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  • 2013-2022
  • UK Research and Innovation
  • UKRI|EPSRC
  • OA Publications Mandate: No
  • 2015

  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M021475/1
    Funder Contribution: 379,691 GBP

    To enhance ultimate recovery of hydrocarbon gases from unconventional gas resources such as shales, we need to uncover the non-intuitive gas transport mechanisms in ultra-tight porous media. Exploiting our previous and recent pioneering work in modelling rarefied gas flows at micro/nano-scales and in pore-scale characterisation of reservoir rocks, we present an ambitious project to tackle this newly-emerged research challenge through developing direct numerical simulation models and techniques that work on binarised images of concerned porous materials. This work will transform the currently-adopted heuristic approaches, i.e. Darcy-like laws and pore network modelling, into those underpinned by the first principle, and enable the quantification of prediction uncertainty on gas transport associated with the former approaches. Timely support now from EPSRC will provide us crucial resources to shape this emerging research area - understanding and quantifying gas flow physics in ultra-tight porous media.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M015475/1
    Funder Contribution: 289,065 GBP

    Spectrum is a precious but scarce natural resource. In the UK, Ofcom will free up the analogue TV spectrum at 800MHz (together with the available 2.6GHz band) for 4G, which has already raised £2.34 billion for the national purse. According to Ofcom, the amount of data Britons consume on the move each month has already hit 20 million gigabytes, mainly due to users' engagement of video, TV and films while on the move. It is also a common understanding for the mobile operators that by 2020 a 1000 times increase in the system capacity will be needed to avoid mobile networks grinding to a halt. Maximising spectral efficiency, which is limited by interference and fading for wireless networks including 4G, is therefore a major issue. An emerging idea, which is championed by Alcatel-Lucent and has already received serious consideration by vendors and operators is that of a massive MIMO antenna system. This technology has the potential to unlock the issue of spectrum scarcity and to enhance spectrum usage tremendously by enabling simultaneous access of tens or hundreds of terminals in the same time-frequency resource. In order for massive MIMO technology to attain its utmost potential, it is important that various challenges in terms of channel estimation and acquisition due to pilot contamination, fast spatial-temporal variations in signal power and autonomous resource allocation, in particular in the presence of simultaneous access of a large number of users need to be addressed. The focus of this project is on tackling these fundamental challenges, by advancing aspects of information theory, estimation theory and network optimisations. In particular, we will contribute in terms of modelling massive MIMO channels underpinned by heterogeneous correlation structures; performing information theoretic analysis in terms of random matrix theory through shrinkage estimators; robust precoder design for massive MIMO in the presence of channel estimation errors; developing novel channel estimation technique in the presence of severe pilot contamination; and proposing and analysing game theoretic algorithms for autonomous resource allocation and pilot assignments. All the concepts and algorithms developed will be integrated and the radio link layer performance will be assessed using a simulation reference system based on LTE-Advanced standards and its evolution towards 5G. Industrial partners will be engaged throughout the project to ensure industrial relevance of our work.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M019802/1
    Funder Contribution: 633,820 GBP

    The proposed research will provide the first proof-of-principle for a new family of Compressed Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CQ-MRI), able to rapidly acquire a multitude of physical parameter maps for the imaged tissue from a single scan. MRI is the pre-eminent imaging modality in clinical medicine and neuroscience, providing valuable anatomical and diagnostic information. However, the vast majority of MR imaging is essentially qualitative in nature providing a `picture' of the tissue while not directly measuring its physical parameters. In contrast, quantitative MRI aims to measure properties that are intrinsic to the tissue type and independent of the scanner and scanning protocol. Unfortunately, due to excessively long scan times, Quantitative MRI is not usually included in standard protocols. The proposed research is based on a combination of a new acquisition philosophy for Quantitative MRI, called Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting, and recent advances in model-based compressed sensing theory to enable rapid simultaneous acquisition of the multiple parameter maps. The ultimate goal of the research will be to produce a full CQ-MRI scan capability with a scan time not substantially longer than is currently needed for a standard MRI scan.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M023508/1
    Funder Contribution: 1,004,390 GBP

