Junior research groups

Brief Description of the Project

The energy transition in Germany and Europe is accompanied by fundamental changes in the generation structure and, consequently, in grid structures. Whereas in the past, consumers were supplied by large power plants connected to the transmission grids, renewable energy generation facilities are now largely located in the distribution grids.

Power from renewable generation facilities is primarily fed into the grid via power electronic components, whose electrical behavior differs significantly from that of generators in conventional power plants. As a rule, the new generation facilities are connected via cables, resulting in a decrease in the previously high proportion of overhead lines in the 110-kV and medium-voltage grids. This phase-out of conventional power plants—which has taken place over the past 25 years and is expected to continue—is having a particularly significant impact on Saxony’s distribution networks. This presents new opportunities and challenges for network operations and for the equipment and its insulation systems.

In the past, distribution grids were characterized by a high quality of service, which is to be maintained in the future as well. However, existing concepts for the operational management of distribution grids—particularly under critical operating conditions—are based on the grid structures of conventional grid operations. Operational management has so far been designed for overhead line networks and must be expanded to meet the requirements of networks with a higher proportion of underground cables and decentralized renewable energy generation facilities.

Project Objectives

Concepts for the operation of distribution grids must be adapted to their future structure or newly developed. The most important component of these concepts is limiting the ground fault current to levels that guarantee personal safety and the stable operation of the distribution grid. However, the increasing use of cables and the expansion of the grids inevitably result in higher fault currents. Furthermore, the increase in power electronic modules—both on the generator side and on the consumer side—leads to elevated harmonic levels that propagate through the grid, place stress on insulation, and also contribute significantly to fault current.

The determination and effects of these increased fault currents, as well as possible countermeasures, are currently the subject of heated debate and are the focus of ongoing research. The effects of the additional stress placed on the insulation of equipment by harmonics are largely unknown at this time. Consequently, research on this topic is absolutely essential.

Duration

July 2018 – June 2021

You can find the project description on the FIS website here

Brief description

Plastics are used in many different ways in society, e.g. in the form of packaging. Due to improper handling, disposal or wear and tear, plastics are introduced into a wide variety of environmental compartments. As a result of degradation processes, so-called microplastics can be created. In recent years, research has focused on investigating the contamination of aquatic systems. At the same time, however, there is another resource that requires extensive attention: the soil. Microplastics are also introduced into this environmental compartment, including agricultural land, through natural transport processes.

Project goals

• Development of a reliable method for determining microplastics in soil matrices
• Creation of a prediction model to simulate the transport pathways
• Investigation of the impact on crop plants, with a focus on the soil-plant-human transmission pathway
• Identification of pollution hotspots by monitoring potentially endangered areas
• Development of a process engineering concept for the purification of contaminated soils and composts

Duration

January 2020 - December 2022

Here you can find the project description in the FIS!

Brief Description of the Project

Ground-source heat pumps help minimize the final energy demand for building-side heat supply. This technology can demonstrate its full potential, particularly in combined heating and cooling operation. To fully exploit available efficiency potentials, there is a need for research into planning methods, prediction models, and practical operating concepts.

Project Objective

The objective of this research project is to address scientific challenges in the field of ground-source heat pump systems in a solution-oriented manner, to develop optimization concepts, and thereby make a practical contribution. In this context, the practice-oriented research is expected to benefit in particular from the collaboration of graduates from various departments.

To enable the completion of numerical model calculations within a reasonable timeframe as part of the research activities, the early-career research group has access to high-performance computing resources. For experimental investigations, the research team can also draw on a comprehensively equipped geothermal probe test facility.

Duration

August 2017 – June 2020

More information about the early-career research group is available on the faculty website and in the FIS.

At the Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences at Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences, the early-career research group“Biocatalysis Platform Zittau”(BioPlatZ) began a research paper in October 2017 on the topic “Identification of Enzymes as Biocatalysts and Their Application in Bio- and Chemocatalytic Processes for the Production of Fine Chemicals.” The project is funded by the European Social Fund and the Sächsische Aufbaubank. As part of this interdisciplinary project, novel energy- and resource-efficient synthesis methods are to be developed for compounds that, when used as active ingredients, require a high degree of purity.

