What is Electrical Engineering?

From the school days we may be aware about the inventions like light bulb by Thomas Edison. Many more pioneers turned their ideas about electricity, into physical devices like electric telegraph, the telephone, and use of electrical power with distribution. This was the key factors, in olden days to initiate electrical engineering and recognized as an occupation.

As a part of electrical engineering, transistors, and later the integrated circuit brought down the cost of electronics and concise, which leads they can be used in almost any household items. Now a day’s we cannot live without electronics items like mobiles, laptops, televisions, ovens and many more daily household items.

From beginning of electrical engineering to current engineering streams, electrical engineering is subdivided into many streams of engineering with its specialisation. Some of them are like electronics, computer engineering, power engineering, instrumentation, microelectronics, robotics, radio frequency engineering, telecommunications, control systems etc.

Even these electrical engineering streams further sub classified and having combined streams of studies with two different discipline studies like mechatronics (Mechanical and Electronics), power electronics, hardware engineering, electromagnetics & waves, microwave engineering, nanotechnology, electrochemistry, renewable energies, electrical materials science, and much more.

Electrical engineers scope of work is not only limited to any particular industry or plant, it’s a widely in all industries and plants. As we know electricity is an essential part of any industry to run.

Role of Electrical Engineering in any industries.

For any industry, there are several engineering disciplines required, to run their industrial projects.

In the case of Oil and Gas or Petroleum Industries Process Engineering and Mechanical Engineering are the main leading disciplines and subsequent to these Electrical Engineering is main stream.

Electrical engineering mainly provide safe and legal facility electrical power with protection including automation and relevant electrical instrumentation. In Oil and Gas facilities, electrical engineering is doing key role for facility protection using PMR (Pole Mounted Recloser).

Electrical engineering involvement most likely will include SCADA (Supervisory control and data acquisition) – which is used for remote supervisory and control of  facilities (Facilities located far away from Control Rooms) and pipelines from a central location.

Electrical engineering or Electricity is used in the oil and gas or petroleum production industries for:

• All type of pumps used in Oil and Gas or petroleum industries.
• Motor operated valves (MOV’s) with Small motors, used for controlling valves.
  DCS (Distributed control system), a control system in which the controller elements are not central in location but are distributed throughout the system.
• All Lighting arrangements in overall plants.
• To control heat in Piping/Vessels during winter seasons.
• Refrigeration system. Some petroleum gas products need to be refrigerated to liquify them.
• Earthing of equipment’s, piping, supports.
• Transformers used for new Control Rooms, including battery room, switch gear room etc.

The role of the electrical engineer:

Process Engineering design (Chemical Engineer) usually provides all process requirements and duties, whereas electrical engineering stream will support to provide a load list for each piece of equipment, pumps , compressors, etc.

Electrical engineers will determine overall power supply, conduct studies if self-generated or imported from the grid, etc., develop load lists, single line diagrams, short circuit studies, spec out all electrical switch gear, transformers, electrical substations, etc.

Main documents or drawings deliverables produced by electrical engineering, in oil and gas or petroleum industries are as below.

Documents mainly covers:

• LV (Low Volt) Cable Sizing Calculations.
• HV (High Volt) Cable Sizing Calculations.
• Specifications for LV or HV Switchboards.
• Specifications for convertors.
• Transformer Specifications
• SCADA Specifications
• Specifications for UPS.
• Interconnection Schedules.
• Cable Schedules.
• Load lists for equipment’s / UPS etc.
• Material Take off (MTO) for cables, OHL’s, RCU’s, Glands, earthing, cable trench, safety items etc.

Drawings mainly covers:

• Electrical Layouts for Equipment.
• Cable Trench Layouts.
• Cable tray layouts.
• Cable route layouts.
• Earthing route layouts.
• Lighting layouts
• SLD’s (Single Line Diagrams)

However other than above main documents and deliverable, electrical engineering stream will prepare project specific deliverable as required based on project requirements.

In addition to this, electrical engineer should support in many activities of any projects during project design and execution phase.  Since any project of Oil and Gas or petroleum industries has many design reviews like, HAZID Reviews, Design Reviews, IPF Reviews, HAZOP Reviews, Site constructability reviews, HFE reviews for control rooms, commissioning and start-up etc. where electrical engineering support is required.

Moreover interdisciplinary coordination and control, with all disciplines is very important for smooth running of project. Even review of documents and deliverables received from other disciplines, is required by electrical discipline, as interdisciplinary check.

Many supporting roles include providing electrical input to other disciplines for electrical cable routes with cable trench layouts, equipment layouts etc.

Electrical Engineer role in Design and Manufacturing or production industries.

Electrical Engineer shall have Knowledge, skill and in-depth understanding about electrical as well as electronic theory even mathematics and materials. Before any hardware design is applied, electrical engineer shall envisage behavior of any specific functions, circuits, meeting safety requirements, reliability and energy efficiency. Sometimes prototype testing is necessary before actual use in manufacturing.

Design of electrical equipment is a key role for Electrical engineers to develop, test and supervise the manufacturing. For e.g. electric motors, radar, navigation systems, communications systems and power generation equipment.

Electrical Engineers also prepares specifications for destructive or non-destructive testing of the performance, reliability and long-term durability of devices and components.

Today’s electrical engineers design electrical devices and systems using basic components such as conductors, coils, magnets, batteries, switches, resistors, capacitors, inductors, diodes and transistors. Nearly all electrical and electronic devices, from the generators at an electric power plant to the microprocessors in your phone, use these few basic components.

Electrical engineers use main software tool of CAD (computer aided design) for preparing all type of layouts and circuit drawings. They also use computers to simulate how electrical devices and systems will function. Since recent years all disciplines use software’s and computers, electrical engineer therefore, proficiency with computers is essential. Even using CAD prototype using CNC machines is quick and easy.