    The goal of this Korea-UK research initiative is to address Research theme 1 (Innovative concepts from Electrodes to stack) of the EPSRC-KETEP Call for Collaborative Research with Korea on Fuel Cell Technologies. The proposal also covers some aspects of Research theme 2 (Predictive control for performance and degradation mitigation). Hence, this research is associated with improving the lifetime and performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Within this project we will develop new corrosion resistant catalyst supports and catalyse those supports utilising a new catalysis technique. We will also examine the development of porous bipolar plates and see how we can integrate those bipolar plates and catalysts within a fuel cell. We will trial the materials in test stacks and look at the performance and longevity of these new materials. Parallel to this work, we will use state of the art x-ray tomography and other imaging techniques to assess the performance of the materials under real operating conditions. Information from these tests will allow us to develop a methodological framework to simulate the performance of the fuel cells. This framework will then be used to build more efficient control strategies for our higher performance fuel cell systems. We will also build a strong and long-lasting collaborative framework between Korea and the UK for both academic research and commercial trade. The project will benefit from the complementary strengths of the Korean and UK PEFC programmes, and represents a significant international activity in fuel cell research that includes a focus on the challenging issues of cost reduction and performance enhancement. The project will have particularly high impact and added value due to a strong personnel exchange programme with researchers spending several months in each other's labs; highly relevant industrial collaboration; and links with the H2FC Supergen. We have strong support from industrial companies in both the UK and Korea who will support our goals of developing new catalysts for fuel cells (Amalyst - UK, and RTX Corporation - Korea), new corrosion resistant porous bipolar plates (NPL-UK; Hyundai Hysco and Hankook tire (Korea)), and fuel cell and system integrators (Arcola Energy and Intelligent Energy (UK)).

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/N508494/1
    Funder Contribution: 119,902 GBP

    The contribution from the University of Sheffield to the "Innovative Forging and Fabrication Solutions for the Nuclear Industry" project will be on the modelling and its validation of the welding process and development and property validation of post weld heat treatment schedules using the heat treatment simulator produced in EP/L50466X/1. This will be undertaken by Prof Wynne, Dr Palmiere, and Dr Jackson in collaboration with a PhD Student, supported by the grant. Thus the aim of the project in its broadest sense is: Development of quality heat treatment schedules for thick sectioned welds. This will be achieved by the following four work packages. Work Package 1: Validate Finite Element Model of Thick Section Welds produced using Reduced Pressure Electron Beam Welding (Phd Student, UoS, TWI, SFIL) This includes determination of temperature distribution during welding, size of weld zone, size of heat affected zone, cooling rates, and residual stress distribution. Furthermore, material type sensitivity will be investigated from current nuclear grade steels through to next generation materials. Work Package 2: Microstructure Evaluation of As-Welded Microstructure. (PhD Student, UoS) A detailed investigation of the as-welded microstructure in terms of alloy segregation, weld zone sizes, grain size, transformation product, etc will be undertaken using optical and electron microscopy. Results will be compared to the modelling results produced in WP1 Work Package 3: Development of Potential Heat Treatment Schedules for As-Welded Materials. (PhD Student, UoS, SFIL) Review of literature on potential heat treatment schedules for welded materials, concentrating on issues relating to the general physical metallurgy, welding methodologies and metallurgical challenges, as well as NDT evaluation techniques. The project has already identified the steel compositions, and so this particular task should be highly focused, identifying material and post-production issues. Thermodynamic modelling of the steel compositions will indicate the phases and phase fractions expected. Initial risks associated with the use of the steel compositions will also be assessed. Work Package 4: Application of Identified Heat Treatment Schedules in the Heat Treatment Simulator. (PhD Student, UoS, SFIL) Following on from the outcomes of WP3, the chosen heat treatment schedules will be undertaken on as welded material using the heat treatment simulator. Mechanical property evaluation will be in the form of tensile tests, Charpy impact tests, crack tip opening displacement tests, and hardness profiles. Microstructure characterisation will produce information on phase fractions, segregation profiles, and microstructure type and uniformity using optical and scanning electron microscopy. These results will then form the basis for large scale trials. Work Package 5: Validate Linkage Between Chosen Heat Treatment and Actual Component. (PhD Student, UoS, SFIL) This work package will compare and contrast simulated results, both mechanical and microstructure, with an actual component. Extreme areas of the as-forged component will be investigated to ensure good variability coverage. Microstructure at levels above optical, i.e. precipitation density, will be taken thus requiring advanced characterisation methods such as scanning and transmission electron microscopy.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M013642/1
    Funder Contribution: 98,616 GBP

