engineering today 40

Publication of the Malta Chamber of Engineers February 2012 | Issue 40

Avionics Research

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Connecting Engineers

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ContentsIssue No.40

Publication of the Malta Chamber of Engineers

Cover Image Nanotechnology:Could it be the salvation of mankind?

Editor John Pace

Editorial BoardJohn PaceIng. Paul RefaloIng. Ray VassalloProf. Robert Ghirlando

Chamber of Engineers,Professional Centre,Sliema Road,Gzira, GZR 1633, Malta

Tel: +356 2133 4858Fax: +356 2134 7118

Email: [email protected]: www.coe.org.mt

© Chamber of Engineers 2012. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Chamber of Engineers – Malta.

Opinions expressed in Engineering Today are not necessarily those of the Chamber of Engineers – Malta. All care has been taken to ensure truth and accuracy, but the Editorial Board cannot be held responsible for errors or omissions in the articles, pictographs or illustrations.

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Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design

Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and

Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics






nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear

Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral


































Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems

Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical

and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural

Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics

systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical

Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems

Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical

Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustain-

ability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and

Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics

software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer

nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Bio-

medical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical

Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability Design

Electrical and Electronics systems Biomechanical Photonics software Computer nuclear Mineral Agricultural Aeronautical Biomedical Mechanical Chemical Civil sustainability

February 2012www.coe.org.mt

Design by:

A member of:

www.darkdragonmedia.com

From the Editor

From the President

GE Energy driving ahead with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Europe

Engineers make themselves heard

New Intelligent Lighting Systems Available from Hydrolectric Limited

Electricity Interconnector between Malta and Sicily

Interview with Ing. Vince Magri

Meeting the RTDI Needs of Industry

Avionics Research at the University

10th Edition Malta Engineering Excellence Awards 2011- Past, Present and Future

Correction: The article entitled “A New Year in the Faculty of Engineering”

that appeared in the November 2011 issue of Engineering Today was written

by Dr. Ing. Pierluigi Mollicone, and not Ing. Paul Refalo. The error is regretted.

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3February 2012 | Issue no. 40

From the editorby Ing. John Pace

I was reading an article in a local magazine featuring a young astrophysicist, who, among other things made the statement that if all humanity were to perish at this very instant, the universe couldn’t care less. This contrasts with the opinion of a seventeenth century theologian I was reading about recently. If Galileo’s theories were accepted then Genesis would be put into doubt when it says that the world was made before the other heavenly bodies and that these latter had been created on the fourth day to light the earth. The whole Christian faith, according to this earnest creationist, presupposes that the whole universe was made for the service of man.

Pondering on these two statements, I wondered on which side I, as an engineer, was. Am I on the side of the mighty universe, that expanse of millions of light years mostly of empty space sprinkled with countless galaxies in which our solar system, let alone the individual human being, is an insignificant detail? Or am I on the side of man, not less wonderful a creation, more complex in its structure and behaviour than any star, having the gift of life and an intellect able to understand the secrets of the universe itself?

Engineers are scientific people - without those precious A levels no one would be admitted to the university course. Engineering originated in the efforts of craftsmen and practical inventors in combining their knowledge into a systematic whole. science itself is derived from the intelligent quest for knowledge of the world around us. Technology is the by product of scientific knowledge, which it used to make useful things. From the initial impulse technology has created a life of its own, growing and branching into new areas and all the time absorbing the new discoveries in science to stimulate its implacable growth. While scientists

discover more and more knowledge of nature, engineers use this same knowledge to control nature and harness it for the use of man. There is then positive feedback as engineers develop better tools for the scientists to discover new facts, which in turn are used by engineers to further advance technology.

But, as our astrophysical friend may point out, there are limits. Astronomers may delve into the depths of the universe and even observe the very origin of the universe itself. But the efforts of engineers, however great, are restricted to the thin layer at the surface of our planet. The furthest a manmade artefact has travelled is barely out of the solar system, while we have not yet explored the interior of our own planet.

The humanist can hit back at the universe saying that were the whole universe outside the earth’s orbit to suddenly cease to exist, humanity wouldn’t care less, with the exception of a few star gazers who would notice that something was amiss. The sun would continue to shine until its fuel was spent out, by which time humanity will have been long extinct following a meteor impact, a super Krakatau, the umpteenth world war or simply global warming The Mayas predicted that long ago using an undisclosed algorithm.

We are still here in our friendly competition with the universe. Provided we treat it gently, nature will continue to yield its secrets and engineers will use them to construct more powerful weapons to make further incursions. Just as we are now strong enough to influence the world’s climate, who knows? Will we some day have the equivalent of universal warming? The universe will then care. ET

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Call 2131 2020 or visit www.bov.com

The real pleasure comes from knowing I’ve earned it.

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February 2012 | Issue no. 404

From the President

Dear Colleagues...

by Ing. Saviour Baldacchino

Ing. Saviour Baldacchino President, Chamber of Engineers

Yours sincerely,

[email protected]://www.coe.org.mt

The first issue of engineering today for this year, comes at a time when the Chamber is preparing for two salient activities in its event calendar; the Annual General Meeting (AGM) followed by the Annual Engineering Conference.

Before moving on, I cannot leave the Malta Engineering Excellence Awards (MEEA 2011) behind, without a mention. The latest edition of these awards, the 10th edition, was characterised by the larger number of nominations over previous years, all of whom coming from prestigious organisations. The awards kept gaining profile and acceptance from industry. Congratulations go to the winners and to all nominees who presented tough competition with their innovative and state-of-the-art achievements.

The event was held under the distinguished patronage of His Excellency Dr George Abela, President of Malta. The awards were presented by the Honourable Dr Chris said in the presence of His Excellency the Italian Ambassador, Dr Efisio Luigi Marras.

The MEEA ceremony was followed by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) and the Chamber of Engineers, to consolidate technical cooperation between the two organisations.

over the past year, the Chamber continued to be successful on a number of fronts, including:

• betterorganisedadministrationandsupportfunction,

• IncreaseinMembership,• organisationofalargernumberofactivities,

• substantialimprovementinitscommunicationchannels,

• asignificantincreaseintrainingcoursesoverpreviousyears,

• widerparticipationinnationalconsultations,and

• moreaffiliationsandbetterEuropeanandInternationalparticipation.

A more comprehensive report will be presented at the Annual General Meeting which is going to be held at the Malta Federation of Professional Association meeting hall on the 24th February 2012. Members of the Chamber are encouraged to attend and participate actively.

