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English
summary of key articles in Xergi 4-99
Competence
building in partnership with NTNU
(Norwegian edition)
One of the key features of SINTEF Energy Research is our well-qualified
staff. Many already hold doctorates and we encourage others to do the
same. Such a degree documents academic standing, initiative and the
capacity for independent work. A doctoral degree also links us even closer
to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and
international contacts. This issue of Xergi gives some examples of recent
doctoral work focusing upon their practical applications.
Our close, integrated cooperation with NTNU is one of our competitive advantages. We are confident that competence building in partnership with NTNU is vital in helping to further professionalize and update our organization so that we can maintain our leading position within energy technology R&D in Scandinavia.
HVDC
cable insulation (Norwegian edition)
SINTEF Energy Research has many years of experience in R&D on
submarine cables for High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC). As early as the
1970s, we worked in a large-scale project which later resulted in the
Skagerrak cables between Norway and Denmark. One project related to the
EFFEKT programme is now breaking new ground, and once again, Alcatel Kabel
Norge is the main contractor. In this project Gunnar Evenset has recently
completed a doctorate which shows that it is possible to increase today's
voltage and transmission capacity. His dr. ing. thesis is entitled: "Cavitation
as a Precursor to Breakdown of
Mass-Impregnated HVDC Cables".
Our
laboratory services (Norwegian edition)
In cooperation with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology,
SINTEF Energy Research has about 7 000
m2 of laboratories which contain advanced equipment for testing, education
and research. The main objective of these
laboratories is to help produce valuable research results for business and
industry.
CO2
heat pumps for houses (Norwegian edition)
One of SINTEF Energy Research's long-term strategies within flexible
heating solutions is using CO2 as a working medium in heat
pumps for domestic heating. A full-scale pilot unit has now been installed
in a large semi-detached house in Trondheim. CO2 has many
favourable advantages for such applications. It is non-toxic,
non-flammable and has good thermophysical characteristics.
Better
power production planning (Norwegian edition)
Power production is a sector that has to generate optimal earnings from
every single production unit. SINTEF Energy Research has been working for
many years on the development of powerful analytic tools that can now help
its users meet the challenges of the deregulated power market. This
project is part of the Research Council's EFFEKT programme, and will
further improve production planning tools like the EMPS and EOPS models.
Optic
fibres help to measure climatic loads on high-voltage overhead lines (Norwegian edition)
A new type of integrated optical fibre has
now made it possible to make direct measurements of climatic loads on high
voltage transmission lines. The concept was
tested on a 160 m span in the grid. After the test it was concluded that
there are many applications for this
new measurement technique. The project is funded by the Research Council
of Norway.
Waste
combustion (Norwegian edition)
Waste combustion has been a subject for research work in Trondheim over
the years. An initiative has now been started to find environmentally
friendly waste combustion units where efficient energy utilization from
waste is an important factor in the total economy. The technology that has
been developed in this area in Norway has provided combustion emission
data that are well within the specifications required for new combustion
plants.
Energy
transport in the 21st Century (Norwegian edition)
SINTEF Energy Research arranged a seminar in December 1999 to present the
preliminary results of an in-house project entitled " Energy
transport in the 21st century". A flexible methodology has been
developed to analyse means of transporting various forms of energy.
The new methodology will provide an efficient means of assessing which technical/ economic solutions are optimal for the transfer and distribution of energy.
More
interest in dewatering processes (Norwegian edition)
The Dewatering Laboratory in Trondheim held its annual conference in
October 1999 and attracted almost 50
participants from research institutions, industry and academia. The
interest in this event meant that it had to be extended to 2 days.
There was also a distinguished panel and two of the foreign experts who held lectures were Professor Arun Mujumdar, MaGill University, Canada and Dr Iva Filkova from Process Engineering, Czech Republic.
Powel
Data – a growing spin off
(Norwegian edition)
Powel Data AS was started in 1996 as a
100 %-owed subsidiary of EFI. The
company now has other owners as well, and also has its own subsidiaries in
Norway and abroad. Over 100 people work in Powel Data and turnover in 1999
is estimated to be close to NOK 80
million.
Doctorate
in heat transfer (Norwegian edition)
Ola Jonassen has received the degree of dr.
ing. for his thesis entitled: Heat transfer
to immersed horizontal dryers. The doctoral work investigated ways of
improving the dewatering capacity of heat pump fluidized bed dryers. The
tests were based on the actual conditions for dryers and the pilot dryer
found that the uptake to the drying air was increased by up to four times
when two drying chambers were used with immersed heat exchangers.
Editor in charge: Harald Danielsen Webmaster: www-admin@energy.sintef.no