    The mathematical theory of rigidity investigates the rigidity and flexibility of structures which are defined by geometric constraints (fixed lengths, fixed directions, etc.) on a set of rigid objects (points, lines, etc.). A representative and well-studied example is the bar-joint framework which is the mathematical abstraction of a structure made of stiff bars connected by rotational joints. Such a framework is called rigid if it cannot be deformed continuously into another non-congruent framework. Rigidity theory has a rich history which can be traced back to the work of L. Euler and A. Cauchy on rigid and flexible polyhedra. Other early work includes J. C. Maxwell's analyses of stable and deformable structures. Building on an observation by Maxwell from 1864, G. Laman established simple necessary and sufficient counting conditions for a 2-dimensional generically placed bar-joint framework to be rigid in 1970, thereby launching the field of combinatorial rigidity. Although extensions of this result to higher dimensional bar-joint frameworks have not yet been found, there exist significant partial results for the special classes of body-bar, body-hinge, and molecular frameworks. Since Laman's landmark result from 1970, interest in combinatorial and geometric rigidity theory has increased rapidly, and the extensive growth in results and techniques have led to the recognition of the field as one of the main branches of discrete geometry. An important contributing factor in the spurred interest in rigidity theory is the rapidly growing number of practical applications in science, engineering, and design, where frameworks serve as suitable mathematical models for both man-made structures (e.g. mechanical linkages, robots, sensor networks, CAD software) and structures found in nature (e.g. proteins and crystals). While much previous work in rigidity theory has focused on generic framework configurations and finite structures, frameworks with symmetries and infinite frameworks have seen an ever-increasing attention over the last few years. Recent work has used methods from representation theory to obtain new necessary conditions for symmetric frameworks to be minimally infinitesimally rigid. However, determining sufficient conditions for a framework which is generic modulo some given symmetry constraints to be infinitesimally rigid is more challenging and requires additional methods from combinatorics and matroid theory. Building on recent developments, this project aims to obtain new combinatorial characterisations for the infinitesimal rigidity of diverse symmetric geometric constraint systems ranging from bar-joint frameworks in the plane through body-hinge or molecular structures in higher dimensions to hybrid constraint systems appearing in CAD. This will lead to new types of rigidity matroids on group-labeled quotient graphs whose descriptions and analyses will require a variety of combinatorial and algebraic tools. Investigations of these questions in the novel context of a general normed linear space will also bring in methods from functional analysis. For Euclidean symmetric bar-joint frameworks, the work also aims to obtain new necessary and sufficient conditions for stronger notions of rigidity such as global or universal rigidity. Regarding practical applications of the results, the project aims to design new algorithms for the rigidity analysis of symmetric proteins, which can be implemented as add-ons into rigidity prediction software suites such as ProFlex or Kinari for more accurate predictions, as well as to develop new architectures and faster algorithms for the control of multi-robot formations. Finally, the project seeks to combine symmetric rigidity methods and functional analysis perspectives in the analysis of the rigid unit mode (RUM) spectrum of crystallographic frameworks and the flexibility analysis of quasi-crystallographic frameworks.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M027287/1
    Funder Contribution: 429,107 GBP

