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WindSurf - A self-starting, active-pitch, vertical-axis wind turbine |
Dr Jonathan Shek
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Energy Systems |
WindSurf aims to develop a core enabling technology - active blade pitching for a vertical axis wind turbine. This will allow wind turbines to operate in challenging wind conditions, to operate quietly and for new, lower maintenance turbine designs. WindSurf will open up new sites for wind energy: sites previously rejected because wind speeds were too low, variable or subject to swirling, or where noise nuisance would have been a concern. WindSurf will tackle all three parts of the energy trilemma: reducing emissions, increasing security of supply, and reducing cost.
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Efficient DEM simulation of large systems of non-spherical particles |
Dr. Kevin Hanley
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Infrastructure and Environment |
To enlarge the scale of discrete element modelled particulate system from spherical to nonspherical; to increase the computational efficiency of simulating the nonspherical system; to provide more insights of particulate solid mechanics in engineering applications.
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LEANWIND: Logistic Efficiencies and Naval Architecture for Wind Installations with Novel Developments |
Dr Lucy Cradden
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Energy Systems |
LEANWIND is a 4-year project that started in December 2013. It is led by a 31-partner consortium and has been awarded €10 million by the European Commission, but its total value amounts to €15 million.
The primary LEANWIND objective is to provide cost reductions across the offshore wind farm lifecycle and supply chain through the application of lean principles and the development of state of the art technologies and tools.
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Community-Based Waste-Water Treatment in International Development |
Dr Martin Crapper
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Infrastructure and Environment |
A project, funded by PhD scholarships from the Islamic Development Bank and EPSRC (via the Doctoral Training Grants) is underway looking at the efficiency of meso-scale waste stabilization ponds to treat municipal waste water, with resource recovery from fish farming and selling sludge for fertilizer. The ultimate aim is to demonstrate systems that can be adpoted and run by communities, particularly in urban West Africa. The pilot project is based in Cotonou, Benin.
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Health and Safety in Voluntary Sector Construction |
Dr Martin Crapper
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Infrastructure and Environment |
This research, conducted using sociological methods, investigates how these volunteer workers of railway sector construct safety in their volunteering environment.
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Geobag Revetments for river bank reinforcement in Bangladesh |
Dr Martin Crapper
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Infrastructure and Environment |
This project aims at the production of guidelines for the safe design of revetments, which are often constructed manually by local farmers, with little engineering input.
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A novel diagnostic tool: from structural health monitoring to tissue quality prediction |
Dr Pankaj Pankaj
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Bioengineering |
As quality of life constantly improves, the average lifespan will continue to increase. The bad news is that tissue degradation due to wear and tear in an aged body is inevitable and is different from person to person. Fortunately recent advances in science and technology have enabled us to work towards personalised medicine. This project, by an interdisciplinary team from four different UK Universities (Liverpool, Heriot Watt, Durham and Edinburgh) with distinct areas of expertise, aims to predict patient-specific tissue quality which is essential in devising treatments plans. While our primary concern in this study is the bone tissue, the developed framework will apply to other tissues having porous or complex microstructure.
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Liquid crystal lasers |
Dr Philip Hands
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Integrated Micro and Nano Systems |
Usually associated with display technology, liquid crystals also have many other applications and uses. In this research project we are developing liquid crystal lasers, capable of broad wavelength-tuning, multiple simultaneous colour emissions, and highly customisable outputs, all within a small, portable and low-cost architecture. We are also seeking to integrate liquid crystal lasers into new photonic systems and applications, such as biomedical imaging (e.g. fluorescence microscopy, flow cytometry), digital holographic projection, and 2D & 3D displays.
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TRANSPACC - TRANSient operation of flexible Packings for Carbon Capture |
Dr Prashant Valluri
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Materials and Processes, Multiscale Thermofluids |
Power plants constitute one of the largest CO2 emitting sectors. With increased emphasis on abatement of emissions to meet the 2030 deadline set by the UK Committee on Climate Change, the power-plant sector is relying on CCS retrofits using post-combustion capture to clean up flue gases. However, despite the highly transient nature of power plant operation characterised by frequent shut-downs and start-ups (up to twice a day), the retrofits are currently designed for a constant base-load operation and hence cannot maintain even liquid distribution during unsteady loading.
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ThermaSMART |
Dr Prashant Valluri
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Integrated Micro and Nano Systems, Materials and Processes, Multiscale Thermofluids |
Project ThermaSMART is an international and intersectoral network of organisations working on a joint research programme in the area of phase-change cooling of high-power electronic devices.
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