Förädlingsarbetet på vårtbjörk (Betula pendula Roth) fick ett uppsving på slutet av 80-talet efter en ändrad opinion om björkens betydelse. En ny förädlingsplan togs fram med mål att förädla fram tidig höjdutveckling, högre torrsubstansproduktion och bättre virkeskvalitet. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka möjliga förbättringar av vårtbjörk utifrån mätningar av ett försök med halvsyskonfamiljer. Detta genom beräkningar av heritabilitet, genetisk vinst, variationskoefficient och korrelationer för egenskaperna diameter, höjd, vitalitet, klykor, rakhet och grenstruktur, vid 10 och 21 års ålder. För den statiskista analysen användes en mixad linjär modell som kördes i programmet ASReml, vilket bygger på restricted maximum likelihood metoden. Resultatet visar att förädlingsmöjligheter för vårtbjörk är goda speciellt för höjd och diameter, genetisk vinst är skattad till 20 % respektive 25 %. Klykor, rakhet och grenstruktur, visade inte lika lovande resultat, genetisk vinst låg på 13 %, 7 % respektive 7 % vid år tio. Korrelationerna mellan egenskaperna tyder på svårigheter att förädla för både bättre tillväxt och kvalitet, till exempel diametern vid år 10 har en negativ korrelation med grenstrukturen vid år 21 på -0,681..

Piles of deadwood are often retained in forests after management to support the biodiversity ofsaproxylic organisms which depend on deadwood to survive. Any knowledge about the crucial role ofpiles as suitable habitat of saproxylic organisms compared to single distributed deadwood objects thatare around the piles would help conservation actors to motivate more forest owners to supportsaproxylic organisms during their management. Therefore to give facts to this the saproxylic fauna ofdifferent pile positions (up and low) was studied and compared to distributed deadwood samplesaround each pile. Our study was focused on saproxylic beetles. Some other parameters such asdiameter, deadwood volume, pile volume and decay stage were assessed to define any effect.

Induction motors, often referred to as the workhorse of the industry, play an important role in production today. Therefore, it's important to diagnose any faulty induction motor prior to failure to avoid costly and time consuming production stops.This thesis compares methods for diagnosing induction motors in operation, MCSA, Park's vector approach and the standard method used by Swedish industries today. By simulating broken rotor bars and short-circuit in one of the windings, each method is tested and the results are compared using matlab.The results need further verification due to uncertainties of the condition of the test motor, even though the experiment gives a hint of the different advantages of each method. A combination of the methods should be able to tell if the motor needs further examination..

In connection with the property crises in many countries, caused by the financial crises, people are now more aware of the risks involved in poor property-investments. The unusually cold winters along with extreme prices of electricity in Sweden in recent years has also contributed to increased interest in energy-efficient buildings.The process of developing a modern family home in Kiruna, Sweden is presented the first part of this paper. The house has been designed to withstand very high stresses from snow, low energy consumption as well as a high standard of living comfort. Aspects of the house covered here involves everything from construction, heating and ventilation to sanitation. Each of these areas is presented based on their underlying, scientific methods or theories.

Opcon Powerbox is a product developed by Opcon together with the underlying company SRM (Svenska Rotor Maskiner) where surplus heat from the industry is used through an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC)?process to produce electricity. An ORC-process is a thermodynamic circle process in which a refrigerant is used as the working fluid. The refrigerant makes it possible for the circle process to operate at lower temperatures than the conventional Rankine process.In this master?s thesis a data analysis software for the Opcon Powerbox has been developed in which measurement data is retrieved and handled from the Opcon Powerbox.

Dogs presenting with vomiting and abdominal pain, are common patients at the small animal clinic, and the reason for these symptoms can have various aetiologies. One common reason for these symptoms is obstruction of the small intestine caused by a foreign body. Obstruction of the small intestine is best diagnosed by using radiography, contrast-study if needed, and ultrasound. To avoid further examinations, diagnosis from plain radiographs is preferable. One of the signs of illness one can detect from these examinations is a dilation of the small intestine proximal of the obstruction, caused by gas or fluid; ileus.

The aim for this study where to investigate the frequency of cutting cracks in saw timber harvested in the storm-damaged forests in regions where the storms Hilde and Ivar hit. The idea for this work came from one of the region?s biggest actors, SCA Skog and Jämtlands district. The purpose where to find out how big proportion of the saw timber that contains cutting cracks, their financial cost in lost wood value and also give advice and suggestions on how to work against the frequency of cutting cracks. For the field-study some guidelines where used to make sure that the samples were taken under the same conditions, they were: ? The field-study must be performed under harvesting of storm-felled forest, which are horizontal/inclined trunks. ? The averaged sized tree will make it possible to harvest saw timber. ? The trunks can?t be root cut. A methodology called in Swedish ?Trissmetoden? was used because it is the most frequent used methodology in earlier performed studies and the only one that can be used I field. Under the field-study data were collected from 570 saw timber logs, 30 logs from each one of the tested harvesters.

