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Academy honours Prince Philip’s impact to advance engineering

The Royal Academy of Engineering has formally announced the creation of the Prince Philip Fund, established in memory of its Senior Fellow, HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

The Fund was announced on 21 October at the Academy’s London premises Prince Philip House in the presence of Royal Fellow HRH The Princess Royal, together with Academy President Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE and Chief Executive Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, at a reception held to commemorate HRH The Duke of Edinburgh and his immeasurable contribution to the Royal Academy of Engineering and the engineering profession.

Professor Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“HRH The Duke of Edinburgh worked tirelessly to support the Academy from its inception in 1976 as the Fellowship of Engineering. The Academy will always be indebted to Prince Philip for his passion, support and advocacy for engineering, which enabled us to grow and thrive as a leading national Academy delivering impact and value through engineering excellence and expertise.

“As we approach our first half-century, I am delighted that we are able to mark our Senior Fellow’s extraordinary contribution by creating the Prince Philip Fund, to enable our Fellows and partners to create an enduring legacy that reflects his passion for engineering and his desire to inspire others to pursue engineering as a profession.”

Notes for Editors

For more information on the Prince Philip Fund and how to contribute, please see https://www.raeng.org.uk/support-us/the-prince-philip-fund

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

For more information on our work please see https://www.raeng.org.uk/about-us

For more information on our strategy to 2050 please see Strategy 2020-2025

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering

T: +44 207 766 0636

E: jane.sutton@raeng.org.uk

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-22T14:21:07+00:00October 22nd, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

New Industrial Fellowships highlight breadth of technological challenges addressed by engineering

Designing for circular consumption in the home environment, decarbonising air travel, and improving the design of wind turbines and new methods of water treatment are just four of the challenges being addressed by researchers who have been awarded the Academy’s latest Industrial Fellowships.

The 19 projects supported by the fellowships also include ways to develop anti-viral paint, improve methods of hydrogen storage, and tackle the thorny issue of how to keep our buildings heated more efficiently and sustainably whilst maintaining air quality.

The full list of 2021 awardees, partners and projects is as follows:

Dr Marco Aurisicchio, Imperial College London and Procter & Gamble
Design for circular consumption in the home environment
This programme aims to develop a new approach to the design of consumer goods, which supports more efficient use of water, energy and materials during the consumption phase. It achieves this by combining research in systems thinking, engineering design for a circular economy and consumer science.

Dr Nicholas Bazin, AWE and University of Bristol
Enhanced x-ray detection from transparent ceramics.
X-ray computed tomography is a powerful, non-destructive detection technology. However, dose limitation can prevent optimal application in industries including medical, industrial inspection and nuclear security. This project will seek to optimise the doping of x-ray sensitive ceramics and subsequent manufacture of transparent detectors for enhanced, efficient x-ray detection.

Dr Adrian Boyd, Ulster University and Axial3D
3D printing bespoke medical devices
3D printing enables complex and customised medical devices to be manufactured quickly and easily and is expected to revolutionise the medical device industry. This project aims to develop new application areas for 3D printing of medical devices and has the potential to enhance patient outcomes and, ultimately, quality of life.

Dr Zuansi Cai, Edinburgh Napier University and Centrica Storage Limited
Unlock the potential of Rough’s gas facility with hydrogen storage
Hydrogen is set to play a key role to the UK net zero strategy for 2050. Building on a newly developed numerical simulator, this collaboration aims to assess the performance of the Rough gas facility as a hydrogen storage facility for balancing interseasonal supply and demand.

Dr Mark Chattington, Thales and University of York
Human-machine teaming for robotic and autonomous systems
Robotic and Autonomous Systems have the potential to impact society in a range of sectors, but designing successful systems is challenging, costly and time consuming. This multi-disciplinary project brings together human factors, psychology, and computer science to address these issues and build user-centric systems. It will enhance model-based approaches to design and verification, specifically, RoboStar, to consider humans in the loop.

