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Opening address
J o u r n a l o f Mechanical W o r k i n g T e c h n o l o g y , 6 (1982) 105--108 Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands
105
Opening Address Dr. H. PETER JOST, C.B.E. D.Sc., Hon.A.M.C.T., Hon.F.I.Prod.E., F.I.Mech.E., F.A.S.M.E., Hon.M.I.Plant.E. Chairman a n d Managing D i r e c t o r - - K.S.Paul Group; President - - I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r i b o l o g y Council
When being honoured by being asked to open this important International Conference it was suggested to me that I should address y o u on the issues of energy in their widest form -- including those not necessarily to be touched upon in the m a n y excellent papers to be presented. In accepting this challenge I wish to cast the net as wide as is reasonably possible. I therefore place before y o u the proposition that created wealth, including all manufactured goods, uses (a) products o f nature to which are applied, (b) manpower -both of the brain and of the muscle -- and (c) energy. Apart from these three basic constituents, what else is there? There is, of course m o n e y , but surely m o n e y is only a "lubricant" whose basic constituents are, (a) natural materials, (b) manpower and (c) energy! There is sufficient o f most materials, there is enough energy to last mankind for m a n y hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, some materials and energy are not sufficiently plentiful in a form which or in places where our present civilisation can use them. In fact, we all know this to be the case. Indeed there are already shortages of some materials and certainly of energy. Many materials we require are in places, for instance, under the sea, which are difficult or even impossible to reach at present, and energy exists in a form which we cannot use as yet, e.g. the vast energy of the sun, the sea, and so on. Commercial considerations are added to technological difficulties. In time these will be solved. However, at present, it is necessary to conserve both materials and energy -- this is the d u t y of all, whatever country we live in, and this is a task in which most of us can play a significant role, whatever the area of our work, whether in industry, education, etc. Governments readily concede the need to conserve thermal losses of energy through insufficient insulation and poor thermal cycles; however, they pay insufficient attention to the savings that can be obtained through other means, especially that of design and operation of plant and machinery, nor do t h e y seem over-concerned about the inherent energy content of materials. A good example is that of tribology (which I shall use to illustrate the general points of this introduction). Most countries have Ministries of Energy, or Ministries dealing with energy questions. But ask any of them how much energy can be saved through tribology, and I suspect that the retort would be that t h e y did not know, in some cases it might even be "What is tribology?" Yet the cumulative energy savings through tribology can be very significant indeed. In the 1981 James Clayton Lecture this was shown in the
106 United Kingdom to a m o u n t to the equivalent o f £468 to £700 million per annum (1980 values} and in the United States to approximately $24 000 million per annum (1980 values}. Direct savings o f energy losses N o w in what form can the application of scientific and technological knowledge reduce direct losses of materials and energy? I suggest there are 3 modes: Mode 1 Primary savings are mainly those that result from a more energy effective design or operation, e4~. a reduction in friction of whatever type, e.g. fluid, mixed, solid, etc. Such savings can be very large, as in t h e case of large 500 or 650 MW turbo~alternators, where correct design o f bearings can :reduce unnecessary frictional losses b y half to one megawatt per set, equivalent to a b o u t £50 000 per annum (at 1980 prices) o f coal per set. Mode 2 Secondary savings are in the main those which obviate the need to replace, that is to say, to manufacture worn parts. Again, using tribology as a typical example, this group o f savings is of particular importance, because in many cases the purpose o f interacting surfaces in relative m o t i o n is to maximise friction, such as on railway and automotive tyres, on brakes and on clutches, on belt drives and on shoe soles, etc. It has long been realised -- and indeed it will be discussed in several papers o f this Conference -- that the problem of minimising wear, when high friction is required, is often far more difficult and complex than when t h e aim is to minimise friction, such as in bearings. Yet the energy required for manufacturing parts to replace those worn and which could be saved, if wear was avoided, can be very substantial. Mode 3 The third m o d e of losses and savings are the tertiary kind: t h e y are mainly the savings obtained b y n o t having to make the materials from which replacement parts are made. The extent of such savings depends largely on the energy content o f t h e materials involved and these can vary from 300 GJ/t o n n e for aluminium and 100 G J / t o n n e f o r plastics, d o w n to 8 G J / t o n n e for brick. In national terms, the order of magnitude of energy savings in materials can be very high indeed and this is of course an area in which the subject of re,cycling can be o f great importance. When investigating the relative magnitudes of these 3 modes, it becomes very clear that in general terms, primary and even secondary losses of materials and energy are only a proportion, and n o t always the major proI~rtion, of energy losses, other than through direct heat transfer causes. B u t any