This year's annual engineering conference, the 21st edition, is entitled "Water: A 21st Century Challenge". The event is going to be held on the 9th of May at the Corinthia san Gorg, st Julians. The Chamber will be working closely with Water services Corporation who will be supporting the event. A call for presentation abstracts has been issued earlier on. The closing date for submissions is the 16th of February 2012.

The website of the Chamber (www.coe.org.mt) is being regularly updated with activities, events and other relevant information. Please bookmark the page and consult frequently to keep updated on what's on at the Chamber. ET


GE Energy Industrial solutions, which has its European, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) headquarters in Barcelona, has secured orders from customers in spain and Italy. The company is now putting its foot on the accelerator to promote the growth of the European electric vehicle “eco-system”.

However while acquiring an electric vehicle is straightforward, keeping it charged up and running may still present a concern to many owners.” says Todd Johnstone, Chief Executive of GE Energy Industrial solutions EMEA, who has just taken delivery of Citroen C0 full electric car.

He continues, “Like many people I had some questions when I first considered using an electric vehicle, but I have found it easy to use easy to use, reliable and a lot of fun to drive! It is perfect for the daily commute to the office and for going to meetings and events in Barcelona.”

However, if EV’s are to become a practical alternative to combustion engine cars, owners will need to access to high speed chargers such as GE’s Durastation which reduces charging times by using higher voltages that require specialized equipment and connectors.

It is estimated that every electric vehicle that comes on to the roads will require 1.5 such chargers. In the Eu alone it is expected that there will be about 3.3 million electric vehicles on the road by 2020, with sales increasing rapidly after that, with more than 50 million electric vehicles in use by 2030.

This demand represents a major challenge to utilities, energy companies, municipalities and other organizations that will provide the infrastructure necessary to keep their vehicles on the road.

Local networks will have to be strengthened to handle the higher voltages that will be utilized to reduce charging times. It is also critical that is the right level of protection is in place to ensure public safety.

one concern is the impact of large number of people starting to charge vehicles in the early evening after returning from work, already a period of peak energy demand. so it will be necessary for chargers to become more intelligent and to have the software and communications capability to work with smart grid systems, off-peak tariffs and metering options.

It is expected that within a decade that all electric vehicle chargers will incorporate smart technology to avoid grid overload problems.

GE Energy recently announced Wattstation, a smart charger that will be available in Europe in 2012.

In addition to its growing family of chargers, GE Energy is capable of providing the full range of electrical systems and smart grid technology necessary to support the widespread use of electric vehicles.

Todd Johnstone again: “While we hope that the design and smart functionality the Wattstation will encourage the public adoption of electric vehicles, it also represents the final link in the a chain that begins with the generation of electricity from renewable sources and new flexible and efficient power stations that are able to respond rapidly to changing patterns of demand.” ET

GE Energy driving ahead with Electric Vehicle Infrastructure in Europe


World Engineers’ Conference (WEC 2011)Geneva Switzerland, 4 to 9 September 2011

Engineers make themselves heardby Ing. Ray Vassallo

Last September, over 1800 engineers from more than 85 countries met in Geneve to discuss pertinent engineering issues at The World Engineers’ Convention (WEC). The WEC incorporated the General Assemblies of the World Federation of Engineering organisations (WFEo), and of the European Federation of national Engineering Associations (FEAnI). It also included a number of activities of the European Young Engineers (EYE).It is envisaged that this event will be held once every 4 years. The Chamber of Engineers was represented by its President Ing. saviour Baldachino and Vice President, Ing. ray Vassallo.

The program started on sunday 4th with the face to face meeting of the standing Committee on Engineering and the Environment. This was chaired by Darrel Danyluk Vice President of WEFo and Chairman of the standing Committee. In our opinion, the highlights of this meeting were, a presentation by Dr. Tony Marjoram who participated on a unEsCo report entitled Engineering: Issues, Challenges and opportunities for Development and another presentation by Eng. spyros Papagrigoriou, Vice Chairman CEE/ WFEo. The unEsCo report was the first report of its kind and it is a very comprehensive document. Amongst the issues that it tries to address, one can find pertinent issues such as what engineering is and what

engineers do, regulation of the profession, and the future roles of engineers and engineering. It aims to try to promote a better public understanding of engineering and its role in society. More information about this report is available on line on the unEsCo web site http://portal.unesco.org/science/en/ev.php-URL_ID=6991&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html. Dr. Marjoram invited national engineering organisations to contact and work more closely with their countries national commissions on unEsCo.

Eng. spyros Papagrigoriou, Vice Chairman CEE/ WFEo presented his report on the Environmental Impacts of Major Engineering Projects for sporting Events. This report recognises that the organisation of major sporting events gives the host city and country the opportunity to combine major changes and new infrastructure with an environmental reform or upgrade. It addresses such issues as minimising demand on resources such as energy, water, and reducing the negative impacts of waste generated. It gives examples of failures and success stories or best practices.

The standing committee was also addressed by David A Hood national Deputy President of Engineers Australia. Eng. Hood gave a brief report on what Australian engineers are doing

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Engineers make themselves heard (cont.)

to address the detrimental effects of modern societies on the environment. During this standing committee meeting reference was also made to the WFEo code of ethics.The opening Ceremony started on Monday 5th

and was addressed by the Ms. Doris Leuthard (swiss Minister for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications, Ms. Maria Prieto Lafarge (outgoing president of WFEO) and Ms Gretchen Kalonji (Assistant director general for natural sciences unEsCo). The underlying theme was “Engineers power the World – Facing the Global Energy Challenge”, however the key topics discussed were the future of nuclear energy, the involvement of engineers in politics and top decision making, and environmental issues. The key note speakers in the afternoon sessions included Dr Mathias Bichsel (member of the Executive Committee of royal Dutch shell plc), Prof. rolf Dieter Heuer (Director General of the CERN European Laboratory for Particle Physics) and nick Beglinger (President of swisscleantech). The future of fossil fuel, the safety of nuclear energy stations , the realities of sustainable energy sources were presented and politically opposite decisions made by France, who continue to depend on nuclear power for 80% of the energy requirements and by switzerland, who decided to phase out their nuclear power stations which represents 20% of their energy sources.