Dr Amanda Clare, Aberystwyth University and Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water
Advanced statistical process control for water treatment
Drinking water is monitored at each stage of treatment for flow and quality parameters, such as residual coagulant, turbidity, pH and chlorine concentration. This project will investigate automated detection of anomalous sensor readings, accounting for expected variability of the data, changing conditions and confounding effects between parts of the treatment plant.

Dr Felicity de Cogan, University of Birmingham and Indestructible Paint
Developing novel antiviral paints
The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of hygiene. Surfaces around infected people have been shown to contain high levels of virus and provide a potential transmission route. This project aims to develop a novel antiviral paint that can be applied to surfaces to prevent the spread of the disease.

Dr Fang Duan, London South Bank University and InSight Analytics Solutions Limited
Physics-informed data-driven methods for condition monitoring of wind turbine generators
A novel condition monitoring method will be applied to wind turbines to increase reliability and hence reduce the operational cost of wind renewables. The project outcomes will consolidate the competitive edge of ONYX in the global market and enable new initiatives in problem-based learning at London South Bank University.

Dr Martin Dutko Rockfield Software and Aberystwyth University
Modelling of fluid-driven fracture in environmental applications
Predicting fracture growth driven by pressurised fluid is important for understanding the impact of many industrial and natural processes on the environment, such as carbon underground storage. This project aims to develop computational methods to improve the safety of such storage by reducing rock fracturing due to CO2 injection.

Dr David Evans, IDIADA Automotive Technology UK and Coventry University
Engineering safe and secure vehicular platoons
As vehicles reach higher levels of autonomy and increased forms of connectivity, connected vehicle platooning will enable semi-autonomous vehicles to drive in convoy for economic gains in logistics. This research will focus on the combined safety and security of platoon vehicles, which is paramount for real world public road deployment.

Dr Rupert Gammon, De Montfort University and OX Global Ltd
Solar-powered Mobility-as-a-Service for Africa (Solar MaaS)
Wealth creation in emerging markets may be catalysed through a symbiotic relationship between solar energy and electric vehicles. This project combines international development, solar-powered minigrids and electric vehicles with learning from OX Global’s pilot of mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) in Rwanda using its purpose-designed electric truck.

Dr Zhiwei Gao, University of Glasgow and Geowynd
Offshore-foundation design using state-of-the-art constitutive models: embedding advanced numerical approaches
Offshore wind power is at the forefront of the UK strategy to reach net-zero. Offshore wind turbine foundations contribute around 25% to the capital costs of wind farms and optimisation of their design is key. This project aims to develop and implement a practical constitutive model for turbine foundation design using finite element modelling.

Dr Cat Gardner, Rolls-Royce Plc and Loughborough University
Sustainable next generation combustion systems for aero gas turbines
The aviation industry is committed to reducing emissions and achieving net zero carbon by 2050. Dr Gardner will develop novel and ambitious concepts for future aero gas turbine combustors to support the decarbonisation of air travel, while maintaining today’s high standards of operability and reliability.

Dr Vitaliy Kurlin, University of Liverpool and Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre
Data science for next generation engineering of solid crystalline materials
This fellowship will implement a new data science-based approach to crystal design by using a recently developed continuous classification of crystals. The emerging area of periodic geometry provides a geometric map in which all known and potential periodic crystals have uniquely defined locations, similar to Mendeleev’s table of chemical elements.

Dr Asim Mumtaz, University of Liverpool and Semefab Ltd
Novel devices using wide band gap semiconductors
Wide band gap semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride (GaN) have tremendous material properties that are attractive for high-efficiency power conversion and other applications such as in the space sector. This project will develop fabrication processes and designs for novel devices.

Dr Abhishek Tiwary, De Montfort University and JenAct Ltd (Jenton Group)
Enabling hybrid autonomous non-conventional system for cleaner indoor environment
Environmental legislation is pushing the space-heating market away from fossil fuels, while Covid-19 has made us keenly aware of the benefits of clean air. This project will conceptualise and develop a novel air warming and sanitising system, combining complementary capacities in ultraviolet (UVC) technology, air pollution control and heating. It will potentially impact in transforming the future of indoor air warming and cleaning simultaneously.

