Supplier Energy Audits in Thermal Power Plants

This master’s thesis handles an operating model for an electric equipment supplier conducted sale oriented energy audit for pumping, fan and other motor applications at power plants. The study goes through the largest factors affecting internal electricity use at a power plant, finds an energy audit –like approach for the basis of information gathering and presents the information needed for conducting the analysis. The model is tested in practice at a kraft recovery boiler of a chemical pulping mill. Targets chosen represent some of the largest electric motor applications in the boiler itself and in its fuel handling. The energy saving potential of the chosen targets is calculated by simulating the energy consumption of the alternatives for controlling the targets, and thereafter combining the information with the volume flow duration curve. Results of the research are somewhat divaricated, as all the information needed is not available in the automation system. Some of the targets could be simulated and their energy saving potential calculated quite easily. At some of the targets chosen the monitoring was not sufficient enough for this and additional measurements would have been needed to base the calculations on. In traditional energy audits, energy efficiency of pump and fan applications is not necessarily examined. This means that there are good possibilities for developing the now presented targeted energy audit procedure basis further.

Electric Motor and Frequency Converter Markets in Latin America and Especially in the Mining Industry of Chile

Latinalaisen Amerikan osuus maailmantaloudesta on pieni verrattuna sen maantieteelliseen kokoon, väkilukuun ja luonnonvaroihin. Aluetta pidetään kuitenkin yhtenä tulevaisuuden merkittävistä kasvumarkkinoista. Useissa Latinalaisen Amerikan maissa on teollisuutta, joka hyödyntää luonnonvaroja ja tuottaa raaka-aineita sekä kotimaan että ulkomaiden markkinoille. Tällaisia tyypillisiä teollisuudenaloja Latinalaisessa Amerikassa ovat kaivos- ja metsäteollisuus sekä öljyn ja maakaasun tuotanto. Näiden teollisuudenalojen tuotantolaitteiden ja koneiden valmistusta ei Latinalaisessa Amerikassa juurikaan ole. Ne tuodaan yleensä Pohjois-Amerikasta ja Euroopasta. Tässä diplomityössä tutkitaan sähkömoottorien ja taajuusmuuttajien markkinapotentiaalia Latinalaisessa Amerikassa. Tutkimuksessa perehdytään Latinalaisen Amerikan maiden kansantalouksien tilaan sekä arvioidaan sähkömoottorien ja taajuusmuuttajien markkinoiden kokoa tullitilastojen avulla. Chilen kaivosteollisuudessa arvioidaan olevan erityistä potentiaalia. Diplomityössä selvitetään ostoprosessin kulkua Chilen kaivosteollisuudessa ja eri asiakastyyppien roolia siinä sekä tärkeimpiä päätöskriteerejä toimittaja- ja teknologiavalinnoissa.

Design of marine generators for alternative diesel-electric power systems

This study compares different electric propulsion systems. Results of the analysis of all the advantages and disadvantages of the different propulsion systems are given. This thesis estimates possibilities to apply different diesel-electric propulsion concepts for different vessel types. Small and medium size vessel’s power ranges are studied. The optimal delivery system is chosen. This choice is made on the base of detailed study of the concepts, electrical equipment market and comparison of mass, volume and efficiency parameters. In this thesis three marine generators are designed. They are: salient pole synchronous generator and two permanent magnet synchronous generators. Their electrical, dimensional, cost and efficiency parameters are compared. To understand all the benefits diagrams with these parameters are prepared. Possible benefits and money savings are estimated. As the result the advantages, disadvantages and boundary conditions for the permanent magnet synchronous generator application in marine electric-power systems are found out.

Electric-drive-based control and electric energy regeneration in a hydraulic system

Over the recent years, development in mobile working machines has concentrated on reducing emissions owing to the tightening rules and needs to improve energy utilization and reduce power losses. This study focuses on energy utilization and regeneration in an electro-hydraulic forklift, which is a lifting equipment application. The study starts from the modelling and simulation of a hydraulic forklift. The energy regeneration from the potential energy of the load was studied. Also a flow-based electric motor speed control was suggested in this thesis instead of the throttle control method or the variable displacement pump control. Topics related to further development in the future are discussed. Finally, a summary and conclusions are presented.