107 saving in primary losses, for instance b y a reduction of metal-to-metal friction, can often lead to larger energy savings of a secondary, even more, of a tertiary nature. The distinct identities o f these three modes of savings, and also indirect savings -- which will be referred to shortly -- are considered to be of importance for a realistic assessment of potential savings obtainable through the application of energy-efficient design operation. Regrettably, there is an almost complete absence of statistics on secondary and tertiary savings, and also of indirect energy savings obtainable b y the means suggested. Indirect savings Indirect savings of energy and materials are those which are consequential u p o n direct savings of whatever mode. They include the savings of capital investment, not only in money, b u t also in materials and energy terms. For instance, if b y better tribological bearing design, the rejected friction energy of the previously mentioned 500 to 650 MW turbo-alternators could be reduced b y 2 megawatts per set, this would result in indirect investment savings of approx. £1 millon per megawatt in the case of fossil stations, of approx. £1.5 million per megawatt in the case of nuclear stations. It is a k n o w n fact that the making of generating equipment requires substantial amounts of material and energy; therefore, such indirect savings in monetary terms are invariably accompanied b y substantial savings in material and energy. How to obtain savings in energy and materials Materials and energy can be saved b y the effective application of existing knowledge and b y the results of research and development, which -- for convenience -- may be grouped as follows:
Group 1 The savings capable of being made by use of existing knowledge and technology, i.e. involving motivation, education and training, and communication, b u t requiring no research and development. The majority of the savings could be expected to show economic visibility within three to five years and can therefore be described as short term, and some of the papers to be presented and discussed fall under this heading. Group 2 The savings that require a medium R & D effort -- in addition to education, training and communication -- for periods generally not exceeding 4 years. The majority of savings could be expected to show economic visibility within a period o f 5 Go 7 years and can be described as medium term.
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Group 3 The savings that require long term and sustained research and development effort, the o u t c o m e of which could to a certain extent be speculative. Such savings could take up to 20 years to show economic visibility b u t could be large They are described as long term. Some of these will also be referred to during the next few days. Whilst t h e y are important, it would appear advisable that we should concentrate our efforts to produce large savings of materials and energy b y attention to the groups which require little or no research and development or medium term R & D only. One further point: The opposition to progress in the areas of materials and energy savings are generally not acts of commision but, more often than not, acts of omission. This can lead to the situation where Government and others m a y say: "If Industry wants it, Industry will ask for it through the established channels or through the market mechanism !" Such view is a fallacy, based on a totally wrong assumption. Industry cannot ask for something it has not identified and cannot identify; much in the same w a y as a sick person cannot diagnose the cause of -and therefore treat his pains. He needs an experienced interpretor -normally a medical doctor. Indeed -- expressed in the same terminology -government and industry are spending much more in treating patients medically, when often a very small portion of such expenditure could have prevented the illness altogether, or a least minimised it. What better example could y o u find when looking at the subject matter of this International Conference, and what better justification for the valuable work y o u are engaged in. Seen in this fundamental light, the papers to be presented at this Conference might well acquire a different dimension; for the cumulative knowledge contained in t h e m could go a long w a y towards identifying the causes and suggesting, if not cures, then at least remedies to c o m b a t our present disease of unnecessarily wasting our resources of energy and materials. It is in this spirit that I have great pleasure in opening this International Conference on Efficient Energy Utilisation and Material Recycling in Metalworking. -