The following two days were literally filled with a number of parallel sessions. It was difficult to decide in which sessions to participate and which presentation of a particular session to sit for. We mostly concentrated on “Education in Engineering”, “Capacity Building” and “renewable Energy and storage”. The themes that caught our attention were:

• EngineeringEducationshouldbeholisticanditshouldbebi-forkedwithfocusonboththeacademicandpracticalasexperiencedbytheGerman,SwissandFrenchschoolsofthought.

• TheSwedishexperienceaboutthepossibilitiesofusingmoderncommunicationstechnologiestomakeengineeringeducationglobal.

• TheJapanesesuccessatMitsubishiIndustriesbydissectingengineeringintoitsbasicelementsandthentosynthesisebackthesebasicelementsintostudymodulesthatmettheneedsofindustry.

• TheBodyofKnowledge(BOK)preparedandusedbytheAmericanSocietyofCivilEngineers.

• FutureClimate2preparedbytheI.Mech.E.,theirEnergyPlan2050andthemethodologyusedtoprepareandprojectthisplan.

• ThelearningexperienceofusingCompressedAirEnergyStorage(CAES)byKorea.

• Maximisingtheuseofhydraulicmachinerybymakingthesemoreefficient.

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Thursday 8th and Friday 9th were taken up by the General Assemblies of WFEo and FEAnI. Engineer Adel M.M.J. Al-Kharafi was elected president of WFEo. The Geneva Declaration – Call for Action - was approved. The declaration addressed the World’s energy situation and which included the various sources of energy, their limitations, their use, their adaptability and their effects on humans and the environment. The conclusions were:

• Toguaranteeagoodqualityoflifeforeveryone,allavailableenergysourcesmustbeconsidered.Greaterenergyefficiencywillslowdowngrowthinenergydemandbutwillentailcoststhatarenotnecessarilynegligible.

• Theuseofanygiventechnologyrequiresathoroughanalysisofthetechnological,economical,andenvironmentalfeasibilityofimplementingscientificallysoundandefficientlyengineeredsolutions.

• Thetechnologiesweneedtosupplyenergyforsubstantiallyimprovingglobalqualityoflifeareavailableoratanadvancedstageofdevelopmentorarecurrentlybeingdemonstrated.Thegoalis

tosecurealow-carbonenergysupply.Ifthe+2-degreeCtargetistobemet,itisimportantthatGHGemissions–andCO2emissionsinparticular–bedrasticallyreducedduringtheproductionandconsumptionofdifferentformsofenergy.

• Switchingtoalow-carboneconomywilltakesubstantialinvestmentandtime.Inthetransportsector,modifyingunsustainableenergyconsumptionpatternswillnecessitatedifficultsocialadjustments.

The proceedings of the FEAnI GA went very smoothly with Council members due for re election being re-elected. The emphasis of the meeting was on the need to facilitate mobility of engineers between member states and the engineerInG Card. FEAnI is working closely with the Eu commission on this project and the InG card has now been successfully launched in Germany and Holland. The CoE is watching closely developments in this area.

The CoE delegation actively participated in both the WEFo and the FEAnI General Assemblies and made notable contributions during a number of Committee meetings. The WEC offered all participants the opportunity to

Engineers make themselves heard (cont.)


network and to learn from the experience of other countries. new contacts were established, certain initiatives were followed up and new opportunities are being investigated. WEC 2011 was hectic, packed with activities, but an event that will have a long term effect on the world and its engineering communities. If we were to

coin a phrase that would reflect the underlying theme of all the proceedings of the WEC 2011, it would be:

Engineers have a lot to offer for the wellbeing of humans and the world and they need to make themselves heard where it matters. ET

Ing. Ray VassalloVice President,Chamber of Engineers

Ing. R. Vassallo, Vice President CoE (left), Dhruba Thapa Chairman of the Federation of Engineers (Nepal) (second from left), R.P. Gupta President of the Institute of Engineers (India) (third from left), Ing. S. Baldacchino, President CoE (far right).



Prolojik’s advanced intelligent lighting systems provide total control of every light fitting, taking into account the demands and requirements of the modern commercial environment. Convenience, functionality and energy conservation, as well as light generation, are in demand today and these requirements cannot be met by standard installations.

To achieve excellence in this field, Prolojik’s lighting control systems allow communication between all participating components in a lighting system, even integrating with building management system to give the utmost in functionality, flexibility and integration for installations. The system uses open protocols, making installation simple and cost effective. The DALI protocol can integrate seamlessly into building lighting management systems. Prolojik support this with a range of open protocol products using technologies such as LonWorks, EIB, Bacnet and TCP/IP.

By installing the open protocol DALI ballast in your light fittings you can take advantage of a huge choice of fittings to use with your

Prolojik system. DALI also gives you the ability to receive feedback from the ballast regarding faulty light sources, facilitating effective lighting management systems with remote supervising and service reports. The Prolojik EM32 sensor series adds to this by offering emergency monitoring with high accuracy measurements in a discrete form factor. These sensors are designed for minimum installed depth and integrate into a large variety of today’s lighting configurations.

Prolojik’s Perspective software makes programming the system simple as you can use standard Autocad drawings and schedules. This greatly simplifies and speeds up installation, and also includes an editing function than can be used without the need of Autocad for fast editing of evolving commercial spaces.

Hydrolectric continues to invest heavily in its alliance with Prolojik. All of Hydrolectric’s engineering and technical sales staff receive comprehensive training to provide full sales and after sales support to the local market. As a result, Hydrolectric can deliver complete intelligent lighting system solutions, working with your energy audit engineer to design the parameters to which the system is to fulfil, as well as supplying the light fittings and control system.

For more information or to arrange a meeting with Hydrolectric, please contact:

Mr. Michel Le Brun, Technical Sales Executive at Hydrolectric Ltd

Tel. 2124 1111 or 7985 5983 e-Mail [email protected]

Hydrolectric Ltd has recently become Malta’s sole representative for Prolojik, bringing a variety of new and innovative energy saving lighting solutions to local commercial buildings.


The feasibility of an electricity interconnection between Malta and Sicily has been considered since the early 1990s.

Electricity Interconnector between Malta and Sicily

by Dr. Ing. Joseph Vassallo

Enemalta commissioned Electricite’ de France (EDF) in 1995 and then Terna, the Italian transmission system operator (Tso) in 2007 to consider, amongst other issues, the capacity of such an interconnector, the technology to be used and its operation. Malta secured €20 million Eu funds for the interconnector project through the European Energy Programme for recovery (EEPr). Following a call for tenders, a contract was awarded in December 2010 to nexans norway for the turnkey supply and installation of a 200MW, extra-high voltage AC interconnector.

