Ph.D. student Tormod Drengstig

Status

I started my study in February 1994 and will be finishing my work in 1997. The financial support is from The Research Council of Norway and Hydro Aluminium a.s. through the EXPOMAT program. My supervisor is prof. Bjarne A. Foss.

Research area

I am working on process modularization with the aim to simplify model building and model changes. The application domain of the modeling approach is to complex unit processes, in which the aluminum electrolysis process is a case study. I have implemented the modeling concept in a simulation environment supported by a graphical user interface in which models are formulated. Within this environment, I have implemented a simple model of the aluminum electrolysis process, focusing on fluorid dynamics. The simulation results indicate that the model has a wrong structure. As a part of my stay in Prof. Wolfgang Marquardt's group at RWTH, Aachen, I am comparing our approach with their general modeling methodology with respect to applicability and behavioral knowledge representation, i.e. model equations. This is an ongoing activity. My industrial contact is Hydro Aluminium a.s.

Activities

• Presented my work on the modeling approach together with the aluminum electrolysis implementation at Nordic Process Control Workshop 95 at Aaland, august 1995.
• Visited prof. Wolfgang Marquardt's group at RWTH, Aachen, September 1995 - February 1996.

Publications

• Drengstig, T. B. A. Foss (1995), 'Modularization applied to an Aluminum Electrolysis Cell', NPCW-95, Aaland.

Plans for 1996

I will focus on further model development for the long term fluorid dynamics of the aluminum electrolysis cell, using the modeling approach.