We inflate buoys faster!

The University of Hertfordshire (UH) and Secomak have been working on rapid inflation and deflation of marker buoys for the Formula 1 of powerboat racing.

Two final year UH engineering students, Adam Caffrey and Scott Smith are working with Mel Wilby of Cardinal Fluid Systems on rapid inflation and deflation of powerboat buoys. Mel is former race team manager for Sunseeker boats and his son Andy races powerboats in P1 meetings around the world.

The use of novel aerodynamic devices called Coanda Ringjets form the basis of the work and an inflation and deflation time of around five minutes is the aim. An innovative approach is necessary as health and safety issues exist in electrical driven blowers that are currently used in hazardous environments. Adam and Scott hope to visit one of the P1 racing events in Europe to trial their system.

The Ringjets and industrial experience are being provided by Secomak Ltd, market leader in flow systems. They are based in Elstree, Hertfordshire and are involved with the University in a very successful Knowledge Transfer Partnership.

By David Dell (University Lecturer and Product Development Manager)

THE DRYING CENTRE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE

An output of the Secomak/UH KTP

The Drying Centre is located in the ‘Energy Centre’ at the University of Hertfordshire. It was established in the early stages of the KTP and has been fully operational for approximately 12 months.

High speed conveyor operation up to 1200 containers per minute is available with wetting and drying stations. The area is currently in use by BSc, BEng, MSc and PhD students for the completion of projects in conjunction with Secomak. These include low energy techniques in drying, anti-condensation trials, and high speed photography for flow visualization and noise reduction.

Secomak equipment trials also take place in this area. The facility is fully equipped to University safety standards. It is envisaged that this area will continue to develop after the current KTP end date of July 2010. Secomak capital equipment resides in the area with ongoing costs covered by the KTP.

Prestigious Award for Secomak

Machinery Excellence from Secomak

The Secomak Tornado has been recognised in the 2009 Machinery of Excellence category at the Starpack Awards. The Starpack Awards is the premier UK annual scheme recognising innovation in packaging design and technology. The judging of the award was based on technical development, sustainability, material interface and innovation in PLC technology.

The Secomak Tornado is a water removal system which sets industrial drying standards by revolutionising the removal of water from food containers and packaging. This innovative product uses the Coanda aerodynamic effect to create powerful blasts of suction from specially profiled Ringjet air amplifiers. The technology has been fully tested in Secomak’s Drying Centre, part of the Sustainable Energy Laboratories at the University of Hertfordshire. The unit incorporates a fully patented coaxial jet system to first displace and then remove bulk water from the ends of containers, especially in the canning process. It has received accolades from users on high speed conveyor lines in the food and drinks industry with energy savings of at least 30% compared with conventional solutions and containment of the removed water for drainage or recycling. Additional energy saving is achieved with a Secomak Airsaver unit which provides intelligent ‘supply on demand’ control. Energy efficiency and low noise operation are key features along with stainless steel construction, low maintenance and ease of fitting. It’s accepted as the most cost-effective solution to water removal to the level required by the can maker’s code. It’s outstanding ‘green’ credentials combine low energy supply levels and total water recycling.

David Dell, Secomak’s Product Development Manager, welcomed the award as an indication of Secomak’s commitment to energy saving products concerned with an innovative approach in drying and water removal.

Five come to Secomak

Five University of Hertfordshire students from the AADE Engineering Department are working with Secomak on their final year projects. Secomak Ltd is a leading drying specialists based at Elstree Herts. The five students are pictured below and are from Undergraduate courses in Aerospace, Aerospace Systems and Mechanical Engineering.

Secomak are currently partners on a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) project with the University of Hertfordshire and each of the students is able to further their own knowledge in their particular subject area by investigating a real world application.

Noura Bhakti, a final year student in Mechanical Engineering is designing a new Airknife using computational fluid dynamics software and she will also investigate how best the Airknives can be incorporated into a drying machine to enable consistent setting. The Airknife provides the high velocity stream of air which impacts onto containers to remove the moisture

Mihir Thakkar is another Mechanical Engineering student who is evaluating the energy levels throughout a drying machine from the motor driven blower inlet to the Airknife high velocity outlet. Energy is a crucial issue and a clear understanding of the process will enable energy savings to be identified.

Brendan Quinn is an Aerospace Systems student who is analysing the current ECO-pack product which Secomak incorporates in their machines with the aim of creating additional control features. The ECO-pack already has the capacity of saving 40-50% of the electrical costs and Brendan hopes to add another 10% saving to this figure.

Lazeros Aresto is a student in Aerospace Engineering and Management and his knowledge of aerodynamics is helping him to investigate the part that both turbulent and laminar flows play in the successful removal of the water from the surface of a wet container such as a can or a bottle. This fundamental study will have real implications in the creation of the ‘total drying machine’ which is the central aim of the KTP study.

