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Dr Herveline Robidou has developed a new concept in air fin cooling that will keep GEA at the forefront of industrial heat exchange technology.

They say that the best ideas are often the most simple. Such is the case with ‘Groovy Cooling’, a novel concept developed by R&D Manager Dr Herveline Robidou and her team at GEA Batignolles Technologies Thermiques to make air fin coolers run more efficiently.

Air fin coolers are essential for taking the heat out of most of the world’s major industrial processes, including power plants, biomass facilities, refineries and gas to liquid plants. The coolers consist of bundles of tubes surrounded by fins. Fans draw air across the tubes, cooling the gas or liquid inside.

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“But when the air passes through the bundles it doesn’t go behind the tubes, which means that part of the fin is not used to transfer heat,” Robidou explains. “By putting a groove on the fin the air is guided behind the tube and this way we can improve the transfer of heat up to 25 per cent.”

The Groovy Cooling concept, which won first prize in the 2009 GEA Innovation Awards, is proving to be a hit with customers. Says Robidou: “They are very happy with the new technology. Although it's not a revolution, by reducing the surface installed, it can help them to save a lot of money, particularly on the civil engineering work."

GEA Batignolles Technologies Thermiques, based in the French city of Nantes, has adapted its production machinery and, following extensive testing and validation, is now incorporating the new groove fin design into its air fin coolers and condensers.

Robidou, who studied engineering in France and has a PhD from Berlin Technical University, joined the company in October 2007, a move that has enabled her to achieve her ambition of applying her engineering skills in the private sector. “It’s been a great opportunity for me because GEA wanted someone to build an R&D activity here,” she says. “I decided to work on two main areas – optimizing the products that we build every day and developing new markets for them.”

And with five different R&D projects on the go and numerous actions in other company projects, there’s no such thing as a typical day. “I am a mother of two children so my day starts with a lot of work at home. Then at the office there is always something new to do. Sometimes I attend meetings with customers to present new developments and their technological advantages.”

She is responsible for one full-time R&D staff member and calls upon the skills of colleagues who divide their time between R&D and other areas of the business.

Following her success with Groovy Cooling, Robidou is turning her attention to redesigning the tubes in the coolers.

“I enjoy looking for new technologies, finding solutions and working with universities,” she reveals. “This job enables me to do all that plus I have a team here that can support the production and validation of new ideas and who can make prototypes quickly.”

You’d think, with all this activity, she’d take the opportunity to relax outside work. “I like to do some sport when I get the chance and usually play badminton once a week,” she says. “Then at weekends I spend a lot of time with my family.”