| 1. |
- Abbes, Yacine
(författare)
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Educational studies in heat and power technology : how students learn with multimedia tools and problem-based learning
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Higher education is undergoing continuous changes and new learning tools and methods are implemented. Researchers in education do not always agree upon the effectiveness of some of the methods introduced into engineering education. The present thesis consists of two case studies on educational methods introduced at the Department of Energy Technology, at Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Sweden. The qualitative research methodology has been used in case one and a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodology has been used in the second case. The sources of evidences consisted of: unstructured interviews, analysis of video recording, questionnaires, and analysis of a variety of documents. In the first case, an educational program in heat and power technology was analysed. The second case consists in an in-depth study of group dynamics in a Problem –Based Learning course. These studies showed that the learning approach adopted by students depends strongly on the way they view the particular learning tool or method. The first case study revealed the existence of two types of learners. Surfacelearners follow the structure suggested by the designers of the multimedia program. This category of learners focuses only on the material available in the program. Deep-learners go beyond the information and the structure suggested in the program and combine different learning tools in their learning. These students do not follow the structure of the tutorials’ of the multimedia program. This study showed that students who had a strong view how to learn with a multimedia program or a learning method benefited less from the learning tools available. Students with weak views on how to learn from educational program or leaning tool benefit less from the presentation and engage in more surface learning. Self-motivated learners use the multimedia presentation in novel ways and crosscheck the information given with other material. The second study showed that students have unclear and weak views on how to learn with student-directed Problem- Based Learning model. Four types of learners were identified in Problem-Based Learning project: Leaders, Key Actors, Common Students and Social Loafers. Leaders and Key Actors are self-motivated individuals and participate most in the projects. Students who viewed themselves or were viewed as leaders were held responsible to take most of the decisions and students expected them to work more than the average student. Students who viewed themselves as common team members expected a lower workload than leaders’. Key Actors are self-motivated students who do not view themselves as separate from other group members but who participate more than others. Leaders learned more group and social processes, that they did not fully take part in, while common students learned more from the project management aspects that they did not take part in. The study also found that Problem-Based Learning groups can become very cohesive, and can develop distorted views on how to learn with Problem-Based Learning, and un-common group dynamics phenomena such as groupthink can occur in Problem-Based Learning setting.
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| 2. |
- Andrinopoulos, Nikolaos
(författare)
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Development of a test facility for experimental investigation of fluid-structure interaction
- 2009
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Fluid-structure interaction phenomena are strongly related to the loading appearing on many energy converting components introducing limitations for improving their efficiency. The term “fluid-structure interaction” includes many phenomena with the “shock wave – boundary layer interaction” being one of the most important. This interaction is commonly met in turbomachines where the flow can accelerate enough to become compressible and can cause separation of the boundary layer formed on the structural components of the machine. This results to fluctuating loading on the structure which can lead to its failure due to High Cycle Fatigue (HCF). A vibrating structure in compressible flow can become unstable depending on the sign of the aerodynamic damping that the flow has on the structure. Although the mechanism that causes a structure to become unstable is known, the limits of the stability region are not yet possible to predict with reasonable accuracy. It is therefore necessary to investigate the underlying mechanism of fluid-structure interaction by means of experimental and numerical studies for providing prediction tools regarding the stability change. The present work aims at developing an experimental facility to be used for investigating fluid-structure interaction. The experimental setup is based on the concept of a simplified aeroelastic test case bringing into focus the area of interaction between an oscillating shock wave and a turbulent boundary layer. This work is based on previous research campaigns using the same generic experimental concept but takes the investigation further to higher and so far unexplored reduced frequencies. The experimental setup has been validated regarding its suitability to meet the research objectives by running vibration tests at an initial stage without the effect of flow. The results from the experimental validation of the facility have shown that the design objectives are met. Specifically the vibration response of the test object concerning vibration amplitude and vibration mode shape is desirable; the vibration amplitude is in the range of 0.5mm and the mode shape remains below the 2nd throughout the targeted frequency range (0-250Hz). This makes the facility suitable for simplified investigation of fluid-structure interaction, bringing the shock foot region into focus. Having validated the facility performing vibration tests without flow, tests with flow is the next step to take place. Since the vibration response of the test object has been investigated in detail, tests with flow will reveal the influence of fluidstructure interaction on the dynamic response of the test object. Similarly, the influence of this interaction on the flow side can be assessed by monitoring the flow parameters. As a first step for performing this investigation, the design study and the validation results for the experimental setup are presented in this work.
