A
copy of the current version of the aforesaid is posted on the Section’s Website
and suggestions from members are most welcome. Proposed amendments will
be issued to members in the second quarter of 2004 and an EGM for
discussion/approval will be held in June 2004.
Finally, I sincerely hope to meet all of you all in our activities and look forward
to receiving your feedback, comment or suggestion. ¶
Feel free to copy without alteration.
3
 News from the Liason Sub-Committee We will keep you up-date about the progress of our

Ir Henry HO functions and you are most welcome to give us your comments !

Highlights of Liaison Committee Looking forward to seeing you in our functions.

Being a sub-committee of the ASME HK Section, the Excom Members 2003 -2004
Liaison Committee is responsible for the liaison with the other

Engineering Institutions. Our aim is to broaden the exposure

and connection of the ASME HK Section in the area. We have

regular meetings with the local Engineering Institutions such as

the MMNC of HKIE and IMechE in order to maintain close

contact and relationship. Frequently, we organized joint events

together and on occasions, other institutions also join us in

various activities.

In the last couple of years, the joint events that we have FOCUS
organized in the industrial aspects included seminars on various
[1] Application of Smart Materials and Hybrid
useful topics such as Project Management, Essential Skill for
Composites in the Modern Mechanical Design
Engineers, etc. On the educational aspects, we have the Best

Final Year Project, Essay Competition, Young Inventors

Performances of mechanical structures are always
Competition, etc. Certainly, we have focused on the
governed by the material properties, which limit the
development of our engineers and that is why we have the Career
feasibility of innovative designs. Until the breakthrough in
Forum for our young engineers and the Distinguish Lecturer
material science with the development of Smart Materials
Program. Of course, we have not forgotten the leisure Spring
(including Shape Memory Alloy (SMA), ER/MR fluids,
Dinner during the Lunar New Year.
Piezoelectric material, etc.,), researchers are able to
Our activity is not restricted to Hong Kong. To broaden
fabricate the tailor-made material systems to overcome any
our knowledge outside the city, oversea delegations to Singapore
particular tough environment by correcting the material
and Shanghai have been arranged. In addition to visit the
properties during the operations.
industry, we also arranged meetings with the Engineering
Resistance to buckling load has been a major issue in
Institutions there. In addition, about two years ago, we have
the further development of composite materials because
organized a Gas Turbine Symposium in Shenzhen with the
the critical buckling load of fiber-reinforced composite is
Association for Gas Turbine Power Generation (CSEE). We
lower than their compressive strength. As a result of our
have guests and participants from USA and Mainland China.
latest studies, pre-strained SMA wires were successfully
The coming year will be another interesting year.
embedded inside the polymer hybrid composite structures
Coming soon will be the Best Final Year Project again in July,
to improve the buckling resistance and the ability of shape
and the oversea delegation to Japan in August to look at the
control. Such improvement enhanced the structural
modern transportation technology. There would be a seminar
stiffness in response to the external stimuli during services
related to engineering application on hygiene control later
in the field. Since the SMAs and fiber-reinforced
followed by the Young Inventor Competition again at about
composite laminates are both excellent in corrosion resist,
Spring time next year. You are most welcome to join our Spring
we do believe the application of such kind of material
Dinner in celebrating the Year of Monkey and we would also
system will be particularly suitable for the use in waste
arrange some leisure activities such as boating. Certainly, there
water treatment plants, the systems continuously under
will be some other events.

©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
4
sunshine or environmental impacts or even applied as the of Mechanical Engineering in respect of the design of
chemical containers under a wide range of operating curriculum for combustion and air pollution.
pressures.
Based on these substantial achievements, a set of
theoretical models combining the classical mechanics and
constitutive law for SMA was also successfully developed
to determine the ideal actuation levels for SMA-reinforced
composites, which optimized the mechanical response as
well as the interfacial properties between the actuators and
the surrounding matrix materials. The feasibility study of
an overall material system incorporated with strain sensors,
SMA actuators and signal processing unit for the optimum
control will be finalized in the next few months. Above: Prof Lee and Prof So at the ME Dept of HKPolyU

By Lawrence C.K. Poon ( PhD Candidate in ME Dept. of HKPolyU ) [4] Joint Spring Dinner
The chairmen of six engineering societies (ASME HK

[2] New ASME Fellow in Hong Kong – Prof Zohar Section, HKIE-MMNC Division, HKIMT, HKJB, IMechE

Prof. Yitshak Zohar received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in and HKIOA) thanked the participants of the joint spring

aeronautical engineering from The Technion-Israel dinner held at the World Trade Centre, Causeway Bay, HK.

