Supervised PhD Students

My PhD students are all studying Water Resources Engineering. Within this field they are studying renewable energy systems and applications or methods/techniques important for the development of this field.

Ongoing PhD Work

Completed PhD Work


Ongoing PhD Work

Lobna Altorkmany, The Duck Foot Heat Exchanger – a new device for eradication of Legionella and other bacteria in water. Financed by Formas and Borö AB.
Lobna Altorkmany graduated 2002 in Mechanical Engineering at Al Baath University, in Homs, Syria. Her field was Utilization of Renewable Energy for Space Conditioning. After graduation she was teaching for some years at the High Industrial Institute. In 2007 she started her PhD studies within the Renewable Energy Group at the Department of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, at Luleå University of Technology, Sweden. One problem with low temperature heating systems is that used heat accumulators are suitable for the growth of the lethal Legionella Bacteria. Lobna is working on the development of a new patented and most energy efficient thermal treatment method to eradicate Legionella and other bacteria in water. For more info click Lobna Altorkmany

Mohamed Alamin Grein, Implementing Ground Heating and Cooling in North Africa. Financed by LTU and Sebha University, Libya
The overall objective of current project is to transfer Swedish Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) know-how and to adapt UTES for North African conditions. Initially the UTES technology will be studied and demonstrated in Libya. The technology will be promoted in North Africa through conferences, seminars and articles in Arabic (technical) journals. This PhD project which starts June 2005 will be summarized in Mohamed Grein’s PhD thesis after four years of studies.
Grein's homepage: Mohamed Grein

Maria Engström. Thermally Driven Groundwater Convection. Financed by LTU.
The idea is that a temperature driven groundwater convection is caused by the seasonal changes in air temperature, i.e. by the varying density of the groundwater close to ground surface. Thus in the south of Sweden, where the groundwater temperature is about 10C, this convection occurs when the groundwater temperature is cooled, i.e. during the autumn and the winter. In the north of Sweden, where the groundwater temperature is about 3C, the convection occurs when the water is warmed up during the spring or early summer.  This study will analysed the conditions for this ground water convection to occur. Engström's homepage: Maria Engström

Jenny Lindblom. Condensation Irrigation - a System for Desalination and Irrigation. Financed by SIDA and LTU.
   This desalination/irrigation project is utilising solar energy for the evaporation of humidity from saline water. The saturated air is pumped through a buried pipe system where the cold of the surrounding soil supplies cold for condensation. The desalinated condensed water is collected at one end of the pipe. If drainage pipes are use the water leaves the pipe through the drainage holes and the land is irrigated.
Lindblom's homepage: Jenny Lindblom


Completed PhD Work

Mohamad Kharseh, Thermal Energy Storage Application for Energy Efficient Use in Syria. Financed by Al Baath University, Syria.
Mohamad Kharseh, from Hama in Syria, was in 2006 appointed “the best engineering student in Syria”. After his successful BSc in Energy Engineering he was awarded a Scholarship that guarantees full funding for his PhD studies. He decided to study within the Renewable Energy Group the Department of Civil an Environmental Engineering, Luleå University of Technology in Sweden. The subject of his PhD studies will be analysis of energy systems combined with underground thermal energy storage (UTES). The aim is to develop sustainable systems based on renewable energy solutions and efficient use of non-renewable energy sources. The work will be an important contribution to sustainable energy management in the Middle-East and will contribute to reduce the harmful global warming effects associated with extensive use of non-renewable energy sources. Mohamad Kharseh

Sofiane Amara, Seasonal Storage of Solar Heat for Space Heating in Algeria. Financed by LTU and Tlemcen University, Algeria
The overall objective of current project is to transfer Swedish UTES know-how and to adapt and apply Underground Thermal Energy Storage (UTES) in Algeria. More specifically, the plan is to design, construct, operate, and evaluate a system for seasonal storage of solar heat for space heating of a building at Tlemcen University. The focus is not on the solar collectors but on the storage system. LTU will assist in adapting the UTES technology for North African conditions. There are several storage techniques to investigate though a borehole system is most likely to be chosen. Performed research will be published in peer-review journals, international conferences and also promoted by articles and seminars in the region. This work will be summarized in Amara Sofiane’s PhD thesis.Amara's homepage: Sofiane Amara