Dr James Yu, SP Energy Networks and University of Glasgow
Smart and integrated energy systems for heat and electricity
In the UK, electricity generation currently accounts for about 27% of the carbon emission, while heat is responsible for 37% of the carbon emission. A smarter integrated energy system between heat and electricity is an obvious key step towards a zero carbon economy. This project will identify the industrial resources involved in integrating electricity and heat systems and aims to understand and address the underlying technical, economic, and regulatory challenges of integrating two currently separate planning and operational regimes to form one smart system.

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering Industrial Fellowships scheme enables mid-career academics and industrialists to undertake a collaborative research project in either an industrial or academic environment, where one party would host the other. The scheme aims to strengthen the strategic relationship between industry and academia by providing an opportunity to establish or enhance collaborative research between the two parties.

The scheme is open to engineers from all disciplines
Awards can be held from six months to two years, full-time or part-time
The Academy will contribute up to a maximum of £50,000 (per-annum) towards the basic salary costs (excluding overheads) of the applicant, paid pro-rata against the amount of time to be spent at the host organisation. The total award is capped at £100,000 for awards that exceed one year in duration.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-22T08:45:44+00:00October 22nd, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

Academy responds to the government’s net zero strategy

The government today published Net Zero Strategy: Build Back Greener and Academy Fellows have welcomed the document, which aims to set out a plan for decarbonisation by 2050.

Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“I am delighted to see the government publishing a net zero strategy for the UK today. A whole-system strategy for delivering net zero is crucial for reducing our emissions at greater pace, which we need to do to stay within our carbon budgets. It is important that the government are embracing the systems approach to net zero policymaking, which the Academy and the National Engineering Policy Centre have long advocated for. While there is more for government to do to ensure that our journey towards net zero is structured for innovation, speed, and benefit to communities, this strategy is a pivotal step towards having infrastructure, technology, investment, places and people all moving together to create a shared net zero future.

“COP26 is a critical moment for global society, and an opportunity that cannot be missed for governments to agree concrete international action on our path to net zero and the necessary collaborations to accelerate the energy transition. As more countries join the UK in setting out their ‘net zero’ targets, the challenge for governments then becomes how they are going to deliver on these commitments.

“As the strategy makes clear, engineers will be essential to achieving decarbonisation on the huge scale required to meet our 2030 and 2050 targets – engineers from every discipline will design, build, retrofit, operate and make safe the infrastructure and technologies required.”

Professor Nilay Shah OBE FREng, Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering and Deputy Chair of the National Engineering Policy Centre Net Zero working group, says:

“I welcome the publication of the long-awaited net zero strategy today. The 2050 net zero target is ambitious and the UK will need to work hard to achieve it. Clear vision, good governance and a rigorous systems approach to implementation will all be needed to realise these ambitions and ensure that costs and benefits are distributed equitably and any undesirable unintended consequences are avoided. It is vital that a holistic transition plan is set out in order to be able to assess the engineering feasibility of different scenarios while building public and business confidence in a shared future and demonstrating UK leadership in the field.”

“For the net zero strategy to succeed it must be effective in driving and coordinating progress across government and industry, provide systems-level analysis, rapidly share learnings about what works, build a clear, evidence-based vision for a net zero and be underpinned by a clear net zero skills plan. This strategy recognises these things, and we look forward to working with government to flesh out and implement the additional measures needed to deal with the hard-to-predict impacts of so much change all at once, and to ensure that communities are empowered to make long-term choices about their local transition to net zero.

“I particularly welcome the recognition in the Net Zero Strategy of the importance of actively taking steps to reduce energy demand, which can be achieved through policies promoting efficiency and reduced consumption. Reaching net zero is virtually impossible without massively cutting down on the large amount of energy we waste, and prioritising energy efficiency measure now is an easy, ‘low-regret’ way to reduce the size of the net zero challenge.”