By using whole cells or isolated enzymes as biocatalysts, the project aims to enable selective transformations of starting materials, which in turn serve as building blocks for the synthesis of complex chiral molecules. This combination of biotechnological and chemical approaches enables the incorporation of bio-based raw materials in the sustainable, energy-efficient, and environmentally friendly production of fine chemicals as high-value-added products.

The team of the BioPlatZ Early-Career Research Group consists of six young scientists from Germany and the Czech Republic. Specifically, over the next three years, the group will investigate chemo-enzymatic syntheses of chiral building blocks. “Chemo-enzymatic” means that both chemical and biological catalysts are used.

The common goal of the BioPlatZ Early-Career Research Group is to use chemo-enzymatic reactions to produce chemical compounds that have a specific, precisely defined configuration. This means that the structures produced by the group must have a specific three-dimensional arrangement in space in order to be used as chiral building blocks. Chiral building blocks are small molecules with defined stereochemistry that are later used to create pharmaceutical products, such as active ingredients for treating high blood pressure.

The early-career research team is composed of members from three disciplines:

• Biochemistry is supervised by Professor Annett Fuchs and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Kateřina Barková.
• Organic chemistry is led by Professor Dieter Greif.
• Microbiology is led by Professor Thomas Wiegert and postdoctoral researcher Dr. Marek Pecyna.

In this configuration, each field can contribute its expertise. Professor Wiegert’s research group is able to modify microorganisms in such a way that a specific reaction can be achieved. Professor Fuchs’s group takes the genetically optimized strains and performs a screening. Finally, Professor Greif carries out the chemical reactions and obtains the desired products.

Duration

September 2017 – November 2020

You can find the project description in FIS here!

Our early-career research group is investigating the reasons for gender disparities in participation in European Social Fund (ESF) grant projects in Saxony. The goal of a balanced gender distribution was clearly missed during the ESF’s last funding period (2014 to 2020), with approximately two-thirds of funded recipients being men and one-third being women.

Our task is to identify which of these reasons lie within the university system and to develop recommendations for action on how the identified causes can be eliminated or addressed within the universities and their programs.

Our interdisciplinary early-career research group comprises researchers from the Technical Universities of Dresden, Chemnitz, and Freiberg, as well as the universities of Mittweida and Zittau-Görlitz.

Further information can be found on the website of the TRAWOS Early-Career Research Group Institute.

Through the Early-Career Researcher Group (NFG), (early-career) researchers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic are empowered—through collaborative research and skills development—to enhance knowledge and technology transfer and to build networks between HSZG and the regional business community. The subprojects address a wide range of research questions within the HSZG’s “Energy and Environment” research focus. They contribute to the further development and sustainability of energy economics in Saxony.

Subproject I: Influence of Harmonics on the Dielectric Properties of Silicone Elastomers (Jun Ting Loh)

Based on findings from previous dielectric investigations, this subproject examines the short-term electrical strength of silicone elastomers under harmonic conditions. The existing test setup will be modified to simulate harmonics. To do this, a test voltage consisting of two superimposed alternating voltages (AC-AC) must be generated. Both unfilled and functionally filled silicone elastomers will serve as test specimens; in practice, these are used, for example, in medium-voltage cable assemblies.

The study will first examine the electrical strength of the silicone elastomers under an alternating voltage (AC) at various frequencies and temperatures. Based on the findings regarding their frequency and temperature dependence, the influence of harmonics can be specifically described. In this process, the test specimens are subjected to a superimposed AC-AC test voltage. The tests are conducted using continuous voltage-ramp tests, during which the voltage and time at breakdown are measured.

The results obtained from the project provide Saxony’s industry with a foundation for developing innovative approaches regarding the novel electrical loads on renewable energy sources. New and follow-up research questions can be investigated in subsequent research projects as part of the doctoral program, leading to further insights. The doctoral degree is scheduled to be completed in 2023. The close collaboration between research and regional industry facilitates knowledge transfer and provides an optimal career start after completing the doctoral degree.