Marketing Plan of Electric Vehicle Charging Solutions to USA

The purpose of the Thesis was to evaluate the business environment of electrical vehicle charging equipment (EVSE) in USA, find the key issues of entering the US EVSE markets and to form a marketing plan for possible market entry. The external market research analyzed the environment, customers, competitors and demand of EVSEs. In the internal analysis the focus was on resources and capabilities, offering, performance, business relations and US related issues. The research about the business environment was done using already available information from market studies and seminars. In external analysis there were also two semi-structured interviews from market experts used. The internal analysis was done mostly by interviews, but also company’s internal data sources were used. The interviews were semi-constructed and included eight interviewees from each part of EVSE value chain. The research findings were analyzed using SWOT analysis, which was converted to a so called TOWS matrix for extracting strategies. As a result of the Thesis, valuable information about the US markets and their requirements for EVSEs was gained. By matching the strengths of the case company and market requirements, customer segmentation and targeting were done and a marketing plan was constructed for the case company to help their management to evaluate the feasibility of possible market entry and investments to USA.

Identification of Research Portfolio for the Development of Filtration Equipment

This piece of work which is Identification of Research Portfolio for Development of Filtration Equipment aims at presenting a novel approach to identify promising research topics in the field of design and development of filtration equipment and processes. The projected approach consists of identifying technological problems often encountered in filtration processes. The sources of information for the problem retrieval were patent documents and scientific papers that discussed filtration equipments and processes. The problem identification method adopted in this work focussed on the semantic nature of a sentence in order to generate series of subject-action-object structures. This was achieved with software called Knowledgist. List of problems often encountered in filtration processes that have been mentioned in patent documents and scientific papers were generated. These problems were carefully studied and categorized. Suggestions were made on the various classes of these problems that need further investigation in order to propose a research portfolio. The uses and importance of other methods of information retrieval were also highlighted in this work.

Impingement jet cooling of end windings in a high-speed electric machine

The rotational speed of high-speed electric machines is over 15 000 rpm. These machines are compact in size when compared to the power rate. As a consequence, the heat fluxes are at a high level and the adequacy of cooling becomes an important design criterion. In the high-speed machines, the air gap between the stator and rotor is a narrow flow channel. The cooling air is produced with a fan and the flow is then directed to the air gap. The flow in the gap does not provide sufficient cooling for the stator end windings, and therefore additional cooling is required. This study investigates the heat transfer and flow fields around the coil end windings when cooling jets are used. As a result, an innovative and new assembly is introduced for the cooling jets, with the benefits of a reduced amount of hot spots, a lower pressure drop, and hence a lower power need for the cooling fan. The gained information can also be applied to improve the cooling of electric machines through geometry modifications. The objective of the research is to determine the locations of the hot spots and to find out induced pressure losses with different jet alternatives. Several possibilities to arrange the extra cooling are considered. In the suggested approach cooling is provided by using a row of air jets. The air jets have three main tasks: to cool the coils effectively by direct impingement jets, to increase and cool down the flow that enters the coil end space through the air gap, and to ensure the correct distribution of the flow by forming an air curtain with additional jets. One important aim of this study is the arrangement of cooling jets in such manner that hot spots can be avoided to wide extent. This enables higher power density in high-speed motors. This cooling system can also be applied to the ordinary electric machines when efficient cooling is needed. The numerical calculations have been performed using a commercial Computational Fluid Dynamics software. Two geometries have been generated: cylindrical for the studied machine and Cartesian for the experimental model. The main parameters include the positions, arrangements and number of jets, the jet diameters, and the jet velocities. The investigated cases have been tested with two widely used turbulence models and using a computational grid of over 500 000 cells. The experimental tests have been made by using a simplified model for the end winding space with cooling jets. In the experiments, an emphasis has been given to flow visualisation. The computational analysis shows good agreement with the experimental results. Modelling of the cooling jet arrangement enables also a better understanding of the complex system of heat transfer at end winding space.

Sähköverkkotiedonsiirtomenetelmän kehittäminen taajuusmuuttajaohjattuihin sähkökäyttöihin

