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Research, led by Oxford Brookes University's Dr Mike Godley and Dr Rob Beale, into the design and analysis of scaffold structures has enabled a better understanding of their behaviour, higher standards of safety and improved design. The Group produced technical guidance to the HSE and authored the design guide TG20:08 (2008); the basis for scaffold design in the UK. The Group contributed to new Euronorms for scaffolding and the UK design guide is compatible with these. Furthermore, the Group informed a pan- European design guide for storage racking systems (2000) that later transformed with little modification into EN 15512 (2009). This is now the basis for the design of all such storage racks across Europe.
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.
The development of the bespoke finite element software ICFEP (Imperial College Finite Element Program) is the main research outcome of the numerical group in the Geotechnics Section at Imperial College (IC). The research conducted in the Section since 1993 has led to a substantial growth of ICFEP's modelling capabilities in both complexity and robustness, following closely the advancements in understanding of real soil behaviour achieved through laboratory and field investigations of soils. Between 2008 and 2013 the application of these modelling capabilities to practical engineering problems, which are generally unavailable with a similar degree of sophistication in commercial software, amounts to over 80 projects of which a third are worth multi-billion pounds in global value. The impact of ICFEP's application has been to reduce the geotechnical risk and the cost of design and construction, and to give confidence in the environmental stability of design solutions, by providing accurate predictions of soil response associated with individual projects.
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.
3D scanning technology has enabled multiple opportunities for innovation in diverse areas such as manufacturing, design, and the arts. However, full utilisation of this technology requires not just the scanning hardware, but accompanying software that can build meaningful, editable models. This development has been pioneered by research conducted in the School of Computer Science and Informatics, at Cardiff University. Innovative algorithms for reverse engineering and digital shape reconstruction were devised that enabled the reconstruction of complex computer aided design (CAD) models from data captured by 3D scanners. The algorithms have been endorsed by Geomagic Inc, a market leading American software corporation (recently acquired by 3D Systems), that has subsidiaries in Europe and Asia and global distributors, and incorporated into their software product suite. This is accessed by nearly 10,000 licensed users worldwide, who have applied the product for industrial applications including aerospace and automotive engineering, product design, cultural heritage preservation, and healthcare. Accordingly, the impacts claimed are twofold: a) economic gain manifesting in the benefits to Geomagic and a plethora of end users who have utilised the software, b) impact on practitioners and professional services in diverse domains.
Research into variable mechanical energy absorption, using Finite Element (FE) modelling and analysis, funded by Cellbond Ltd., led to a design specification for an Offset Deformable Barrier (ODB). Such barriers are used within the motor manufacturing industry to test vehicular safety. Based on the findings of our research, the barrier used in car crash tests has been redesigned. The design specification for the barrier has been adopted by the European New Car Assessment Programme (EuroNCAP). All newly designed cars are tested with this type of barrier before they enter production. The use of FE modelling and virtual crash testing allows barriers to be designed with particular properties and for the crash testing cycle to be shortened.
Research at University of Cambridge Department of Engineering (DoEng) has created a new fundamental understanding of the static, dynamic and blast performance of lattice sandwich structures (a repeating pattern of metal struts between two sheets of metal). Ship builders in the Netherlands and the USA have built over 19 ships worth approximately GB200M using this technology since 1/1/2008 with many more planned. These ships are:
Between January 2008 and July 2013, over 10,000 key stage 4 school students and their teachers directly engaged with active research of the Cavendish Laboratory, Department of Physics, University of Cambridge through an annual interactive 3 day exhibition, titled "Physics at Work". In 2012 the event attracted 31 non-selective state schools and 17 selective/independent schools, 23 of which had visited the exhibition 3 or more times previously- a testament to its success. Building on the enthusiasm that the students showed during their participation in the event, teachers noted an increase in the number opting to study A-level physics and stated that those previously with no interest left with a very positive image of the subject.
Few can doubt the economic and social impact of the public's interest in our historic environment. This case study describes how research in the Centre for Advanced Studies in Architecture (CASA) at the University of Bath has contributed to the public understanding of historic buildings and landscapes, and to their preservation. The underpinning research pioneered the application of computer-aided design techniques in modelling historic architecture and landscapes. These innovative computer models have been published in academic and popular monographs, and displayed in well-attended public exhibitions and lectures in Europe and America. This work has led to a demonstrable increase in public interest in, and a change in understanding of, these buildings and landscapes. It has also assisted national charities charged with their preservation (notably the National Trust and the Beckford Tower Trust in Bath) as well as helping architects to design new buildings in their proximity (notably in Bath).
Gage's research in interactive architecture since the 1990s has influenced the working methods of a sizeable community of SME architectural and environmental design practices, mainly in London, and in some cases significantly extended the scope of their services. The research has established and strengthened innovative exchange between academia, professions and creative industries and led to the creation of a number of new specialist and award-winning design companies with international profiles. One of these developed intellectual property sold in 2011 for over $15m, while another won a RIBA National Award for design excellence in collaboration with Bartlett staff.