0000000000053491
AUTHOR
Henrik Kofoed Nielsen
showing 31 related works from this author
Multiobjective optimization of building energy consumption and thermal comfort based on integrated BIM framework with machine learning-NSGA II
2022
Detailed parametric analysis and measurements are required to reduce building energy usage while maintaining acceptable thermal conditions. This research suggested a system that combines Building Information Modeling (BIM), machine learning, and the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA II) to investigate the impact of building factors on energy usage and find the optimal design. A plugin is developed to receive sensor data and export all necessary information from BIM to MSSQL and Excel. The BIM model was imported to IDA Indoor Climate and Energy (IDA ICE) to execute an energy consumption simulation and then a pairwise test to produce the sample data set. To study the data set a…
Biogas production and saccharification of Salix pretreated at different steam explosion conditions.
2011
Abstract Different steam explosion conditions were applied to Salix chips and the effect of this pretreatment was evaluated by running both enzymatic hydrolysis and biogas tests. Total enzymatic release of glucose and xylose increased with pretreatment harshness, with maximum values being obtained after pretreatment for 10 min at 210 °C. Harsher pretreatment conditions did not increase glucose release, led to degradation of xylose and to formation of furfurals. Samples pretreated at 220 and 230 °C initially showed low production of biogas, probably because of inhibitors produced during the pretreatment, but the microbial community was able to adapt and showed high final biogas production. I…
Semi-continuous feeding and gasification of alfalfa and wheat straw pellets in a lab-scale fluidized bed reactor
2015
Abstract Small scale air-blown fluidized bed gasification of alfalfa and wheat straw pellets were conducted for semi-continuous solid feeding and range of operating conditions varied due to the modifications in equivalence ratio (ER) (0.20–0.35) achieved both by varying solid and air input. Alfalfa pellets displayed an improvement in several gasification variables such as gas lower heating value (∼4.1 MJ/Nm3), specific gas yield (1.66 Nm3/kg), cold gas efficiency (∼42%) and carbon conversion efficiency (∼72%) as ER maximized to 0.35 which was found optimum for this feedstock for the present course of experiments. Gasification parameters of wheat straw pellets on the other hand were characte…
Waste heat recovery from a marine waste incinerator using a thermoelectric generator
2012
Published version of an article published in the journal: Journal of Electronic Materials. Also available from the publisher at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2009-6 A marine waste incinerator has been evaluated for waste heat harvesting using thermoelectric generators (TEG). The application has been evaluated using mathematical modeling to optimize the heat exchanger and some vital design parameters of the TEG. The calculation shows that it is possible to extract 58 kW el at a price of 6.6 US$/W from an 850-kW th incinerator when optimizing for maximum power. However, minimizing the cost, it is possible to get 25 kW el at a price of 2.5 US$/W. A trade-off between the two targets lea…
Air gasification of wood chips, wood pellets and grass pellets in a bubbling fluidized bed reactor
2021
Abstract Gasification is an attractive method for biomass-to-energy conversion and fluidized bed design is one of the best options for large scale operation. A bubbling fluidized bed reactor was used to analyze the effects of biomass type, equivalence ratio (ER) and temperature for product gas compositions. Wood chips, wood pellets and grass pellets were gasified between 650 °C and 800 °C temperature. The ER was varied between 0.08 and 0.16. Gasification of grass pellets was difficult at 800 °C due to agglomeration and the gas composition was poor compared to wood. The reactor performances improved over the temperature and 650 °C was not sufficient to achieve a reasonable carbon conversion.…
Digital Twin of HVAC system (HVACDT) for multiobjective optimization of energy consumption and thermal comfort based on BIM framework with ANN-MOGA
2022
This study proposes a novel Digital Twin framework of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVACDT) system to reduce energy consumption while increasing thermal comfort. The framework is developed to help the facility managers better understand the building operation to enhance the HVAC system function. The Digital Twin framework is based on Building Information Modelling (BIM) combined with a newly created plug-in to receive real-time sensor data as well as thermal comfort and optimization process through Matlab programming. In order to determine if the suggested framework is practical, data were collected from a Norwegian office building between August 2019 and October 2021 and used…
