FUTURE FOCUSSED RESEARCH DONE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF PRETORIA TO FIND SOLUTIONS FOR THE ENERGY CRISIS

The University of Pretoria (UP) has been doing research in the field of Blade Tip Timing (BTT) for the past nine years and is proud to announce that another one of its research initiatives is making inroads in industry. The University has patented three new inventions in the field of BTT, which have already been registered in South Africa, the USA and China. One of the patent applications is in the process of being registered in the USA and South Africa. The patenting process is being managed by UP’s Technology Transfer Office in its Department of Research and Innovation,

UP is increasingly establishing itself as an entrepreneurial university, where innovation, business vigour and entrepreneurial initiatives are encouraged to develop and implement new technologies for the future. The University has established various initiatives to support its students and staff members financially and in other ways with innovation and entrepreneurship. The University’s Department of Research and Innovation and the TuksNovation business incubator have supported the commercialisation of various technologies over the past few years.

The key staff members involved in the BTT research are Dr Dawie Diamond, Prof Stephan Heyns and Dr Abrie Oberholster in the Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Information Technology (EBIT) at UP. Dr Diamond is currently a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering at UP. He completed his PhD on this technology. In a recent statement, he said: “Universities often state that they perform industry-relevant research; well, I don’t think it can get any more relevant than this! As a PhD student, one hopes to see one’s work applied in industry, instead of it just being a topic that one studies to gain knowledge. I feel exceptionally privileged by the substantial financial and institutional support that both UP and Eskom have given this initiative. I am grateful for the opportunity to start my career by applying my own research in such an important industry. This is every engineer’s dream.”

In answer to the question, if he has hope for South Africa’s future, given the country’s current economic challenges, especially in the field of energy management, Dr Diamond said: “I most definitely have hope for the future. I don’t want to dismiss our country’s problems, but I enjoy reading about historical figures who have had to wrestle with even greater problems. I think someone like Hendrik van der Bijl – the founder of Eskom – would not have been particularly anxious about our current problems. When one reads his biography, one learns that the most appropriate action in challenging times is to decide that we are going to be successful, and then to work with incessant courage and enthusiasm to make it a reality.”

Dr Diamond is convinced that his inventions, which have been successfully patented by UP, will place BTT technology in South Africa at the forefront of this technology globally, exactly at a time when South Africa’s fleet of power stations can benefit from it. The joint project between UP and Eskom is managed in terms of an agreement between the two parties in which recognition is given to UP as the owner and inventor of the BTT technology.