Ihr professioneller Dienstleister für  Strömungssimulationen Forbo Flooring develops, produces and markets  linoleum-made floor and wall coverings, and  finishing material for (office) furniture. Linoleum is  made of a mixture of natural raw materials: linseed  oil, resins, cork, wood dust, limestone and pigments.  The mixture is applied onto a 2 meter wide jute  porter which is hanged out in a drying chamber  (length x height x width: 40x20x4 m) to cure for  several weeks. During the curing period hot air is  circulated in the drying chamber to absorb moisture  and hydrocarbons from the linoleum. After the curing period the air is drawn off and  burned. As part of an extensive research project by Siemens Energy Services into  energy savings for the manufacturing process of linoleum, the system of drying  chambers has also been investigated. During this investigation attention was focussed  on two issues: limitation of heat losses from the chamber and optimisation of the  curing process. Heat losses occur because hot air escapes through gaps in the  chamber structure or because heat flows through the structural elements. It has been attempted to limit heat losses  by continuously drawing off a limited amount of air during the curing period. This was expected to reduce the static  pressure in the drying chamber thus preventing any escape of hot air.   However, this also constitutes an energy loss: the drawn air has to be replaced by fresh air which has to be heated up.  Besides energy consumption the required curing period is an extremely important issue for Forbo Flooring. Given the  available number of drying cha-  mbers it determines the total  manufacturing capacity for  linoleum. The curing period is  shown to be highly affected by  the air velocity and tempe-  rature in the drying chamber.  For both issues the air flow in  the chamber is recognised to  be the deciding factor. Insight in the flow characteristics (velocity, pressure, temperature) is therefore indispensable to understanding the  heat losses or the curing process. FlowMotion, a consultancy firm specialised in fluid dynamics, has been  commissioned by Siemens Energy Services to analyse these flow characteristics using a computer model of the air flow  in a drying chamber. This technique is also called Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD). The analyses have shown that  the air flow in the drying chamber can be modified to both improve the curing process and reduce the energy  consumption.  Niederlassungen: Niederlande Leeghwaterstraat 21 2628 CA Delft Tel.: +31 15 278 2907 Deutschland Weenermoorer Str. 193 26826 Weener Tel.: +49 4953 922 969 Beratendes Ingenieurbüro für Wärme- und Strömungstechnik Wall-To-Wall Drying CFD Berechnungen in einer Trocknungshalle für Linoleum Siemens Nederland NV www.siemens.nl/energie/ Velocity-Distribution Temperature-Distribution Computermodel