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University of Nottingham research into a composite design for steel beams and floor slabs has resulted in environmental and economic benefits and an important change in the construction industry. The work has reduced the weight of beams and the overall tonnage of buildings, enabled easier installation and improved structural strength. More than 40 projects, with a total combined floor area in excess of 380,000m2, have used the technology since 2008, and the method's market share has been estimated at up to 60%. The breakthrough has facilitated partnerships between steel frame designers and precast flooring manufacturers, with the value to the latter alone put at more than £5M.
Some of the most significant and widely used products for steel framed buildings in the global construction market today have been developed by the Structural & Geotechnical Engineering Research Centre at City University London. Our work in this field has permitted a saving of between 25 and 30% in the amount of steel needed for such buildings, making them now on average 9% cheaper than their concrete equivalents. Our research data from this work is now incorporated into at least six Design Guides and two significant industry software suites, published by the Steel Construction Institute (SCI) [text removed for publication]. Steel frame build times have been reduced by up to 13% and the resulting buildings can be 20-50% more energy efficient, helping the industry move towards its `Target Zero' carbon goals.
The dynamic response of steel members and floor systems has been a key concern in the industry over the last decade. The work undertaken at City has been effective in helping bring new products to market and in improving the application of structural mechanics to real design situations. It has also made a significant contribution to the increasing success of the steel industry in the UK commercial building market.
The key impact is in the definition of best practice for the design of joints, components and structures comprised of glass fibre reinforced polymers (GFRP, also known as fibreglass). The primary beneficiaries are (i) professional civil and structural engineering designers of GFRP structures; (ii) pultruders and composites fabricators due to continually expanding use of GFRPs in construction; and (iii) the general public through the provision of sustainable structures.
In particular, Lancaster's research on pultruded GFRP materials and structures has contributed to the EUROCOMP Design Code and Handbook (1996), the world's first limit state design code for GFRP structures. This code has influenced GFRP structural design globally ever since, both pre and post-2008. Additionally, post-2008, EUROCOMP has triggered and influenced development of new European and Japanese design codes, in turn impacting designers, fabricators and the public in those geographical regions. Lancaster's research has influenced the US Load and Resistance Factor (LRFD) Prestandard (2010) and ASCE's Manual No.102 on bolted and bonded joints (2011) two codes and guidelines that will accelerate the US's application of composites in construction.
Thus, the use of Lancaster's research in these codes and guidelines has supported the construction of fibreglass-based civil structures across the globe as well as the delivery of individuals with the analysis and design skills needed by the composites industry.
The Imperial College Pile `ICP' effective-stress pile design approaches for offshore foundations offer much better design reliability than conventional methods. Their use delivers substantial economies in many hydrocarbon and renewable energy projects, better safety and confidence in developing adventurous structures in others. The ICP has enabled production in otherwise unviable marginal hydrocarbon fields, new options in high-value deep-water projects and helped eliminate installation failures that can cost hundreds of £million. We present evidence that the research delivered direct benefits exceeding £400m since 2008 in projects known to us, with larger worldwide benefits through project risk reduction and independent exploitation.
Research work in the University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) created a formal methodology for eco-design, based on lifecycle thinking that can be implemented during product design. This methodology and supporting reference data have been commercialised by DoEng spin-off company, Granta Design Limited, within Granta's software solutions: for engineering and product design in industry, integrating with the CAD environment; and for materials education. These products are incorporated in software suites that have over 200,000 users. Industry case studies demonstrate their value to end customers.
As academic lead partner Professor Ogden and his team at Oxford Brookes University were responsible for a major research programme focusing on the development of light steel construction technology. Major industry funding in conjunction with EU support, facilitated a detailed understanding of the technology, and various demonstration projects including the then largest light steel framed building in Europe, constructed at Oxford Brookes University. The results of the work have been adopted by industry in order to innovate novel construction solutions. As a consequence light steel framing is now the favoured method of construction across the entire modular off-site buildings sector and in other mass market construction applications including site-built structural framing and infill walling. The value of the market that that has emerged in the UK during the census period is estimated to be £78 million per annum.
For aerospace vehicles, the development of new materials and structural configurations are key tools in the relentless drive to reduce weight and increase performance (in terms of, for example, speed and flight characteristics). The economic drivers are clear — it is widely recognised that it is worth approximately $10k to save one pound of weight in a spacecraft per launch and $500 per pound for an aircraft over its lifetime. The environmental drivers (ACARE 2050) are also clear — reduced aircraft weight leads to lower fuel burn and, in turn, to lower CO2 and NOx emissions. With such high cost-to-weight ratios, there is intense industrial interest in the development of new structural configurations/concepts and enhanced structural models that allow better use of existing or new materials. Analytical structural mechanics models of novel anisotropic structures, developed at the University's Advanced Composites Centre for Innovation and Science (ACCIS), are now used in the industrial design of aircraft and spacecraft. Based on this research, a new, unique anisotropic composite blade, designed to meet an Urgent Operational Requirement for the MoD, is now flying on AgustaWestland EH101 helicopters that are deployed in Theatre. In addition, the new modelling tools and techniques have been adopted by Airbus, AgustaWestland, Cassidian and NASA and incorporated into LUSAS's finite element analysis software. These tools have, for example, been used to inform Airbus's decision to use a largely aluminium wing design rather than a hybrid CFRP/aluminium wing for the A380.
A number of trimaran ocean-going ships, based on original designs conceived by UCL researchers, are currently in use. RV Triton, the demonstrator trimaran, is presently employed as a patrol vessel to provide Australian Customs and Border Protection with increased capability and lower fuel consumption compared to a monohull. The Independence Class of littoral combat ships currently entering service in the US Navy offers improved military capability and one-third lower fuel consumption, with the ensuing benefit of creating almost 2,000 jobs at the shipbuilder, Austal. Similarly, trimaran ferries with their inherent stability have improved passenger comfort and their reduced fuel consumption has lowered operating costs.
We have developed the Bailey-Method, design software FIRESOFT and a web-based information source for designers to use to produce safe and economical buildings. In buildings that have used the Bailey-Method, approximately 40% of the fire protection cost has been saved. The overall saving is about £20m in the UK over the REF period. The Bailey-Method has been presented in 2500 design guides (books), distributed to companies across Europe by ArcelorMittal, and translated into 17 languages. FIRESOFT and the associated quality assurance document enable using unprotected concrete filled tubular columns and have the British Standard status of Non Contradictory Complementary Information.
Design thinking has benefited the economic performance of business and particularly the creative industries, changed awareness of design in everyday life, and informed public policy. Users and consumers have benefited from wider understanding of the genesis of products and services and effects on their quality of life. Design thinking research has been instrumental in forming a new business sector that provides design thinking expertise as consultancy. It has changed the processes of designers and design practices, and fed into UK design education policy. Design thinking has crossed discipline boundaries; for example framing new methods and processes in software engineering.