Ragusa substation

The connection to the Italian extra high voltage (EHV) grid shall be at the Terna substation in ragusa where the 230kV outdoor insulated switchboard shall be extended. There will be new switchgear, protection and control, and energy metering equipment, and a shunt reactor. The three-phase shunt reactor in ragusa will have a fixed rating although it will be equipped

with a de-energised tap-changer to optimise the value of compensation based on the final length (and reactive power) of cables.

Land route in Sicily

The route between ragusa substation and the submarine cable landing point passes through secondary rural provincial roads and is approximately 19km long. The land cable circuit shall be made of direct buried 245kV single core 1000mm2 XLPE cables laid in trefoil. The conductor shall be made from aluminium and the outer sheath from HDPE. The land cable shall be shall be manufactured and installed in 17 sections. The metallic sheaths shall be cross-bonded to minimise losses.

A detailed route survey has been undertaken to determine the exact location of the cable jointing chambers, the positioning of the cable circuit along the route and to measure parameters necessary to determine the cable rating. Trenching works, laying, jointing,

MALTA

SICILYRagusa

Marina di Ragusa

Maghtab


reinstatement and commissioning of the land cable circuit are expected to take just over a year and should start in mid 2012. Two fibre optic cables each with 36 fibres will be laid along the same cable route. one of these cables is expected to be used to determine the temperatures along the power EHV cable.

Submarine cable landing point in Sicily

The land cable route will end at the limits of Marina di ragusa in an area between a tourist beach and a natural reserve. A land-sea joint will be made within 100m of the shore, and a trench will be excavated from the jointing chamber and for a short distance out at sea in the sandy seabed at Marina di ragusa.

The submarine cable shall be made from three individually lead-sheathed XLPE insulated cores with 630mm2 copper conductors, bound together forming one three-core cable and protected by steel wire armour. The external diameter of the submarine cable is expected to be approximately 26cm and the mass in air is expected to be almost 100kg/m. The submarine cable will include two fibre optic cables, each with 36 fibres. The fibre optic units will provide new telecommunications links between Malta and sicily, and will also be used for protection and control of the interconnector and for exchange of network information between Enemalta and Terna.

The subsea route between sicily and Malta shall be approximately 95km long. Two marine surveys have been carried out to determine the route. The first was a preliminary survey that identified a 500m-wide corridor largely free from obstacles and other adverse conditions to laying the submarine cable. The survey consisted in a geophysical (using echo sounding equipment)

and geotechnical (with core samples) analysis of the seabed including sub-bottom profiling, detection of cable crossings using a magnetometer and an environmental survey of the seabed along the route. The second survey, concluded very recently, followed a route designed by the cable contractor, inside the 500m-wide corridor and analysed it in greater detail to determine an optimal 80m-wide corridor in which the submarine cable will be installed. This detailed survey included not only more accurate geophysical and geotechnical analyses, and cable crossing detection but also included visual identification of obstacles using a remotely operated vehicle (roV) equipped with cameras.

The submarine cable shall be protected throughout the route between sicily and Malta. The submarine cable will be buried wherever the seabed material is loose enough along the subsea route by a process called jetting. With this method the cable is first laid and then a roV equipped with a high pressure water jet system is directed along the cable whilst liquidizing the material beneath the cable which will then sink into the seabed and in the process be covered with the seabed material. This method was used in several other submarine cable projects and has minimal environmental impact. In environmentally sensitive areas in shallow waters near Italian and Maltese shores where posidonia oceanica fields in rocky areas are unavoidable, the cable will be protected by cast-iron shells. These shells are installed on the cable-laying ship whilst the submarine cable is being lowered into the sea. In other areas where jetting is impossible because hard material or rock is encountered, the cable will be protected by a layer of small rocks placed using a roV using a specialised rock-transporting and laying ship.


Electricity Interconnector between Malta and Sicily (cont.)

The submarine cable shall be manufactured in a number of sections in the factory which is situated near the sea. These sections will then be jointed in the factory to form two continuous lengths, each approximately 50km long. The first length will be loaded on the turntable of a specialised cable laying ship which will then sail from the factory to the channel between Malta and Sicily for laying. Laying the 50km length of cable along the pre-determined route should last few weeks, after which the cable laying ship will return to the factory. The second length will then be loaded on the cable laying ship which will set sail once again. The first cable length will be recovered from the seabed and and jointed to the second length using a sea-joint performed on board the ship. After the cable is laid, it will be buried and protected. All works will be carried out during 2013.

Landing point in Malta

The cable landing point in Malta will be at Qalet Marku. In view of the short distance (less than 1km) between the landing point and the termination, the submarine cable will be pulled from shore directly to the terminal station to be built at Maghtab. In the approach to the Maltese shore, the cable will be pulled through a 200m duct installed using horizontal directional drilling.

This duct is planned to avoid trenching the main coast road and ends offshore at a depth of approximately 8m inside Qalet Marku Bay. In this manner there is no need of trenching in the rocky landfall at Qalet Marku and for specialised civil works to protect the cable at the landing point and which would result in environmental impact in the area.

The submarine cable will then be pulled inside a culvert from the landing area to Maghtab terminal station approximately 800m away. The location of this primary distribution centre was determined after evaluating 25 other sites and considering factors such as proximity to a suitable landing point, proximity to the most important load centres in Malta and to the distribution network; environmental impact; and strategic position with respect to Delimara Power station which will become the only major power generation source in Malta after closure of Marsa Power station.

Maghtab terminal station

The terminal station at Maghtab will be equipped with the necessary equipment to connect the Maltese 132kV network to the 230kV network in sicily. The main switchgear at Maghtab will be sF6 insulated 245kV GIs placed indoors as will be the 132kV GIs used to connect the new terminal by new cable circuits to the distribution centre, currently being equipped, at Kappara which is also part financed by the EEPr programme of the European union. The terminal station will house the shunt reactor connected to the interconnector cable, and the( interbus) autotransformers connecting the 230kV and 132kV networks.

The shunt reactors in Malta will also be three-phase but will be equipped with an on-load

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tap changer so that their rating will be varied according to the load and network parameters to optimise active and reactive power throughput. The autotransformers will also be equipped with an on-load tap-changer to ensure that the Maltese network is operated optimally at all the expected operating conditions. Control of equipment will be carried out from the national control centre using the sCADA system currently being implemented by Enemalta.

