The researchers of RTU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transport and Aeronautics participate in national and international scientific projects.
Aim of the project: Explore the early decay of polymeric composite material surfaces, develop diagnostic methods and analyse the feasibility of using techniques in companies
The project was carried out between 2014 and 2017.
The project was carried out between 2006 and 2008.
The project was carried out between 2004 and 2006.
The project aims to create new concretes and study their properties, partly using shale ash as cementing material. Among all the Baltic States, Latvia produces the most cement. The admixture of oil shale ash (energy sector waste in Estonia) with standard cement allows the production of specialized cement with low consumption of natural and energy resources, reducing the pollution caused by the industry and the cost of cement / concrete, as well as CO2 emissions. In addition, specific properties of such concrete are predicted – the required strength is easily achieved and poor filtration of heavy metal impurities through the concrete mass. The above describes the development of specialized concrete for a very important application – long-term storage of hazardous waste by immobilizing them in concrete containers or directly in the concrete mass. It is also possible to build protective structures in the radioactivity industry. There are several sources of hazardous waste in the Baltic and Nordic countries, from highly radioactive waste directly related to the use of nuclear energy and specific components of medical equipment to toxic substances or metals with insignificant radioactivity that can occur in various sectors such as metal extraction and recycling. An example of a source of large-scale radioactive waste of all stages is the decommissioning of the Ignalina Nuclear Power Plant (NPP). At the time of writing, most of the Ignalina NPP radioactive waste is still in temporary storage sites and a long-term solution is still being sought. The long-term lack of hazardous waste storage solutions and technologies is a problem for the entire Baltic region.Working together for a green, competitive and inclusive Europe
In the frame of ICONDE Project, the Lithuanian Energy Institute organizes a summer course «Introduction to the nuclear energy, nuclear hazards and radioactive materials management» for PhD students and young scientists. The summer course will be held online from May 15 to 18, 2023. The purpose of the event is to provide knowledge about the nuclear energy: different types of nuclear reactors, nuclear hazards – nuclear accidents, management of nuclear materials and decommissioning of nuclear power plants. Summer courses are organized in the form of interactive lectures and analysis of practical examples. Simplified examples of performing analysis will be demonstrated, the trainees will be involved in the process of calculation. The Interactive lectures consist of 75% of the Course time. The remaining 25% will be covered by analysis of practical examples. The post-gradutate and PhD students who are interested in the field of nuclear energy safety and young researchers who are preparing to work in the field of nuclear energy are invited to apply. Applications are open until March 31, by sending an e-mail to . More information can be found HERE (PDF, 1.5 MB).
August - October 2022
RTU researchers have prepared a publication for the Open Access journal - Applied Sciences «Experimental Study and Modelling on the Structural Response of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams». The paper is being accepted for publication and will be published in late October.
From September 12 to 14, the workshop «Management of Radioactive/nuclear and hazardous waste» was held at the Lithuanian Energy Institute, Kaunas, on radioactive/nuclear waste management and other ICONDE project topics. The workshop was organized as a hybrid event - online and in person. The three - day workshop featured many presentations, including invited representatives from industry and government institutions. Among other things, it was also possible to visit the Ignalina nuclear power plant.
The results obtained in the ICONDE project were also presented at the annual Scientific Conference of RTU on October 13. PhD student Karunamoorthy Rengasamy Kannathasan and project coordinator Dr Andrejs Krasņikovs gave two presentations: «Experimental Investigation of short steel fibers in various temperature gradient» and «Investigation of SFRC with different temperature concentration and its pull-out tests». The presentation on the modeling results «Modelling Continuous Materials Using the Discrete Element Method» was given by I. Vaicis.
May - July 2022
In this quarter, project members have participated in several events to inform the public about the ICONDE project, and the scientific results obtained in it.
On June 9, the project team held a public workshop to promote the ideas of the ICONDE project. The title of the seminar was «Development of concrete mixtures for management of hazardous waste, including radioactive waste». The event took place in the Tallinn office of the University of Tartu in the very center of Tallinn. Each partner institution gave a presentation to present their work in the ICONDE project.