Sähkömoottorin jatkuva-aikainen kunnonvalvonta vaatii tiedonsiirtoa moottorilta ylemmälle tietojärjestelmätasolle, kuten taajuusmuuttajalle. Uusien kaapeleiden asennus on työlästä ja kallista. Moottorin ja taajuusmuuttajan välillä on kuitenkin aina kaapeli, jota käytetään moottorin tehonsyöttöön. Tätä kaapelia on mahdollista käyttää myös tiedonsiirtokanavana. Tässä diplomityössä käsitellään ja tutkitaan sähköverkkotiedonsiirtomenetelmää, jonka avulla voidaan muodostaa Ethernet-yhteys moottorilta taajuusmuuttajalle tai toisinpäin. Työssä kehitetään simulointimalli tiedonsiirtokanavan taajuusriippuvan vaimennuksen simuloimiseen. Lisäksi kehitetään kytkentärajapinta, joka mahdollistaa tiedonsiirron kolmivaiheisessa taajuusmuuttajan syöttämässä moottorikaapelissa. Työssä suunnitellaan ja toteutetaan tiedonsiirtoa varten pilot-laitteisto, jolla tehdään laboratoriotestit. Laboratoriotesteillä varmistetaan menetelmän soveltuvuus. Laboratoriotestien avulla etsitään myös reunaehdot tiedonsiirron toiminnalle ja tiedonsiirtonopeuteen vaikuttavia tekijöitä taajuusmuuttajakäytössä. Lisäksi tarkastellaan menetelmän aiheuttamaa viivettä, joka on tärkeäsäätösovellusten kannalta. Lopuksi arvioidaan menetelmän soveltuvuus käytännön sovelluksiin.

Characteristics of a good customer reference for a process equipment supplier

Työn tavoitteena oli tutkia hyvän asiakasreferenssin ominaisuuksia suodatinvalmistaja Laroxin myynnin ja huollon sekä yrityksen asiakkaiden näkökulmasta. Larox voi käyttää saatua tietoa referenssien tehokkaampaan valintaan ja hyödyntämiseen. Kaksi internet-kyselyä toteutettiin, välineenä Webropol. Alustava kysely sunnattiin Laroxin myynnille ja huollolle. Kysely koostui viidestä kategoriasta asiakasreferenssejä, joiden tärkeyttä arvioitiin, sekä vapaista vastauksista. Tunnistettuja hyvän asiakasreferenssin ominaisuuksia ovat hyvä suhde referenssiasiakkaaseen, positiiviset jarehelliset suosittelut asiakkaalta, referenssilaitteen hyvä toimintakyky ja asiakas joka ymmärtää huollon tärkeyden. Pääkysely suunnattiin Laroxin asiakkaille. Tilastollisilla analyyseilla tutkittiin koetun riskin mallinmuuttujien välisiä yhteyksiä. Analyysit eivät paljastaneet merkittäviä riippuvuuksia asiakasreferenssin ominaisuuksien tärkeydessä eritaustaisten vastaajien tai tilannetekijöiden välillä, mutta asiakasreferenssin ominaisuuksien faktorit tukevat mallia. Referenssilaitteiden toimintakyky vaikuttaa tärkeimmältä ja huollon tärkeys on myös merkittävä.

Container Handling Equipment Monitoring System, case: Steveco Oy

Container Handling Equipment Monitoring System (CHEMS) is a system developed by Savcor One Oy. CHEMS measures important information for container ports performance and produces performance indicators. The aim of this thesis was to clarify performance measurement contents to Savcor and to develop, as an example, performance measures to Steveco Oy's container operations. The theoretical part of the thesis clarifies performance measurement and which of its components are important to container port. Performance measurement and measures are presented from the operational level's point of view, in which CHEMS is planned to aim. The theory of development process of performance measures is introduced at the end of the theoretical part. To make sure that performance measures are efficiently used, Steveco Oy's performance measures are developed in cooperation with the users. The measurement in operational level is continuous and the results must be reacted asquickly as possible. CHEMS is very suitable to continuous measurement and to produce real time-measures of container operations which are hard to get any otherway.

Suurnopeuskuvaustekniikan soveltaminen hitsausvalokaaren tutkimuksessa

Työn tavoitteena oli suurnopeuskuvaustekniikan ottaminen osaksi Kemppi Oy:n tuotekehitystä. Työn teoriaosa sisältää hitsausvalokaaren ja lisäaineensiirtymisen teoriaa,sekä perehtymisen suurnopeuskuvaustekniikkaan ja siihen vaadittaviin laitteistoihin. Teoriassa tarkastellaan myös MIG/MAG -päittäisliitoksen olemassa oleviin pohjapalon hitsausprosesseihin. Kokeellisen osan tuloksena syntyi suurnopeuskuvaustekniikkaan pohjautuva tutkimusmenetelmä. Rakennetulla järjestelmällä nähtiin hyvin teoriassa esitetyt MIG/MAG -hitsauksen kaarityypit ja lisäaineensiirtymisen muodot. Kuvattuja tuloksia kyettiin analysoimaan ja vertaamaan teoriaan. Päittäisliitoksen pohjapalon hitsaukseen soveltuvan prosessin kehitys oli osa käytännön osuutta. Tehdyillä kuvauksilla onnistuttiin havainnoimaan kehitetyn valokaaren ja aineensiirtymisen ilmiöitä. Näiden ymmärtäminen helpottui kuvauksien ansiosta ja tämä nopeutti ja mahdollisti tuotekehitystyötä. Tuloksena valmistui uusi pulssitettu lyhytkaariprosessi. Työn tuloksena syntyi uusi suurnopeuskuvaustekniikkaan nojautuva tuotekehitysprosessi, jossa uusi tekniikka kyetään liittämäänosaksi tutkimus- ja kehitystyötä. Tuloksia voidaan käyttää myös markkinoinnin ja myynnin edistämiseen.