Engineering aspects of possible interest

The interconnector has been designed to deliver 200MW in any direction, but due to the high thermal time constants of cables it can also be operated at a high overload for limited period of time. In fact the interconnector is intended to operate at 70% overload for 1 hour without exceeding conductor temperatures that could damage cable insulation.

since it operates with alternating-current, one of the most interesting aspects of the interconnector was the length of cable and the resulting capacitive reactive power and how it would affect the maximum power that could be transmitted and the manner reactive power flow could be controlled. Indeed the length of the submarine cable is expected to reach 96km (95 are subsea and 1 is in Malta) and the length of land cable shall be approximately 19km. The Malta-sicily interconnector includes the longest 245kV XLPE submarine cable in the world. The length of cable circuits and the resulting

capacitive reactive power has resulted in the need for 245kV reactive compensation reaching 340MVAr in total at Maghtab and ragusa. A variable shunt reactor in Malta in conjunction with the operation of the autotransformer tap-changer will be employed to ensure optimal and safe operation of the interconnector.

synchronised switching on the 245kV GIs is also expected to be used for switching the cable, autotransformers and reactor to limit overvoltages and inrush currents.

The rating of the autotransformers in Malta shall be 250MVA making them the largest employed in Malta when they are commissioned. Autotransformer cooling will utilise forced ventilation and circulating pumps in the oil circuit but the shunt reactors will employ natural circulation and natural ventilation in order to enhance reliability since they will operate continuously at full load.

Conclusion

one year has already passed since the contract for the EHV AC electricity interconnector between Malta and sicily was signed in mid-December 2010. several interesting technical issues have already been discussed by the contractor and Enemalta during this period, and more detailed engineering will lead to the commissioning of this challenging project that will finally connect Malta’s electricity network to the European EHV grid in 2013. ET

Electricity Interconnector between Malta and Sicily (cont.)

Dr. Ing. Joseph VassalloAssistant Manager (Projects), Enemalta Corporation


IngMagriiswellknownastheCEOofWasteServ,the waste management company which hehelped tobuildandguide through itsprogressandisnowahouseholdname.Engineering Today interviewed Ing Magri about his career and achievements.

ET: Tell us something about your early life as an engineer.VM: I joined the engineering course in 1971 and graduated in 1974. I originally intended to study Civil Engineering, at that time part of the Bsc(Eng) course, but there were problems with civil engineers obtaining the warrant, so I decided on electrical engineering on getting good marks in the first year.

My first job was with Mamo Bros, who had a big contract for the electrical installation of a 1200 bed hospital in Libya. I was also involved in the design for a new airport in Libya. After Mamo closed down I was employed for some time with Medelec switchgear, who also did work for the Libyan market. I then applied for a job as Engineer with the Works Department. I was the first professional engineer there, as previously all engineering work was carried out under architects.

I was first responsible for the drainage pumping stations and I was also responsible for setting up the sant Antnin sewage treatment plant which was erected and commissioned by government employees. I became more

involved in management and was promoted to manager of the workshops and later director of the manufacturing and servicing department, responsible for the drainage pumping stations, the sant Antnin plant, the electricians section which carried out installation contracts, both lighting and power, lift maintenance, air conditioning, carpentry, plumbers and the maintenance of heavy vehicles at the government garage. At that time I had some 1200 persons under my charge, including of course engineers.

In 1996 I was transferred to the sant Antnin plant where I operated the solid waste treatment facility with Government employees, but went back later to the M&S department.

With the increasing importance of waste management, I was called upon to set up the new Wasteserv company and was made Chief Executive. This was in 2002 and this year Wasteserv will be ten years old.

ET: How was the wastes situation then?VM: Before government started to take waste management seriously, Maghtab was an uncontrolled dumpsite. It did not even have a gate, and the attitude was that you were lucky you dumped your waste there as you could have dumped it in a field or at the wayside. There were regulations on unauthorized dumping, but enforcement was non existent. The public was not environmentally conscious and the environment was viewed as a hindrance to development. We first made a weighbridge and from 1997 we started to make a charge for wastes. Maghtab was frequently on fire and especially with the increase in the amount of excavation waste in recent years, was growing at a fast rate. A foreign consultant found that the dioxin produced by the spontaneous

Ing Vince Magri has been the recipient of the Engineering Excellence Award for lifetime achievement.

Interview with Ing. Vince Magriby Ing. John Pace

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Interview with Ing. Vince Magri (cont.)

combustion was several times the allowable limit. It is a measure of the success of our project that the amount of dioxin is now virtually untraceable.

ET What measures were taken?VM: Construction waste then represented 80% of the waste dumped at Maghtab. We started the process of dumping this waste in disused quarries; however this needed strict controls and monitoring to ensure that no contamination of groundwater was possible. Waste separation took some time to take off, but now we are recycling waste material and selling it at good prices. The price of plastics rose to €550 per ton and there is a good demand for it. Where previously we had to pay contractors to take our materials and export it, nowadays we are selling it at a good price. This has lead to better sorting by the waste contractors who would be paid for separated materials.

We are also extracting energy from waste. At the Sant Antnin plant we first extract energy from the waste and then we use the residue as compost.

our aim is to reduce and eventually eliminate landfill, and we have been successful in that. In 2002 there were 1.6 million tons of waste being dumped at Maghtab. We have now come down to less than 0.3 million tons a year. The sant Antnin waste recycling plant is now in operation and a similar plant will be constructed in the north of Malta. This will ensure that nothing goes to the landfill except the rejects. And even reject can be minimised by ensuring that waste separation is effective, and then the amount going to the landfill will be very small.

The engineered landfill at Ghallis was planned to be full in seven years, and in 2013 it was

envisaged that another site would be needed. But with the measures taken we already know that the site will be available at least up to 2018, and with further measures we think that the site will last for a hundred years. With separation and incineration of the waste derived fuel after energy is extracted in the digester the amount of rejects will be very small.

The process of the mechanical separation at sant Antnin consists of removing metals from mixed waste, then removing cardboard, paper, clothes and other combustibles which are then compacted and used as refuse derived fuel (rDF). The remaining organic wastes is fed into the digester to remove the energy portion and produce compost. The rDF is at present exported for which Wasteserv pays some €150 per ton. With an incinerator, the rDF will be used to produce energy, and the combination derives 30% more energy from the waste than plain incineration.

Waste gases produced in the landfill, and also in the digestion plants will pass through an rTo (regenerative thermal oxidizer), which is a device consisting of ceramic plates at a temperature of 10000, which oxidizes the gas to carbon dioxide. Methane coming from the waste is used to heat the plates so the process is self sustaining.

