RISE – Research Institutes of Sweden
Not a member yet
7718 research outputs found
Sort by
Transportrelaterade utsläpp av växthusgaser för godstransporter i Sverige : nutid och scenarier under omställning för att nå klimatmål
No full textFör att nå de nationella klimatmålen till 2030 och 2045 krävs kraftigt minskade växthusgasutsläpp, inte minst från transportsektorn. Denna studie analyserar hur omställningen av godstransportsektorn i Sverige (väg, järnväg och sjöfart) påverkar utsläpp av växthusgaser i andra sektorer och länder. Studien inkluderar transportrelaterade utsläpp i fem kategorier; direkta utsläpp från fordonens drift, utsläpp från produktion av fordon, bränslen och infrastruktur samt markkolutsläpp från nybyggnation av infrastruktur. Övergång till eldrivna fordon tenderar att öka utsläppen från fordonsproduktion, då energikrävande batteriproduktion idag sker i länder med höga utsläpp för el- och värmeproduktion. Om fordonsproducenter av tunga lastbilar kan använda batterier och grönt stål som producerats i Sverige, kan de totala fordonsrelaterade utsläppen minska. Annars finns risk för ökade utsläpp utomlands till följd av svenska godstransporters elektrifiering. Elektrifieringen av godstransporter kan möjligtvis kortsiktigt öka utsläppen i svenska elsektorn, men väntas minska över tid. Utsläpp från infrastruktur är betydande och sker främst i Sverige. Omställningens påverkan på infrastrukturbyggnation är liten, men om infrastrukturutsläppen inte minskar enligt uppsatta mål, kan de dominera på sikt. Det saknas också metodik och styrmedel för att hantera utsläpp från markexploatering vid ny infrastruktur, vilket kräver fortsatt forskning och åtgärder. Styrmedel för att minska växthusgasutsläpp inom Sverige och EU är ambitiösa, men osäkerheter kring kraven på utsläppsminskningar för olika produkter vid import från länder utanför EU kvarstår. För att säkerställa global utsläppsminskning krävs internationellt samarbete och harmonisering av regelverk. Helhetsgrepp i klimatpolitiken bekräftas vara viktigt för att säkerställa att utsläppsminskningar inom transportsektorn inte leder till ökningar i andra delar av värdekedjan. To meet Sweden’s national climate targets for 2030 and 2045, substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions are needed, particularly from the transport sector. This study explores how the transition of Swedish freight transport (road, rail, and maritime) affects emissions across sectors and borders. It includes five emission categories: direct emissions from vehicle operation, and indirect emissions from the production of vehicles, fuels, infrastructure, and soil carbon emissions due to building new infrastructure. Electrification of freight transport may increase emissions from vehicle manufacturing, especially due to battery production in high-emission countries. However, if batteries and green steel are produced in Sweden, total emissions related to vehicles can decrease. Electrification may in shortterm increase emissions in Sweden’s electricity sector but are expected to decline over time. Infrastructure-related emissions are significant and primarily domestic. Although the transition has limited impact on infrastructure development, failure to reduce these emissions could make them dominant. There is also a lack of methodology and policy to address emissions from land-use change, requiring further research and mitigation measures. Sweden and the EU have relatively ambitious climate policies, but uncertainties remain, especially regarding emissions from imported goods. Without strong international cooperation and harmonised regulations, there is a risk that emissions are shifted abroad rather than reduced globally. A holistic approach in climate policy, ensuring that emissions reductions in the transport sector do not lead to increases elsewhere in the value chain is confirmed important.LEVERANS NR: 2022.5.2.3: 2025-08-10 </p
RISE- Metod ASR- Nr 1 – Expansionsprovning för alkalisilikareaktivitet
No full textMetoden avser bestämning av alkalisilikareaktivitet i betong och bygger på att i en betong med ett alkalisilikareaktivt ballastmaterial som vattenlagras i en varm mättad saltlösning (NaCl), kommer cementet att reagera med reaktiva bergartstyper och expandera. Denna expansion tar sig uttryck i en längdförändring hos provkropp som kan mätas. Expansionen mäts med jämna intervall vid lagring i varm mättad NaCl-lösning (50 ± 2 °C). Provkropparna initialmäts efter 28 dygn i klimat, +20 ± 2 °C och minst 95 % relativ fuktighet. Slutmätning sker tidigast efter 20 veckors lagring i varm mättad NaCl-lösning
Future Urban Development : Leveraging AI for Sustainable Decisions