Toimittajaverkoston ja päähankkijan rajapintojen yhdistäminen

Kansainvälisen kaupan ja kanssakäymisen lisääntyminen onpakottanut veturiyritykset verkostoitumaan toisten yritysten kanssa, joustavuuden, tehokkuuden ja kilpailukyvyn parantamiseksi. Tällöin tarvitaan nopeita sähköisen tiedonsiirronvälineitä tilaus- ja toimitusprosesseissa. Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli saada kehitysmalli kansainvälisen päähankkijan, järjestelmätoimittajan ja toimittajaverkoston välille sähköisen tiedonsiirron kehittämiseksi sellaiselle tasolle, missä voidaan saavuttaa kokonaiskustannushyöty koko toimittajaketjulle. Tutkimuksen mukaan järjestelmätoimittajan ja päähankkijan sähköinen tiedonsiirto oli valtaosassa tutkituista järjestelmätoimittajista hyvällä tasolla. Monessa verkoston yrityksessä sähköisen tiedonsiirron kehitys oli pysähtynyt järjestelmätoimittajatasolle, eikä sitä ole kehitetty edelleen toimittajaverkostoon päin. Ainoastaan yhden tutkimuksessa mukana olleen järjestelmätoimittajan kehityssuunnitelma vastaa päähankkijan asettamia lähitulevaisuuden tavoitteita sähköisen tiedonsiirron kehittämisestä toimittajaverkostossa. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, ettei sähköinen tiedonsiirtokehity toimittajaverkostossa, elleivät järjestelmätoimittajat ota suurempaa vastuuta sen kehittämiseksi omassa toimittajaverkostossa. Tutkimustulosten perusteella kaikkien osapuolien päähankkijan, järjestelmätoimittajan ja toimittajaverkoston aktiivinen tuki sähköisen tiedonsiirron kehittämiselle parantaa kokonaiskustannusten hallinnan ja imuohjauksen kautta kilpailukykyä.

Cardiovascular effects of short term exposure to electric and magnetic fields of electricity power transmission

In the electrical industry the 50 Hz electric and magnetic fields are often higher than in the average working environment. The electric and magnetic fields can be studied by measuring or by calculatingthe fields in the environment. For example, the electric field under a 400 kV power line is 1 to 10 kV/m, and the magnetic flux density is 1 to 15 µT. Electricand magnetic fields of a power line induce a weak electric field and electric currents in the exposed body. The average current density in a human being standing under a 400 kV line is 1 to 2 mA/m2. The aim of this study is to find out thepossible effects of short term exposure to electric and magnetic fields of electricity power transmission on workers' health, in particular the cardiovascular effects. The study consists of two parts; Experiment I: influence on extrasystoles, and Experiment II: influence on heart rate. In Experiment I two groups, 26 voluntary men (Group 1) and 27 transmission-line workers (Group 2), were measured. Their electrocardiogram (ECG) was recorded with an ambulatory recorder both in and outside the field. In Group 1 the fields were 1.7 to 4.9 kV/m and 1.1 to 7.1 pT; in Group 2 they were 0.1 to 10.2 kV/m and 1.0 to 15.4 pT. In the ECG analysis the only significant observation was a decrease in the heart rate after field exposure (Group 1). The drop cannot be explained with the first measuring method. Therefore Experiment II was carried out. In Experiment II two groups were used; Group 1 (26 male volunteers) were measured in real field exposure, Group 2 (15 male volunteers) in "sham" fields. The subjects of Group 1 spent 1 h outside the field, then 1 h in the field under a 400 kV transmission line, and then again 1 h outside the field. Under the 400 kV linethe field strength varied from 3.5 to 4.3 kV/m, and from 1.4 to 6.6 pT. Group 2spent the entire test period (3 h) in a 33 kV outdoor testing station in a "sham" field. ECG, blood pressure, and electroencephalogram (EEG) were measured by ambulatory methods. Before and after the field exposure, the subjects performed some cardiovascular autonomic function tests. The analysis of the results (Experiments I and II) showed that extrasystoles or arrythmias were as frequent in the field (below 4 kV/m and 4 pT) as outside it. In Experiment II there was no decrease detected in the heart rate, and the systolic and diastolic blood pressure stayed nearly the same. No health effects were found in this study.

