THE NORTHERN ENGINEER applied science in the north Volume 17, Number 2 Summer 1985 . ,.,. STAFF: Editor, Carla Helfferich; Editorial Advisor, Lee Leonard; Associ· ate Editors, Barbara Matthews and K. Fiedler Morack; Editorial Assistant, Sue Keller; Finance Officer, Neta Stilkey. EDITORIAL BOARD: John Bates, DOTPF, Juneau; Joseph M. Colonell, Woodward-Clyde Consultants, Anchorage; Mark Fryer, Consulting Engi­ neers, Anchorage; Paul Goodwin, Special Assistant to the Commissioner of Education, Juneau; Keith B. Mather, Vice Chancellor for Research, UAF; Janet Mathesdi'i, Architect, Fairbanks; John M. Miller, Geophysical Insti­ tute, UAF ;·Tunis Wentink, Jr., Geophysical Institute, UAF; John Zarling, Mechanical Engineering, UAF. The Northern Engineer, Vol. 17, No.2 THE NORTHERN ENGINEER The Geophysical Institute Volume 17, Number 2 University of Alaska-Fairbanks Summer 1985 CONTENTS______________________________ A Learning Tour of Scandinavia: Energy-Efficient Living and Research by Richard Seifert and David Olivier ........................ .4 Principal Achievements in Soviet Geocryology by Pavel I. Melnikov .....................................8 18 A Radiotracer Technique to Evaluate Gold Recovery by Gravity Concentrators by Daniel E. Walsh .....................................13 Monitoring Temperatures in an Offshore Arctic Well: A Brief Note by Alan Taylor and Alan Judge ............................18 Diary of a Cheechako Builder by Ken L. Larson ......................................20 An Aufeis Case Study by W.J. Stringer, T. H. George, and R. M. Bell ................25 Back of the Book Noted, Meetings, Publications, Letters, Book Reviews, Errata .....30 COVER-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------­ Solar living in Denmark may look like this if the monitored design in the experi­ mental Hjortakaer village proves successful, as discussed in the article beginning on p. 4. The photo, taken by author Richard Seifert, was enhanced in the darkroom by Evelyn Trabant. 25 THE NORTHERN ENGINEER IISSN 0029-30831 is a quarterly publication of the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska-Fairbanks- Dr. Juan G. Roederer, Director. It focusses on engineering practice and technological developments in cold regions, but in the broadest sense. We will consider articles stemming from the physical, biological, and behavioral sciences, as well as views and comments having a social or political thrust, so long as the view­ point relates to technical problems of northern habitation, commerce, development, or the environment. Contributions from other nations are welcome. We are pleased to include book reviews on appropriate subjects, and announcements of forthcoming meetings of interest to northern communities. "Letters to the Editor" will be published if of general interest; these should not exceed 300 words. (Opinions in the letters, reviews, and articles are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the University of Alaska, the Geophysical Institute, or The Northern Engineer staff and Board.) Subscription rates for The Northern Engineer are $12 for one year, $17 for two years, and $37 for five years. Some back issuesareavailablefor$3 each. Address all correspondence to THE EDITOR, THE NORTHERN ENGINEER, GEOPHYSICAL INSTITUTE, UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA-FAIRBANKS, FAIRBANKS, ALASKA 99775-0800, U.S.A. The University of Alaska is an EO/AA employer and educational institution. The Northern Engineer, Vol.17, No.2 3 authors planned study tours to the first three of these countries to investigate the "action." In an example of great serendip· ity and luck we met in a lecture at the Norwegian National Building Research In· stitute in Trondheim, we struck up a cor­ A LEARNING TOUR OF SCANDINAVIA respondence, and the collaboration on this article resulted. Here's what we discovered Energy-Efficient Living and Research on these exciting learning tours, taken country by country. DENMARK by Richard Seifert and David Olivier Less than a half hour's drive outside Copenhagen lies the Technical University of Denmark. This, the major technical uni­ versity of the country, was one of the first organizations to respond to the energy crisis of the early 1970s. The university's effort led to an architect-designed house now world renowned as the "Zero Energy House" (Nulenergihuset in Danish). It was planned to use no auxiliary fuel for energy, seasonally storing solar energy for use dur­ ing winter. This early attempt is not per­ forming as originally designed; it turns out that the 20,000 ·gallon storage tank has a poor thermal performance and loses heat too quickly for full storage to last the win· ter. Nevertheless, this experimental house established the Danes' commitment to the realistic and relentless pursuit of quality housing to lessen their considerable depend­ ence on petroleum fuels. In 1978, six model energy-efficient homes were built at Hjortakaer, a village near the Technical University. These were monitored for the first years of their existence, a project which has been com­ pleted. The