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| 3. |
- Baagherzadeh Hushmandi, Narmin, 1978-
(författare)
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Numerical Analysis of Partial Admission in Axial Turbines
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- HTML clipboard Numerical analysis of partial admission in axial turbines is performed in this work. Geometrical details of an existing two stage turbine facility with low reaction blades is used for this purpose. For validation of the numerical results, experimental measurements of one partial admission configuration at design point was used. The partial admission turbine with single blockage had unsymmetrical shape; therefore the full annulus of the turbine had to be modeled numerically. The numerical grid included the full annulus geometry together with the disc gaps and rotor shrouds. Importance of various parameters in accurate modeling of the unsteady flow field of partial admission turbines was assessed. Two simpler models were selected to study the effect of accurate modeling of radial distribution of flow parameters. In the first numerical model, the computational grid was two dimensional and the radial distribution of flow parameters was neglected. The second case was three-dimensional and full blades’ span height was modeled but the leakage flows at disc cavity and rotor shroud were neglected. Detailed validation of the results from various computational models with the experimental data showed that modeling of the leakage flow at disc cavities and rotor shroud of partial admission turbines has substantial importance in accuracy of numerical computations. Comparison of the results from two computational models with varying inlet extension showed that modeling of the inlet cone has considerable importance in accuracy of results but with increased computational cost. Partial admission turbine with admission degree of ε = 0.524 in one blocked arc and two opposing blocked arcs were tested. Results showed that blocking the inlet annulus in one single arc produce better overall efficiency compared to the two blocked arc model. Effect of varying axial gap distance between the first stage stator and rotor rows was also tested numerically for the partial admission turbine with admission degree of ε = 0.726. Results showed higher efficiency for the reduced axial gap model. Computations showed that the main flow leave the blade path down to the disc cavity and re-enter into the flow channel downstream the blockage, this flow would pass the rotor with very low efficiency. First stage rotor blades are subject to large unsteady forces due to the non-uniform inlet flow. Plotting the unsteady forces of first stage rotor blades for partial admission turbine with single blockage showed that the blades experience large changes in magnitude and direction while traveling along the circumference. Unsteady forces of first stage rotor blades were plotted in frequency domain using Fourier transform. The largest amplitudes caused by partial admission were at first and second multiples of rotational frequency due to the existence of single blockage and change in the force direction. Results obtained from the numerical computations showed that the discs have nonuniform pressure distribution especially in the first stage of partial admission turbines. The axial force of the first rotor wheel was considerably higher when the axial gap distance was reduced between the first stage stator and rotor rows. The commercial codes used in this work are ANSYS ICEM-CFD 11.0 as mesh generator and FLUENT 6.3 as flow solver.
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| 4. |
- Binti Munajat, Nur Farizan
(författare)
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Combustion of gasified biomass: : Experimental investigation on laminar flame speed, lean blowoff limit and emission levels
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Biomass is among the primary alternative energy sources that supplements the fossil fuels to meet today’s energy demand. Gasification is an efficient and environmental friendly technology for converting the energy content in the biomass into a combustible gas mixture, which can be used in various applications. The composition of this gas mixture varies greatly depending on the gasification agent, gasifier design and its operation parameters and can be classified as low and medium LHV gasified biomass. The wide range of possible gas composition between each of these classes and even within each class itself can be a challenge in the combustion for heat and/or power production. The difficulty is primarily associated with the range in the combustion properties that may affect the stability and the emission levels. Therefore, this thesis is intended to provide data of combustion properties for improving the operation or design of atmospheric combustion devices operated with such gas mixtures.The first part of this thesis presents a series of experimental work on combustion of low LHV gasified biomass (a simulated gas mixture of CO/H2/CH4/CO2/N2) with variation in the content of H2O and tar compound (simulated by C6H6). The laminar flame speed, lean blowoff limit and emission levels of low LHV gasified biomass based on the premixed combustion concept are reported in paper I and III. The results show that the presence of H2O and C6H6 in gasified biomass can give positive effects on these combustion parameters (laminar flame speed, lean blowoff limit and emission levels), but also that there are limits for these effects. Addition of a low percentage of H2O in the gasified biomass resulted in almost constant laminar flame speed and combustion temperature of the gas mixture, while its NOx emission and blowoff temperature were decreased. The opposite condition was found when H2O content was further increased. The blowoff limit was shifted to richer fuel equivalence ratio as H2O increased. A temperature limit was observed where CO emission could be maintained at low concentration. With C6H6 addition, the laminar flame speed first decreased, achieved a minimum value, and then increased with further addition of C6H6. The combustion temperature and NOx emission were increased, CO emission was reduced, and blowoff occurs at slightly higher equivalence ratio and temperature when C6H6 content is increased. The comparison with natural gas (simulated by CH4) is also made as can be found in paper I and II. Lower laminar flame speed, combustion temperature, slightly higher CO emission, lower NOx emission and leaner blowoff limit were obtained for low LHV gas mixture in comparison to natural gas.In the second part of the thesis, the focus is put on the combustion of a wide range of gasified biomass types, ranging from low to medium LHV gas mixture (paper IV). The correlation between laminar flame speed or lean blowoff limit and the composition of various gas mixtures was investigated (paper IV). It was found that H2 and content of diluents have higher influence on the laminar flame speed of the gas mixture compared to its CO and hydrocarbon contents. For lean blowoff limit, the diluents have the greatest impact followed by H2 and CO. The mathematical correlations derived from the study can be used to for models of these two combustion parameters for a wide range of gasified biomass fuel compositions.