Institute of Technology in 1981 and 1984, respectively, and

the Ph.D. degree in aerospace engineering from the
University of Southern California, Los Angeles, in 1990.
Currently, he is an Associate Professor in the Department
of Mechanical Engineering, Hong Kong University of
Science and Technology, which he joined in 1992. His
research interests are the science and technology of
microelectromechanical systems, and in particular
microscale fluid mechanics and heat transfer. Recently, he
has started to work on bio-MEMS subjects such as micro [5]Female ME Students at the AGM 2003
capillary electrophoresis. Coriolanus Lam (back row standing) with four other lady

[3] Outstanding PolyU Alumni Award 2003 engineering students from HKU and HKUST.

The award presentation ceremony & dinner was held on 27

March 2003 at the Grand Ballroom of the Hotel
Inter-Continental Hong Kong. Among the award winner
was Prof. John Lee, who received a Diploma in
Mechanical Engineering the former Hong Kong Technical
College in 1957. Prof Lee is a member of the
Combustion Institute and the American Physical Society
and the Board of Directors of the Institute for the
Dynamics of Explosions and Reactive Systems. He has
been generous in his advice to the HKPolyU’s Department
©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
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 Articles
Female Engineering Student by Jenny Kwok, Associate Consultant, Hong Kong Productivity Council

I still remember the first day of my college study at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; the lecture hall was filled with
male students and I was the only girl in the class. I felt a little weird as I used to study in a girl school and had not been
prepared for working and studying with so many men. I sensed that they found me unusual and I must admit, at that
moment, I too felt unusual.

My four-year college life had its ups and downs. Needless to say, the conflicts between Mars and the only Venus were great
and everyone knew such difficulties in the course of study and group projects. First of all, I was being laughed at in the
engineering drawing class because of my poor free hand sketching skill and my spending much time in familiarizing with
AutoCAD. Then I had to beg my classmate to take me as a group-mate for group project. The lesson learnt in school was
‘being proactive’, be proactive for learning, finding partners for group projects and seeking good opportunities for future
development. I could certainly say that this period was full of challenges both socially and academically.

I graduated from higher diploma and degree studies, and had the opportunity to gain summer employment in the
engineering department of a local airline as an industrial trainee. During the three-month training, I had a chance to stand on
the skeleton of an aircraft, exploring the whole system of the plane and learnt the method to find out the defects on plane.
The most impressive experience was a one-day trip on board. I was able to sit at the jump-sit right at the back of the captain
and flight operators. The beautiful scenery of Hong Kong can never be forgotten.

I have made a number of good friends from the class who have become my companions in study and work. Of course, I
have to thank several professors that I have met during my higher diploma and degree study. They guided me a lot in the
study and in obtaining professional knowledge that focused my energy and they encouraged me in pursuing my vocation
development.

After graduation from PolyU, I became a technical engineer in an acoustic engineering firm. I was so lucky to have the
chances of participating in several infrastructure projects. Since the company was on the contractor side, I found the site
working experience most useful and that trained me to become a tough person. I do not want to exaggerate my site
experience as I think most of the readers know the details already. Generally speaking, the difficulties and problems
encountered in site work were the same for both male and female engineers. I admitted that men and women physically
were not of the same strength and we might need our partners to give us a hand under some situations, especially on-site
working. This aspect of the work had caused me to change job.

Currently I am working in the engineering unit of a consultant firm specialized in environmental management. Under the
current economic recession, the vigorous competitions between companies become a pressure; however, I find this presents
a new set of interesting challenges. The challenges that I have dealt with in the past have enabled me to develop and cope
with difficult situations without compromise. ¶