No full textThe project explored how artificial intelligence (AI), combined with synthetic datasets and rule-based models, can support decision-making in early-stage urban development. Using the generative design platform Hektar as a test bed, the team developed, implemented, and evaluated two complementary computational approaches: a deterministic, explainable algorithm and machine-learning models trained on large-scale synthetic data representing over two million urban plot configurations.The deterministic model demonstrated high precision, achieving less than ±5 % deviation between user-defined targets (FAR, SCR) and resulting outputs for 95 % of test plots. The machine-learning work progressed in two stages. In the first stage, a numerical Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) outperformed a convolutional neural network (CNN) in predicting Site Coverage Ratio (SCR) from compact geometric descriptors. In the second stage, a refined model predicted probability distributions of SCR outcomes, reflecting the stochastic generation of building configurations in the updated Hektar system. Together, these methods established a reproducible workflow that translates user goals into valid spatial outcomes while introducing probabilistic reasoning to early-stage planning.The project demonstrates that small, task-specific AI models can be computationally efficient while delivering substantial benefits. By improving the precision of density and form assessments, such models can contribute to reduced material use, more efficient land allocation, and lower climate impact in the built environment.All predictive models, datasets, and documentation are published openly on GitHub to support further research and industry adoption. By shifting from form generates data to data generates form, the project outlines a scalable pathway toward prescriptive, data-driven urban planning tools capable of supporting more sustainable, evidence-based decisionsVinnova – Utlysning Avancerad och innovativ digitalisering 2024 – ettåriga projektReference group: EttElva arkitekter; AFRY; Elisabeth Flakierska, senior adviser; Camilla Berggren-Tarrodi, RISE</p
A study of the fire performance of combustible thermal insulation through fire experiments
No full textThe production and usage of combustible thermal insulation like polyisocyanurate (PIR), wood fibre and cellulose in buildings are increasing. Traditionally, PIR has only been used in the ground and on roofs, in combination with non-combustible structures. During the last decade, the field of application for PIR has extended to walls, floors, and roofs, as well as to larger buildings. Woodfibre and cellulose insulation have been used in Norway since the early 1980s in combination with constructions of combustible materials, both as insulation of old constructions and as insulation in walls, roofs and floors in new buildings. During the last decade the area of use is also extended to larger buildings. Even if some fire testing is performed, there is a lack of knowledge about the fire behaviour of these combustible insulation materials and how theyaffect the fire development and spread, and the vulnerability to damages in the fire protectivecladding.The fire performance of these combustible thermal insulations has, therefore, been studied through fire experiments. Fire performances studied here are the temperature development in the material and the behaviour of the material when exposed to fire in terms of charring and general degradation. Three different fire test series have been conducted to study the performance of combustible insulation in timber frame assemblies with fire protective claddingsof gypsum boards or plywood boards. The insulation products tested are Kingspan Therma TW50 PIR, Hunton Nativo® Wood Fibre insulation batts, Hunton Nativo® Wood Fibre loose-fillinsulation, Ekovilla batt cellulose insulation and CBI Norge Isocell Evolution loose-fill cellulose insulation. For comparison, the non-combustible insulation products Glava Proff 34 batts (glass wool) and Rockwool Flexi A board (stone wool) were also tested. Two standardised test methods with additional measurements were used: EN 1364-1 for fire resistance of non-loadbearing walls and EN 13823 Single Burning Item (SBI) test for reaction to fire testing. In addition, a nonstandardised method was used to study both wall and roof together, as well as the intersection between them. In the non-standardised test and the fire resistance test, the temperature development in the furnace followed the standard temperature-time curve given in EN 1991-1-2, while in the SBI test, the applied fire source was as described in EN 13823. The temperature development in the constructions was measured with thermocouples, and the degradation of the insulation was observed visually and measured after the tests.The main goals, results and conclusions are: (1) Fire and temperature development in combustible insulation productsThe goal was to study the fire and temperature development in combustible insulation products made of polyisocyanurate (PIR), wood fibre and cellulose when used in building constructions like walls, floors and roofs, and the effect of damages and penetrations from technical installations in the fire protective