1. Cummins Power - Insulating Materials
Mentor: Robert Rossini
Patrick Cleaver
Justin Fernandez
Ethan Taylor

2. Cummins Inc. Headquarters: Columbus, IN Employees: 33,000+ worldwide
Earnings: $11.4 billion (2006)
Business Units
Engine, Power Generation, Components Distribution

3. Cummins Power Generation
Products:
Generators for RVs, Yachts, and residential standby
Emergency standby power
Stationary, mobile, open, and sound attenuated enclosures offered for all generator sets

4. Anatomy of a Generator Set
Turbocharger
Air Filtration
Control System
Fan
Engine
Alternator

5. Enclosures
Air Intake
Exhaust
Sound Insulation
Recessed doors

6. Current Insulating Material
Mineral Wool
In used because:
Cheap, operating temperature
Disadvantages
Difficult to work with, Requires supporting material, Requires extra manufacturing

7. Needs/Wants
Needs
Operation at high temperatures (900 °F), must not burn or degrade
Must not absorb water, must resist mold
Wants
Higher thermal resistance (R > 4.3)
Better acoustic dampening (STC > 10)
Better workability
Self Supporting Material
Fewer Processing steps

8. Product Design Specifications
1. Thermal
Continuous operation at 900 °F
Acceptable surface burning, 5/5 or better (ASTM E-84)
2. Sound
Sound Transfer Coefficient comparable to mineral wool (STC 10)
3. Mechanical
Compressive strength greater than mineral wool is desired (>1.7 psi)
4. Environmental
Must not adsorb water (<1 % by volume)
Must not allow for mold growth
5. Workability
One step installation process
Reduction in manufacturing steps
6. Cost
No more than 2x cost of mineral wool ($14.8/ft3)

9. Weighting Factors Original Updated Selection Criteria Weight Thermal
0.2
Acoustic
0.3
Mechanical
0.05
Environmental
Workability
Cost
0.1
Selection Criteria
Weight
Thermal
0.4
Acoustic
0.1
Mechanical
0.05
Environmental
Workability
0.3
Cost

10. Candidate Materials
Sound Proof Foam Acoustiblok® Calcium Silicate Expanded Perlite

11. Selection Matrix

12. Design Solution For a 35kW level II enclosure:
11 pieces are to be cut from received board
Installed into walls/doors
Installed above generator and around exhaust system

13. Insulation board dimensions

14. Cutting/Forming Done with circular saws
57.5 feet of cutting per enclosure
Ventilation is required to eliminate spread of dust

15. Insulation of door panels

16. Insulation of exhaust area

17. Elimination of perforated steel

18. Exhaust box installation
Insulation block
Small bolts
Perforated steel

19. Thickness will remain the same
Thermal conductivity of expanded perlite:
.85 Btu in/hr ft2 °F
Thermal conductivity of mineral wool:
1.06 Btu in/hr ft2 °F
Same thickness will be used
Thermal insulation will improve

20. Thermal conductivity ∆T = 735 °F ∆T = 590 °F heat flow rate thickness
*Assuming a heat flow of 3000 Btu/hr
area
thermal conductivity
∆T = 735 °F
For mineral wool with k = 1.06 Btu in/hr ft2 °F
∆T = 590 °F

21. Further Testing Acoustical testing Mechanical testing
Ability for material to withstand vibrations
Impact testing

22. Regional Market
Worldwide leader in auxiliary generator sets for RVs, commercial vehicles and recreational marine applications.
Caterpillar and Volvo are the primary competitors
$2.42 billion in 2006
9.1 % increase

23. Potential Increase
Increase earnings due to new products and manufacturing efficiency gains
7-9% of sales
Potential increase of $ million

24. Capital Investment Ventilation System: $75,000
Circular Saws (5): $5,000
Engineering Testing: $14,000
Total: $94,000

25. Variable Costs Assumptions:
Energy used for ventilation: $3,000 per year
Energy costs for operating saws: $540 per year
Blade costs $10 each
30% overhead

26. Variable Cost per Enclosure

27. Breakeven Analysis II

28. Cost Comparison

29. Breakeven Analysis I

30. Project Timeline

31. Going Forward Potential Material Identified Potential Cost savings
Mock-up Enclosure
Materials Testing