©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
6
 Members’ Column

Daniel Au, Engineering Manager of GEC Services (Hong Kong) Limited

Having graduated in Mechanical Engineering, I have been devoted myself to the construction
industry for nearly fifteen years. I come to realize that the knowledge learned during the
university life is only a key and groundwork for me to adapt to the ever-changing
construction environment and evolving technology. It does not mean the difficulty and
hazards one would have to face within this particular industry. On the other hand, it implies that it is a challenge for
engineers who intend to apply the engineering principles and judgment in their career. Although the infrastructure projects
development slow down nowadays in Hong Kong, there still exists opportunities in Hong Kong and neighboring areas for
the construction industry to survive.
In the construction industry, it is necessary to cooperate with team members in a
partnering culture no matter you are acting as a client, a consultant, a contractor, a
supplier or a manufacturer. The construction industry is basically a teamwork industry. It
involves a lot of engineering products, engineering processes, engineering management
and different professional disciplines. Engineering knowledge and evolving technology
or even innovation is only part of the industry. No one can complete the project without
the participation of other project partners. Managing a project to complete within budget and with accepted quality in a
given time frame is not a simple issue.
My experience is mainly in project management, road transportation, railway transportation and building services. The
two most memorable projects in my mind are the Route 3 Country Park Section Tai Lam Tunnel project, which I have spent
three years, and MTRC Tseung Kwan O station project, which I have spent two and a half years. I believe that my hard
work in these projects is worthwhile.
My work experience is tabulated below and members are welcomed to exchange any interesting ideas and experience
regarding these projects:
Disciplines System Projects
Tunnel Ventilation, Power Supply, Tunnel • Tate’s Cairn Tunnel
Road Lighting, Fire Protection, Plumbing and • Junk Bay Tunnel
Transportation Drainage, Building Services, Traffic • Route 3 – Country Park Section, Tai Lam Tunnel and
Control and Surveillance, Toll Collection Yuen Long Approach
Railway Contracts with Mass Transit Railway and • Western Harbour Crossing
Transportation KCRC • Highway projects including Cheung Ching Tunnel,
Traffic Control Lantau Fixed Crossing, Airport tunnel
Highway project, design and build projects
and Surveillance • MTRC projects including Island Line, Tsuen Wan
System extension, Lantau Airport Railway, Quarry Bay
Congestion Relief Works, Tseung Kwan O Extension,
Penny’s Bay Line
We have involved in large numbers of
• Eastern Harbour Crossing
Building Services building services contracts during the past
twenty years • KCRC west Rail – DB320 Kwai Tsing tunnel
• KCRCEast Tsim Sha Tsui station
• Hong Kong International Airport
Power Supply, Trackside auxiliaries, • Mass Transit Railway
Facilities
Building services, Traffic control and • KCRC
Management
surveillance system

©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
7
 Industrial Committee
By Ir Y H WONG & H S Lee

Year Plan: Tentative Schedule of Activities for 2003-04

Date Type of Activity Topic / Event Status

Initial contact made, visit
Sep 2003 Technical Visit Hong Kong Oxygen - Tai Po plant
provisionally scheduled
Nov 2003 Technical Visit Hong Kong HIT terminal Contact being made

Professional Development ASME B31.8 Gas Transmission and Awaiting response from
Q1 2004
Program Distribution Piping Systems ASME HQ

Constructal Theory and Design:

Application submitted being
Feb 2004 Distinguished Lecture Optimal Flow Architecture, from
processed by ASME HQ
Engineering to Nature

Joint functions with other societies in the pipelines :

1 ) Best Final Year Project – July 03
2 ) Social Gathering ( Boat Trip ) – September 03 or to match with the Lamma Island Power Station visit.
3 ) Seminar on " Application of Engineering Technology on Health & Hygiene Control " – December 03
4 ) Young Inventor Competition - Summer 2004
5) Anthony LAW (PhD), program leader of the Japan visit on “Advanced Transportation in a Modern City”,
reported that the group will set off on August 20 and return on 23 August. The schedule includes visit to the
manufacturing plants of Nissan and Toyota, the Railway Technical Research Institute and the Japan Marine Science
and Technology Center. Contact Anthony for more details.

Members are most welcome to give suggestions on the kind of activities to be

organized, please visit our website at http://www.me.ust.hk/~asmehk and drop us a
note.
Photographs Collection
Photo (top): "The Symposium on Indoor Air Quality and Energy Efficient
Technology" sponsored by CLP Power in December of 2001
Ir Dr Chris Chao (far right) sat through the Symposium on behalf of the ASME
Hong Kong Section as one of the co-organizers. In the same table were Ir C W
TSO and ASME member Michael Price, who was discussing an issue with Ir Dr C
T HO. On the left hand side of Michael was Prof M C SO.

Photo (bottom): Certificate of Appreciation

Ir Dr Chris CHAO handed over a Certificate of Appreciation from the ASME
International to the hands of Ir W K CHOW in an Excom meeting.
Among other things, Chris has done much to improve the joint effort with other
mechanical engineering societies in the years 2001 - 2003.

©ASME International HK Section. June 2003. Feel free to copy without alteration.
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