Considerations on factors affecting biochar densification behavior based on a multiparameter model
2021
The optimization of upscaled biochar pelleting is limited by lack of knowledge regarding the effects of process parameters. A multiparameter model, coupled to a single pellet press unit, was for the first time applied to biochar production to predict the upscaled biochar pelleting process behavior. The model permits to estimate in a time and cost-effective way how the die friction forces, quantified through the pellet exiting pressure, are affected by the key process parameters. It was observed that to achieve acceptably low exiting pressures (in the order of 100 MPa), it was critical to produce biochar at high temperatures (e.g. 600 °C). Addition of water as a binder is also beneficial, wh…
Characterization of renewable reductants and charcoal-based pellets for the use in ferroalloy industries
2018
This study investigates the effect of high-temperature pyrolysis and post-treatment processes on spruce and oak charcoal yields and CO2 reactivity in a slow pyrolysis reactor. Post-treatment processes such as co-pyrolysis of biomass and recirculated tar mixture with that to the distillation of the charcoal-tar blend gave similar increase in charcoal yields. From a technological standpoint, co-pyrolysis of charcoal and tar mixture decreased the CO2 reactivity of the charcoal approaching that of fossil-based coke. This emphasize the importance of tar addition and high temperature treatment on charcoal properties. Moreover, the findings of this work show the potential use of the tar organic fr…
A Digital Twin predictive maintenance framework of air handling units based on automatic fault detection and diagnostics
2022
The building industry consumes the most energy globally, making it a priority in energy efficiency initiatives. Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems create the heart of buildings. Stable air handling unit (AHU) functioning is vital to ensuring high efficiency and extending the life of HVAC systems. This research proposes a Digital Twin predictive maintenance framework of AHU to overcome the limitations of facility maintenance management (FMM) systems now in use in buildings. Digital Twin technology, which is still at an initial stage in the facility management industry, use Building Information Modeling (BIM), Internet of things (IoT) and semantic technologies to create…
On the self-heating behavior of upgraded biochar pellets blended with pyrolysis oil: Effects of process parameters
2020
Abstract Biochar obtained from biomass pyrolysis is a promising carbon neutral material which can be used in substitution of fossil coal and coke in metallurgical applications. Biochar’s mechanical properties improve significantly without compromising reactivity, when upgraded by densification with pyrolysis oil and reheated. However, upgraded biochar pellets use in the industry is limited due to the risks associated with self-heating. This issue must be seriously considered for further industrial production of upgraded biochar pellets. Self-heating oven tests are generally time-consuming and limit the possibility of testing various potential solutions. The aim of this work was both to inve…
Effect of operating conditions and feedstock composition on the properties of manganese oxide or quartz charcoal pellets for the use in ferroalloy in…
2020
peer-reviewed The full text of this article will not be available until the embargo expires on the 26/12/2021 This study investigates the effect of heat treatment temperature on the properties of charcoal composite pellets used for the reduction of ferroalloys. The heavy fraction of biooil was used as a binder for the charcoal ore pellet preparation. The effect of heat treatment temperature on the pellet shrinkage was related to the degree of reduction which varied with feedstock and ore composition. The results showed that the size and shape of the charcoal pellets were not affected by the biooil devolatilization. Manganese charcoal pellets showed higher electrical resistance during pyroly…
A Review of the Digital Twin Technology in the AEC-FM Industry
2022
The Architecture, Engineering, Construction, and Facility Management (AEC-FM) industry is increasingly affected by digital technologies that monitor sensor network data and control automation systems. Advances in digital technologies like Digital Twin offer a high-level representation of buildings and their assets by integrating the physical and digital world. This paper examines patterns, gaps, and trends in the AEC-FM sector and contributes to digitalization and automation solutions for building management. This work covers a broad range of research topics, from intelligent information management of complex models to building information management and the interaction of building systems,…
Investigation on Ash Slagging Characteristics During Combustion of Biomass Pellets and Effect of Additives
2017