    With the widespread use of small mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablets, power efficiency has become a very important design criterion for hardware manufacturers like Intel, AMD, Infineon, ST, Qualcom, Nvidia, etc. This is due to the limited energy storage capacity of mobile devices, imposed by constraints on their size and weight, as well as by problems of heat dissipation. Similar considerations of power efficiency apply to implanted medical devices, wearable computing, UAV (unmanned airborne vehicles), satellites and sensor networks. Since chip design has become more and more automated, electronic design automation companies consider energy efficiency as a prime concern in circuit design. However, so far, there has been hardly any use of formal mathematical methods in energy efficient circuit design. Instead, the main techniques used in practice were either based on simulation or on semi-formal approaches reasoning about patterns and structural properties. Typical work areas are the following: 1. Power estimation (based on simulation), 2. Power verification (of structural (i.e., non-dynamic) properties), 3. Power optimisation (coarse high-level reasoning about size and structural patterns), and 4. Formal power verification (model checking applied to coarse abstractions based on activation/deactivation of blocks on the chip). In this project, we bring modern formal mathematical methods into automated circuit design. This yields a new domain of "5. Formal power optimisation". Here, efficient circuit design is achieved via solving the controller synthesis problem. This is to construct a controller that achieves (in every context) a combination of several objectives: (a) the functional correctness of the induced behaviour, as specified in the requirements specification, (b) a guaranteed limit on the peak energy consumption (i.e., an upper bound on the worst case), and (c) a low average energy consumption. While (a) and (b) are absolute constraints, the relative quality of the controller is measured in terms of how well it achieves objective (c). We solve the synthesis problem by applying modern mathematical techniques and tools from game theory (energy games, mean-payoff games), formal software verification (formal requirements specification and automata), and logic and algorithms (SAT and SMT solvers). Beyond theoretical advances and new techniques for the synthesis of energy efficient controllers, the project aims for practical application of controller synthesis in the new field of Formal Power Optimisation in circuit design. A prototype of a software tool that implements the new methods and applies them to power optimization in chip design will be evaluated on case studies provided by our industrial project partner Atrenta Inc.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: 1652620

    New methods of construction are needed to advance the capability of aircraft structures, meet business demands & reduce manufacturing costs. One is the use of bonded assemblies for primary structure. FAA currently requires that unless the strength of the structure can be proven to match or exceed the design requirements, it must have mechanical fasteners to prevent critical failure. Bonded structures allow a significant reduction in weight due to using thinner skins. If 'Chicken rivets' are mandated, then this negates any benefit in terms of weight saving. The only current reliable way of testing the bonded assembly strength is proof loading - expensive & unrealistic for testing every part. An NDE method of testing a bonded assembly is needed to allow the use of lightweight bonded primary aerostructures. This must allow assessment that the desired strength is achieved, or identify areas of a weak-bonded area to allow repair. The project will investigate the application of phased array inspection approaches to determine bond strength, firstly studying current best practise with linear phased arrays and moving on to compare this to the recently developed nonlinear phased array approach.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/N005597/1
    Funder Contribution: 305,891 GBP

    Information and energy are two fundamental notions in nature with critical impact on all aspects of life. All living and machine entities rely on both information and energy for their existence. Most, if not all, processes in life involve transforming, storing or transferring energy or information in one form or the other. Although these concepts are in harmony in nature, in traditional engineering design, information and energy are handled by two separate systems with limited interaction. In wireless communications, the relationship between information and energy is even more apparent as radio waves that carry information also transfer energy. Indeed, the first use of radio waves was for energy transfer rather than information transmission. However, despite the pioneering work of Tesla, who experimentally demonstrated wireless energy transfer (WET) in the late 19th century, modern wireless communication systems mainly focus on the information content of the radio-frequency (RF) radiation, neglecting the energy transported by the signal. This project is the first interdisciplinary initiative to promote innovation and technology transfer between academia and industry in the UK for one of the most challenging and most important problems in future communication networks: The simultaneous transfer of both energy and information. The aim of this project is to develop a new theoretical framework for the design and operation of next-generation networks with simultaneously wireless information and energy transfer (SWIFT) capabilities. The research efforts are interdisciplinary and bring together researchers with strong and complementary backgrounds in the domain of wireless communications such as electronics/microwave engineering, information theory, game theory, control theory, and communication theory to bridge the gap between theory and practice of future WET-based communication systems.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M02976X/1
    Funder Contribution: 335,616 GBP

    Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

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1,227 Projects
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M021475/1
    Funder Contribution: 379,691 GBP

    To enhance ultimate recovery of hydrocarbon gases from unconventional gas resources such as shales, we need to uncover the non-intuitive gas transport mechanisms in ultra-tight porous media. Exploiting our previous and recent pioneering work in modelling rarefied gas flows at micro/nano-scales and in pore-scale characterisation of reservoir rocks, we present an ambitious project to tackle this newly-emerged research challenge through developing direct numerical simulation models and techniques that work on binarised images of concerned porous materials. This work will transform the currently-adopted heuristic approaches, i.e. Darcy-like laws and pore network modelling, into those underpinned by the first principle, and enable the quantification of prediction uncertainty on gas transport associated with the former approaches. Timely support now from EPSRC will provide us crucial resources to shape this emerging research area - understanding and quantifying gas flow physics in ultra-tight porous media.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M015475/1
    Funder Contribution: 289,065 GBP

    Spectrum is a precious but scarce natural resource. In the UK, Ofcom will free up the analogue TV spectrum at 800MHz (together with the available 2.6GHz band) for 4G, which has already raised £2.34 billion for the national purse. According to Ofcom, the amount of data Britons consume on the move each month has already hit 20 million gigabytes, mainly due to users' engagement of video, TV and films while on the move. It is also a common understanding for the mobile operators that by 2020 a 1000 times increase in the system capacity will be needed to avoid mobile networks grinding to a halt. Maximising spectral efficiency, which is limited by interference and fading for wireless networks including 4G, is therefore a major issue. An emerging idea, which is championed by Alcatel-Lucent and has already received serious consideration by vendors and operators is that of a massive MIMO antenna system. This technology has the potential to unlock the issue of spectrum scarcity and to enhance spectrum usage tremendously by enabling simultaneous access of tens or hundreds of terminals in the same time-frequency resource. In order for massive MIMO technology to attain its utmost potential, it is important that various challenges in terms of channel estimation and acquisition due to pilot contamination, fast spatial-temporal variations in signal power and autonomous resource allocation, in particular in the presence of simultaneous access of a large number of users need to be addressed. The focus of this project is on tackling these fundamental challenges, by advancing aspects of information theory, estimation theory and network optimisations. In particular, we will contribute in terms of modelling massive MIMO channels underpinned by heterogeneous correlation structures; performing information theoretic analysis in terms of random matrix theory through shrinkage estimators; robust precoder design for massive MIMO in the presence of channel estimation errors; developing novel channel estimation technique in the presence of severe pilot contamination; and proposing and analysing game theoretic algorithms for autonomous resource allocation and pilot assignments. All the concepts and algorithms developed will be integrated and the radio link layer performance will be assessed using a simulation reference system based on LTE-Advanced standards and its evolution towards 5G. Industrial partners will be engaged throughout the project to ensure industrial relevance of our work.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M019802/1
    Funder Contribution: 633,820 GBP

    The proposed research will provide the first proof-of-principle for a new family of Compressed Quantitative Magnetic Resonance Imaging (CQ-MRI), able to rapidly acquire a multitude of physical parameter maps for the imaged tissue from a single scan. MRI is the pre-eminent imaging modality in clinical medicine and neuroscience, providing valuable anatomical and diagnostic information. However, the vast majority of MR imaging is essentially qualitative in nature providing a `picture' of the tissue while not directly measuring its physical parameters. In contrast, quantitative MRI aims to measure properties that are intrinsic to the tissue type and independent of the scanner and scanning protocol. Unfortunately, due to excessively long scan times, Quantitative MRI is not usually included in standard protocols. The proposed research is based on a combination of a new acquisition philosophy for Quantitative MRI, called Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting, and recent advances in model-based compressed sensing theory to enable rapid simultaneous acquisition of the multiple parameter maps. The ultimate goal of the research will be to produce a full CQ-MRI scan capability with a scan time not substantially longer than is currently needed for a standard MRI scan.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M023508/1
    Funder Contribution: 1,004,390 GBP