cladding. The results from fire experiments on specimens with PIR, wood fibre, and cellulose were compared with results from tests on specimens with glass wool and stone wool. The thermal insulation products based on PIR, wood fibre or cellulose used in these experiments are combustible, with reaction to fire class E according to the classification. Glass wool and stone wool used in these experiments are both noncombustible insulation products with reaction to fire class A1.The evaluated insulation products reacted differently to high temperatures; the insulation products of PIR, wood fibre and cellulose tended to char and burn. While glass wool becamediscoloured and melted, stone wool became discoloured and porous, but neither of themburned and contributed to the fire.The results show that a char layer formed during combustion of PIR, wood fibre and cellulose will slow down the temperature increase inside the insulation. Combustible insulationproducts, as tested in these constructions with a protective cladding, can provide fire protection by slowing temperature increases inside the insulation and on the surface of the timber structure in the construction. Measurements from the non-standardized fire tests show thatconstructions with these tested insulation products can also achieve similar or better insulation performance compared to the tested glass wool and stone wool insulation when the insulation thickness is the same. However, in some cases the stone wool and glass wool insulation gave slower temperature development and better fire protection of the timber structure. Because the thermal conductivity of PIR is lower than the other products used in the experiments, it will sometimes be installed in smaller thicknessesthan the other insulation materialsinside wall and roof constructions. The thermal insulation for the constructions with PIR in the current tests is therefore better than the other tested constructions.The EN 1364-1 tests showed that higher temperatures were registered for batts than for loosefill insulation of the wood fibre and cellulose products used in these test series. Therefore, loosefill insulation was assessed to be more fire resistant, which motivated the present study to consider batts as the more challenging product. Batts were therefore used in the wall and roof constructions tested at RISE Fire Research.The temperatures in the roof construction increased faster than in the wall due to the temperature and pressure gradients inside the test furnace and the sagging and fall-down of the insulation. This demonstrates the importance of correctly installed insulation.According to the results from the SBI tests, the consequences of damages or holes in the cladding at the start of a fire are mainly limited to local fire damages in the insulation and short flame spread behind the cladding. The combustible insulation materials had limited fire spread laterally from the exposed area. There was, however, extensive damage in the direct fireexposed area, ranging from 40 to 100% charring through the insulation thickness. The specimens with glass wool and stone wool experienced no charring but were discoloured through 70 to 80% of their thickness by soot and possibly combustion of the binder. Classification according to EN 13501-1 does not reflect the heat transport into and through the construction and insulation. An estimation of thermal insulation products' fire performance is, therefore, not possible based only on this classification. This is, however, not the purpose of the reaction to fire classification given by the standard, but some users might assume that products with the same classification perform similarly in a fire, which is not necessarily true. Combustible insulation materials can contribute to the development and spread of a fire and cause increased smoke production. Smoke production has not been studied in these experiments but must be considered when using such products. However, whether the insulation is combustible or not, the required fire resistance for both loadbearing and fire separating constructions must be ensured to prevent structural collapse and fire spread to other parts of the building. (2) Fire protection performance of claddings used on combustible insulation The goal was to determine the effect of fire protective claddings when installed on different types of insulation.The non-standardised tests showed that a 13 mm Norgips Standard gypsum board type Acladding with classification K210 A2-s1,d0 provided approximately 7 minutes longer fire protection compared to a 12 mm plywood board cladding with classification K210 D-s2,d0. The gypsum board and the plywood board protected the insulation for approximately 17 and 10minutes, respectively. (3) The fire performance of the transition between the wall and roofThe goal was to investigate the fire performance of the transition between claddings on the wall and in the roof. The non-standardised tests showed that the transition between the walls and roofs performed well, i.e., this was not a weak spot where the fire burned through to the insulation faster than through the cladding.The results obtained in this research project are based on the insulation and cladding products tested here. Other products of similar materials might have different fire performance
