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INGligtingNuusbrief van die Fakulteit Ingenieurswese, Universiteit StellenboschUitgegee deur die dekaan: Ingenieurswese. Redakteur: Liesel Koch, lkoch@sun.ac.za

Alumni aangespoor om terug te ploeg in Fakulteit

Met ’n skouspelagtige uitsig oor Tafelberg en Kaapstad en feestelike vuurwerke in die verte is alumni wat van 1990 tot 1999 gradueer het op 5 November by Durbanville Hills onthaal. Die doel van die reünie was om Ingenieurswese oudstudente van daardie dekadegroep te vertel hoe dit met hul Fakulteit gaan en om ’n geleentheid te skep

waar hulle bande met hul klasmaats kon optel en hul sakenetwerke uitbrei. Laastens was dit ’n geleentheid waar die dekaan, prof Han-sie Knoetze, ’n beroep op alumni gedoen het om die Dekaansfonds te ondersteun, veral ten opsigte van beurse vir studente en die opknap-ping van fasiliteite. Ongeveer 80 oudstudente het die gesellige geleentheid bygewoon.Die gasspreker was dr Elroy Goliath, bestuurder: strategiese dien-

ste by Pioneer Foods. Dr Goliath, wat self in daardie dekadegroep val, het gepraat oor waarom hy ingenieurswese studeer het, wat die Fakulteit vir hom beteken het, en die uitdaging wat die beroep in die gesig staar. “Ek het ingenieurswese gedoen omdat ek altyd graag wou bepaal wat die probleem is. As ek terugkyk, is die mees uitdagende ding wat ek gedoen het om ingenieurswese te swot. Ons het goeie tye saam gehad: wynproeë, en koffie in Firga tot die son opgekom het. Stellenbosch is waar ons ontwikkel het tot volwardige mense. Nou gaan dit nie meer oor ons nie. Ons is gevorm en ons kennis is gesmee. Ons is besig om terug te ploeg in die gemeenskappe waar ons woon en werk, maar ons moet nou ook vir ons Fakulteit teruggee. Die span onder leiding van prof Hansie het ons nodig om die Fakulteit en sy uit-sette te verbeter. Ek dink elkeen moet dink hoe hy/sy kan terugploeg en op ’n positiewe wyse bydra.”Prof Knoetze het afgesluit met die woorde: “Dankie dat julle die

naam van die Fakulteit Ingenieurswese hoog hou. Julle is ons beste reklame. Deur hier te wees, sê julle julle onthou waar jul wortels lê.”

Prof Hansie Knoetze vertel van die US se institusionele strategie, die Fakulteit se Visie 2020 en hoe sake tans by die Fakulteit lyk.

Links onder: Personeel van die Alum-nikantoor staan reg met ‘n glimlag.

Regs onder: Dr Elroy Goliath (gasspreker) links, gesels

met Wendell Lawrence.

Matie ingenieurs wat van 1990 tot 1999 gradueer het, het tot laat in die aand heerlik gekuier en oor die ou dae geskerts.

Jacqui eager and ready to face the challenges as Head of the Department of Transport and Public Works,

Western Cape Government.

Profile: Jacqui GoochThe petite blonde with the big job

A love of Mathematics and the outdoors steered her in the direc-tion of Civil Engineering. Her genes and the examples set by her parents regarding commitment, hard work and organisational skills did the rest. Today Jacqui Gooch, a hybrid Ikey/Matie, is a dedicated, involved young woman with an extremely responsible job. At the age of 37 she has just been appointed Head of the Department of Transport and Public Works in the Western Cape Government.Jacqui was born and bred in Cape