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| 5. |
- Cardozo, Evelyn, 1984-
(författare)
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Combustion of agricultural residues : Application for Stirling micro-combined heat and power
- 2014
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Access to energy services is crucial for the development of countries. Therefore, in developing countries, the access to modern conversion technologies would contribute to reduce the poverty, improve health services and promote the economy especially in rural areas. Around 2.5 billion people in these countries use biomass for cooking. However, major concerns are due to the unsustainable use of biomass and the inefficient conversion technologies employed in rural areas. Therefore, the use of locally available biomass in modern biomass conversion technologies would significantly reduce emissions and improve the energy efficiency. These modern technologies may include residential pellet stoves and boilers which at the moment only are used for heating appliances in industrialized countries. Their combination with a prime mover like a Stirling engine could a very attractive solution to produce combined heat and power (CHP) though still in prototype stage. In this context, this study is mainly focused on the development of an energy system fuelled by locally available biomass to produce heat and electricity based on a Stirling engine. The main objective is to perform experiments to find relevant parameters that characterize the energy system proposed.In the first stage of this work, the suitability of using agricultural residues in a pellet boiler was evaluated in comparison to commercial wood pellets. The agricultural residues used during the tests were: sugar cane bagasse, sunflower husks and Brazil nut shells. The first two residues were pelletized and the last one was reduced to a uniform size. Parameters and energy used during the pelletizing were found. Emission levels and boiler efficiency under steady-state and transient conditions were also presented for the different biomass sorts. In the second stage, the integration of the same pellet burner and the Stirling engine was characterized in terms of losses and efficiency calculations. Finally, the integration of the pelletizing, combustion, and heat and power generation was discussed based on experimental and predicted results.
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| 6. |
- Chiu, NingWei Justin
(författare)
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Latent Heat Thermal Energy Storage for Indoor Comfort Control
- 2013
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Equating Earth’s existence to 24 hours, we, the Homo sapiens, came about in the last four seconds. Fossil fuel came to our knowledge with mass extraction dating from the Industrial Revolution two centuries ago, in other words 4 milliseconds out of Earth’s 24-hour equivalent lifetime. With the unruly use of fossil fuel based resources, global temperature increase due to anthropogenic emission is projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to increase between 2 °C and 6 °C by 2100. The expected results are unprecedented climatic phenomena, such as intense tropical cyclones, extreme heat waves, and heavy precipitation among others. Limiting climate change has become one of the most discerning issues in our highly energy dependent society.Ever-increasing energy demand goes in hand with improved living standard due to technologic and economic progress. Behavioral change is one of the ultimate solutions to reduce energy demand through adequate life style change; however such approach requires societal paradigm shift. In this thesis, we look into using energy storage technology to peak shave and to load shift energy so as to attain increased renewable energy source utilization, improved system’s energy efficiency, and reduced Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emission without compromising living comfort.High energy density thermal energy storage (TES) systems utilize phase change materials as storage mediums where thermal energy is principally stored in the form of latent heat (LH). Advantages of such systems are compact components and small storage temperature swing. However, challenges remain in implementing LHTES to the built environment, namely lack of understanding of system dynamics, uncertainty in component design, and non-documented material property are to be addressed.The goal of this thesis is to address the issues on material property characterization, on component heat transfer study and on system integration. A methodology in measuring material’s thermo physical property through T-History setup is defined. Caveats of existing methodology are presented and improvements are proposed. The second part of this thesis consists of establishing valid numerical models of LHTES component for both shape stabilized and free flowing PCMs. Experimental verifications were performed and models were validated. Improvement to the thermal power performance was studied and was reached with multistage multi-PCM storage design. Techno-economic optimization and parametric study were carried out for transient TES integrated system study. Finally, an estimation of the Swedish peak energy demand reduction was performed through study of TES implementation to the existing energy systems. The peak energy shave attained through TES implementation determines the amount of fossil fuel based marginal energy that can be reduced for a greener environment.