Social and Environmental Sustainability of Municipal Solid Waste in the Context of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
No full textGlobally, significant volumes of municipal solid waste (MSW) are being generated, and are continuing to grow, while being disposed of in sub-optimal ways resulting in environmental, social and economic impacts. It is estimated that MSW generation by households will reach 3.8 billion tons by 2050 if urgent action is not taken, this is a 56% increase compared to 2020 (UNEP, 2024c). Development of sustainable MSW management strategies must be prioritised by all actors in the value chains, including municipalities and industries, to mitigate environmental impacts, leading to healthier ecosystems and reduced contributions to climate change. Developing scientifically based sustainability metrics is required to give a sound basis for decisions regarding future treatment of MSW. A proper decision framework integrating all the main aspects of sustainability (economy, environment and social) is an enabler to ensure that the developed MSW management strategies are not sub-optimised in favour of short-term solutions.The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopted by the UN member states in 2015, are now widely used as a means of tracking progress towards the more sustainable use of natural and human resources for the betterment of global society, and have been applied widely to MSW (Elsheekh et al., 2021, Abubakar et al., 2022, Ram and Bracci, 2024). Consideration of the SDGs is essential for building sustainable and equitable societies, as they provide a framework for addressing key challenges, including waste management and its impact on environmental and social sustainability. This report focuses on the SDGs which address aspects of environmental, social, and economic sustainability, related to the important impacts relating to MSW as identified in the IEA Bioenergy Task 36 regional workshop series. This report does not consider the full 17 SDGs, rather it considers MSW from the perspective of the environmental, social and economic impacts indicated as very important by the stakeholders participating in the Task 36 regional workshop series (Murphy and Gusciute, 2024). The SDGs considered in this report are: • SDG2 – Zero Hunger• SDG6 - Clean water and sanitation• SDG7 - Affordable and clean energy• SDG9 - Industry, innovation and infrastructure• SDG10 – Reduced inequalities• SDG12 - Responsible production and consumption• SDG13 - Climate action• SDG14 – Life below water• SDG15 – Life on landEach SDG is considered for its relation to MSW, the problems posed by MSW related to the SDG and potential solutions in MSW management for each SD
Elektrifiering av fritidsbåtar – enkätundersökning inom projektet go:LEIF
No full textElectrification of leisure boats – survey within the go:LEIF project. This report describes the results of a survey on the use of leisure boats, specifically addressing the motives and obstacles for purchasing or converting to a boat with an electric motor. The survey was conducted in the Interreg-funded project go:LEIF and was developed by RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Innovatum, and USN in Norway. The results are based on 270 survey responses, of which 218 Swedish and 52 Norwegian
An FMI-based co-simulation framework for simulations of wave energy converter systems
No full textA wave energy converter (WEC) comprises many components with distinct functions. The whole WEC system is complicated, as each component is also a complex subsystem. It is challenging to properly model and couple these subsystems to achieve a global simulation of the whole system. This study proposes an FMI-based co-simulation framework to tackle this challenge. Through the use of a co-simulation technique requiring minimal programming effort, a suite of numerical solvers serving for modelling various WEC components is coupled to create a comprehensive system model for a single WEC unit. The modules of the Ansys software, Aqwa and Rigid Dynamics, are employed to model hydrodynamic loads and motion responses. Simulink is utilized to model the power take-off (PTO) system and then integrate all models into a global simulation. The capability and accuracy of the FMI-based co-simulation framework are validated against an experimental heave decay test and verified by cross-comparing a numerical model built in SESAM. Furthermore, the framework is expanded to encompass the modelling of a large-scale wave park that includes multiple WEC units. Based on a novel WEC concept called NoviOcean, two study cases of a single unit