Town. She attended Rustenburg High School for Girls in Ronde-bosch. Her father was a structural engineer and her mother an office administrator.“I had so many different interests

while at school. I loved Mathemat-ics and being outdoors, enjoyed reading and dealing with science and technological issues, but I was not a people’s person. I could not imagine reading through tomes of legal documents, or spending my time only doing accounting. So engineering seemed like the most appropriate degree that would be able to give me a range of options. Civil engi-neering provided me with the most vari-ety and possible options to focus on once I graduated. “I must admit that I did not consider

any other possible institution for my undergrad degree, than UCT. It was up the road from where I stayed and my Af-rikaans was not the most proficient so I did not even consider Stellenbosch at the time. UCT seemed to be the natural choice.”When Jacqui started working after grad-

uating she immediately considered the possibility of doing a master’s degree in transport and traffic. At the time, Stel-lenbosch University was the only one to offer a part-time master’s degree in Engi-neering which had a focus on traffic and transport. “So, I attended courses part-time at Stellenbosch focusing on trans-port and traffic engineering – given that I was working at Arcus Gibb in their transport division.”Over the past 14 years Jacqui’s career zigzagged between Gibb and

the Western Cape Government. She kicked off her career in 1999 as a graduate engineer in the Transport and Traffic division at Gibb Afri-ca Consulting followed by a 12-month stint (starting February 2003) as Assistant Director, Public Transport and Contracts, Western Cape Government. This was followed by 14 months spent back at Arcus Gibbb (now GIBB) as a project engineer. However, the call to work in the public sector became too strong and in 2005 she once again joined the Western Cape Government, this time as Director: Strategic and In-tegrated Planning in the Department of Transport and Public Works. In 2009 she became that Department’s Deputy Director-General: Strategy, Planning and Coordination, and from 1 November 2013 she is Head of Department: Transport and Public Works, Western Cape Government.In her current position she is responsible for a department of over

1 800 staff, an annual budget of over R4,5bn, the construction of schools, hospitals, general building infrastructure, the management

of provincial properties (leasing in, leasing out and the development of property), the construction and maintenance of the provincial road network in the Western Cape, management of certain public trans-port services in the Western Cape, transport regulatory issues relat-ing to vehicle and driver fitness, public transport regulatory matters including the issuing of public transport operating licences, and the Western Cape Government motor transport fleet.Regarding engineering as a career, Jacqui says: “Engineering pro-

vides such an incredible base from which someone can advance their career. The logical and lateral thinking that is developed as you study engineering is something I have not yet found in another discipline. Engineers know to always enquire, to ask probing questions and to get to the root cause of something. I have also always considered that there is something very ethical about engineering. It is probably the concept of professionalism that I take seriously. Even if someone is not registered as a professional engineer, I believe that this is a pro-fession that demands the highest degree of ethical behaviour and professionalism – something that I think is not emphasised enough nowadays.”It is clear that Jacqui has found her niche in the service of provincial

government. “I love my job and I honestly believe that working in government allows one to be involved in the initial decisions around what projects should be done. As a consultant you become involved after a project has been identified, but being in government affords me an opportunity to influence the rationale for what projects should be prioritised. I get immense satisfaction from knowing that some-

where a project has been completed and assisted someone because I had a hand in making it happen – whether it was argu-ing for the funding to be allocated to that project over something else, or just to argue that the intervention identified will bring benefits to our communities. My job as someone in the administration of the government is to ensure that the tax-payer’s money is well spent and makes a difference in an individual’s life through the services and opportunities that are provided.”In between a demanding job and doing

an Executive MBA, Jacqui finds time to read fantasy novels and to potter in the garden. And like most engineers, she thrives on solving problems. That is why in her spare time she loves doing jigsaw puzzles – the bigger the better! In her approach to life, Jacqui identi-

fies with the quotation by Orison Swett Marden: “Success is not measured by what you accomplish, but by the opposition you have encountered, and the courage with which you have maintained the struggle against overwhelming odds.” The future plans of this petite young blonde with the big job is to

complete her Executive MBA and to continue serving the people of the Western Cape as competently as she can. The latter she should be able to do with distinction if one looks at her track record and the three words with which she describes herself: “Dedicated, fair and caring.”

Jacqui Gooch in outdoor mode.

Jacqui was the guest speaker at the Faculty

of Engineering’s annual Women in Engineering

afternoon held in September and attended by 200 girls from schools

in the Boland and Cape Peninsula.

Solar Thermal Energy Research Group(STERG)

Technical potential of renewable energy resources.

Biomass

Geothermal

World energy consumption per year

Wind

Hydro

Solar

Source: Fraunhofer ISE

Solar GIS South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.

Parabolic trough uses parabolic mirrors to

concentrate solar radiation on linear tube receiver.

