White Plains Man Receives National Engineering Award

The following was submitted by the New York Power Authority:

White Plains resident Jiankang (Jay) Zhu, a research and technology development engineer for the New York Power Authority (NYPA),  has been recognized by the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) for pioneering work to employ acoustic Doppler technology to measure river flow rates at NYPA’s Niagara Hydroelectric Power Plant in Lewiston, N.Y.

Zhu received EPRI’s 2013 Technology Transfer Award earlier this year for spearheading a long-term study to gather more accurate, real-time measurements of water flows at the Niagara plant.  The project officially began in 2006 with the installation of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) by the channel that feeds water into the plant. By transmitting sound waves at a constant frequency into the water, the ADCP device calculates how fast the water is moving from the sound waves that bounce off the moving water particles. Zhu has been monitoring and analyzing the ADCP data for several years and comparing its data with NYPA’s flow calculations based on water elevation.  

“Zhu’s diligent and careful analysis of the ADCP data is at the heart of this project’s success,” said Khalil Shalabi, NYPA chief technology officer, and director of research and development.  “With EPRI’s support, we have demonstrated this equipment can provide more accurate, real-time data on river flows and currents, and the technology is ready for real-world applications—with potential benefits for optimizing hydroelectric power plant operations and lowering costs.”

NYPA’s Niagara plant is located about 4.5 miles downstream from Niagara Falls. Two intakes upriver of the falls feed water to the Niagara plant. The amount of water diverted for hydroelectric production is determined by various requirements, including a treaty between the U.S. and Canada.  All of the requirements that impact river flows make accurate and real-time recording of flows crucially important for the operation of the Niagara plant and were critical factors in selecting the plant as the site for the acoustic doppler study.

A native of China, Zhu holds Master of Science degree in mechanical engineering from Tongji University in China and a Ph.D. in engineering science and mechanics from the University of Alabama. He joined NYPA in 2006 after working as a test analyst with G.E. Energy in Greenville, S.C. in 2005.