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105
Opening Address Dr. H. PETER JOST, C.B.E. D.Sc., Hon.A.M.C.T., Hon.F.I.Prod.E., F.I.Mech.E., F.A.S.M.E., Hon.M.I.Plant.E. Chairman a n d Managing D i r e c t o r - - K.S.Paul Group; President - - I n t e r n a t i o n a l T r i b o l o g y Council
When being honoured by being asked to open this important International Conference it was suggested to me that I should address y o u on the issues of energy in their widest form -- including those not necessarily to be touched upon in the m a n y excellent papers to be presented. In accepting this challenge I wish to cast the net as wide as is reasonably possible. I therefore place before y o u the proposition that created wealth, including all manufactured goods, uses (a) products o f nature to which are applied, (b) manpower -both of the brain and of the muscle -- and (c) energy. Apart from these three basic constituents, what else is there? There is, of course m o n e y , but surely m o n e y is only a "lubricant" whose basic constituents are, (a) natural materials, (b) manpower and (c) energy! There is sufficient o f most materials, there is enough energy to last mankind for m a n y hundreds, if not thousands, of years. However, some materials and energy are not sufficiently plentiful in a form which or in places where our present civilisation can use them. In fact, we all know this to be the case. Indeed there are already shortages of some materials and certainly of energy. Many materials we require are in places, for instance, under the sea, which are difficult or even impossible to reach at present, and energy exists in a form which we cannot use as yet, e.g. the vast energy of the sun, the sea, and so on. Commercial considerations are added to technological difficulties. In time these will be solved. However, at present, it is necessary to conserve both materials and energy -- this is the d u t y of all, whatever country we live in, and this is a task in which most of us can play a significant role, whatever the area of our work, whether in industry, education, etc. Governments readily concede the need to conserve thermal losses of energy through insufficient insulation and poor thermal cycles; however, they pay insufficient attention to the savings that can be obtained through other means, especially that of design and operation of plant and machinery, nor do t h e y seem over-concerned about the inherent energy content of materials. A good example is that of tribology (which I shall use to illustrate the general points of this introduction). Most countries have Ministries of Energy, or Ministries dealing with energy questions. But ask any of them how much energy can be saved through tribology, and I suspect that the retort would be that t h e y did not know, in some cases it might even be "What is tribology?" Yet the cumulative energy savings through tribology can be very significant indeed. In the 1981 James Clayton Lecture this was shown in the
106 United Kingdom to a m o u n t to the equivalent o f £468 to £700 million per annum (1980 values} and in the United States to approximately $24 000 million per annum (1980 values}. Direct savings o f energy losses N o w in what form can the application of scientific and technological knowledge reduce direct losses of materials and energy? I suggest there are 3 modes: Mode 1 Primary savings are mainly those that result from a more energy effective design or operation, e4~. a reduction in friction of whatever type, e.g. fluid, mixed, solid, etc. Such savings can be very large, as in t h e case of large 500 or 650 MW turbo~alternators, where correct design o f bearings can :reduce unnecessary frictional losses b y half to one megawatt per set, equivalent to a b o u t £50 000 per annum (at 1980 prices) o f coal per set. Mode 2 Secondary savings are in the main those which obviate the need to replace, that is to say, to manufacture worn parts. Again, using tribology as a typical example, this group o f savings is of particular importance, because in many cases the purpose o f interacting surfaces in relative m o t i o n is to maximise friction, such as on railway and automotive tyres, on brakes and on clutches, on belt drives and on shoe soles, etc. It has long been realised -- and indeed it will be discussed in several papers o f this Conference -- that the problem of minimising wear, when high friction is required, is often far more difficult and complex than when t h e aim is to minimise friction, such as in bearings. Yet the energy required for manufacturing parts to replace those worn and which could be saved, if wear was avoided, can be very substantial. Mode 3 The third m o d e of losses and savings are the tertiary kind: t h e y are mainly the savings obtained b y n o t having to make the materials from which replacement parts are made. The extent of such savings depends largely on the energy content o f t h e materials involved and these can vary from 300 GJ/t o n n e for aluminium and 100 G J / t o n n e f o r plastics, d o w n to 8 G J / t o n n e for brick. In national terms, the order of magnitude of energy savings in materials can be very high indeed and this is of course an area in which the subject of re,cycling can be o f great importance. When investigating the relative magnitudes of these 3 modes, it becomes very clear that in general terms, primary and even secondary losses of materials and energy are only a proportion, and n o t always the major proI~rtion, of energy losses, other than through direct heat transfer causes. B u t any