Solar tower concentrates solar radiation on a point

receiver at the top of a tower.

Dish Stirling uses parabolic dish to concentrate solar radiation on a

Stirling engine.

Linear Fresnel reflector uses flat mirror design to concentrate

sun, enabling simple production and installation.

CSP has many benefits. It makes use of renewable energy, which can be produced not only during the day, but also stored and supplied to the national grid at peak times after sunset. In fact it is the only renewable energy technology with the ability to deliver electricity consistently during peak times, when it is needed most. This form of clean electricity supports economic growth while also reducing the country’s excessively high carbon emissions, generated mainly from coal-fuelled power stations. The manufacturing of components on a significant scale locally can contribute to the development of a size-able green economy.

The sun is the world’s largest source of energy and most of our ener-gy is obtained, directly or indirectly, from the sun. The sun produces waves, wind, flora through photosynthesis, rain and other basic sys-tems. Solar thermal energy technology is regarded to be one of the most promising renewable technologies to produce electrical energy on a large scale when we need it.

The part of the earth directed to the sun is permanently exposed to a radiant power of 1.73*1011 MW, which is equal to the capacity of 173 million big coal power plants. Each year the sun sends over 1 billion TWh of energy to the earth which is equal to 60 000 times the world’s electricity needs. From a mathematical perspective, less than 3% of the surface area of the Sahara would be sufficient to meet the world’s energy demand with solar power plants. Unfortunately the utilisation of solar energy is not that easy due to the low power density.South Africa is one of the best places in the world to use energy from

the sun as the country is blessed with an abundance of sunshine. With the world’s focus on renewable energy, research in solar energy is therefore of cardinal importance.

3 decades of solar energy researchSolar thermal energy research has been on-going at Stellenbosch

University since the late 1970s. For more than 30 years the Depart-ment of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering has been active in research on solar collectors or in closely complementary areas such as world-leading dry cooling research and internationally-cited work on the solar chimney concept. Research has evolved to focus on the SUNSPOT (Stellenbosch University Solar Power Technology) system cycle proposed by emeritus professor Detlev Kröger.

In 2010 a research group focusing on solar thermal energy was for-mally constituted at the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering, Stellenbosch University. Named the Solar Thermal Ener-gy Research Group (STERG), its aim is to promote research and devel-opment on solar thermal energy with one of the main fields of focus being concentrating solar power.

Valuable resourceSunlight illuminating a material can either be reflected, absorbed,

pass through the material (transmitted) or a combination of the above. For the application of solar energy, ultimately, the mechanism of interest is absorption. The harnessing of solar energy can be divid-ed into solar electric (for instance photovoltaic, PV) and solar thermal (for instance domestic solar water heater, SWH). Solar radiation is converted to direct current (DC) in the case of solar electric, and in the case of solar radiation, it is converted to heat. Solar thermal can be divided into low temperature (solar water heat-

er), and high temperature where concentration of solar radiation is employed. Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems use mirrors or lenses to concentrate a large area of sunlight, or solar thermal energy, onto a small area. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light is converted to heat, which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) connected to an electrical power generator. Concentrating technologies exist in four common forms, namely parabolic trough, solar power tower, dish Stirling, and linear Fresnel reflector.

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CSP is a younger technology and currently costs more to install than other forms of renewable energy. However, unlike other forms of re-newable energy such as photovoltaic and wind power, CSP has the advantage that it can provide dispatchable power by storing solar en-ergy through thermal energy storage. The challenge in CSP research at STERG is to reduce the cost of CSP technologies in order to get to a point where the technology is competitive on its own.