Tim Chapman FREng, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“I am delighted with the highest level of government attention to resolving our addiction to fossil fuels and propelling the UK towards a Net Zero Carbon future – headline grabbing policies of subsidies for heat pumps are balanced by well thought through remedies such as future low carbon electricity being made much more competitive with gas prices. Further leadership will be needed to paint a compelling picture of how a fully green society will be happier and healthier and so drive consumer behaviour to accept stronger compromises from how they live now.”

Professor Jim Hall FREng, Professor of Climate and Environmental Risks at the University of Oxford and a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says:

“The government’s net zero strategy is a very significant step because it sets out the timetable for emissions reduction across all of the main carbon-emitting sectors of the economy, as well as for negative emissions technologies. There are plenty of technical, social and financial challenges still to resolve, but the direction of travel towards net zero is now becoming clearer.”

Notes for Editors

Net zero Through the National Engineering Policy Centre, the Academy leads an extensive programme of policy work, aiming to achieve a thriving, low-carbon economy through rapid and large-scale systemic change. https://www.raeng.org.uk/policy/policy-projects-and-issues/net-zero-a-systems-perspective-on-the-climate-chal

Recommendations on net zero also feature prominently in Six engineering ambitions for the UK Spending Review, the National Engineering Policy Centre’s submission to the 2021 spending review. It recommends six areas for investment that the engineering profession believes the government should prioritise if it is to meet the goals it has set itself and the country.

National Engineering Policy Centre We are a unified voice for 43 professional engineering organisations, representing 450,000 engineers, a partnership led by the Royal Academy of Engineering.

We give policymakers a single route to advice from across the engineering profession. We inform and respond to policy issues of national importance, for the benefit of society

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering

T: +44 207 766 0636;

E: Jane Sutton

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-19T16:59:13+00:00October 19th, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

Inventors of game-changing semiconductor laser win prestigious Academy award

Three engineers behind the development of a revolutionary semiconductor laser, hailed as the biggest breakthrough in this field in 30 years, have been awarded this year’s Colin Campbell Mitchell Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering.

The Award is made annually to an engineer or small team of engineers who have made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of any field of UK engineering, and Dr Richard Taylor, Dr David Childs and Professor Richard Hogg of Vector Photonics will be presented with the Award at the Academy’s Enterprise Showcase on Tuesday 16 November 2021.

Left to right: Professor Richard Hogg, Dr David Childs and Dr Richard Taylor

The team’s ground-breaking photonic crystal surface emitting laser (PCSEL) combines and improves upon the strengths of vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) and edge-emitting laser (EEL), involving a novel laser geometry that eliminates the compromise between speed, cost, and power inherent in previous semiconductor lasers.

Scalable and able to operate at any wavelength, PCSELs are game-changing technology with applications in the communications sector but also offers a step change in performance for additive manufacturing, gas sensing and lidar. Many different types of lasers are currently on the market and businesses must choose the ones that will best meet their particular purposes. In future, the PCSEL may fulfil all requirements for diode laser manufacturing.

Having developed the technology within UK universities, the team began the process of commercialising the technology and spun-out Vector Photonics in March of 2020. What makes Vector Photonics’ design approach particularly attractive is its compatibility with existing semiconductor device manufacturing processes, simplifying the build and delivery of their PCSEL devices.

Though in its infancy, the company has already secured more than £2.5 million in company grant funding, £1.6million in equity investment, increased its headcount to 16 people and generated enough international attention to have some of the world’s largest companies requesting samples and contracts.

Professor Bashir M. Al-Hashimi CBE FREng, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering Awards Committee, said: “A high-speed, high-power, surface-emitting laser operable at communications wavelengths represents the holy grail and companies globally have committed decades of effort and money to address this problem, which the core team at Vector Photonics were first in the world to solve. With their varied, multidisciplinary and complementary skillset, the team members are worthy winners of this Award. I am pleased the Academy is able to acknowledge and encourage engineering achievements, ingenuity and innovation in this way to ensure it flourishes in the UK and internationally.

