Electricity + Control April 2015

ENERGY + ENVIROFICIENCY

ROUND UP

Light at the end of the tunnel for SA energy crisis

Afrox has been awarded a long-term contract to supply high-purity nitrogen, and liquid petroleum gas (LPG), to the US$ 565-million Bokpoort CSP Project located approximately 125 km south-east of Upington. Afrox business manager for bulk ASU gases, Carte Lubbe explains that the company is supplying Bokpoort CSP (approximately 125 km south-east of Upington) with a fully-customised turn- key solution unique to the local market. “LPG will be used by the CSP during the start-up phase for melting of salts for the Thermal Energy Storage system, whereby the transfer medium is heated to the point that it transforms from a solid state into a molten state.”The Bokpoort CSP will boast On 1 March 2015 Techlyn (Pty) Ltd turned 30 – the founder is Glyn Craig.The company initially concentrated on manufacturing electronic measurement and control units for OEM customers.This is still an important Part ofTechlyn’s activities. In the late eight- ies, the availability of economically priced computer aided draughting programs re- sulted in a major productivity improvement to the design cycle. In the nineties, power electronics and mechatronics were added to the product line-up. Initially all components were im- ported. At present, Techlyn manufactures stepmotor drives, brushed servo drives and brushless positioning drives locally. In ad- The safety of nuclear plants, as well as the medical management of acute radiation syndrome, could soon be dramatically improved thanks to a new mathematical equation developed by Japan’s Nuclear Safety Research Centre. A recent study on the behaviour of nuclear fuels in atomic blasts, published in the Journal of Nuclear Science andTechnology (Taylor & Francis), suggests a formula that offers a rigorous yet straightforward way to measure the im- pact of radioactive emissions on humans. As accurate as complex kinetic calculations, yet devoid of all their numerical intricacies, it promises to be a highly effective tool for the planning of safer nuclear facilities, as well as for the safeguard of individuals.

a 50 MWe generating capacity with nine hours of thermal storage once it is fully commissioned by end-2015. The substantial amount of LPG is, how- ever, only required during the heating phase of the project. As a result, Afrox has designed an innovative modular supply system that will be installed and can be dismantled and removed from site within days, thereby ensuring minimal project disruption. Lubbe continues: “Following the heating period, the entire LPG supply plant will be removed from site. Similar projects in the past have made use of fixed installations that become redundant after the start-up phase and take up unnecessary space,

while costing a fortune to maintain. Upon service completion, our unique modular plant can be removed by a fleet of dedicated and specialised vehicles in under a week – an unrivalled turnaround time.” Enquiries: Simon Miller.Tel. 011 490 0466 or email simon.miller@afrox.linde.com

Techlyn turns 30

dition, the company produces its own systemcontrollers.Advanced system controllers, if needed, are sourced fromGalil Motion Control in North California, USA. Their controllers can control up to eight axes simultaneously. Together, these components allow Techlyn to function as a system integrator. Techlyn has a well-equipped mechanical facility which has fa- cilitated the production of special purpose machinery. The photo shows an automated pan and tilt mechanism used for solar research by a university.

Enquiries: Email glyn@techlyn.co.za

When it comes to nuclear disaster, safety really is in numbers

Yuichi Yamane states that: ‘In a criticality accident, the first peak power is useful and important information to estimate the scale of the accident and employees' dose of direct radiation from the fissions in the nu- clear fuel.’There is no doubt that the safety of nuclear energy is a highly divisive issue, with the wellbeing of those living in the proximity of atomic plants being at the core of the controversy. Scientists have strived to improve the performances of reactors at critical times and developed a series of complex calculations to analyse them with precision. However, to set the parameters for these computations, a high level of knowledge of nuclear disasters is required. This study aims to develop a measuring

tool neither dependant on China syndrome expertise nor on elaborate arithmetic. ‘Such method can make it easy to design shields against radiations and to perform a safety review of fuel facilities, in addition to the planning of evacuation zones’, adds the author. While leading scientists have an- nounced that nuclear power is the greenest form of energy, Japan is holding off on reopening its plants in the anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and Germany has recently announced the closer of its reac- tors by 2020. So what does the future hold for atomic power? Read the full article online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1 080/00223131.2015.1005718

Electricity+Control April ‘15

54