The effect of methyl jasmonate on resistance against the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) in Scots pine and Norway spruce seedlings. A field experiment was conducted in order to determine the dose-response effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) on growth and defence to pine weevils in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) and to compare the effect of MJ between pine and spruce. In addition a complementary greenhouse experiment was conducted with the same aims as above and to determine the amount of resin ducts and their correlation to the feeding of pine weevils. The field experiment was conducted on a fresh clear cutting in Garpenberg, southern Dalarna in central Sweden. The experiment consisted of 30 blocks with three kinds of containerized seedlings: 2-year old spruce, small pine (before shoot elongation) and 1-year old pine (already shoot elongated). They were all exposed to 4 treatments 14 days prior to the experiment: control, 25 mM/L MJ, 50 mM/L MJ and 100 mM/L MJ. Data on weevil damage and seedling growth were collected after the first and the second growing season. The seedlings in the greenhouse experiment were of the same kind and were exposed to the same treatment as the ones in the field experiment.

The requirements for operative planning activities are increasing. The forest industry wants to gain better control over wood flow. A felling that is more market adjusted is desirable. However, this causes problems in the operative planning process because of the data collection methods used today. Data about timber assortments and data about the distribution of the tree diameter, etc., are often lacking. Airborne laser scanning is used to a greater extent than before for estimation of forest variables and should perhaps be used to the same extent in operative planning activities as well.

This thesis describes a method of measuring axial magnetic leakage flux in an operational hydropower generator. Axial magnetic leakage flux is the magnetic flux at the ends of a rotating generator, which goes through the stator parallel to the rotor axis. This flux can cause circulating currents in the stator iron, giving rise to losses, and can in the worst case overheat a generator, causing it to melt down. To measure the axial flux, and how it affects the generator temperature, a measurement system was constructed on behalf of Vattenfall. The system consists of search coil sensors and a signal-processing unit with amplifiers and active filtering.  To confirm the behaviour of the axial leakage flux and the functionality of the measurement system, a test installation was made.

The aim of this thesis was to analyse BARO WOOD AB:s timber measuring and quality sorting and to evaluate the analyse program Stockholmen. The purpose was to get a better understanding for the quality sorting made at BARO WOOD AB today, analyse differences in center board quality from logs with a good quality and logs with a bad quality, suggest new sorting criterias developed from analyses made with Stockholmen and to evaluate the program Stockholmen. All analyses are based on data gathered in a test sawing made at BARO WOOD AB in June and July 2002. The test sawing was made on four different diameter classes and every diameter class consisted out of A or M-grade logs, with a better quality, and B-grade logs with a lesser quality. The logs where sorted out with BARO WOOD AB:s existing quality criterias.

De senaste åren har stora tågförseningar skett på vintern, ofta hänvisade till som växelfel. Dessa växelfel beror ofta på att snö och is fastnar i växeln och på så vis förhindrar växelns huvudfunktion. Snön hamnar i växeln dels genom snöfall, men även på grund av att snön skakas av från de passerande tågen. Förseningarna, som beror på snö och is i järnvägsväxlar, är ett stort problem som påverkar många människor. Syftet med detta projekt blev således att undersöka hur detta problem kan lösas.Idag finns redan flera varianter för att lösa detta problem.

Tallen (Pinus Sylvestris L.) är för den svenska skogsindustrin ett av de viktigaste trädslagen. Tallens kvalitet är påverkbar genom röjning, där röjningens intensitet och tidpunkt är avgörande för tallens diametertillväxt, årsringsbredd, kvistdiameter, krongränshöjd, stamform, juvenilvedsandel och elasticitetsmodul. Röjningsarbete utförs via olika röjningsformer, där röjningsformerna enkelställning, toppröjning, stråkröjning och korridorröjning används i svenskt skogsbruk. Studien syftade till att utreda om det fanns signifikanta skillnader i behandlingseffekt på tallens medelhöjd, medeldiameter, kvistdiameter, krongränshöjd, höjd/diameter-kvot, elasticitetsmodul och årsringsbredd mellan röjningsformerna enkelställning, toppröjning, stråkröjning och korridorröjning. Studien syftade även till att utreda om ovanstående röjningsformer hade haft effekt på sambandet mellan elasticitetsmodul och årsringsbredd, i enskilda årsskott.Det studerade försöket anlades år 2003 i tallungskog i Umeå, Västerbottens län.

The examination of the adequate nature conservation methods in a natural reserve, to conserve a specific species and / or increase biological diversity is the subject of this study. This work is based on four species, that can be found during the Spring season, liverleaf, wood anemone, brimstone and woodpecker. The incidence and availability is studied and closely observed for these species in twenty forests, i.e. ten forests which are nature reserves and ten forests with the similar characteristics as the nature reserves habitat, but are not nature reserves in Gnesta mucipality, Södermanland. Measurements of the tree crown and the diameter of the tree trunks where noted to study how these factors could affect the outcome of the abundance and incidence of the four species.

Modern sawmills are using the raw-material and the production-capacity more efficiently today, due to rising raw-material prices and higher production costs. Log sweepness has a negative effect on the sawn yield, for sawmills with straight-sawing. It is desirable that these logs could be sorted based on more criteria, if it increases value-yield and consequently the utilization of raw-material. Bow-heights over 1 cm have a negative effect on sawn yield, since the surface of the mantle cuts down in the sawn pattern. Some of these small bow-heights reduce the logs yield of value which affects the production planning negatively. Nearly half of all the Swedish logs have a bow-height over 1 cm.