The winning team said: “We are honoured and humbled to receive such a prestigious award from the Royal Academy of Engineering, the world’s premier learned society for engineering. The technology started as blue skies research in a university laboratory and, thanks to support from a range of funding sources and the wider team, we have been able to translate our technology to real world application through commercial venture. We hope that the recognition that the Colin Campbell Mitchell Award brings will inspire others to study engineering and develop their entrepreneurship, both of which are at the heart of British culture.”

Notes for Editors

The Colin Campbell Mitchell Award commemorates the life and work of one of Scotland’s most accomplished marine engineers. Edinburgh-born Colin Campbell Mitchell OBE FRSE (1904-69) had a long and distinguished career with Brown Brothers Engineering, where he pioneered the development of the steam catapult for use on aircraft carriers.
Awarded to an individual or team of up to six engineers, either working or studying in the UK, the Colin Campbell Mitchell Award is given for the greatest contribution to the advancement of any field of engineering within the period of the four years prior to the making of the award. A cash prize of £3,000 will be awarded to an individual, up to a maximum of £6,000 for a team.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 20 7766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-18T23:01:00+00:00October 18th, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

Academy President celebrates the first anniversary of the Northern Ireland Enterprise Hub

Academy President Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE has completed a two-day tour of Northern Ireland and Ireland this week with Tom Leahy FIAE, President of the Irish Academy of Engineering, to promote their shared mission to promote engineering as a catalyst for good, irrespective of jurisdiction, and to nurture the engineering innovation skills that both Academies see as the bedrock of economic recovery.

The visit started in Belfast on 14 October with Sir Jim officially opening the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub in Ormeau Baths, celebrating a successful first year, during which it has supported four new NI-based entrepreneurs to set up and grow their operations.

The Academy hopes that the Belfast hub will be the first of several regional enterprise hubs, creating a local community of engineering entrepreneurs and embedding them within regional innovation ecosystems across the UK. It builds on the success of the Taylor Centre at the Academy’s London base, which has helped the Enterprise Hub support more than 230 entrepreneurs since it was established six years ago, who have collectively raised over £350 million in follow on funding.

Sir Jim McDonald said:

“Across the island of Ireland, there is huge strength in engineering innovation in a wide variety of industries and disciplines. With a total population smaller than London, or San Francisco’s Bay Area, it rivals both for scale and breadth of research strength and business innovation. It makes sense for research entrepreneurs from the South to consider collaboration with Northern Ireland’s formidable industrial strengths in aerospace and materials.

“Just as innovators from the north can benefit more from proximity to the major industrial facilities and prowess in ICT, pharmaceuticals and the biosciences south of the border, I hope that the Enterprise Hub Belfast inspires and connects the next generation of innovators across the island of Ireland, and between all of our islands.”

Joined by Dr Bryan Keating CBE, Co-Chair of the NI Women in STEM Steering Group, Sir Jim McDonald will also sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the NI Department for the Economy, formalising an agreement between the organisations to work together to deliver an engineering talent programme in Northern Ireland, inspired by the Academy’s Welsh Valleys Engineering Education Project. The agreement will be signed at an event marking the relaunch of Belfast’s Northern Ireland Advanced Composites and Engineering Centre (NIACE) as an Innovation R&D Centre partnership comprising Queen’s University Belfast, Ulster University and the National Composites Centre. The partnership works closely with Spirit AeroSystems and a wide range of NI companies on R&D, skills and technology development.

Sir Jim and Mr Leahy travelled to Dublin on the Enterprise Train service, using the opportunity to learn about Translink’s Climate Positive Strategy and provide insights from the Royal Academy’s policy and engagement “Engineering Zero” campaign, in the run up to COP26.

Chris Conway, Translink Group Chief Executive, says: “We are accelerating our actions to decarbonise public transport to become net zero by 2040. Today was a great opportunity to meet with the two Presidents to collaborate and learn more about the exciting engineering strategies and solutions helping to create a sustainable future for our planet.