At the landfill where the waste dumped over the year slowly decomposes to produce methane and other gases, wells were excavated to collect these gases which are used to produce electricity and thus rendered harmless. The dioxins which were formerly emitted at the Maghtab Landfill are now totally eliminated by the treatment through the rTo and the energy produced by the good gas helps to reduce the energy cost of operating the facility.

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Interview with Ing. Vince Magri (cont.)

ET: So you feel that your projects have been successful?VM: Yes, with our team I feel we have made big advances. We have now a team of engineers and other professions, and the subject is fascinating. Government is investing in the facilities and we have had great help from the European union, both in funding and in increasing the awareness of the problems.

ET: What is the effect of public protests as in the Sant Antnin project.VM: Public protests are a great hindrance, but you cannot just close down a plant and open another one at another location, as no one wants to have the plant close to him. I live at Zabbar and I have relatives at Marsascala, and I care for the environment as much as other citizens.

What we are doing is the upgrading of the former waste treatment plant to remove the complaints, and also to downsize it and build another plant at another location. With the obligation to close down Maghtab and bring it to European standards we made plans for an engineered landfill with liners at the base to contain the contamination. We made it in time for accession to the Eu, and we were granted the first IPPC permit in Malta to operate the engineered landfill when the permitting Board was appointed by Government.The first permit issued was for the storage of waste at Zwejra and clearance was given just three weeks before the accession date.

ET: How was the process of building your team from scratch?VM: At first we used foreign consultants, but we soon took over, as we are in a better position to understand our problems. We have a good team of engineers, and it is a fascinating subject. one big acquisition was Dr Ing Christopher Ciantar who had great qualities of leadership which gave a big boost to the undertaking. We have to keep up to date with a rapidly evolving technology. We have to deal with the regulating authorities, MEPA and MrA in the case of electricity generation.

ET: What is the future of WasteServ?VM: one problem we are tackling is that of hazardous waste. Malta does not generate enough waste to be neutralized economically, but enough to contaminate the environment. We export part of these wastes and are seeking new methods to treat and store for export, if not suitable to be disposed off in the facilities available in Malta. one project we are working on is to study the benefits of teaming up with other Mediterranean islands/regions to share our resources of waste management, each country undertaking to provide facilities to process one type of waste which is collected from the various islands/regions. This would produce larger quantities of waste to justify the investment in facilities required to process these recyclables and also create a market for the products as the quantities would make export viable. ET

Ing. John PaceEditor, Engineering Today


Research and innovation are critical if we are to achieve the strong growth we need. I firmly believe that increasing RTDI spending is the best way out of the crisis.

Meeting the RTDI Needs of Industryby Ing. Ray Muscat

European Commissioner for Regional Policy Johannes Hahn (March 2011)

As a strong advocate of this statement, the Malta Chamber rTDI Committee compiled the document ‘Meeting the rTDI needs of Industry’. The main focus is to underline the need for investment in rTDI for the advancement and prospering of the Maltese economy. The Committee refers to no less than eight issues which it believes must be taken into consideration when discussing the rTDI needs of industry.

Innovation Management Techniques (IMTs) can be defined as the range of management tools, techniques and methodologies that support the process of innovation in enterprises and help them in a systematic way to meet new market challenges. Innovation cannot happen unless top management believes in it. Enterprises need

to feel the vibrancy in the environment in which they operate in order to innovate. In this regard, the Committee advocates the education of top management in innovation for sustainability and growth. It also suggests actively promoting IMTs concepts and the implementation of IMTs to increase innovation performance. This will lead to the broadening of local expertise in the subject.

The research and development phase could be segmented in four phases: problem definition, basic research, applied research and commercialisation. In this respect, a company would need to invest and re-invest parts of its profit in R&D. In order for companies to be encouraged to carry out this process, an environment where innovation can flourish needs to be created. For this to happen, the Committee also suggests prioritisation at government level, with the appointment of


a Parliamentary secretary for science and Technology. This can then lead to the setting up of a national working group on rTDI.

Education preparedness is one of the main enablers for innovation to flourish in enterprises. At foundation level, the Committee recommends the promotion of knowledge transfer between industry and academia. Skills and human resources required for R&D need to be assessed and forecast, in order to ensure that the appropriate skills are available. To encourage collaborative research with foreign researchers, practical matters such as facilitating VIsA processes and prompting favourable conditions for foreign researchers must also be considered.

The issue of industry-academia linkage and knowledge transfer between the two has been debated for a long time. The Malta Chamber has reiterated the importance of this linkage time and time again. However, the relationship does need to be defined appropriately. In the case of commercialisation, enterprise will only feel comfortable approaching academia if the intellectual property development and management is very clear and equitable to all. Indeed, an entrepreneurial culture needs to be instilled in students and academic staff. Finally, the creation of a national intellectual property policy will encapsulate all these needs.

The Malta Chamber believes that the relevant stakeholders should be encouraged to develop a functional eco-system for innovation, through proper education, the provision of correct information and creation of the right environment for innovation to flourish. Within this structure, the Malta Chamber firmly believes in the benefits of developing innovative clusters.

While the Malta Chamber appreciates the different instruments of funding available to support innovation, the Malta Chamber is concerned that these funding instruments are disparate and unconnected. Collectively these funding instruments are not designed to assist enterprises’ development of their innovative products/services. This may lead to inefficiency and ineffective instruments of access to finance.

research and development expenditure in the business enterprise sector was 0.34% of GDP in 2009, out of a provisional total of 0.55% for 2009. The Malta Chamber is concerned regarding the increase of this figure as the 2020 target for R&D outlined in the NRP is merely 0.67% of GDP. The Committee insists that this marginal increase of 0.12% of GDP is seen as being far too low for the forthcoming nine years. This might convey the message that Malta is lacking commitment towards investing in the knowledge economy, thus giving worrying signals to potential foreign direct investors.

In this regard, the Committee recommends the need for appropriate funding programmes to sustain R&D under the ERDF Scheme. It also suggests the introduction of programmes that promote seed funding, as well as those related to commercialisation and that encourages high-end academic research.


Meeting the RTDI Needs of Industry (cont.)