and an 18-unit wave park are investigated. Buoy motions and power performance under several regular and irregular sea states are analysed. The hydrodynamic interactions between the units are evaluated quantitatively regarding the power performance. It is found that the interactions improve the power performance, with a maximum increase of up to 36%. This work was performed within the projects ‘Control of wave energy converters based on wave measurements, for optimal energy absorption’, funded by the Swedish Energy Agency through contract agreement no. 50197-1, and ‘INTERACT Analysis of array systems of wave energy converters with regard to interaction effects in the LCoE and fatigue analyses’, funded by the Swedish Energy Agency through contract agreement no. 50148-1. This work also received funding from the Chalmers University of Technology Foundation for the strategi cresearch project ‘Hydro- and aerodynamics’</p
Consequential life cycle assessment of urban source-separating sanitation systems complementing centralized wastewater treatment in Lund, Sweden
No full textThis study examined various source-separating sanitation systems to evaluate their environmental performance, providing decision-makers with insights for selecting an appropriate system for a newly developed neighborhood in Sweden. A full consequential LCA was conducted to account for resource recovery and substitution. The local wastewater treatment plant WWTP was modeled as a reference. Secondly, a urine recycling system was introduced to treat 75 % of the collected urine, with the remainder piped to the WWTP. Thirdly, a black and greywater (BW&GW) treatment system handling all generated wastewater was examined. Finally, a hybrid source-separating system combining urine, black, and greywater was investigated. The results indicated that the four scenarios exhibited global warming potentials (GWP) of 78, 62, 32, and 24 kg CO2-eq per PE/ y. Recycling urine as fertilizer led to a 20 % reduction in the GWP of the reference. It also reduced other impact categories, with a 55 %, 65 %, and 45 % reduction in eutrophication, ozone depletion, and acidification, respectively. The BW&GW system achieved a 60 % reduction over the reference GWP, mainly due to fertilizer, biogas, and cleanwater recovery. Integrating urine, black, and greywater recycling in the final scenario achieved a 25 % reduction compared to the BW&GW scenario, primarily due to lowering of the ammonia stripping GWP and the additional fertilizer recovery. Based on sensitivity analyses, switching citric acid for sulfuric acid reduced the GWP of the urine stabilization unit process by 101 %, from 15.47 to -0.14 kg CO2-eq per PE/ y. Ultimately, the findings suggest that the fully decentralized source-separating sanitation system incorporating urine, blackwater, and greywater recycling, particularly when combined with 70 % energy recovery at the urine concentrator, is most favorable. ©
Chemosensory vocabulary in wine, perfume and food product reviews : Insights from language modeling
No full textChemosensory sensations are often hard to describe and quantify. Language models may facilitate a systematic understanding of sensory descriptions. We accessed consumer and expert reviews of wine, perfume, and food products (English language; about 68 million words in total) and analyzed their sensory descriptions. Using a novel data-driven method based on natural language data, we compared the three chemosensory vocabularies (wine, perfume, food) with respect to their vocabulary overlap and semantic properties, and explored their semantic spaces. The three vocabularies primarily differ with respect to domain specificity, concreteness, descriptor type preference and degree of gustatory vs. olfactory association. Wine vocabulary primarily distinguishes between white wine and red wine flavors and qualities. Food vocabulary separates drinkable and edible food products and ingredients, on the one hand, and savory and non-savory products, on the other. A salient distinction in all three vocabularies is between concrete and abstract/evaluative terms. Valence also plays a role in the semantic spaces of all three vocabularies, but valence is less prominent here than in general olfactory vocabulary. Our method allows a systematic comparison of sensory descriptors in the three product domains and provides a data-driven approach to derive sensory lexicons that can be applied by sensory scientists. An earlier version of this work were presented at the 15th Pangborn Sensory Science Symposium 2023, Nantes, France. The computations were enabled by resources provided by the Swedish National Infrastructure for Computing (SNIC) at the PDC Center for High Performance Computing, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, partially funded by grants from the Swedish Research Council to T.H. (2021-03440) and J.K. O. (2020-00266), and from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to J.K.O. (2016:0229).</p