“Translink has already launched zero emission hydrogen buses and will next spring add a further 100 electric and hydrogen buses to the fleet. It is certainly a very exciting time to be part of the transport and engineering sectors as we work together on these ambitious zero emission solutions that will make a massive positive impact on climate change. We look forward to our continued collaboration as we work to build a better world for all of us.”

On 15 October the two Presidents met with the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, in Dublin to discuss the role of engineering innovation in responding to global crises, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Notes for Editors

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

The solutions to today’s most complex economic and social challenges lie in the minds of the brightest engineering and tech entrepreneurs. The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub helps them turn their ideas into reality and become exceptional business leaders by providing funding, training, networking and mentoring from the nation’s leading engineers, without taking a penny in return.

The Irish Academy of Engineering was founded in 1997 as a non-profit company limited by guarantee by a group of senior members of the Institution of Engineers of Ireland (now Engineers Ireland). It is distinct from and independent of Engineers Ireland and is an all-Ireland body. It is a registered charity.

The Academy aims to advance the wellbeing of the country by marshalling the expertise and insights of eminent engineers to provide independent advice to policy makers on matters involving engineering and technology on a pro bono basis.

For more information please contact: Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0636; email: jane.sutton@raeng.org.uk

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-15T08:10:09+00:00October 15th, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

Academy announces five new Policy Fellows

Left to right: Simon Gill, Bairbre Kelly, Jo Bray, Katy Sutherland, and Jenny Preece

Following a highly competitive selection process, the Academy is delighted to announce that five successful applicants will join the sixth cohort of its prestigious Policy Fellowships programme:

Dr Jo Bray, Deputy Director, Chemicals and Plastics, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Dr Simon Gill, Head of Whole System and Technical Policy, Scottish Government, Directorate of Energy and Climate Change

Bairbre Kelly, Assistant Director, Head of Place Strategy, Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)
Jenny Preece, Deputy Director, Planning – Infrastructure, Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
Katy Sutherland, Impact and Performance Manager, UK Research and Innovation (UKRI)

The Policy Fellows will join the programme virtually between October and December 2021. They will take part in a series of development activities including one-to-one meetings with experts, coaching sessions and group workshops, to help them make rapid progress on their chosen policy challenges. They will learn first-hand how engineers solve problems using techniques such as systems thinking and have an opportunity to expand their personal networks with the Academy’s community of innovators and leaders. Collectively they will meet over 60 leading engineers handpicked from the Academy’s UK and international networks.

Dr David Cleevely CBE FREng, Chair of the Policy Fellowships Working Group, said: “Over its first three years the Policy Fellowships programme has supported an impressive range of policy challenges such as approaching flood adaption in a way that promotes sustainable and inclusive economic growth, applying systems approaches to the challenge of bovine TB, or helping government anticipate technological change, optimising its benefits and managing its risks. I am also excited by the engagement of our growing community of alumni and their aspiration to champion the application of engineering and systems thinking in policy and public service design.”

Ragne Low, Policy Fellowships alumni and Head of Heat Strategy in the Energy and Climate Change Directorate of the Scottish Government said: “The insights I gained from the programme were profound, and completely surpassed my narrow expectations about tapping into a bit of technical expertise. Unlike more conventional training or professional development programmes, the Policy Fellowships programme is all about connecting you with leaders in their field who can provide insight into topics particular to the policy issues you are grappling with or who bring a completely fresh perspective and a different way of thinking.”

Simon Lawrence, Head of Project Futures, IPA and sponsoring manager of a Policy Fellowships alumni said: “The Policy Fellowship is an important collaboration to promote closer working between policymakers and engineers as government confronts increasingly complex and connected challenges.”

Engineering Better Policy

The Policy Fellowships programme has a growing influence on policymaking practice. It is now a network of 38 alumni.

The improved understanding of challenges and solutions is already having a direct impact on policymaking. Writing in our programme’s insights report Engineering better policy, Policy Fellows share the aspiration that the programme will make a big contribution to changing how public sector organisations operate in the coming years. The range of connections across a diversity of departments and authorities creates a promising network as government increasingly focuses on science, engineering and technology.