This study reports a systematic investigation into ash slagging behavior during combustion of barley straw and barley husk pellets with or without additives in a residential pellet burner. The slagging tendencies of the pellets were evaluated based on the amount, chemistry, mineralogy, and morphology of inlet ash formed as slag and sintering degrees of residual ash. The barley straw and husk pellets showed high slagging tendencies with 39 and 54 wt % ingoing ash formed as slag. Analyses using X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microcopy combined with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy revealed high concentrations of K, Si, and Ca but a minor amount of P in barley straw slag. The sla…
Modelling of Compressors in an Industrial CO $$_2$$ -Based Operational Cooling System Using ANN for Energy Management Purposes
2019
Large scale cooling installations usually have high energy consumption and fluctuating power demands. There are several ways to control energy consumption and power requirements through intelligent energy and power management, such as utilizing excess heat, thermal energy storage and local renewable energy sources. Intelligent energy and power management in an operational setting is only possible if the time-varying performance of the individual components of the energy system is known. This paper presents an approach to model the compressors in an industrial, operational two-stage cooling system, with CO\(_2\) as the working fluid, located in an advanced food distribution warehouse in Norw…
Circulating fluidized bed reactors – part 01: analyzing the effect of particle modelling parameters in computational particle fluid dynamic (CPFD) si…
2019
A CPFD hydrodynamic model was developed for a circulating fluidized bed system and the simulation results were validated against experimental data based on particle circulation rate. Sensitivity of the computational mesh was primarily tested and extended grid refinement was needed at the loopseal to match the particle circulation rate with experimental data. The particle circulation rate was independent of the range of number of computational particles used in this study. A 10% reduction of the particle circulation rate was observed as the particle-wall interaction parameter was changed from 0.85 to 0.55 and 17% increment when the close-packed volume fraction was changed from 0.56 to 0.62. …
Sensitivity Analysis and Effect of Simulation parameters of CPFD Simulation in Fluidized Beds
2018
Fluidized bed technology is broadly applied in industry due to its distinct advantages. CFD simulation of fluidized beds is still challenging compared to single-phase systems and needs extensive validation. Multiphase particle-in-cell is a recently developed lagrangian modeling technique and this work is devoted to analyze the sensitivity of grid size, time step, and model parameters, which are the essences of accurate results. Barracuda VR 17.1.0 commercial CFD package was used in this study. 500µm sand particles and air was used as the bed material and fluidization gas respectively. Five different grids, having 27378, 22176, 16819, 9000 and 6656 computational cells were analysed, where fi…
Characterization and pilot scale fluidized bed gasification of herbaceous biomass: A case study on alfalfa pellets
2015
Abstract Pilot-scale bubbling fluidized bed gasification tests of alfalfa pellets were performed at two different operational periods ranged on the basis of the two given equivalence ratio (ER) (the ratio between actual air and the stoichiometric air) namely as 0.25 and 0.30. During the test, the solid feeding rate was kept constant at 4.7 kg/h while the air input was varied and thus the ER. Increasing air from 4.16 to 4.99 N m3/h contributed to the evolution pattern of several parameters such as the rise in gas lower heating value (LHV) and gas yield, the average maximum of which were 4.2 MJ/N m3 and 1.5 N m3/kg respectively. Gas composition was mainly boosted by the concentration of CO, a…
Loop seals in circulating fluidized beds – Review and parametric studies using CPFD simulation
2020
Abstract Loop seal is a robust particle recycling technique used in circulating fluidized bed (CFB) reactors. The rate and the location of the loop seal aeration exert a significant impact on the rate of particle circulation (GS). The standpipe balances the cumulative pressure drop across the rest of the CFB by adjusting its particle height or gas-particle slip velocity. Higher fraction of the loop seal aeration naturally flows down to riser. Increased pressure drop in the standpipe results in high rate of particle circulation. Computational-particle-fluid-dynamic (CPFD) code is customized for multiphase flow modelling. The inbuilt tool of “BC connectors” was incorporated to downsize a CFB …
Hygrothermal conditions in Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) dwellings
2020
