According to the Department of Water Affairs (DWAF, 2004 p.15), South Africa’s water resources are scarce and extremely limited and much of this precious resource is utilised and consumed in our industries. Treatment and re-use of effluent generated is, in some cases, preferred over use of alternate water resources (Du Plessis, 2008 p.3). The volume of effluent generated in treatment processes like ultra-filtration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) units is determined by the feed water quality, with high water loss through effluent generation at poor feed water quality. Current UF and RO applications require an increased UF production capacity due to the use of UF filtrate for periodic backwashing of the UF membrane units. This results in loss of water and decreases overall recovery. The need therefore exists to increase the overall recovery of product water from the raw water stream by reducing the amount of effluent generated. This would be possible to achieve by using RO brine to backwash the UF unit. The study was conducted to provide a modelling tool, assisting management to optimise the use of RO brine as backwash water on the UF system at the Medupi power station. The secondary objective of this study was the development of a modelling tool that can be used for other projects, new or existing, as a measure and indication of the usability of RO brine as backwash water on UF systems. By successfully applying this newly developed model, the viability of utilising the RO brine as backwash water for the UF was investigated. This modification would lead to utilizing smaller UF units than previously envisioned, which in turn leads to reducing capital cost with 11.07% and operating expenditure with 9.98% at the Medupi power station. This also has a positive environmental impact by reducing the amount of raw water used monthly by 10.34% (108 000 m3/month). / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Micro-milling represents a versatile and fast manufacturing process suitable for production of fully 3D micro-components. Such components are demanded for a vast number of industrial applications including safety systems, environmental sensors, personalized medical devices or micro-lenses and mirrors. The ability of micro-milling to process a wide range of materials makes it one of the best candidates to take a leading position in micromanufacturing. However, so far it does not seem to happen. By discussion with various industrialists, low predictability of micro-milling process was identified as the major limiting factor. This is mainly because of strong effects of the tool tolerances and process uncertainties on machining performance. Although, these issues are well known, they are not reflected by the current modelling methods used in micro-milling. Therefore, the research presented in this thesis mainly concentrates on development of a method allowing a prediction of the tool life in manner of tool breakage probability. Another important criterion which must be fulfilled is the method applicability to industrial applications. This means that the method must give sufficiently accurate prediction in reasonable time with minimum effort and interactions with day-to-day manufacturing process. The criteria listed above led to development of a new method based on analytically/numerical modelling techniques combined with an analysis of real tool variations and process uncertainty. Although, the method is presented in a relatively basic form, without considering some of the important factors, it shows high potential for industrial applications. Possibility of further implementation of additional factors is also discussed in this thesis. Additionally, some of the modelling techniques presented in this thesis are assumed to be suitable for application during designing of micro end-mills. Therefore, in the last part of this thesis is presented a systematic methodology for designing of micro end-mills. This method is based on knowledge and experience gained during this research.

<p>Rodon is a diagnostic tool developed by Sörman. SAAB’s interest in Rodon regards the possibility to use the tool for development and operations of aircraft systems. The main goal of this thesis was to evaluate the capacity of Rodon and determine how SAAB can use the diagnostic tool during development and operations.</p><p>The tool uses model based diagnosis with artificial intelligence for fault isolation which is a powerful approach. If Rodon is introduced at SAAB, then detailed models of systems will be necessary to create, including the nominal behavior of the system and different faulty behaviors. In order to achieve high quality fault isolation, it is necessary to have complete and consistent models. To be able to use all applications that Rodon feature for a modeled system, preferable characteristics are that the model should be static, have discrete control signals, and have well defined system behavioral modes.</p><p>During development of a system Rodon can be used to improve and easy the work for failure analysis, guidance of sensor placements, evaluation of tests, generation of decision structures, and fault isolation. Since design of tests during development is a desirable application that Rodon does not have, two different methods are presented that utilizes Rodon to generate all possible limit checking tests.</p><p>In conclusion, Rodon can be very useful in several different aspects if introduced, but benefits gained by using Rodon will have to be compared to the labor cost of creating good models.</p>