The fifth student is Navin Chohan who is studying Aerospace engineering and is researching case studies of the airborne bacteriological contamination such as Legionella in the food and drink industry and how to mitigate these occurrences. There is an opportunity to create in-built systems in the drying machine to eradicate bacteriological transfer through the machine.

By using the combined resources of Secomak and the University, the students are able to experience the application of their studies in an industrial setting and to obtain a ‘business facing’ view to enable them to move forward into their chosen careers with confidence and enhanced skills. They can do this with the knowledge that they have the support of the University staff and its facilities such as the Laboratories and the LRC. They may even be fortunate enough to gain a post as a KTP Associate on graduation. – The number of funded KTP projects in Engineering is increasing and the University of Hertfordshire is a leader in establishing such projects.

For further information on KTP opportunities see http://www.ktponline.org.uk/

Horizon - The monthly newspaper of the University of Hertfordshire Article

UK's most energy efficient dryer developed
29.10.2008

A total drying solution for the manufacturing industry which is more energy efficient than any other on the market is being developed by a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the University of Hertfordshire and Secomak.

The University, which is the UK's leading business facing university, has built strong links with Secomak, the industry leader in air movement technologies and one of the outcomes of this collaboration is a total drying solution. (See KTP Blog http://www.totaldrying.com/).

The solution is the result of a government funded KTP to which University of Hertfordshire graduate in Aerospace Systems, David Palmer has brought his skills in Computational Fluid Dynamics, project management and project planning to deliver a drying process which is modelled on the energy expenditure of a hybrid car and can realise up to fifty percent energy savings.

At the moment, the total drying solution is used primarily to dry bottles or cans, and the system can be customised to dry any container and also has potential to dry sheet metal or plastic extrusions.

“The big advantage of this system is that the machine is equipped with sensors which sense when products need to be dried, rather than the dryer working all the time,” said David. “This works in a similar way to energy saving systems in hybrid vehicles and means that the energy consumption of our machine is directly proportional to the throughput of the product.”

Secomak currently has three other University connected staff. David Dell, who works part-time as a Senior Lecturer at the University's School of Aerospace, Automotive and Design Engineering and the rest of the time at Secomak as a Product Development Manager; Kim Whiteford, a third year University student in Human Resources who is on a twelve month placement in Human Resources at Secomak and James Reed, a third year University student in Marketing who is on a twelve month placement in Marketing with the company.

From left to right: David Palmer, David Dell, Kim Whiteford and James Reed. They are looking at a Powerstrip Dryer as produced by Secomak Ltd.

To see the original article please follow link:
http://www.herts.ac.uk/fms/documents/about-uh/Horizon/Horizon_83_October_08.pdf

Innovations Report Article

UK's Most Energy Efficient Dryer
29.08.2008
A total drying solution for the manufacturing industry which will make significant energy savings is being developed by a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the University of Hertfordshire and Secomak.

The University, which is the UK's leading business facing university, has built strong links with Secomak, the industry leader in air movement technologies and one of the outcomes of this collaboration is a total drying solution. (See KTP Blog www.totaldrying.com).

The solution is the result of a government funded KTP to which University of Hertfordshire graduate in Aerospace Systems, David Palmer has brought his skills in Computational Fluid Dynamics, project management and project planning to deliver a drying process which is modelled on the energy expenditure of a hybrid car and can realise up to 50 percent energy savings.

At the moment, the total drying solution is used primarily to dry bottles or cans, and the system can be customised to dry any container and also has potential to dry sheet metal or plastic extrusions.

'The big advantage of this system is that the machine is equipped with sensors which sense when product needs to be dried, rather than the dryer working all the time,' said David. 'This works in a similar way to energy saving systems in hybrid vehicles and means that the energy consumption of our machine is directly proportional to the throughput of the product.'

Secomak currently has three other University connected staff. David Dell, who works part-time as a Senior Lecturer at the University's School of AADE and the rest of the time at Secomak as a Product Development Manager; Kim Whiteford, a third year University student in Human Resources who is on a twelve month placement in Human Resources at Secomak and James Reed, a third year University student in Marketing who is on a twelve month placement in Marketing with the company.

Helene Murphy Source: alphagalileo

Further information: www.herts.ac.uk

www.secomak.com/index.htm

To see the original article please follow link:
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/energy_engineering/uk_039_s_energy_efficient_dryer_116999.html

Science Daily Article

Ultra-energy Efficient Dryer Under Development
ScienceDaily (Aug. 29, 2008) — A total drying solution for the manufacturing industry which will make significant energy savings is being developed by a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) between the University of Hertfordshire and Secomak.