The use of CLT has been increasing the last decade, and a subsequently focus on documentation of the accompanying indoor climate and exposed wooden surfaces on human well-being. This study presents the results of a measurement campaign conducted over one year of a CLT apartment building in Grimstad, Norway. The apartment building consists of three floors with 35 apartments and comply with the Norwegian passive house standard and energy grade A. Measurements of the relative humidity (RH), indoor air temperature and wood moisture content (MC) were performed in the exposed CLT spruce panels in three apartments in two different floors. The results from the three apartments show a relatively sma…
Effect of torrefaction on properties of pellets produced from woody biomass
2020
Torrefaction has been recognized as a promising strategy to improve handling and storage properties of wood-based pellets, thus producing a uniform-quality commodity with high energy density and hydrophobicity. In this work, pellets produced from spruce stem wood, bark, and forest residues were torrefied in a bench-scale tubular reactor at 225 and 275 °C with two residence times (30 and 60 min). The effects of torrefaction on general properties, grindability, mechanical properties, hydrophobicity, and microstructure of the studied pellets were investigated. The increase of torrefaction severity reduced mass yields, but the heating values and the fixed carbon content of the torrefied pellets…
A study of densified biochar as carbon source in the silicon and ferrosilicon production
2019
Abstract Biochar pellets were investigated as renewable reducing agents in substitution of coal and coke in the silicon and ferrosilicon production, where a high reactivity, good mechanical properties and low feedstock costs are appreciated. The usage of pyrolysis oil as binder was investigated as way to improve the quality of the pellets. Norway spruce biochar produced at 500, 800 and 1100 °C, was pelletized blended with pyrolysis oil and lignosulphonate. A second heat treatment was carried out at the same temperatures to evaluate the interaction between biochar and pyrolysis oil and to imitate the thermal stability of the pellets when used in a furnace. Density, tensile strength and mecha…
Overirradiance (Cloud Enhancement) Events at High Latitudes
2013
Contrary to intuition, solar irradiance peaks at partially cloudy conditions. Clouds can boost sunlight by over 1.5 times, even at high latitudes. Depending on cloud velocity, the bursts last from seconds to minutes. Measuring irradiance on a tilted surface with 10-ms resolution allows for a detailed study of such events in Southern Norway, almost at sea level. All monthly maxima from April through September 2011 exceeded 1300 W/m2. The slow sensor registered an annual maximum of 1413 W/m2, while the fast sensor's range was found insufficient. A burst reaching 1528 W/m2 was registered in June 2012. Near the Equator, bursts exceeding 1800 W/m2 have been observed. These numbers are striking s…
A review of the Digital Twin technology for fault detection in buildings
2022
This study aims to evaluate the utilization of technology known as Digital Twin for fault detection in buildings. The strategy consisted of studying existing applications, difficulties, and possibilities that come with it. The Digital Twin technology is one of the most intriguing newly discovered technologies rapidly evolving; however, some problems still need to be addressed. First, using Digital Twins to detect building faults to prevent future failures and cutting overall costs by improving building maintenance is still ambiguous. Second, how Digital Twin technology may be applied to discover inefficiencies inside the building to optimize energy usage is not well defined. To address thes…
Digital Twin framework for automated fault source detection and prediction for comfort performance evaluation of existing non-residential Norwegian b…
2023
Numerous buildings fall short of expectations regarding occupant satisfaction, sustainability, or energy efficiency. In this paper, the performance of buildings in terms of occupant comfort is evaluated using a probabilistic model based on Bayesian networks (BNs). The BN model is founded on an in-depth anal- ysis of satisfaction survey responses and a thorough study of building performance parameters. This study also presents a user-friendly visualization compatible with BIM to simplify data collecting in two case studies from Norway with data from 2019 to 2022. This paper proposes a novel Digital Twin approach for incorporating building information modeling (BIM) with real-time sensor data…
Sampling procedure in a willow plantation for chemical elements important for biomass combustion quality
2015
Willow (Salix spp.) is expected to contribute significantly to the woody bioenergy system in the future, so more information on how to sample the quality of the willow biomass is needed. The objectives of this study were to investigate the spatial variation of elements within shoots of a willow clone ‘Tordis’, and to reveal the relationship between sampling position, shoot diameters, and distribution of elements. Five Tordis willow shoots were cut into 10–50 cm sections from base to top. The ash content and concentration of twelve elements (Al, Ca, Cd, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, P, Si, and Zn) in each section were determined. The results showed large spatial variation in the distribution of mos…