Ing. Ray MuscatDirector General, The Malta Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise and Industry

Knowledge is crucial for enterprises as the drive for innovation must come from business. The term ‘Licensing’ is an arrangement between independent organisations for the sale of the use of technology protected by patents, trademarks or other legal forms of monopoly between a principal (licensor) and a client (licensee). In this respect, we need to increase knowledge regarding technology transfer and licensing, as well as providing substantial resources to the Technology Transfer Office.

Intellectual property rights (IPr) not only give inventors and creators the protection they deserve, but give them the main tool with which to capitalise on their creations. Who the owner of the IPr actually is, is something the Law seeks to regulate, because the owner and licensor will have access to exclusive rights over the intellectual capital concerned.

The Eu is also taking an active part in harmonising the intellectual property laws and simplifying the IPr landscape for all of its Member states. Malta’s feedback must therefore reflect what stakeholders, including Malta Chamber members, have to say on a subject which affects their core business. It is also critical that awareness is raised about different IPr commercial opportunities. IP registrations should be simplified and supported further and more resources should be provided to the local Registration Office.

The proposed strategy should be an eye opener for stakeholders to drive rTDI to the forefront of Government’s agenda so that it may contribute towards the creation of a more dynamic and competitive environment for market-driven research and development. ET


The Department of Electronic Systems Engineering at the University is carrying out a number of projects on avionics, the electronic systems used in flight.

Avionics Research at the Universityby Ing. John Pace

The leader and guiding light of these projects is Professor David Zammit Mangion, who talked to me about them. David is a very busy man who, besides the lecturing and project work at the university, lectures on avionics at the prestigious Cranfield University and is involved in projects involving big names such as Airbus and Thales. His work involved discussions with Boeing, Honeywell and nAsA among others and he is proud that The university of Malta has made itself known in such circles.

Prof Zammit Mangion says he was always interested in aircraft and flight, and after graduating in Malta he proceeded to Cranfield university where he got his Masters and PhD on avionics, working on Takeoff Performance Monitoring. Coming back to Malta to lecture at the university he started on a project on runway collision avoidance. This was a big project, undertaken in collaboration with other university staff members Andrew sammut and Brian Zammit. This system was patented.

While runway collisions are a rare event, when they happen they produce some of the biggest incidents, the worst accident ever being the 1977 Teneriffe incident when two Jumbo jets

collided on a runway killing 583 persons. When there is a runway incursion the pilot often has only a few seconds in which to make a life and death decision, and the worst accidents have happened in bad weather when visibility was low.

Collision avoidance involves legislation, procedures and certification issues and of course technology which has to be developed in view of the psychology and philosophy of operation so that certification requirements can be updated in accordance with the technology made available.

The patented flight safety system aims to tackle the problem of runway incursions. Ideally such incursions should not happen and procedures are in place not to allow them. However the human element is always there and mistakes cannot be excluded. It is here that the system works by telling the pilot how to avoid a collision. By studying the dynamics of the plane

Professor David Zammit Mangion

This is a computer-generated image of the collision. The KLM plane is just airborne as it slices through the Pan Am aircraft with 380 passengers and crew. The KLM plane will then careen down the runway for 400 metres before crashing and immediately igniting, killing all 234 people on board.


and of the intruder, the software can determine what can be done. The difficulty is that you have to be very reliable. It has to be a manual system as an auto system can be less reliable than the current state. It involves psychology and an alerting strategy, how to tell the pilot (this is a critical point in emergency situations). It has to be fast, and the moment the unauthorised aircraft enters the runway the pilot has to be told instantly of what he should do. In the case of the Linate crash, when an airliner collided with a business jet on the runway with the low visibility, the pilot only had one second from the moment he saw the other plane to the impact.

With the system he would have been alerted 17 seconds before, with ample time to take evasive action. The system would tell the pilot what is the best course, stop or accelerate, or even in extreme cases where collision is inevitable, to brake so as to lessen the impact. Alerting has to be both visual and audio as under stress the pilot may simply ignore one warning. This has been proved by tests where pilots simply deny that a warning was received.

From this project the team at the university made a big leap forward and proceeded to participate in the 1.3 billion euro Clean sky


project. Clean sky is Joint Technology Initiative of the European union as part of the seventh research Framework Program. These JTI’s are partnership programs between the Eu, industry and other bodies such as universities, to develop ambitious research and development programs.

Clean sky aims to undertake projects to reduce the impact of aviation on the environment. Major manufacturers in the aircraft industry, research organisations and other bodies bid for projects which, if accepted, are financed by grants from the European Commission. First tier participants are the big companies and the university of Malta is a second tier participant, a very prestigious recognition of the work undertaken by the department.

Projects under Clean sky include projects for the use of electricity in controls to replace hydraulics and pneumatics, use of recyclable materials, new materials, fuel efficient aircraft, flight management systems and more efficient flight trajectories.

The university of Malta worked with major partners such as Airbus and Thales for two and a half years to prepare the project before the contract was awarded. Prof Zammit Mangion was deeply involved at the planning stage and considers it highly significant that the University is actually influencing the direction of European research. The funding of the project only started after the program was launched. At the pre contract stage the expense was enormous and it had to be provided by the university.

The project is a seven year program and aims at improving trajectory optimisation in flight to reduce emissions and is a one million euro project. Flying by autopilot will not use the most

efficient techniques and there are techniques which can be used to improve efficiency, such when to start descent, what descent rate to use, the speed to fly at, and similarly in climb Air traffic control, with its emphasis on safety will not result in the most efficient flying. The interest of the two entities, the airborne and the air traffic control, are often different. new programs are being developed for more efficient ATC, but the University project involves only the airborne component.

Planning a route between two points such that the aircraft can fly in the most efficient manner has to include considerations of the weather, the restrictions made by Air Traffic Control, wind, aircraft weight, congestions, rate of ascent/descent, etc. Wind is the most important factor. A new consideration is carbon trading and this will have a major impact. Another important consideration is noise in the vicinity of airports.

The concept created with Airbus is first to design the tool with which you can design routes optimally. The tool is first used offline to have a set of optimized routes which are then uploaded in the flight management system, naturally considering the weather, operational constrains, the weight of the aircraft, and constraints arising from ATC. Then in practice in the actual flight there would be actual data which will have to be inserted into the optimized route to fine tune it according to the actual conditions. This is a big project of some €150 million, consisting of the hardware and test benches, but also of the mathematical preparation of the ground based analysis. The uoM involvement in the project is the building the software and developing and optimizing the trajectories. Companies like Thales are developing the hardware for testing the software on real aeroplanes.

Avionics Research at the University (cont.)