Next cohort: applications open 12 October until 12 December 2021

The next cohort of Policy Fellows will start in March 2022. Applications will open on 12 October and will close on 12 December 2021. For more information about the programme and how to apply please visit http://www.raeng.org.uk/policyfellowships or email policyfellowships@raeng.org.uk

Notes for editors

Royal Academy of Engineering’s Policy Fellowships As a national academy, the Royal Academy of Engineering provides progressive leadership for engineering and technology, and independent expert advice to government in the UK and beyond.The Policy Fellowships programme is an intensive professional development programme that supports better evidence-based policymaking. It advances policymaking and policy through engineering perspectives and systems approaches.
For more information, please visit www.raeng.org.uk/policyfellowships or email policyfellowships@raeng.org.uk

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-11T16:38:11+00:00October 11th, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

Using Surface Science Techniques to Investigate the Interaction of Acetonitrile with Dust Grain Analogue Surfaces

Although pure acetonitrile is not found in astrophysical environments, studying pure ices is useful in order to determine the detailed physical and chemical behaviour of the ice and to provide a comparison with the behaviour in the presence of water ice. Figure 2 shows TPD data recorded following the adsorption of increasing amounts of acetonitrile on HOPG at 29 K. At the lowest exposures investigated, 0.5–2 L_m (Figure 2(a)), a decreasing peak temperature with increasing exposure is observed. This can be assigned to initially repulsive interactions between acetonitrile molecules on the HOPG surface. This effect has been seen for ultra-thin acetonitrile films adsorbed on SiO₂ (84) and for other molecules such as benzene on HOPG (38, 101). Behaviour of this type could also be explained by a distribution of binding sites with different adsorption energies, however this is unlikely in this case since HOPG is a very uniform surface.

For acetonitrile exposures between 3 L_m and 7 L_m (Figure 2(a)) the TPD data show an approximately constant peak temperature with increasing exposure, which is characteristic of first-order desorption of molecular acetonitrile, and indicates that monolayer desorption occurs over this range of exposures. The low temperature desorption, at approximately 127 K, and the approximately constant peak temperature indicate that acetonitrile forms a physisorbed monolayer on the HOPG surface at the intermediate exposures shown in Figure 2(a). The spectra seen in Figure 2(a) are in contrast to those seen for thin acetonitrile films adsorbed on SiO₂ (8, 84), where the acetonitrile peak temperature decreases with increasing coverage for all monolayer exposures. This difference is likely a consequence of the more uniform HOPG surface compared to the heterogenous SiO₂ surface studied by Abdulgalil et al. (8, 84).

Fig. 2.

TPD data resulting from the desorption of acetonitrile deposited on HOPG at 29 K: (a) traces resulting from the desorption of 0.5–7 L_m of acetonitrile; (b) traces resulting from dosing 7–100 L_m of acetonitrile

TPD data for increasing exposures of acetonitrile on HOPG from 7–100 L_m can be seen in Figure 2(b). The data clearly show a single desorption feature which increases in temperature with increasing exposure. Traces in Figure 2(b) also show shared leading edges. These observations are indicative of the desorption of acetonitrile multilayers following zero-order kinetics. This is in good agreement with previous studies of multilayer acetonitrile adsorbed on a range of surfaces (7, 31, 82–84, 95).

Kinetic analysis of the TPD data shown in Figure 2 was performed using methods described previously (33). TPD data can be described by the Polanyi-Wigner equation (Equation (i)) where r_des is the rate of desorption, θ is the coverage, t is the time, A is the pre-exponential factor, n is the order of desorption, E_des is the activation energy for desorption, R is the gas constant and T is the temperature of the substrate.