Project researchers Siiri Salupere from Tartu University, Estonia and Iveta Novakova from UiT, Norway, attended NORM X conference with the presentation «ICONDE – innovation in concrete design for hazardous waste management applications». The conference was held on May 9-13 in Utrecht, the Netherlands. Volodymyr Gulik from Tartu University attended the 10th Euratom Conference on Reactor Safety & 10th Euratom Conference Radioactive Waste Management (FISA 2022 & EURADWASTE '22) in Lyon, France from May 30 to June 3 where he presented a poster presentation «Concrete composite material reinforced by modified basalt fiber for nuclear energy and nuclear waste management applications». Sabīne Upnere from Riga Technical University participated in the 25th International Composite of Structures Conference (ICCS25), where she presented a poster presentation «Fracture of fibre reinforced concrete. Identification of crack face bridging law, softening approach». The conference was organized by the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Porto (Portugal), and it took place from July 19 to 22.
February - April 2022
In the fourth quarter of the project, the development of numerical models for the study of the mechanical properties of concrete was started. Numerical modeling will allow to evaluate the effect of the amount of oil shale ash and added fibers on the development of cracks in concrete without performing laboratory experiments. In parallel, work has begun on numerical modeling of shielding properties. The production of concrete samples without fibers using different amounts of oil shale ash has been completed in the RTU laboratory.
The project partners have prepared and submitted a joint report to the international scientific conference NORM X 2022, which will take place from 9 to 13 May in the Netherlands. RTU professor Andrejs Krasņikovs will participate in the first international online conference «Nuclear Energy for Latvia» with a report «ICONDE - new concrete for nuclear waste and radioactive waste management». The conference will take place on May 18, 2022.
The achieved goals of ICONDE in the first year are the result of intensive cooperation between the project partners – Riga Technical University, Arctic University of Norway, Lithuanian Energy Institute and University of Tartu.
ICONDE kick-off meeting in Narvik
The kick-off meeting of ICONDE project was held at UiT campus Narvik instead of RTU due to COVID 19 restrictions in Baltic countries. All project partners attended, namely:
The meeting lasted for two days and besides discussion about completed tasks, evaluation of the further plan and project progress was addressed in detail. Many emphases were given to live events that have to be rescheduled (due to COVID 19 pandemic situation). All partners recognized the increased need for good dissemination of results towards industry and other research institutes. The ICONDE project conducts research about concrete design for hazardous waste management applications. This includes the management of radioactive waste, which is connected mainly to the decommissioning of the Ignalina nuclear power plant, particularly gamma radiation and neutron shielding. Furthermore, the ICONDE project fully complies with nowadays needs:
• EU strategy connected to hazardous (including radioactive and nuclear) waste management.
• The present geopolitical situation has strongly brought up the need to establish energy independence in Europe – the use of nuclear power in European countries is likely to increase in the future. The ICONDE project is devoted to the development of innovative and efficient materials for safe radioactive waste management, which guarantees modern radiation protection requirements.
• UN´s sustainable development goals as circular material flow are addressed by adding oil shale ash, waste from energy production in Estonia, into the concrete where it is replacing partly cement.
The first day of the event was closed by dinner, where partners from Baltic countries tasted «Boknafisk», a traditional dish from Northern Norway. The second day of the kick-off meeting started with a city tour and visit to the LKAB shipping facility guided by Jorn Eldby. Twelve participants from all four project partner institutes were satisfied with the event and agreed that this physical meeting would positively impact project progress.
The next meeting of the project participants is scheduled for June 2022 in Tartu.
November 2021 - January 2022
In the third quarters of the ICONDE project, research into fiber and non-fiber ash concrete for the storage of hazardous waste was continued. The selection of fibers to be used in further research, the definition of their parameters, the basic problems of radioactive waste storage in relation to the mechanical properties of the cementing material have been performed. In order to be able to determine the effect of oil shale and various fibers on the properties of concrete, basic samples have been prepared for comparison using traditional concrete production recipes, as well as the first tests of mechanical properties have been performed. The aims and tasks of numerical experiments in fiber concrete have been formulated in the discussions.