Subproject II: Adapted Operating Concepts for Distribution Grids in Isolated Grid Operation (Benjamin Küchler)

This subproject analyzes the effects of the energy transition on the reliable operation of the power grid. The focus is on the phase-out of conventional, controllable power plants, the increasing connection of weather-dependent generators, and the growing use of DC-based technologies, such as battery storage or hydrogen synthesis. Due to the planned phase-out of nuclear and coal-fired power, as well as the increase in electronically controlled consumers, balancing consumer and generator flows will become significantly more dynamic and challenging in the future. In the event of a large-scale disruption to the interconnected grid, concepts for regional island grid operation must be developed to provide emergency power to critical infrastructure, and variants for decentralized grid restoration must be created.

To this end, existing studies on the development of the German energy supply system will first be summarized, and plausible forecasts will be developed. Based on the scenario developed, the technical, personnel, and political requirements for establishing a grid island will be elaborated. This will be done in constant consultation with grid and power plant operators. Building on this, model studies will be conducted on actual grid structures, and, where possible, practical tests will be carried out on the grid. This will identify existing potential and the limits of feasibility. Finally, tailored operational and grid restoration concepts for emergency operation with isolated grids will be developed, and recommendations for future technical and political adjustments will be formulated to ensure a reliable electric power supply.

The project promotes the retention of expertise in decentralized energy supply at the HSZG and in Saxony as a research hub. Stable grid operation without nuclear and coal-fired power plants is a fundamental prerequisite for an environmentally friendly energy supply and plays a key role in regional structural change, particularly in Lausitz. The researcher’s professional qualifications will be further enhanced in the course of the research project. Involvement in teaching and close collaboration with regional companies during the doctoral program ensure the transfer of knowledge and, in the long term, help develop a pool of skilled professionals for the Saxony region.

Subproject III: Restoration of Hydrophobicity in Silicone-Based Insulation Materials (Florian Praße)

This subproject examines the intrinsic material regeneration of silicone elastomers. Whereas previous research primarily focused on the loss of hydrophobicity in silicones following combined electrical and electrolytic stress as the first step prior to recovery, the focus will now shift more strongly toward the regeneration (hydrophobicity recovery) of silicone-based insulating materials. To this end, silicone elastomers with freely adjustable material properties (network density, sol content) and damaged using the accelerated aging method of the Dynamic Drop Test (DTT) until failure (loss of hydrophobicity) occurs. The test specimens are allowed to rest until regeneration occurs through the diffusion of uncrosslinked, hydrophobic components to the material’s surface.

By repeating the DTT on test specimens that have already been subjected to stress, the quality of the hydrophobicity recovery is examined in greater detail. To support the analysis, dynamic contact angle measurements (hydrophobicity testing) are performed, as well as SEM-EDX images for surface elemental analysis of damaged test specimens. Furthermore, the recovery of hydrophobicity is investigated in static tests (embedded electrodes), in which hydrophobicity can be locally degraded in this setup. Dynamic contact angle measurements subsequently enable the analytical verification of the recovery of hydrophobicity for this experimental setup.

The project results represent a unique selling point for (publicly accessible) research activities in the field of insulating material research. On the one hand, they form the basis for further projects aimed at extending the service life of composite insulators, which contributes to resource conservation. On the other hand, the degree (planned for 2022) and the associated successful qualification will help ensure a supply of skilled professionals in Saxony in the highly specialized STEM field—in both academia and industry. One example is the WACKER AG plant in Nünchritz, where expertise in silicone chemistry (insulators, raw materials for the solar industry, etc.) will certainly continue to be needed in the future.

Subproject IV: Decarbonization ofIndustrial Thermal Processes ( Ulrike Gocht)

Possible decarbonization measures are identified through an engineering analysis of typical industrial processes. Subsequently, the energy and environmental modeling of these measures is examined using the Andema software tool. For processes or subprocesses that cannot be modeled directly using the ecoinvent database, an initial rough environmental assessment is conducted based on available literature data. To calculate and correct the primary energy requirements of processes involving the use of waste/residual materials in ecoinvent, an analysis of the database entries is necessary. An estimation methodology must be developed to determine how to correct the primary energy consumption figures and apply this methodology to selected processes. Contact is being established and collaboration initiated with regional companies.

The use of the Andema software tool enables the Zittau/Görlitz University of Applied Sciences to secure third-party funding. There are also plans to secure funding for the further development of the Andema software tool to ensure continued employment for the project staff. With the help of the Andema software tool, regional companies are supported in environmental and resource protection, particularly in the transition to renewable energy sources.