According to the Department of Water Affairs (DWAF, 2004 p.15), South Africa’s water resources are scarce and extremely limited and much of this precious resource is utilised and consumed in our industries. Treatment and re-use of effluent generated is, in some cases, preferred over use of alternate water resources (Du Plessis, 2008 p.3). The volume of effluent generated in treatment processes like ultra-filtration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) units is determined by the feed water quality, with high water loss through effluent generation at poor feed water quality. Current UF and RO applications require an increased UF production capacity due to the use of UF filtrate for periodic backwashing of the UF membrane units. This results in loss of water and decreases overall recovery. The need therefore exists to increase the overall recovery of product water from the raw water stream by reducing the amount of effluent generated. This would be possible to achieve by using RO brine to backwash the UF unit. The study was conducted to provide a modelling tool, assisting management to optimise the use of RO brine as backwash water on the UF system at the Medupi power station. The secondary objective of this study was the development of a modelling tool that can be used for other projects, new or existing, as a measure and indication of the usability of RO brine as backwash water on UF systems. By successfully applying this newly developed model, the viability of utilising the RO brine as backwash water for the UF was investigated. This modification would lead to utilizing smaller UF units than previously envisioned, which in turn leads to reducing capital cost with 11.07% and operating expenditure with 9.98% at the Medupi power station. This also has a positive environmental impact by reducing the amount of raw water used monthly by 10.34% (108 000 m3/month). / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

The natural movement of water is known as the hydrological cycle. Many different factors affect the hydrological cycle and the availability of freshwater. The availability of freshwater is essential for many human activities. Three of the UN SDG’s (Sustainable Development Goals), number 2, 6 and 7, directly or indirectly relate to freshwater supplies. SDG number 2, zero hunger; a part of fulfilling this goal is to have enough available freshwater to irrigate crops. SDG number 6 is about access to clean water and sanitation. It is possible to desalinate saline water, treat unclean water or transport water long distances, but these are often costly and energy demanding processes. Therefore, it is important to manage the freshwater supplies that are available wisely. Access to clean and affordable energy is SDG number 7. One source of clean and affordable energy is hydropower, in order to produce electricity in a hydropower plant, plenty of water and a change in potential energy is needed . To be able to fulfil all these goals, it is important to include all of the perspectives when making policies regarding agriculture, building hydropower plants or making big infrastructure changes. The complex relationships between the different areas of interest can make it complicated to analyse the effects of a change made in any area. The concept of connecting different perspectives is called Nexus. This aim of this thesis was to evaluate different computer-based hydrological modelling tools, and how they can be used for Nexus assessments. This was done by performing a market research, choosing two tools for further assessment, creating evaluation criteria and perform a case study on a watershed in Uganda. The case study results and the evaluation criteria were then compared to an existing model in WEAP. The two selected hydrological modelling tools were MIKE SHE and SWAT. These two modelling tools were evaluated based on specified evaluation criteria. In the case study they modelled the same area in Kamwenge, Uganda. The output of the models was compared and calibrated against observed flow in the river at the outlet of the watershed. The results of the case study were incomplete since the MIKE SHE model was not calibrated successfully. The different models have different strengths. The format of output data and flexibility of the program is superior in MIKE SHE, while SWAT is more intuitive and demands less computer power. Over all SWAT is easier to use and model in for a novice user, while MIKE SHE requires more expertise in order to run a successful model. SWAT is able to model more of the Nexus perspectives and are therefore the preferred model. / Många faktorer påverkar tillgängligheten av sötvatten som är väsentligt för många mänskliga aktiviteter. Tre av FN:s globala hållbarhets mål, nummer 2, 6 och 7 relaterar direkt eller indirekt till tillgång till sötvatten. Mål nummer 2, ingen hunger; en del av att uppfylla detta mål är att det måste finnas vatten för att bevattna grödor. Mål nummer 6, tillgång till rent vatten och sanitet; det är möjligt att rena vatten eller att transportera det längre distanser, men det är ofta energikrävande och kostsamt. Därför är det viktigt att förvalta tillgängliga sötvatten resurser klokt. Hållbar energi för alla är mål nummer 7. En källa till hållbar och ren energi är vattenkraft, för att producera vattenkraft behövs en skillnad i potentiell energi och mycket vatten. För att kunna uppfylla alla dessa mål är det viktigt att inkludera alla perspektiv när man bestämmer policys för jordbruk, bygger vattenkraftverk eller gör andra stora ändringar i infrastrukturen. De komplicerade förhållandena mellan dessa olika intresseområden för vatten kan göra det svårt att förutse hur en förändring i en av dem påverkar de andra. Konceptet att koppla ihop olika perspektiv kallas Nexus. Målet med denna uppsats var att utvärdera olika hydrologiska modelleringsverktyg och hur de kan användas för Nexus bedömning. Det gjordes genom att en marknadsundersökning genomfördes och två modelleringsverktyg valdes ut. De två utvalda modelleringsverktygen var MIKE SHE och SWAT. Dessa två verktyg utvärderades baserat på specificerade kriterier. I fallstudien modellerade båda modelleringsverktygen samma område i Kamwenge, Uganda. De båda modellerna kalibrerades mot observerade utflöden från avrinningsområdet. Resultaten jämfördes med en existerande modell i WEAP. Resultaten från fallstudien är ofullständiga då kalibreringen för MIKE SHE modellen inte lyckades.