STERGThe Solar Thermal Energy Research Group (STERG) at Stellenbosch

University is the first and largest formal university research group in South Africa focused on solar thermal energy. The group is housed in the Department of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering and can therefore tap into the collected knowledge gained in this Department over three decades. STERG is associated with Stellenbosch Universi-ty’s Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES), the national Hub for Renewable and Sustainable Energy, launched in August 2006. STERG, together with the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Pretoria, form the Solar Thermal Energy Spoke of the Renewable and Sustainable En-ergy Hub DST/NRF, with STERG being the managing partner in the spoke. Furthermore, STERG is represented in the Southern Africa So-lar Thermal and Electricity Association (SASTELA) as founding execu-tive committee representative for academia. The Solar Thermal Energy Research Group comprises seven full-

time staff members, 17 supervisory professors, some 40 masters and PhD student researchers, and 11 af-filiates. Paul Gauché, senior researcher (funded by Sasol) and founding STERG Director, co-directs the group. Prof Frank Dinter, who has wide internatio-

nal experience in the field, joined the group in June this year as the Eskom Chair in Concentrating Solar Power. STERG’s primary sponsors are the De-partment of Science and Technology, Sasol Technology, Eskom, the Stellenbosch University HOPE Project and the Department of Trade and In-dustry (via the THRIP programme). STERG encourages multidisciplinary research activ-

ities and is linked with researchers in other depart-ments, faculties and research institutes nationally and internationally. STERG aims to become a world-leading university research group in this field and is already acknowledged by the world-wide CSP commu-nity as a leading research group. The group’s comprehensive network in South Africa and world-wide is growing rapidly.

FacilitiesSTERG has excellent in-house facilities at its disposal. These include:o 1 000 m2 solar roof laboratory with staff and workshop.o 18 m flex use lattice tower.o 1,5 m3, 3 ton, 600 °C thermal storage test facility.o 1 000 °C kiln with automated quick charge/discharge capabilities.o Solar resource and weather stations with public website access.o Heat transfer and flow laboratories including multiple wind tunnels.o State-of-the-art solar water heater test facility for student research

and commercial projects.o SW: Fluent CFD, ArcGIS, TRNSYS, FLOWNEX, etc.o 25 kW McDonnel Douglas Stirling dish.o 40 m2 aperture heliostat field. o Utilities and control facilities to perform contract R&D on CSP op-

tical systems.

STERG’s current focus areaso CSP system concepts, development & analysis.o Thermal energy storage.o Condenser cooling (wet, dry & hybrid).o Heliostat and overall collector R&D.o Linear Fresnel collector R&D.o Stirling dish R&D.o Solar resource assessments, measurements & GIS mapping.

Helio40The big project in 2013 is a 40 square metre heliostat field to comple-

ment the solar tower providing Stellenbosch University with a com-plete solar test facility. Named the Sasol Helio40 heliostat facility due to the funding for the project provided by Sasol in recognition of suc-cessful efforts to develop a homegrown heliostat system. This project is trending to be completed on time and budget at the end of 2013. Once complete, researchers developing CSP receivers will have a fa-

cility to test their concepts.

Participation on the international frontSTERG members participated in the Solar Power And Chemical En-

ergy Systems (SolarPACES) conference held in Las Vegas in Septem-ber this year where they delivered 11 papers. SolarPACES is an international cooperative network bringing togeth-

er teams of national experts from around the world to focus on the development and marketing of concentrating solar power systems. It is one of a number of collaborative programs managed under the umbrella of the International Energy Agency to help find solutions to world-wide energy problems. Technology development is at the core of the work of SolarPACES. Member countries work together on activities aimed at solving the wide range of technical problems associated with commercialisation of concentrating solar technology, including large-scale system tests and the development of advanced technologies, components, instrumentation, and systems analysis techniques. Currently SolarPACES has 19 member countries, namely Australia, Austria, Algeria, Brazil, China, Egypt, the European Com-mission, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Morocco, Republic of Korea, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates and United States of America. Membership is open to all countries and in-volves a government (or its nominated contracting party) becoming a signatory. With recognition from SolarPACES, STERG hosted its first annual

symposium in July this year to which they invited their industry part-ners, funders and all interested in the topic of CSP. Eighteen research-ers presented their work. In future this event will be repeated on an annual basis.

Paul Gauché.

Prof Frank Dinter.

ConclusionThe mission of STERG is to deliver highly skilled researchers and en-

gineers for a CSP industry and rollout in Southern Africa. In doing so, STERG will support decision and policy makers in the region, develop improvements to the technology and supply skilled engineers that will assist with the rollout and operation of many CSP plants in future.

Solar roof laboratory.