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| 7. |
- Einberg, Gery, 1976-
(författare)
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Air diffusion and solid contaminant behaviour in room ventilation : a CFD based integrated approach
- 2005
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- One of the most fundamental human needs is fresh air. It has been estimated that people spend comparatively much time in indoor premises. That creates an elevated need for high-quality ventilation systems in buildings. The ventilation airflow rate is recognised as the main parameter for measuring the indoor air quality. It has been shown that the ventilation airflow rates have effects on respiratory diseases, on “sick building syndrome” symptoms, on productivity and perceived air quality. Ventilation is necessary to remove indoor-generated pollutants by diluting these to an acceptable level. The choice of ventilation airflow rate is often based on norms or standards in which the airflow rate is determined based on epidemiological research and field or laboratory measurements. However, the determination of ventilation flow rate is far more complex. Indoor air quality in the occupied zone can be dependent of many factors such as outdoor air quality, airflow rate, indoor generation of pollutants, moisture content, thermal environment and how the air is supplied into the human occupied zone. One needs to acknowledge the importance of air distribution which clearly affects the comfort of occupants. To design a ventilation system which considers all aspects of room ventilation can only be achieved by computer modelling. The objective of this thesis is to investigate air diffusion, indoor air quality and comfort issues by CFD (computational fluid dynamics) modelling. The crucial part of the CFD modelling is to adopt BCs (boundary conditions) for a successful and accurate modelling procedure. Assessing the CFD simulations by validated BCs enabled constructing the ventilation system virtually and various system layouts were tested to meet given design criteria. In parallel, full-scale measurements were conducted to validate the diffuser models and the implemented simplified particle-settling model. Both the simulations and the measurements reveal the full complexity of air diffusion coupled with solid contaminants. The air supply method is an important factor for distribution of heat, air velocity and solid contaminants. The influence of air supply diffuser location, contaminant source location and air supply method was tested both numerically and by measurements to investigate the influence of different parameters on the efficiency of room ventilation. As example of this, the well-known displacement ventilation is not fully able to evacuate large 10 μm airborne particles from a room. Ventilation should control the conditions in the human breathing zone and therefore the ventilation efficiency is an important parameter. A properly designed ventilation system could use less fresh air to maintain an acceptable level of contaminant concentration in the human breathing zone. That is why complete mixing of air is not recommended as the ventilation efficiency is low and the necessary airflow rate is relatively high compared to other ventilation strategies. Especially buoyancy-driven airflows from heat sources are an important part of ventilation and should not be hampered by supply airflow from the diffusers. All the results revealed that CFD presently is the only reliable method for optimising a ventilation system considering the air diffusion and contaminant level in all locations of any kind of room. The last part of the thesis addresses the possibility to integrate the CFD modelling into a building design process where architectural space geometry, thermal simulations and diffuser BCs could be embedded into a normal building design project.