ANN modelling of CO2 refrigerant cooling system COP in a smart warehouse
2020
Author's accepted manuscript Industrial cooling systems consume large quantities of energy with highly variable power demand. To reduce environmental impact and overall energy consumption, and to stabilize the power requirements, it is recommended to recover surplus heat, store energy, and integrate renewable energy production. To control these operations continuously in a complex energy system, an intelligent energy management system can be employed using operational data and machine learning. In this work, we have developed an artificial neural network based technique for modelling operational CO2 refrigerant based industrial cooling systems for embedding in an overall energy management s…
Characterization and reactivity of charcoal from high temperature pyrolysis (800-1600°C)
2019
This study presents the effect of wood origin and heat treatment temperature on the CO2 reactivity, nanostructure and carbon chemistry of chars prepared at 800, 1200, and 1600 °C in slow pyrolysis reactors. The structure of charcoal was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy, mercury intrusion porosimetry and N2 adsorption. The CO2 reactivity of char was investigated by thermogravimetric analysis. Results showed that spruce and oak chars have similar reactivity at all heat treatment temperatures. The oak char prepared at 1600 °C contained long and flat graphene layers and interplanar distance that is similar to graphite and thus, was more ordered t…
Analysis of optimal temperature, pressure and binder quantity for the production of biocarbon pellet to be used as a substitute for coke
2019
In order to contribute to the decarbonization of the economy, efficient alternatives to coal and coke should be found not only in the power sector but also in the industrial sectors (like steel, silicon and manganese production) in which coal and coke are used as a reductant and for steel production also as a fuel. To this aim many research works have been focused on the development of a coke substitute based on woody biomass and known as “biocarbon”. There are still barriers to overcome, among them: the biocarbon low density, poor mechanical strength and high reactivity. In this paper a new biocarbon production methodology is proposed, based on: pyrolysis at 600 °C, densification (using py…
A Deep Reinforcement Learning scheme for Battery Energy Management
2020
Deep reinforcement learning is considered promising for many energy cost optimization tasks in smart buildings. How-ever, agent learning, in this context, is sometimes unstable and unpredictable, especially when the environments are complex. In this paper, we examine deep Reinforcement Learning (RL) algorithms developed for game play applied to a battery control task with an energy cost optimization objective. We explore how agent behavior and hyperparameters can be analyzed in a simplified environment with the goal of modifying the algorithms for increased stability. Our modified Deep Deterministic Policy Gradient (DDPG) agent is able to perform consistently close to the optimum over multi…
Sampling procedure in a willow plantation for estimation of moisture content
2015
Abstract Heating value and fuel quality of wood is closely connected to moisture content. In this work the variation of moisture content (MC) of short rotation coppice (SRC) willow shoots is described for five clones during one harvesting season. Subsequently an appropriate sampling procedure minimising labour costs and sampling uncertainty is proposed, where the MC of a single stem section with the length of 10–50 cm corresponds to the mean shoot moisture content (MSMC) with a bias of maximum 11 g kg −1 . This bias can be reduced by selecting the stem section according to the particular clone. The average difference in MSMC between the largest and smallest shoot in a stump was 31 g kg −1 .…
Assessing the gasification potential of five woodchips species by employing a lab-scale fixed-bed downdraft reactor
2015
Abstract This paper is aimed to assess the performance of air blown fixed-bed downdraft gasification of local lignocellulosic biomasses which in perspective of Southern Norway are both available and sustainable. Long rotation forest crops birch, oak and spruce, coupled with energy crops poplar and willow were used as feedstocks. The gasification conditions undertaken were widely varied in-terms of air (∼3.20–4.20 N m3/h) and fuel flow (∼1.70–2.10 kg/h) so that the corresponding equivalence ratio (ER) differed (0.19–0.80) and ultimately reflected to other operational parameters such as bed temperature (∼550–760 °C maximum), producer gas yield (∼1.50–2.30 N m3/kg, wet base), cold gas efficien…