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Avionics Research at the University (cont.)

Ing. John PaceEditor, Engineering Today

Since the flight management system is a safety critical device a very conservative approach is taken and the computers used are old technology, using 8 bit and 16 bit processors so that the processing power is not really that of big computers. Development includes using more powerful processors, but the certification process is very severe, to ensure that the system will not crash, and the technology is quite out of date compared with current consumer technology.

The university is working on a number of other avionics projects including a project with Quaero, an airline pilots organisation, on flight trajectories, a project on autonomous taxiing to ensure that planes find their way on taxiways during low visibility, and a single display system for cockpits which will be the display in future generations of passenger aircraft.

Prof Zammit Mangion is proud that the university of Malta is doing world class projects and is up there with the major players. Papers are published in the top journals and the team is invited to come over and discuss its technology with the world leaders in the industry. The department has obtained 2.3 million Euros of research grants in the last eight years, and is producing Msc’s and PhD’s on its projects, while the undergraduates have the benefit of being in contact with lecturing staff who are at the cutting edge of technology. ET


The Malta Engineering Excellence Awards (MEEAs) ceremony is one of the most anticipated activities in the Chamber of Engineers calendar.

The 2011 ceremony marked the tenth edition of these prestigious awards. The roots of the MEEA awards can be traced back to the previous century. Last year, we have witnessed the growth of these same roots to a grown tree due to the very good feedback and sound competition between various organizations/companies. The future looks bright but a grown tree needs good care to bear good fruit.

Back in 1992, the Chamber of Engineers organized for the first time an award for the recognition of achievements of engineers and organizations. This was known as the Maurice Debono Memorial Prize. A total of nine prizes were awarded between 1992 and 2000. shows the prize winners during this time span. With the steady growth of the engineering profession

Innovation Award: Abertax team headed by Ing. George Schembri (centre) presented with the Innovation Award.

10th Edition

Malta Engineering

Excellence AWARDS2011Past, present and future

by Ing. Daniel Micallef


in Malta came also the need to extend this prestigious prize to encompass a wider variety of achievements. An overhaul was required and this brought about a change in the event name to the 'Malta Engineering Excellence Awards'.

Maurice Debono Memorial Prize (1992-2000 )

Maurice Debono Memorial Prize

Year Winner

2000 Mr. Frank Fenech

1999 Ing. Alex Galea

1998 Architect Joe Degaetano

1997 Prof Ing. robert Ghirlando

1996 sGs-Thomson

1995 Prof Ing. Peter P. Farrugia

1994 FEAnI

1993 Prof Ing. Carmel Pule

1992 Ing. Tom r. Cusens

Leadership Award presentation: MITA CEO Mr. Matthew Gatt (left) and Faculty of Engineering, UOM Dean Dr. Ing. John A Betts (far right) - Leadership Award with Ing. Saviour Baldacchino (second from left) and (third from left) Dr. Chris Said.

Chamber of Engineers president Ing. Saviour Baldacchino (right) with Ing. Tom R. Cusens (left), the winner of the first edition of the Maurice Debono Memorial Prize.

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(cont.)

The awards were changed from a single prize to three different categories of awards: The Innovation, Leadership and Lifetime Achievement. Focus was now also placed not only on the individual (as was mostly common with the Maurice Debono Memorial Prize) but also on organizations which sought excellence in their engineering endeavour. For these past ten years, these were awarded to various companies being either public or private whilst of course recognizing the individual engineer through the leadership and lifetime award.

This year Abertax won the Innovation award with their work on a central degassing release system for “stop and go” automotive batteries. The Abertax team also managed to file a patent for their innovative product.

MITA and the university of Malta Faculty of Engineering both won the Leadership award. The former managed to implement an Enterprise Data Centre with International Accreditation from the uptime Institute for the TIEr III Data Centre Design. The Faculty of Engineering on the other hand has not only attracted a large number of undergraduate students in engineering but is also growing in its research credentials with better experimental facilities and an increasing number of post graduate students.

Inġ. Vince Magri won the Lifetime Achievement award. He held high management positions within the Civil service and more recently occupied the post of the Chief Executive Officer with WasteServ Malta Limited. Thanks to his contribution Malta’s waste management capabilities have developed substantially.

Malta Engineering Excellence Awards(2002-present)

Innovation

Year Winner

2011 Abertax Group

2010 Carlo Gavazzi Ltd.

2009

IuBs Programme (Enemalta

Corporation, Water services

Corporation & IBM) and Playmobil

Ltd. (Malta)

2008 Engineering for Science & Industry

2007 Vodafone Malta Ltd.

2006 New Energy Ltd.

2005 WasteServ Malta Ltd.

2004 Data Stream Ltd.

2003 Methode Electronics Malta Ltd.

2002 Electric Car Project at uoM

Lifetime Achievement Award: Ing Vince Magri award speech

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Ing. Daniel MicallefActivities secretary, The Chamber of Engineers

Leadership

Year Winner

2011MITA and the Faculty of

Engineering, university of Malta

2010 Ing. Joseph Degabriele

2009 Panta Lesco Ltd.

2008Malta Group of Professional

Engineering Institutions

2007university Engineering students

Assciation

2006 Ing. Colin Camilleri

2005 Ing. raphael Micallef Trigona.

2004 Computime Ltd.

2003 Ing. Joe Muscat

2002 ST Microelectonics Malta Ltd.

Lifetime Achievement

Year Winner

2011 Ing. Vince Magri

2010 Ing. Antoine riolo

2009 Mr. Bartholomew Attard

2008 Mr. Thomas Galea

2007 Ing. Anthony Muscat

2006 Ing. Lawrence Ciantar

2005 Ing. Joseph A. Muscat

2004 Ing. Gerald Borg

2003 Ing. Carmel Ellul

2002 Prof Ing. Maurice Grech

Particularly this year, the competition for these awards was extremely high. There were a total of eight nominations. This is a clear sign of growth but is also an indication that we, as the Chamber of Engineers need to look ahead to accommodate this growth. The increasing competition is also a sign of growth of the entire engineering profession in Malta. This is what the Chamber of Engineers ultimately stands for. Members are showing great interest not only in the MEEAs but also in other activities. The more these contribute and take part in these activities the faster the local engineering profession will grow.

With ten MEEAs behind us, we are looking forward for the next ten editions. until the 11th edition of the MEEAs there are a host of other activities which await us. Members are encouraged to visit our website which is continuously updated with notices of coming activities as well as press releases. ET

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