107 saving in primary losses, for instance b y a reduction of metal-to-metal friction, can often lead to larger energy savings of a secondary, even more, of a tertiary nature. The distinct identities o f these three modes of savings, and also indirect savings -- which will be referred to shortly -- are considered to be of importance for a realistic assessment of potential savings obtainable through the application of energy-efficient design operation. Regrettably, there is an almost complete absence of statistics on secondary and tertiary savings, and also of indirect energy savings obtainable b y the means suggested. Indirect savings Indirect savings of energy and materials are those which are consequential u p o n direct savings of whatever mode. They include the savings of capital investment, not only in money, b u t also in materials and energy terms. For instance, if b y better tribological bearing design, the rejected friction energy of the previously mentioned 500 to 650 MW turbo-alternators could be reduced b y 2 megawatts per set, this would result in indirect investment savings of approx. £1 millon per megawatt in the case of fossil stations, of approx. £1.5 million per megawatt in the case of nuclear stations. It is a k n o w n fact that the making of generating equipment requires substantial amounts of material and energy; therefore, such indirect savings in monetary terms are invariably accompanied b y substantial savings in material and energy. How to obtain savings in energy and materials Materials and energy can be saved b y the effective application of existing knowledge and b y the results of research and development, which -- for convenience -- may be grouped as follows:
Group 1 The savings capable of being made by use of existing knowledge and technology, i.e. involving motivation, education and training, and communication, b u t requiring no research and development. The majority of the savings could be expected to show economic visibility within three to five years and can therefore be described as short term, and some of the papers to be presented and discussed fall under this heading. Group 2 The savings that require a medium R & D effort -- in addition to education, training and communication -- for periods generally not exceeding 4 years. The majority of savings could be expected to show economic visibility within a period o f 5 Go 7 years and can be described as medium term.
108
Group 3 The savings that require long term and sustained research and development effort, the o u t c o m e of which could to a certain extent be speculative. Such savings could take up to 20 years to show economic visibility b u t could be large They are described as long term. Some of these will also be referred to during the next few days. Whilst t h e y are important, it would appear advisable that we should concentrate our efforts to produce large savings of materials and energy b y attention to the groups which require little or no research and development or medium term R & D only. One further point: The opposition to progress in the areas of materials and energy savings are generally not acts of commision but, more often than not, acts of omission. This can lead to the situation where Government and others m a y say: "If Industry wants it, Industry will ask for it through the established channels or through the market mechanism !" Such view is a fallacy, based on a totally wrong assumption. Industry cannot ask for something it has not identified and cannot identify; much in the same w a y as a sick person cannot diagnose the cause of -and therefore treat his pains. He needs an experienced interpretor -normally a medical doctor. Indeed -- expressed in the same terminology -government and industry are spending much more in treating patients medically, when often a very small portion of such expenditure could have prevented the illness altogether, or a least minimised it. What better example could y o u find when looking at the subject matter of this International Conference, and what better justification for the valuable work y o u are engaged in. Seen in this fundamental light, the papers to be presented at this Conference might well acquire a different dimension; for the cumulative knowledge contained in t h e m could go a long w a y towards identifying the causes and suggesting, if not cures, then at least remedies to c o m b a t our present disease of unnecessarily wasting our resources of energy and materials. It is in this spirit that I have great pleasure in opening this International Conference on Efficient Energy Utilisation and Material Recycling in Metalworking. -
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