STERG contact details: Telephone: 021 808 4016 Website: http://concentrating.sun.ac.za

Some STERG members visiting the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada whilst in the USA for the SolarPACES conference.

Fakulteitsnuus/Faculty News

Die tradisie van Trapkarre leef voort. Vanjaar se wedren in Septem-ber het weer vir groot opwinding en goeie spangees gesorg. Die baan het die jaar verskuif na die nuwe, groot parkeerarea by Elektriese en Elektroniese Ingenieurswese en Siviele Ingenieurswese. Meganiese en Megatroniese Ingenieurswese het koning gekraai in die blitsritte ter-wyl die privaatspan Lambda weer eens in die uithouwedren geseëvier het, met Siviel se Kwaggas kort op hul hakke.

Bedryfsingenieurswese se entoesiastiese ondersteuners.

‘n Verwisseling van bestuurders in die kuipe.

Trapkartradisie leef voort

Geen Babelse verwarring met 8 tale gelyk

Samewerking met Bath Universiteit lyk belowend

In September is ’n vyfdag werksessie oor wa-ternavorsing gehou waarby rolspelers van Uni-versiteit Stellenbosch met hul eweknieë van Bath Universiteit gesels het oor gemeenskap-like projekte met wedersydse voordeel. Heel-wat samewerkingsmoontlikhede is identifiseer op navorsings- én akademiese gebied.

Prof André Burger (voorsitter Proses-

ingenieurswese) wys sy departement se fasiliteite aan die

groep van Bath en US-personeel.

’n Babelse verwarring? Nee, met agt amptelike tale wat gelyktydig gepraat is, het almal júís beter verstaan wat gesê is.’n Unieke gebeurtenis het onlangs in die US se Kliëntedienssentrum

afgespeel toe ‘n paar huidige ingenieurstudente in agt van die land se amptelike tale tydens ’n telethon met voornemende ingenieurstu-dente regoor die land in hul spesifieke moedertaal gepraat het. Die telethon is die blink idee van August Engelbrecht, die Fakulteit

Ingenieurswese se studentewerwer. “Ons is verheug dat soveel bruin, swart en Indiër voornemende studente vir Ingenieurswese aansoek gedoen het, en aanvaar is. Ons is egter bekommerd oor die opdaag-koers en registrasies, want nie almal wat aanvaar is, daag noodwen-dig op nie. Daarom het ek ’n span van 16 huidige ingenieurstudente gevra om hul fakulteit te help deur voornemende studente te bel en in hul moedertaal met hulle te praat,” sê hy. Die tale wat gepraat is, is isiZulu, isiXhosa, Sepedi, Setswana, Sesotho, Xitsonga, SiSwati en Tshivenda. Hierdie “ambassadeurs” van Ingenieurswese moes tydens die

gesprek hul positiewe ervaring met voornemende studente deel en hulle aanmoedig om ook op Stellenbosch te kom studeer. ’n Totaal van 109 oproepe is gemaak. Daar is met entoesiasme gebel, gepraat en aangespoor. Elke gesprek

is afgesluit met die belofte aan die voornemende student: “Onthou, ek is nou jou mentor as jy Stellenbosch toe kom.”“Dit was wonderlik om MY universiteit te bemark onder die mense

wat MY taal praat,” het Sibabalwe Songca, ’n isiXhosasprekende eerstejaar chemiese ingenieurstudent, na afloop van die telethon gesê. Sy voeg by: “Die leerders aan die ander kant was so opgewonde om te hoor dat daar ’n taalgenoot aan die Universteit Stellenbosch studeer en reken nou dat hulle ook op Matieland tuis sal kan voel.

Die span wat aan die vindingryke telethon deelgeneem het, was dit eens: as hulle só ’n oproep gekry het voordat hulle kom studeer het, sou dit hulle vir seker gerusgestel het. Net na die eksamen, sal ’n span Afrikaanse en Engelse ingenieurstu-

dente aan ’n soortgelyke telethon deelneem om voornemende stu-dente wat Afrikaans of Engels is aan te spoor om Ingenieurwese op Stellenbosch te kom studeer.

August Engelbrecht (regs) met sy span gewillige ambassadeurs.