The University, which is the UK's leading business facing university, has built strong links with Secomak, the industry leader in air movement technologies and one of the outcomes of this collaboration is a total drying solution.
The solution is the result of a government funded KTP to which University of Hertfordshire graduate in Aerospace Systems, David Palmer has brought his skills in Computational Fluid Dynamics, project management and project planning to deliver a drying process which is modelled on the energy expenditure of a hybrid car and can realise up to 50 percent energy savings.
At the moment, the total drying solution is used primarily to dry bottles or cans, and the system can be customised to dry any container and also has potential to dry sheet metal or plastic extrusions.
'The big advantage of this system is that the machine is equipped with sensors which sense when product needs to be dried, rather than the dryer working all the time,' said David. 'This works in a similar way to energy saving systems in hybrid vehicles and means that the energy consumption of our machine is directly proportional to the throughput of the product.'

Adapted from materials provided by University of Hertfordshire, via AlphaGalileo.

To see the original article please follow link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080828172831.htm

ENERGY SAVING: WHAT DRYING TECHNOLOGY CAN LEARN FROM THE HYBRID CAR

High speed drying may appear to be as different from hybrid vehicles as one can possibly imagine, but there are strong parallels.

Supply on Demand
The essential design feature of a low energy vehicle is a simple one. To save almost 30% of the vehicle fuel bill, you stop the engine when the car stops. A seamless restart gets you moving again and the benefits are not just fuel savings. Noise levels are also reduced and averaged noise values reflect the periods of silence. Drying processes that are responsible for 17% of the UK’s industrial energy consumption (ref: CGJ Baker; ‘Drying Technology’ Issue 3, 2005), benefit in an identical way to the stop-start feature of the hybrid car by using a ‘supply on demand’ approach.

Latest electrical inverter frequency controls coupled with intelligent electronics embedded into programmed logic controllers allow operation only when the product is moving past. Gaps or a stationary product means zero energy input and of course no noise. Average noise levels are reduced. For example an overall noise level of 85 dB(A) over an eight hour working period would drop to 80 dB(A) for a typical off time of 30%. Coincidentally this figure of 30% is the same as the hybrid car!

Combining Energy Sources

Hybrid vehicle experts conclude that there will not be a single break-through technology which will solve our transport energy problems. Instead there will be a solution which relies on a combination of the best existing technologies combined to form a true hybrid solution. Each element of the solution will, of course, be developed and optimised and iterations of the combined solutions will converge to create the vehicle of the future.

Drying solutions also need to use the best of current drying technology. This incorporates blower driven air and also compressed air systems to displace the water. Hybrid solutions can use compressed air jets to operate under the crown cap of a bottle and blower driven airknives can cover large surface areas to provide a hybrid approach. Compressed air when used for focussed drying with intelligent control provides the most economic solution but as with all sources of energy, it should not be wasted.

No Energy Wastage
The hybrid car has systems which match the supply to the load. Power output needs to be matched to the driving conditions and a drying machine also needs to operate by matching the energy supplied to the drying requirement.

Drying tests on high speed cans were recently undertaken at the University of Hertfordshire using drying equipment from Secomak Ltd. It was found that by lowering the electrical supply frequency from the usual 50Hz to a reduced value of 40 Hz, the Secomak Powerstrip dryer used 50% less power. This power reduction is predicted theoretically from the cubic relationship between motor speed and power. The remaining moisture level on each container was still below the dryness level needed in line with the requirements of the can maker’s code. This figure was reached with ease even at the lower frequency.
Thus 50% saving of energy was achieved whilst still meeting the drying requirements.

Electronic Sensing & Instrumentation
The value of the electronic components used in the typical car has tripled in hybrid vehicles and this will be reflected in drying machines as the control and indication of power use and the sensing of parameters. These include ambient conditions which become important in the ‘green’ drying machine. Psychrometric values of temperature, humidity and dew point influence drying success at different times of the year and in different parts of the world.
Ask anybody whether drying is easier in the desert or in a rain forest and the answer is obvious!

Conclusion
Transfer of technology spreads good practise and we are already experiencing the rapid reaction to global rises in energy costs. When manufacturers specify machines, energy efficiency design combined with functional excellence will be the drivers and the answers are out there. Secomak and the University of Hertfordshire are currently working on it!

KTP ACTIVITIES

Collaboration between Secomak and the University of Hertfordshire
Research into Drying at the University of Hertfordshire June 2008
With the recent establishment of the Secomak Drying Centre at the University of Hertfordshire, research is under way into drying processes.
The research project will concentrate on the impact of low energy methods in industrial drying. The importance of the condition of the drying air and the relevance of filmwise and dropwise condensation effects will also be considered.
The involvement of Secomak in this work gives the vital industrial connection, with access to customer's problems related to high speed drying of cans and bottles.

The project is lead by Wen-Chung Wang who has a strong industrial background including seventeen years with Carrier Taiwan Ltd working in the fields of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning. His previous postgraduate study was to MSc level at the National Tapei University in Tai Wan.