Anna-Maria Gustafsson. Thermal Response Test. Financed by FORMAS, Energimyndigheten, and LTU.
The thermal response test method (TED) was developed at LTU. It is used to determine thermal properties of energy wells and the ground surrounding the well.  These values are important for the design of borehole heat exchangers, that is a borehole system used for heat extraction systems for energy. TED is now used in ~40 countries. This aim of this project is to evaluate the importance of groundwater movements. This will be done by analysing both hydraulic and thermal well pumping. After Gustafsson’s licentiate work she continued to do more detailed studies of the heat transfer within the borehole. This includes the phase change of water when temperature go below freezing temperatures. AM Gustafsson

Qinghua Wang, Renewable Energy and Thermal Energy Storage. Financed by LTU and the Swedish Institute.
Q Wang, a guest student from China, is a PhD student at Geological Engineering, Jilan University. During her 9 months stay at LTU she will study the development and application of different types of renewable energy, e.g. ground source heat pump and seasonal thermal energy storage. Wang is currently working at Jilin University in China.

 Kjell Skogsberg. Seasonal Snow Storage. Financed by the Swedish Energy Office and LTU
Seasonal storage of snow has been used for more thousands of years. Originally snow or ice was stored in thermally insulated barns or cellars.  Sawdust or some straw material was used as thermal insulation. The aim of this work is to develop the old technology of storing snow under a insulating layer of sawdust. Possible applications are found both for space cooling and industrial cooling during the summer. This work will result in developed system layouts and models for dimensioning and design. The first large scale seasonal snow storage system in Sweden was recently constructed for cooling of the Regional Hospital in Sundsvall, Sweden. The cooing demand is 1000 kW/1000 MWh. The Sundsvall storage will be evaluated within this project.

Skogsberg, Kjell. Seasonal Snow Storage for Cooling Applications. Licentiate Thesis 2001:51, LTU
Skogsberg, Kjell. Seasonal Snow Storage for Space and Process Cooling. Doctoral Thesis 2005:30, LTU

Göran Tuomas. Recycling of Water in Water Hammer Drilling. Financed by Wassara AB and LTU
Wassara AB has developed a new drilling method in which water is used for the energy transfer from above ground to the hammer at the bottom of the borehole. This technology has been used at the LKAB mines for several years (4 million drill metres) but is now being developed for well drilling. The problem to solve is to minimize the large volume of water required for the operation, 0.2 to 0,3 m3/min. If surface water or good wells are available this is not a problem but to make the water hammer to general drilling method but cleaning and recycling of the drill water is required. The aim of this thesis is to solve this problem.

Tuomas, Göran. System for water driven down-hole hammer drilling, Licentate Thesis 2001:53.
Tuomas, Göran. Water powered percussive rock drilling: process analysis, modelling and numerical simulation. Doctoral Thesis 2004:58.

Dr. Tuomas is currently working at Atlas Copco, Örebo, Sweden.

 Derya Dikici. Cold Extraction from Winter Air for Seasonal Cold Storage. Financed by the Swedish Institute/LTU/Çukurova University, Turkey
The aim of this work is to extract cold from the winter air and to store it underground for cooling during the summer. The potential for doing so is as great in Ankara (Turkey) as it is in Luleå (Sweden) since the annual temperature variation is almost identical at both locations though the annual mean temperature is about 10C higher in Ankara. This technology saves money, environment and energy. This project includes field tests and theoretical analysis aiming at a general method to evaluate this technology in different climates. It seems like a Degree Days Method (DDM) would be an appropriate way to continue this work. Derya Dikici received her PhD in 2003 at Cukurova University, Adana, Turkey .

 Signhild Gehlin. Borehole Thermal Resistance. Financed by the Swedish Council for Building Research and the Swedish Heat Pump Association and LTU. Thermal resistance is vital to the rate of heat flux that can be transferred in an energy well. By studying the factors that can affect the thermal resistance, it is possible to develop more thermally efficient energy wells. Field tests are done with a mobile test equipment, TED. TED that was developed in this project is now being used in e.g. USA; Canada, Norway, Netherlands and Germany. The PhD thesis was presented 19 Dec 2002.

Gehlin, Signhild. Thermal Response Test. Licentiate Thesis 1998:37, LTU.
Gehlin, Signhild. Thermal Response Test. Method Development and Evaluation. Doctoral Thesis. 2002:39, LTU.

Dr. Gehlin is the Secretary General of SWEDVAC, the Swedish Society of HVAC Engineers (VVS tekniska föreningen), Stockholm, email: gehlin@emtf.se

Monika Söderlund. Water Film Solar Collector. Financed by the Swedish Council for Building Research.
This study was based on an idea to use a water film, flowing over different surface, as a solar collector. Water Film Solar Collector. Licentiate Thesis. 1987:07L. LTU.

Söderlund is currently working for the State Power Board, Stockholm, Sweden.