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| 8. |
- Erlich, Catharina
(författare)
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Comparative study of residue pellets from cane sugar and palm-oil industries with commercial wood pellets, applied in downdraft gasification
- 2009
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- While biomass utilization for energy conversion in the industrialized nations is being largely developed, highly efficient and environmentally friendly, many tropical countries still use biomass at low efficiencies and high emission levels. The main reasons for these gaps are both political and technological: the energy markets are different, the Gross National Product (GDP) differs widely, and the feedstock differs in form and conversion behaviour. By implementing newer technologies adapted for tropical biomass feedstock, there would be a large potential in these countries for increased energy services since access to modern energy still is an essential step for improving the GDP for a country. Two dominant and tropically placed industries available for energy improvements are the cane sugar and palm-oil industries, which both produce an abundant amount of biomass residues. One step towards enhanced utilization of the residues, which would not require large investment costs in the power plant section nor in the processes of these industries, would be to install a pelletizing unit in the industry area to make fuel out of the excess residues for sale to the nearby villages. The pellets could be used both for cooking/heating and for small-scale power generation in a gasification-IC engine plant. The overall objective of this study is to experimentally evaluate the biomass residues in pellet form from the cane sugar and palm oil industries during conversion to useful energy in small-scale systems. The thesis is built upon five publications which include experimental analysis on flaming pyrolysis and rapid heating of pellets (paper I), pyrolysis in oxygen-free atmosphere and slow heating with subsequent steam gasification (paper II), global pelletizing data such as relative energy consumption, temperature levels, particle size and moisture content for successful pelletizing process (paper III), downdraft gasification evaluation including reactor temperature distribution, gas composition, cold-gas efficiency and packed-bed mechanics (paper IV) and a numerical model including the overall system efficiency for residue-to-electric power based in a small-scale gasifier system (paper V).The single-pellet studies revealed that pyrolysis in reducing atmosphere is to prefer compared to flaming pyrolysis in oxidizing environment with regards to the char quality. The studies also showed favourable thermochemical and mechanical behaviour for smaller size pellets (Ø6- Ø8mm) compared to larger size ones (Ø12 mm). Therefore, a downdraft gasifier of closed constricted type was designed for real gasification tests of the residue pellets of sizes Ø6- Ø8mm. These tests showed that all the studied pellet sorts could be used in one and the same gasifier, resulting in different reactor temperature distributions and gas compositions with lower heating values in the range of 4.1-5.4 MJ/m3n dry gas. The reactor bed dynamics showed to be dependent both on the fuel reactivity and the size, with less pressure drop for larger size pellets with lower reactivity. The pelletizing process itself revealed that the selected residues all needed higher moisture content and smaller particle size than recommended for wood for successful pelletizing. The relative electric energy consumption was lower when producing larger size pellets Ø8 mm than smaller ones (Ø6 mm) of same material. For untreated wet empty-fruit bunch (EFB) a stand-alone power plant with integrated EFB pre-treatment and gasification could generate 380 kWh of net electricity per ton of EFB at a “well-to-wheel” efficiency of 15%.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Fedulov, Vitali
(författare)
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Educational evaluation of an interactive multimedia learning platform : computerized educational platform in heat and power technology
- 2005
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Learning materials have multiple forms, such as books, overhead slides, computer files, blackboard notes by teachers, narration to the notes, video/audio tapes etc. Since the forms are highly inhomogeneous, it becomes difficult to collect and practically use them by a particular learner for individual study at home. Such multiple media are also expensive in management, since human resources are needed to keep the material repositories in order. One solution of the problem lies in centralized active digital repositories. Such repositories aim to simplify the learner’s work and boost learning efficiency. With introduction of interactivity and live communication tools such repositories become learning platforms exceeding the functionality of “passive” digital libraries. Such learning platforms could be easily used both for on-campus and distance education. This dissertation presents an evaluation of a digital repository of interactive multimedia content in the field of Heat and Power Technology: Computerized Educational Platform (CompEdu HPT). The platform evaluation consisted of integration of the tool into the university curriculum and then collection of feedback from students and teachers. The evaluation concerned usefulness of the platform for learning, aspects of instruction improvement, collecting observations about how the platform is used by students, as well as their opinions about the IT application direction chosen. The methods included: online feedback forms, questionnaires, interviews, discussions and observations. The evaluation demonstrated that the main strength of the platform is the integration of learning materials in one portable package. The students appreciated structured and logically arranged information that was available for easy access. Coverage of a broad area of knowledge related to heat and power technology was also pointed out as an advantage with reflection on the very low price of acquisition of the materials. The most popular elements of the content in use included: simulations, lecture notes, the print function, the glossary, and calculation exercises. A major part of the students declared the high value of CompEdu in facilitating home study. Nevertheless, not all the students had a positive impression: around one-fifth of them did not find the platform useful and expressed preference for more traditional learning media. The majority of the negative opinions concerned content quality, which directly related to weaknesses of the content production and review process. The evaluation emphasized the importance of material quality and amount as the key issue for a good learning platform with relatively smaller importance of presentation forms. The evaluation also considered aspects of functionality from the user point of view. Differentiation between popularity of simulations showed that simulations used by teachers during lectures have higher educational value than those for individual use only. The popularity of the printing option indicated a need for adaptation of digital materials for paper publishing. The general conclusion for practical use of multimedia tools in education was that high usability and simplicity of information access should be the focus point of any chosen approach in the direction. The CompEdu evaluation suggested that after thorough content review and addition of an efficient search mechanism the platform can successfully deliver rich learning content. The platform gave an extensive real-case illustration of how multimedia can be used in educational practice. Due to the evaluation, the CompEdu e-learning group has collected rich experience and know-how in the field of active knowledge repositories. The experience will be used for development of a more sophisticated learning platform working in the global Internet environment with major focus on information accessibility by easy search.
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