August - October 2021
In the second quarter of the project, the study of the chemical and mineralogical properties of oil shale ash was completed, which is an essential precondition for further activities related to the modeling of composite materials, gamma and neutron shielding experiments. Information on existing sources of hazardous waste in the project partner countries has been collected. Such information makes it possible to identify more specifically the potential applications of the new type of concrete in the partner countries.
At the 62nd RTU International Scientific Conference, the wider scientific community was informed about the activities of the ICONDE project. The scientific section «Engineering, Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering» organized by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transport and Aeronautics took place on October 14 in a hybrid form both on-site and remotely. Normunds Jēkabsons, the leading researcher of the project, participated in it with the report «ICONDE project, its description and achievements».
May - July 2021
Scientists in the Department of Theoretical Mechanics and Strength of Materials at the Institute of Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Transport and Aeronautics have started research into a new type of concrete for hazardous waste storage using oil shale ash as a raw material.
The use of basalt and newly developed basalt-boron fibers instead of traditional steel reinforcement is one of the research directions. Such specialized concrete with low gas and liquid permeability as well as radiation shielding properties due to boron additives can be used for cementation of hazardous waste - both for transportation and long-term storage (for example, in some containers or directly in bulk). The implementation of the project started on May 1, 2021.
In the first quarter of the project, researchers carried out chemical and mineralogical research of oil shale ash and determination of critical parameters and requirements for materials used in radioactive waste management.
August - October 2021
RTU researchers have prepared a publication for the Open Access journal - Applied Sciences «Experimental Study and Modelling on the Structural Response of Fiber Reinforced Concrete Beams». The paper is being accepted for publication and will be published in late October.
From September 12 to 14, the workshop «Management of Radioactive/nuclear and hazardous waste» was held at the Lithuanian Energy Institute, Kaunas, on radioactive/nuclear waste management and other ICONDE project topics. The workshop was organized as a hybrid event - online and in person. The three - day workshop featured many presentations, including invited representatives from industry and government institutions. Among other things, it was also possible to visit the Ignalina nuclear power plant.
The results obtained in the ICONDE project were also presented at the annual Scientific Conference of RTU on October 13. PhD student Karunamoorthy Rengasamy Kannathasan and project coordinator Dr Andrejs Krasņikovs gave two presentations: «Experimental Investigation of short steel fibers in various temperature gradient» and «Investigation of SFRC with different temperature concentration and its pull-out tests». The presentation on the modeling results «Modelling Continuous Materials Using the Discrete Element Method» was given by I. Vaicis.
ERA-NET RUS Plus, Horisone
Project leader of RTU group: prof. J. Dehtjars
The project was carried out between 2021 and 2023.
European Comission ERA-NET RU PLUS project.
Project leader of RTU group: prof. J.Dehtjars
The project was carried out between 2019 and 2021.
International atomic energy agency (IAEA) LAT)0004 . Technical cooperation program.
Project leader of RTU group: prof. A. Balodis
The project was carried out between 2020 and 2021.
Research leader: prof. A. Balodis
The project was carried out between 2018 and 2020.
Project aim – In cooperation with specialists of the Institute of Technical Medicine at Furtvangen University, to explore the possibility of using textile electrodes integrated in clothing to monitor human breathing using electroimpedances tomography
The Baltic-German University Liaison Office project is financially supported by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) from funds allocated by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Project leader:. A. Kataševs
Project implemented in 2017.
EUREKA project E! 3033
The project was carried out between 2003 and 2013.
Project code INTAS 05-96-4396
The project was carried out between 2006 and 2009.
Project code INTAS 03-51-3967
The project was carried out between 2004 and 2007.
Financed by European Commission grant, project NMP3-CT-2003- 504937
Coordinator: prof. Jurijs Dehtjars
The project was carried out between 2004 and 2007.
European Commission project PECO, PL93-1114
The project was carried out between 1994 and 1996.