    The goal of this Korea-UK research initiative is to address Research theme 1 (Innovative concepts from Electrodes to stack) of the EPSRC-KETEP Call for Collaborative Research with Korea on Fuel Cell Technologies. The proposal also covers some aspects of Research theme 2 (Predictive control for performance and degradation mitigation). Hence, this research is associated with improving the lifetime and performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells. Within this project we will develop new corrosion resistant catalyst supports and catalyse those supports utilising a new catalysis technique. We will also examine the development of porous bipolar plates and see how we can integrate those bipolar plates and catalysts within a fuel cell. We will trial the materials in test stacks and look at the performance and longevity of these new materials. Parallel to this work, we will use state of the art x-ray tomography and other imaging techniques to assess the performance of the materials under real operating conditions. Information from these tests will allow us to develop a methodological framework to simulate the performance of the fuel cells. This framework will then be used to build more efficient control strategies for our higher performance fuel cell systems. We will also build a strong and long-lasting collaborative framework between Korea and the UK for both academic research and commercial trade. The project will benefit from the complementary strengths of the Korean and UK PEFC programmes, and represents a significant international activity in fuel cell research that includes a focus on the challenging issues of cost reduction and performance enhancement. The project will have particularly high impact and added value due to a strong personnel exchange programme with researchers spending several months in each other's labs; highly relevant industrial collaboration; and links with the H2FC Supergen. We have strong support from industrial companies in both the UK and Korea who will support our goals of developing new catalysts for fuel cells (Amalyst - UK, and RTX Corporation - Korea), new corrosion resistant porous bipolar plates (NPL-UK; Hyundai Hysco and Hankook tire (Korea)), and fuel cell and system integrators (Arcola Energy and Intelligent Energy (UK)).

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/N508494/1
    Funder Contribution: 119,902 GBP

    The contribution from the University of Sheffield to the "Innovative Forging and Fabrication Solutions for the Nuclear Industry" project will be on the modelling and its validation of the welding process and development and property validation of post weld heat treatment schedules using the heat treatment simulator produced in EP/L50466X/1. This will be undertaken by Prof Wynne, Dr Palmiere, and Dr Jackson in collaboration with a PhD Student, supported by the grant. Thus the aim of the project in its broadest sense is: Development of quality heat treatment schedules for thick sectioned welds. This will be achieved by the following four work packages. Work Package 1: Validate Finite Element Model of Thick Section Welds produced using Reduced Pressure Electron Beam Welding (Phd Student, UoS, TWI, SFIL) This includes determination of temperature distribution during welding, size of weld zone, size of heat affected zone, cooling rates, and residual stress distribution. Furthermore, material type sensitivity will be investigated from current nuclear grade steels through to next generation materials. Work Package 2: Microstructure Evaluation of As-Welded Microstructure. (PhD Student, UoS) A detailed investigation of the as-welded microstructure in terms of alloy segregation, weld zone sizes, grain size, transformation product, etc will be undertaken using optical and electron microscopy. Results will be compared to the modelling results produced in WP1 Work Package 3: Development of Potential Heat Treatment Schedules for As-Welded Materials. (PhD Student, UoS, SFIL) Review of literature on potential heat treatment schedules for welded materials, concentrating on issues relating to the general physical metallurgy, welding methodologies and metallurgical challenges, as well as NDT evaluation techniques. The project has already identified the steel compositions, and so this particular task should be highly focused, identifying material and post-production issues. Thermodynamic modelling of the steel compositions will indicate the phases and phase fractions expected. Initial risks associated with the use of the steel compositions will also be assessed. Work Package 4: Application of Identified Heat Treatment Schedules in the Heat Treatment Simulator. (PhD Student, UoS, SFIL) Following on from the outcomes of WP3, the chosen heat treatment schedules will be undertaken on as welded material using the heat treatment simulator. Mechanical property evaluation will be in the form of tensile tests, Charpy impact tests, crack tip opening displacement tests, and hardness profiles. Microstructure characterisation will produce information on phase fractions, segregation profiles, and microstructure type and uniformity using optical and scanning electron microscopy. These results will then form the basis for large scale trials. Work Package 5: Validate Linkage Between Chosen Heat Treatment and Actual Component. (PhD Student, UoS, SFIL) This work package will compare and contrast simulated results, both mechanical and microstructure, with an actual component. Extreme areas of the as-forged component will be investigated to ensure good variability coverage. Microstructure at levels above optical, i.e. precipitation density, will be taken thus requiring advanced characterisation methods such as scanning and transmission electron microscopy.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M013642/1
    Funder Contribution: 98,616 GBP