houses incorporated diverse architectural designs, high insulation levels, airtightness and many test systems and trial technologies from window shutters to solar designs. One of the Hjortakaer Figure 1. One of the houses (a solar design) in houses is shown in Figure 1. Plans are now the six-unit Hjortakaer experimental village in complete for a new-generation house in­ Denmark. These houses were monitored for corporating the most successful details of performance for two years and have been WHEN IT COMES TO ACTION and the first houses. The plans include a hybrid sold on the private housing market. frugality in matters of energy conservation wall design, using load-bearing dense con­ and design, it doesn't take an astute observ· crete internally with timber frame and er long to figure out where to go. Denmark, wood sheathing on the exterior, and having Norway, Sweden, and Finland are the lead· 12 inches of mineral wool insulation. This ing places to visit if learning about energy is for a country at the latitude of Ketchi­ efficiency in buildings, latest technologies, kan, Alaska, and about the same heating and economic resourcefulness is your in· index (6800 degree-days using the Fahren­ terest. Unbeknownst to each other, both heit scale). Richard Seifert is an energy and building specialist for the Cooperative Extension Service of the University ofAlaska in Fairbanks. Recently awarded a Fulbright Research Scholarship, he is in Norway studying solar energy at the University of Trondheim. David Olivier is an energy consultant in Buckinghamshire, England. He was the chief author of Energy-Efficient Futures: Opening the Solar Option (1983, Earth Resources Research, 258 Penton ville Road, London, England, N 19JY), a report studying how the United Kingdom could use energy more efficiently and move toward renewable energy sources. 4 The Northern Engineer, Vol. 17, No.2 Work is also continuing on an experi­ Table 1. Building Code Specifications for Sweden, 1985 mental timber frame house which was Details built in the last four years to test heating Building Element U-Value A-Value systems. This timber frame structure was Roof 0.021 47 12.5" mineral wool found to be among the most airtight dwellings in the world (0.005 air changes Walls 0.029 33 9.5" mineral wool or ac per hour). The house also provides an ideal research building since it consists Floor 0.035 28 7.9" mineral wool of a shell that can be manipulated for materials research purposes and for Windows 0.36 2.8 Triple glass, quad common testing the results of various heating and storage options. Alaskans would do well Airtightness Maximum 3 ac/hr to build several structures of this type to at 50 pascals pressure, test in the various climatic areas of the 0.15 ac/hr at normal use state. Denmark has high building costs and Ventilation Mechanical ventilation there is a premium on land. In response to 0.5 ac/hr to these factors some groups have formed housing collectives for educational or contrast to the older-style grist mills that damage were traced to leaky vapor philosophical purposes, much like the dot the countryside. barriers, which allowed moist warm air to early utopian communities of the last move upward by the stack effect through century in the eastern U.S. In a sense, the SWEDEN the ceiling into the roof space. To mini­ ideal of energy efficiency is only one of In 1985 Sweden is scheduled to enact mize this risk, vapor barriers are required many upon which members of the Danish the most rigorous and stringent building to be 8-mil polyethylene, ultraviolet sta­ communities have chosen to focus. One codes in the world. In a fundamentally bilized, or equivalent. such community which we both visited socialized country with a mix of fossil What does meeting these code require­ was the Overdrevet housing collective fuel- and nuclear-generated electricity ments cost? We were able to get an aver­ located near Arhus. Overdrevet has a low· (the latter to be phased out by the year age cost for a Swedish house that meets temperature community (district) heating 2010). and no store of fossil fuels, the code: it is $500 per square meter or system in which heat to the circulating Sweden has approached energy con­ about $47 per square foot. That is com­ water is partially supplied by solar energy servation with supreme Scandinavian petitive anywhere in the U.S., and most collected on the individual homes. The frugality, discipline and resolve. Table 1 of the Canadian nonmanufactured hous­ homes themselves are very well insulated shows the specifications for a residence ing is at least that expensive. This is prime -above Danish standards. Wood-framed evidence that superinsulated construction walls have 12 inches of mineral wool, from the new code regulations of 1985. does not have to be more expensive than masonry walls have 8 inches, and roofs Sweden has had problems in moving so rapidly to superinsulated, airtight hous­ conventional structures. In addition, have 12 to 18 inches. The windows are ing. Lessons learned provide a valuable Swedish public response to the heavily triple glazed.