Numerical and ExperimentalModelling of Gas Flow and Heat Transfer in the Air Gap of An Electric Machine

This work deals with the cooling of high-speed electric machines, such as motors and generators, through an air gap. It consists of numerical and experimental modelling of gas flow and heat transfer in an annular channel. Velocity and temperature profiles are modelled in the air gap of a high-speed testmachine. Local and mean heat transfer coefficients and total friction coefficients are attained for a smooth rotor-stator combination at a large velocity range. The aim is to solve the heat transfer numerically and experimentally. The FINFLO software, developed at Helsinki University of Technology, has been used in the flow solution, and the commercial IGG and Field view programs for the grid generation and post processing. The annular channel is discretized as a sector mesh. Calculation is performed with constant mass flow rate on six rotational speeds. The effect of turbulence is calculated using three turbulence models. The friction coefficient and velocity factor are attained via total friction power. The first part of experimental section consists of finding the proper sensors and calibrating them in a straight pipe. After preliminary tests, a RdF-sensor is glued on the walls of stator and rotor surfaces. Telemetry is needed to be able to measure the heat transfer coefficients at the rotor. The mean heat transfer coefficients are measured in a test machine on four cooling air mass flow rates at a wide Couette Reynolds number range. The calculated values concerning the friction and heat transfer coefficients are compared with measured and semi-empirical data. Heat is transferred from the hotter stator and rotor surfaces to the coolerair flow in the air gap, not from the rotor to the stator via the air gap, althought the stator temperature is lower than the rotor temperature. The calculatedfriction coefficients fits well with the semi-empirical equations and precedingmeasurements. On constant mass flow rate the rotor heat transfer coefficient attains a saturation point at a higher rotational speed, while the heat transfer coefficient of the stator grows uniformly. The magnitudes of the heat transfer coefficients are almost constant with different turbulence models. The calibrationof sensors in a straight pipe is only an advisory step in the selection process. Telemetry is tested in the pipe conditions and compared to the same measurements with a plain sensor. The magnitudes of the measured data and the data from the semi-empirical equation are higher for the heat transfer coefficients than thenumerical data considered on the velocity range. Friction and heat transfer coefficients are presented in a large velocity range in the report. The goals are reached acceptably using numerical and experimental research. The next challenge is to achieve results for grooved stator-rotor combinations. The work contains also results for an air gap with a grooved stator with 36 slots. The velocity field by the numerical method does not match in every respect the estimated flow mode. The absence of secondary Taylor vortices is evident when using time averagednumerical simulation.

Development of a Ceramic Membrane Filtration Equipment and Its Applicability for Different Wastewaters

In this thesis the membrane filtration equipment for plate type ceramic membranes was developed based on filtration results achieved with different kinds of wastewaters. The experiments were mainly made with pulp and board mill wastewaters, but some experiments were also made with a bore well water and a stone cutting mine wastewater. The ceramicmembranes used were alpha-alumina membranes with a pore size of 100 nm. Some ofthe membranes were coated with a gamma-alumina layer to reduce the membrane pore size to 10 nm, and some of them were modified with different metal oxides in order to change the surface properties of the membranes. The effects of operationparameters, such as cross-flow velocity, filtration pressure and backflushing on filtration performance were studied. The measured parameters were the permeateflux, the quality of the permeate, as well as the fouling tendency of the membrane. A dynamic membrane or a cake layer forming on top of the membrane was observed to decrease the flux and increase separa-tion of certain substances, especially at low cross-flow velocities. When the cross-flow velocities were increased the membrane properties became more important. Backflushing could also be used to decrease the thickness of the cake layer and thus it improved the permeate flux. However, backflushing can lead to a reduction of retentions in cases where the cake layer is improving them. The wastewater quality was important for the thickness of the dynamic membrane and the membrane pore size influenced the permeate flux. In general, the optimization of operation conditions is very important for the successful operation of a membrane filtration system. The filtration equipment with a reasonable range of operational conditions is necessary, especiallywhen different kinds of wastewaters are treated. This should be taken into account already in the development stage of a filtration equipment.