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University of Huddersfield research into the optimal design of flow-handling systems has been credited with "transforming" the development strategies and global market sales of an industrial partner. Weir Valves and Control Ltd has enjoyed a 75% saving in design lead time and a 1,800% increase in annual sales - from several thousand before its collaboration to millions in 2013 - through the structured integration of researchers' computational fluid dynamics expertise in its design process. The success of this collaboration, which has been described as an exemplar of a Knowledge Transfer Partnership, has also led to further research contracts.
As 288,000 UK construction workers were estimated to have contracted vibration white finger and 170,000 had claimed compensation by 2011 this study relates to the design and development of a hand and arm vibration (HAVmeter) monitor by the ERPE Reactec student start-up company. This company initially focussed on optimisation of sweeping for curlers, contributing to team GB winning the 2002 Winter Olympic Gold medal. The current Reactec (HAVmeter) instrument measures and reports on vibration white finger, which potentially affects 5 million British workers.
The HAVmeter has sales in excess of £9M, over the 2008-2013 period, and is now in use by 45,000 construction workers. Reactec, with 23 employees and a turnover of ~£2.5M p.a., company innovation has been recognised with 4 industrial awards since 2009.
Using advanced mathematics and numerical modelling we have demonstrated how fundamental understanding of laminar-turbulent transitions in fluid flows can save energy. From 2008 we helped the cleantech company, Maxsys Fuel Systems Ltd, to understand and improve their technology and demonstrate to customers how it can reduce fuel use by 5-8%. Customers including Ford Motor, Dow Chemical and Findus testify to the impact from financial savings and reduced carbon emissions obtained by installing Maxsys products on industrial burners used widely in many industrial sectors including automotive, bulk chemicals and food. In 2010, Selas Heat Technology Company bought the Maxsys brand to invest in this success.
Research by Loughborough University academics has influenced the development of elite footballs used in numerous global tournaments including FIFA World Cups, UEFA European Championships and Olympic Games. Research findings have led to increased design freedoms that have allowed adidas to produce balls with improved commercial appeal resulting in a tenfold increase in sales whilst maintaining product performance in line with the highest certifiable level of FIFA standards.
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.
Cloud computing is now used ubiquitously in consumer and commerce domains yielding unprecedented access to computing and data handling at affordable prices.
Work in this field was pioneered at the University of Southampton (UoS) from 1998 onwards and commercialised from 2008 through Dezineforce to enable companies to exploit cloud computing in engineering:
Throughout this period the team has also engaged in outreach to inspire and educate the next generation of scientists and engineers about High Performance and Cloud computing including a YouTube video with 485,000 hits and over 300 articles in media.
Practical Waveform Engineering, developed at Cardiff, is having a major impact on how modern- day microwave power amplifiers are designed, delivering real competitive advantages for global communications companies such as Nokia-Siemens-Networks and M/A-COM.
Economic impact is through reduced time-to-market and lower design costs, leading to high- performance power amplifier products. Examples include $40M revenue and employment of additional staff for M/A-Com, and the successful spin-off company Mesuro Ltd., generating revenue in excess of £2.5M.
Impact on practice is through successful demonstration of new device technologies and amplifier architectures, the introduction of PWE-based CAD models, and most significantly, the introduction of the "Cardiff Model" into mainstream simulation tools.
Environmental Impact is by improving the efficiency of power amplifiers and significantly reducing the carbon contribution of mobile communications systems, translating into savings of approximately £2.5M/year and a 17 kiloton reduction in CO2 emission for a typical EU network.
Our research has been key to the development of investor confidence in an emerging UK tidal stream industry. We have contributed to the development and validation of commercial and open- source software for tidal stream system design and our expertise has been instrumental to the successful delivery of major objectives of two national industry-academia marine energy projects commissioned by the Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). Taken together, these outcomes have reduced engineering risks that had been of concern to potential investors. Investor confidence in tidal energy has been increased, as highlighted by Alstom's £65m acquisition of a turbine developer following a key outcome of the ETI ReDAPT project.
This case study describes the effects of a new performance management system, developed in China and adopted by organisations facing complex management challenges. To date, seven public and private sector organisations have successfully used the `3E' (Effectiveness, Efficacy, and Efficiency) system for tasks as varied as developing performance indicators, improving management communication and designing appraisal systems that work under conditions of rapid growth and change.
The participating organisations include the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Hunan University, Tonsan Adhesives Inc, Xingxiang Insurance, Sun-rivier local government, Liao-ling Plaze hotel and Hua-bao International Holdings. Their adoption of the 3E system has resulted in improved performance management within these organisations.
Reducing vehicle noise and vibration is a key quality objective in the automotive industry. Historically, the approach has been costly palliation late in the manufacturing process; now a new approach applied earlier in the vehicle development cycle has been devised by Loughborough University and Ford and implemented at Ford that has led to savings of $7 per vehicle with respect to clutch in-cycle vibration (whoop). Ford has reported savings of $10M over 5 years, whilst reductions in transmission rattle have led to 5% fuel efficiency gains [5.1]. Ford has made an investment of £240M in its engine and transmission work at Bridgend, which includes aspects of work reported here and has created 600 new jobs [5.2].