Desalination technology provides fresh water to the arid regions around the world. Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) distillation process has been used for many years and is now the largest sector in the desalination industry. Top Brine Temperature (TBT) (boiling point temperature of the feed seawater in the first stage of the process) is one of the many important parameters that affect optimal design and operation of MSF processes. For a given pressure, TBT is a function of Boiling Point Temperature (BPT) at zero salinity and Temperature Elevation (TE) due to salinity. Modelling plays an important role in simulation, optimisation and control of MSF processes and within the model, calculation of TE is therefore important for each stages (including the first stage, which determines the TBT). Firstly, in this work, several Neural Network (NN) based correlations for predicting TE are developed. It is found that the NN based correlations can predict the experimental TE very closely. Also predictions of TE by the NN based correlations were found to be good when compared to those obtained using the existing correlations from the literature. Secondly, a hybrid steady state MSF process model is developed using gPROMS modelling tool embedding the NN based correlation. gPROMS provides an easy and flexible platform to build a process flowsheet graphically. Here a Master Model connecting (automatically) the individual unit model (brine heater, stages, etc.) equations is developed which is used repeatedly during simulation and optimisation. The model is validated against published results. Seawater is the main source raw material for MSF processes and is subject to seasonal temperature variation. With fixed design the model is then used to study the effect of a number of parameters (e.g. seawater and steam temperature) on the freshwater production rate. It is observed that, the variation in the parameters affect the rate of production of fresh water. How the design and operation are to be adjusted to maintain a fixed demand of fresh water through out the year (with changing seawater temperature) is also investigated via repetitive simulation. Thirdly, with clear understanding of the interaction of design and operating parameters, simultaneous optimisation of design and operating parameters of MSF process is considered via the application MINLP technique within gPROMS. Two types of optimisation problems are considered: (a) For a fixed fresh water demand throughout the year, the external heat input (a measure of operating cost) to the process is minimised; (b) For different fresh water demand throughout the year and with seasonal variation of seawater temperature, the total annualised cost of desalination is minimised. It is found that seasonal variation in seawater temperature results in significant variation in design and some of the operating parameters but with minimum variation in process temperatures. The results also reveal the possibility of designing stand-alone flash stages which would offer flexible scheduling in terms of the connection of various units (to build up the process) and efficient maintenance of the units throughout the year as the weather condition changes. In addition, operation at low temperatures throughout the year will reduce design and operating costs in terms of low temperature materials of construction and reduced amount of anti-scaling and anti-corrosion agents. Finally, an attempt was made to develop a hybrid dynamic MSF process model incorporating NN based correlation for TE. The model was validated at steady state condition using the data from the literature. Dynamic simulation with step changes in seawater and steam temperature was carried out to match the predictions by the steady state model. Dynamic optimisation problem is then formulated for the MSF process, subjected to seawater temperature change (up and down) over a period of six hours, to maximise a performance ratio by optimising the brine heater steam temperature while maintaining a fixed water demand.

Rodon is a diagnostic tool developed by Sörman. SAAB’s interest in Rodon regards the possibility to use the tool for development and operations of aircraft systems. The main goal of this thesis was to evaluate the capacity of Rodon and determine how SAAB can use the diagnostic tool during development and operations. The tool uses model based diagnosis with artificial intelligence for fault isolation which is a powerful approach. If Rodon is introduced at SAAB, then detailed models of systems will be necessary to create, including the nominal behavior of the system and different faulty behaviors. In order to achieve high quality fault isolation, it is necessary to have complete and consistent models. To be able to use all applications that Rodon feature for a modeled system, preferable characteristics are that the model should be static, have discrete control signals, and have well defined system behavioral modes. During development of a system Rodon can be used to improve and easy the work for failure analysis, guidance of sensor placements, evaluation of tests, generation of decision structures, and fault isolation. Since design of tests during development is a desirable application that Rodon does not have, two different methods are presented that utilizes Rodon to generate all possible limit checking tests. In conclusion, Rodon can be very useful in several different aspects if introduced, but benefits gained by using Rodon will have to be compared to the labor cost of creating good models.

