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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.
The transport of people, goods, and utilities (e.g. electricity, oil, gas and water) is essential to civilised life, and in turn depends on a robust, reliable and affordable infrastructure. Since 1995, the University of Southampton Geomechanics Group (SGG) has led the development of an enhanced, science-based framework for understanding the behaviour of geotechnical transport infrastructure through monitoring, modelling and analysis. The techniques we have developed have been used by the builders, owners and operators of transport infrastructure both nationally and internationally to develop improved understandings of infrastructure geotechnical behaviour both during construction and in service. This has led to substantial savings in build, maintenance and operational costs; the implementation of effective remediation and management strategies; and significantly improved infrastructure performance.
Many utility services are distributed using buried infrastructure beneath roads; inaccurate location leads to wasteful excavations and additional costs for service providers, businesses and the public. The Mapping the Underworld (MTU) project developed a proof-of-concept device to locate buried assets which can overcome problems of inaccurate mapping. This programme has acted as a crucial catalyst for the sector, leading to a series of significant actions by the industry informed by the MTU project. For instance, JK Guest, a major private sector contractor, invested £2m to establish the first vocational training centre for underground utility mapping in the UK to a specification developed by the Birmingham researchers; this centre opened in 2012 and more than 600 people had been trained there by July 2013. MTU and the industry promoted the development of an industry-standard for underground utility surveying, leading to the agreement of the British Standards Institute to develop a new standard which is being developed with sponsorship by the Institute of Civil Engineers. These, and the other impacts described in the case study, demonstrate the impact made to date on practitioners and professionals in the sector; these are the building blocks for the realisation of extensive economic impact from reduced disruption and the pro-active condition management of buried utilities.
The GRANIT system is a non-destructive technique for assessing the condition of rock bolts and ground anchors used to support structures such as tunnels. It applies a small impulse to the bolt and interprets the resulting vibration response to provide estimates of load and unbonded length. Initial development of the system was based on the findings of EPSRC projects in tunnels undertaken by the Universities of Aberdeen and Bradford from 1989-1997, resulting in an empirically based method. However, research undertaken at the University of Aberdeen since 1998 has provided the understanding of the process and developed the fundamental engineering science needed to underpin the development of a full commercial system. The GRANIT system is patented, and has been subject to worldwide licence to Halcrow who have undertaken testing and provided a method of ensuring the safety of mines, tunnels and similar structures. Halcrow received the NCE award for Technical Innovation Award for GRANIT in December 2010. The impact of the research has been in part economic, but largely on practitioners and professional services.
Research in the Department of Civil and Structural Engineering at the University of Sheffield on dynamic performance and vibration serviceability has contributed to internationally applied guidance on building serviceability for floors, buildings, stadia and other structures and has led to the spin-out Full Scale Dynamics Ltd (FSDL). Based on our research FSDL provides applied research and consultancy services, and has delivered projects approaching £1m since 2008. FSDL has demonstrated significant reach through its work with blue chip clients nationally and internationally. Our research has impacted on leading national sport infrastructure (such as Premiership Football stadia and notably the Olympic 2012 Velodrome) and public companies to deliver economic benefits by providing evidence based compliance, demonstrating that stadia, hospitals, manufacturing plants and other public structures comply with safety and vibration serviceability standards. Interventions based on our research and implemented via FSDL have, on numerous occasions, avoided potentially serious economic and safety consequences due to the poor vibration performance of structures.
From strains within a single carbon fibre to deflections in a bridge, dam or railway line, accurate measurement is vital to industry and public infrastructure. In many engineering contexts, traditional approaches to measurement are inadequate or involve unacceptable costs and delays. These shortcomings have been addressed by the University of Bristol's research into high-precision, video-based metrology and its application through Imetrum, a spin-out company. Imetrum was founded in 2003 and launched its first product - the Video Gauge - in 2007. In the area of mechanical testing, the company has brought the first video-based extensometry system that can be supplied calibrated to international standards to market. For structural monitoring and safety inspections, deformation measurements are usually required. The Imetrum system is being used to precisely measure such deformations in rail bridges and other vital parts of the infrastructure without costly and inconvenient interruptions to their operation. Imetrum has approximately doubled its turnover each year since 2007. [text removed for publication].
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:
Today's global telecom systems are powered by technology developed at the University of Glasgow. This technology has been utilised, endorsed and developed by a series of internationally successful companies, facilitating multimillion pound investment from across Europe and the USA for the companies.
Gemfire Europe acquired the University of Glasgow IP and technology and between 2008 and 2012 launched a range of `green' products with reduced power consumption. The company's revenues reached $12m annually and in 2013, Gemfire was one of the world's top five planar lightwave circuit companies. Gemfire was bought by Kaiam, one of the world's market-leading optical networking companies in April 2013, stimulating further innovation and investment in the production of high-speed components for the global data networking market.
Optical fibre sensor technology developed at Cranfield has supported development and subsequent sales of state-of-the-art superconducting magnet systems made by Oxford Instruments. The sensors provide detailed information on the magnets' performance that is critical to successful and safe operation. The fibre sensors have been deployed in:
Cranfield's research contributed to a doubling of the engineering and design staff at Oxford Instruments and 20% increases in turnover and technical staff at an instrumentation company, AOS Technology.
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.