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A team at the University of Sunderland has undertaken research into equipment maintenance for over 20 years. This has been undertaken within a series of funded UK and EU projects. The work of the team has resulted in a new model for maintenance strategy, and the development of novel artificial intelligence algorithms to monitor the condition of key factory assets. A series of software tools have been developed in collaboration with industrial partners. These tools and the strategic model have been tested in industrial settings and have had impact in the UK, across the EU, and internationally.
Economic impact
Environmental impact
Professor Jostins' research has produced dual electric/hydrogen-powered vehicles to address urban pollution. The research has delivered impact by pushing the boundaries of alternative fuels design and technology, by supporting the economic prosperity of the automotive industry and its supply chain and by influencing policy makers to invest in hydrogen. From a quarter scale model in 1998, it and subsequent iterations have had significant impact. Highlights include deployment of the UK's first hydrogen vehicle fleet in 2009, nomination for the Condé Nast Award: Innovation & Design in 2012 and the invitation to join the SWARM project (a demonstration of small four- wheeled fuel cell vehicles, http://swarm-project.eu/home.html) as a pan-European hybrid vehicle demonstrator, 2012. Beneficiaries include Horizon Fuel Cell, Westfield and Lotus (new products developed), and the South African and Scottish Governments (hydrogen economy developed).
Research and knowledge exchange led by Prof. Jefferies in sustainable urban drainage systems (SUDS) has driven the design and integration of SUDS into urban environments, into urban planning and everyday practice in the UK, Europe and worldwide. This research has contributed to the development of policies and established guidelines that have informed the set-up of operational and monitoring systems and the reduction of a training manual which is impacting widely on the sector (downloaded >40.000 times). Evidence gathered through this research has supported drainage policy nationally and now underpins important parts of urban infrastructure, improving environments and their resilience to flooding.
Impact on the environment
Impact on practitioners
Our work has facilitated the creation of a variety of innovative control strategies for First Hydro Company (FHC), owner of Europe's largest pump storage plant. FHC's two plants are both supported by the simulation platform developed as part of our research and responsible for balancing load variation on the National Grid. Critically, FHC's business model relies on their ability to provide ancillary services within a short time. Our research produced a comprehensive plant model, and was used to enhance the dynamic response of the Dinorwig station; this resulted in improvement in National Grid stability and has provided competitive advantages to FHC since 2008.
Professor Hani Hagras' research into type-2 Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLCs) underpins novel control systems which avoid the drawbacks and shortcomings of the type-1 FLCs used in numerous real world applications. Type-2 FLCs, developed at Essex, enable challenging applications to be realised and managed with better accuracy and robustness. Such applications include:
Research at the University of Bradford has enabled many major vehicle and brake manufacturers to improve the design of their brakes and braking systems to increase customer satisfaction and sales, and reduce costs. Methods have been developed to predict the thermo-mechanical and dynamic performance of brakes and provide design improvements. Durable solutions have been developed for noisy brakes, which have reduced warranty costs for approximately ten international collaborating companies including Bentley, where a squeal noise from the front brakes of a new vehicle had prevented it from being released for production. Our research has been embedded into short courses, which have trained over 250 engineers since 2008 and is incorporated into Jaguar Land Rover's (JLR) professional training.
Building on excellent computer science research, carried out in a number of applied research centres, the University has taken a leading role in the establishment and development of the software sector in the North East. This has resulted in a regional strategic approach, which has delivered significant social and economic benefits, with impacts including the creation of jobs, SME growth, cluster establishment and inward investment. Sunderland's applied computing research has also resulted in an increase in innovation and research in software SMEs and has impacted on the perception of Sunderland as the heart of a regional software cluster.
Research in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells at Loughborough University (LU) has led to commercial and innovative impacts on a global scale which have included the development of the world's first purpose-built hydrogen fuel cell motorbike, the world's first manned fuel cell aircraft and a zero emission fuel cell hybrid London taxi, with major international companies, such as Suzuki, Boeing and Lotus. These developments have arisen due to the creation of the spin out company Intelligent Energy (IE). The company currently employs some 350 personnel, has a total shareholder investment over £100M and was valued at $0.5B in 2012.