Coal-fired power plant boilers consist of several complex subsystems that all need to work together to ensure plant availability, efficiency and safety, while limiting emissions. Analysing this multi-objective problem requires a thermofluid process model that can simulate the water/steam cycle and the coal/air/flue gas cycle for steady-state and dynamic operational scenarios, in an integrated manner. The furnace flue gas side can be modelled using a suitable zero-dimensional model in a quasi-steady manner, but this will only provide an overall heat transfer rate and a single gas temperature. When more detail is required, CFD is the tool of choice. However, the solution times can be prohibitive. A need therefore exists for a computationally efficient model that captures the three-dimensional radiation effects, flue gas exit temperature profile, carbon burnout and O2 and CO2 concentrations, while integrated with the steam side process model for dynamic simulations. A thermofluid network-based methodology is proposed that combines the zonal method to model the radiation heat transfer in three dimensions with a one-dimensional burnout model for the heat generation, together with characteristic flow maps for the mass transfer. Direct exchange areas are calculated using a discrete numerical integration approximation together with a suitable smoothing technique. Models of Leckner and Yin are applied to determine the gas and particle radiation properties, respectively. For the heat sources the burnout model developed by the British Coal Utilisation Research Association is employed and the advection terms of the mass flow are accounted for by superimposing a mass flow map that is generated via an isothermal CFD solution. The model was first validated by comparing it with empirical data and other numerical models applied to the IFRF single-burner furnace. The full scale furnace model was then calibrated and validated via detailed CFD results for a wall-fired furnace operating at full load. The model was shown to scale well to other load conditions and real plant measurements. Consistent results were obtained for sensitivity studies involving coal quality, particle size distribution, furnace fouling and burner operating modes. The ability to do co-simulation with a steam-side process model in Flownex® was successfully demonstrated for steady-state and dynamic simulations.

Desalination technology provides fresh water to the arid regions around the world. Multi-Stage Flash (MSF) distillation process has been used for many years and is now the largest sector in the desalination industry. Top Brine Temperature (TBT) (boiling point temperature of the feed seawater in the first stage of the process) is one of the many important parameters that affect optimal design and operation of MSF processes. For a given pressure, TBT is a function of Boiling Point Temperature (BPT) at zero salinity and Temperature Elevation (TE) due to salinity. Modelling plays an important role in simulation, optimisation and control of MSF processes and within the model, calculation of TE is therefore important for each stages (including the first stage, which determines the TBT). Firstly, in this work, several Neural Network (NN) based correlations for predicting TE are developed. It is found that the NN based correlations can predict the experimental TE very closely. Also predictions of TE by the NN based correlations were found to be good when compared to those obtained using the existing correlations from the literature. Secondly, a hybrid steady state MSF process model is developed using gPROMS modelling tool embedding the NN based correlation. gPROMS provides an easy and flexible platform to build a process flowsheet graphically. Here a Master Model connecting (automatically) the individual unit model (brine heater, stages, etc.) equations is developed which is used repeatedly during simulation and optimisation. The model is validated against published results. Seawater is the main source raw material for MSF processes and is subject to seasonal temperature variation. With fixed design the model is then used to study the effect of a number of parameters (e.g. seawater and steam temperature) on the freshwater production rate. It is observed that, the variation in the parameters affect the rate of production of fresh water. How the design and operation are to be adjusted to maintain a fixed demand of fresh water through out the year (with changing seawater temperature) is also investigated via repetitive simulation. Thirdly, with clear understanding of the interaction of design and operating parameters, simultaneous optimisation of design and operating parameters of MSF process is considered via the application MINLP technique within gPROMS. Two types of optimisation problems are considered: (a) For a fixed fresh water demand throughout the year, the external heat input (a measure of operating cost) to the process is minimised; (b) For different fresh water demand throughout the year and with seasonal variation of seawater temperature, the total annualised cost of desalination is minimised. It is found that seasonal variation in seawater temperature results in significant variation in design and some of the operating parameters but with minimum variation in process temperatures. The results also reveal the possibility of designing stand-alone flash stages which would offer flexible scheduling in terms of the connection of various units (to build up the process) and efficient maintenance of the units throughout the year as the weather condition changes. In addition, operation at low temperatures throughout the year will reduce design and operating costs in terms of low temperature materials of construction and reduced amount of anti-scaling and anti-corrosion agents. Finally, an attempt was made to develop a hybrid dynamic MSF process model incorporating NN based correlation for TE. The model was validated at steady state condition using the data from the literature. Dynamic simulation with step changes in seawater and steam temperature was carried out to match the predictions by the steady state model. Dynamic optimisation problem is then formulated for the MSF process, subjected to seawater temperature change (up and down) over a period of six hours, to maximise a performance ratio by optimising the brine heater steam temperature while maintaining a fixed water demand.

The aim of Analysis of Business Process Diagrams is to create procedure that is able to find typical patterns in business process diagrams. Besides, it is necessary to design and implement application, which will be able to find and mark selected workflow patterns. This analysis is based on XML document, in which a business process diagram is stored. Important thing is to keep the ability to extend the number of patterns, which can be find out in a diagram. Also, it is important to solve some special situations, i.e. overlapping of patterns.