Fakulteitsnuus/Faculty News

Charles Fredericks, bestuurder van ’n voorgraadse elektroniese laboratorium by die Departement Elektriese en Elektroniese (E&E) Ingenieurswese, is 17 September na ’n hartaanval oorlede. Hy was 32 jaar by die Fakulteit werksaam. “Charles het diep spore in ons Departement getrap, met generasies van E&E

studente wat hom leer ken het as ’n besonder bekwame en hulpvaardige per-soon met ’n puik sin vir humor. Sy afsterwe is vir ons ’n groot terugslag. Hy het ’n onmisbare rol by ons vervul met dekades se ervaring,” sê prof Thomas Jones, voorsitter van die Departement Elektriese en Elektroniese Ingenieurswese.

Dr Christie Dorfling (senior lektor, Departement Prosesingenieurs- wese) het die Fakulteit Ingenieurswese se Dekaanstoekenning ont-vang. Dié toekenning, wat nie noodwendig elke jaar gedoen word nie, kan toegeken word aan ’n student wat voorgraads sowel as nagraads werklik uitmuntend presteer het. Dr Dorfling se verstommende ge-

middeld van 95% vir sy voor-graadse vier jaar van studie is die beste wat ’n voorgraadse student nog in die geskiede- nis van die Departement Pro- sesingenieurswese behaal het. Dr Dorfling het in Desember 2012 sy PhD-graad ontvang. Vorige ontvangers van die De-kaanstoekenning was dr Derick Moolman (1996) en dr Marlie du Rand (2004).

Dekaanstoekenning vir uitmuntende prestasie

Dr Christie Dorfling.

Wyle Charles Fredericks.

Twee nuwe geboue by Ingenieurswese, die Kennissentrum en die De-partement Prosesingenieurswese se anneks, is in September ampte-lik geopen. Die twee geboue is die eerste beduidende toevoegings tot die Ingenieurswese kompleks sedert dit in die 1970’s voltooi is. Die vierverdieping Kennissentrum, ter waarde van R38 miljoen, bestaan uit ’n hipermoderne biblioteek, twee groot lesingsale en twee navors-ingsentra. Dit beslaan 4 000 m2.Verskeie rolspelers het befondsing tot die gebou bygedra, naamlik

die Departement van Hoër Onderwys en Opleiding, Sasol, MIH, en die US-Raad. Sasol se bydrae was ten opsigte van die helfte van die vierde vloer wat die Sentrum vir Hernubare en Volhoubare Energiestudie en die Sontermiese-Energie-Navorsingsgroep huisves. MIH (Naspers se uitsaai en internettegnologie afdeling) het weer op hul beurt die ander helfte van daardie vloer befonds waar die MIH-Medialabora-torium sy tuiste gevind het. Die Medialab is ’n multidissiplinêre na-vorsingsomgewing waar nagraadse studente uit verskeie tegniese en nie-tegniese dissiplines saamwerk op internet-, rekenaar- en mobiele tegnologie. Die Prosesingenieurswese Anneks van 3 500 m2 se koste beloop nage-

noeg R30 miljoen. Dit beslaan drie verdiepings en sluit in laboratoria vir voorgraadse onderrig, tutoriaalkamers en werkspasie vir nagraad-se studente, asook kantore vir personeel en navorsers.Me Corinna Truter, hoof van die Ingenieurs- en Bosboubiblioteek, sê

dat die nuwe biblioteek uiters gewild onder studente is. Die gemid-delde aantal biblioteekbesoeke per maand het opgeskiet van 5 000 na 20 000 vandat studente die moderne, goed-toegeruste biblioteek tot hul beskikking het.

Twee nuwe geboue amptelik geopen

Staatmaker oorlede

Die veeldoelige Kennissentrum.

Prosesingenieurs- wese se Anneks.

Prof David Davidson of the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, has been appointed as Member of the National Research Foun-dation (NRF) Astronomy Advi-sory Council from 1 November to 31 October 2016. Members of the astronomy

community nominated him. This first NRF Astronomy Ad-

visory Council will assist the NRF to ensure that the South African Astronomy landscape is developed and nurtured in a manner that serves the best interests of the national astronomy community.

Prof Davidson member of Astronomy Advisory Council

Prof David Davidson.