    The mathematical theory of rigidity investigates the rigidity and flexibility of structures which are defined by geometric constraints (fixed lengths, fixed directions, etc.) on a set of rigid objects (points, lines, etc.). A representative and well-studied example is the bar-joint framework which is the mathematical abstraction of a structure made of stiff bars connected by rotational joints. Such a framework is called rigid if it cannot be deformed continuously into another non-congruent framework. Rigidity theory has a rich history which can be traced back to the work of L. Euler and A. Cauchy on rigid and flexible polyhedra. Other early work includes J. C. Maxwell's analyses of stable and deformable structures. Building on an observation by Maxwell from 1864, G. Laman established simple necessary and sufficient counting conditions for a 2-dimensional generically placed bar-joint framework to be rigid in 1970, thereby launching the field of combinatorial rigidity. Although extensions of this result to higher dimensional bar-joint frameworks have not yet been found, there exist significant partial results for the special classes of body-bar, body-hinge, and molecular frameworks. Since Laman's landmark result from 1970, interest in combinatorial and geometric rigidity theory has increased rapidly, and the extensive growth in results and techniques have led to the recognition of the field as one of the main branches of discrete geometry. An important contributing factor in the spurred interest in rigidity theory is the rapidly growing number of practical applications in science, engineering, and design, where frameworks serve as suitable mathematical models for both man-made structures (e.g. mechanical linkages, robots, sensor networks, CAD software) and structures found in nature (e.g. proteins and crystals). While much previous work in rigidity theory has focused on generic framework configurations and finite structures, frameworks with symmetries and infinite frameworks have seen an ever-increasing attention over the last few years. Recent work has used methods from representation theory to obtain new necessary conditions for symmetric frameworks to be minimally infinitesimally rigid. However, determining sufficient conditions for a framework which is generic modulo some given symmetry constraints to be infinitesimally rigid is more challenging and requires additional methods from combinatorics and matroid theory. Building on recent developments, this project aims to obtain new combinatorial characterisations for the infinitesimal rigidity of diverse symmetric geometric constraint systems ranging from bar-joint frameworks in the plane through body-hinge or molecular structures in higher dimensions to hybrid constraint systems appearing in CAD. This will lead to new types of rigidity matroids on group-labeled quotient graphs whose descriptions and analyses will require a variety of combinatorial and algebraic tools. Investigations of these questions in the novel context of a general normed linear space will also bring in methods from functional analysis. For Euclidean symmetric bar-joint frameworks, the work also aims to obtain new necessary and sufficient conditions for stronger notions of rigidity such as global or universal rigidity. Regarding practical applications of the results, the project aims to design new algorithms for the rigidity analysis of symmetric proteins, which can be implemented as add-ons into rigidity prediction software suites such as ProFlex or Kinari for more accurate predictions, as well as to develop new architectures and faster algorithms for the control of multi-robot formations. Finally, the project seeks to combine symmetric rigidity methods and functional analysis perspectives in the analysis of the rigid unit mode (RUM) spectrum of crystallographic frameworks and the flexibility analysis of quasi-crystallographic frameworks.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M027287/1
    Funder Contribution: 429,107 GBP

    With the widespread use of small mobile computing devices like smartphones and tablets, power efficiency has become a very important design criterion for hardware manufacturers like Intel, AMD, Infineon, ST, Qualcom, Nvidia, etc. This is due to the limited energy storage capacity of mobile devices, imposed by constraints on their size and weight, as well as by problems of heat dissipation. Similar considerations of power efficiency apply to implanted medical devices, wearable computing, UAV (unmanned airborne vehicles), satellites and sensor networks. Since chip design has become more and more automated, electronic design automation companies consider energy efficiency as a prime concern in circuit design. However, so far, there has been hardly any use of formal mathematical methods in energy efficient circuit design. Instead, the main techniques used in practice were either based on simulation or on semi-formal approaches reasoning about patterns and structural properties. Typical work areas are the following: 1. Power estimation (based on simulation), 2. Power verification (of structural (i.e., non-dynamic) properties), 3. Power optimisation (coarse high-level reasoning about size and structural patterns), and 4. Formal power verification (model checking applied to coarse abstractions based on activation/deactivation of blocks on the chip). In this project, we bring modern formal mathematical methods into automated circuit design. This yields a new domain of "5. Formal power optimisation". Here, efficient circuit design is achieved via solving the controller synthesis problem. This is to construct a controller that achieves (in every context) a combination of several objectives: (a) the functional correctness of the induced behaviour, as specified in the requirements specification, (b) a guaranteed limit on the peak energy consumption (i.e., an upper bound on the worst case), and (c) a low average energy consumption. While (a) and (b) are absolute constraints, the relative quality of the controller is measured in terms of how well it achieves objective (c). We solve the synthesis problem by applying modern mathematical techniques and tools from game theory (energy games, mean-payoff games), formal software verification (formal requirements specification and automata), and logic and algorithms (SAT and SMT solvers). Beyond theoretical advances and new techniques for the synthesis of energy efficient controllers, the project aims for practical application of controller synthesis in the new field of Formal Power Optimisation in circuit design. A prototype of a software tool that implements the new methods and applies them to power optimization in chip design will be evaluated on case studies provided by our industrial project partner Atrenta Inc.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: 1652620

    New methods of construction are needed to advance the capability of aircraft structures, meet business demands & reduce manufacturing costs. One is the use of bonded assemblies for primary structure. FAA currently requires that unless the strength of the structure can be proven to match or exceed the design requirements, it must have mechanical fasteners to prevent critical failure. Bonded structures allow a significant reduction in weight due to using thinner skins. If 'Chicken rivets' are mandated, then this negates any benefit in terms of weight saving. The only current reliable way of testing the bonded assembly strength is proof loading - expensive & unrealistic for testing every part. An NDE method of testing a bonded assembly is needed to allow the use of lightweight bonded primary aerostructures. This must allow assessment that the desired strength is achieved, or identify areas of a weak-bonded area to allow repair. The project will investigate the application of phased array inspection approaches to determine bond strength, firstly studying current best practise with linear phased arrays and moving on to compare this to the recently developed nonlinear phased array approach.

    more_vert
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/N005597/1
    Funder Contribution: 305,891 GBP

    Information and energy are two fundamental notions in nature with critical impact on all aspects of life. All living and machine entities rely on both information and energy for their existence. Most, if not all, processes in life involve transforming, storing or transferring energy or information in one form or the other. Although these concepts are in harmony in nature, in traditional engineering design, information and energy are handled by two separate systems with limited interaction. In wireless communications, the relationship between information and energy is even more apparent as radio waves that carry information also transfer energy. Indeed, the first use of radio waves was for energy transfer rather than information transmission. However, despite the pioneering work of Tesla, who experimentally demonstrated wireless energy transfer (WET) in the late 19th century, modern wireless communication systems mainly focus on the information content of the radio-frequency (RF) radiation, neglecting the energy transported by the signal. This project is the first interdisciplinary initiative to promote innovation and technology transfer between academia and industry in the UK for one of the most challenging and most important problems in future communication networks: The simultaneous transfer of both energy and information. The aim of this project is to develop a new theoretical framework for the design and operation of next-generation networks with simultaneously wireless information and energy transfer (SWIFT) capabilities. The research efforts are interdisciplinary and bring together researchers with strong and complementary backgrounds in the domain of wireless communications such as electronics/microwave engineering, information theory, game theory, control theory, and communication theory to bridge the gap between theory and practice of future WET-based communication systems.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/M02976X/1
    Funder Contribution: 335,616 GBP

    Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

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