(i)

Analysis using the Polanyi-Wigner equation enables us to obtain n, E_des and A. The order of desorption, n, can be obtained from rearrangement of Equation (i) as shown previously (33). This gives the order of desorption from a plot of ln[I(T)] (where I(T) is the recorded mass spectrometer signal at temperature T) as a function of ln[θ_rel] (where θ_rel is the relative coverage, given by the integrated area under the TPD curves) at a fixed desorption temperature. Figures 3(a) and 3(b) show examples of such plots for acetonitrile at fixed desorption temperatures of 125 K (monolayer order) and 131 K (multilayer order) respectively. Plots such as this are produced for a range of temperatures using data on the leading edge of the TPD curves; so called leading edge analysis (33). Average values for the order of the monolayer and multilayer desorption can then be obtained from these plots.

Fig. 3.

(a) An example of a plot used to determine the order of multilayer desorption at a fixed temperature of 131 K; (b) an example of a plot used to determine the order of desorption for monolayer desorption of acetonitrile, at a fixed temperature of 125 K; (c) a plot used to to determine the desorption energy of 100 L_m of acetonitrile adsorbed on HOPG

The order of desorption for monolayer acetonitrile was found to be 0.89 ± 0.05. The order for multilayer acetonitrile desorption was determined to be 0.08 ± 0.07. These values are as expected for monolayer and multilayer desorption of physisorbed species (33). These desorption orders were obtained for exposures of acetonitrile from 3–100 L_m. The lowest exposures (0.5–2 L_m) were omitted from the analysis of the order of desorption as they show behaviour associated with repulsive interactions and hence do not give meaningful data for the desorption order.

Once the desorption order has been determined, a plot of ln[I(T)]–nln[θ_rel] versus 1/T can be used to determine E_des (33). The gradient of this plot is equal to −E_des/R. An example of this plot for a 100 L_m exposure of acetonitrile is shown in Figure 3(c). Desorption energies can be determined for each exposure of acetonitrile to show the variation in desorption energy as a function of exposure, as seen in Figure 4.

Fig. 4.

The calculated desorption energy of acetonitrile adsorbed on HOPG as a function of exposure, for the TPD data in Figure 2. The inset shows the lowest exposures of acetonitrile, from 0.5–10 L_m

The inset to Figure 4 clearly shows a decreasing desorption energy with increasing exposure for the very lowest exposures of acetonitrile on HOPG. Following this, the desorption energy increases to the multilayer desorption energy value. A decrease in desorption energy with increasing exposure was also seen by Abdulgalil et al. for acetonitrile adsorption on SiO₂ (84). The average value of the desorption energy of multilayer acetonitrile is determined to be 43.8 ± 1.7 kJ mol^−1. For exposures less than 5 L_m, assigned to monolayer desorption, the desorption energy ranges from 28.8–39.2 kJ mol⁻¹. The monolayer energy determined here is somewhat lower than that determined by Abdulgalil et al. (84) (35–50 kJmol⁻¹) and by Bertin et al. (95) (44.4 ± 2.8 kJ mol⁻¹) for monolayer desorption from SiO₂ and α-quartz respectively. This is most likely due to the different binding energy of acetonitrile with the carbonaceous HOPG surface compared to that on a silicate surface. The multilayer desorption energy determined here is in reasonable agreement with that determined by Abdulgalil et al. (84) (38.2 ± 1 kJ mol⁻¹).

Once the desorption order and activation energy for desorption have been determined, it is possible to obtain values for the pre-exponential factor for desorption, A (33). The average pre-exponential factor for the desorption of monolayer acetonitrile from HOPG was determined to be 3.4 × 10¹⁵ ^± ^0.5 s⁻¹. This value is as expected for the desorption of a monolayer species from a surface. The value obtained for multilayer desorption of acetonitrile from HOPG is 1.4 × 10^{32 ± 0.3} molecules m⁻² s⁻¹. This value is in good agreement with that previously obtained for the desorption of acetonitrile from SiO₂ (84).

RAIR spectra for acetonitrile adsorbed on HOPG at 29 K are shown in Figure 5. The top spectrum shows that recorded upon adsorption at base temperature. The spectrum shown is for the adsorption of 80 L_m of acetonitrile on HOPG.

Fig. 5.

RAIR spectra for the annealing of 80 L_m of acetonitrile adsorbed on HOPG at 29 K. The three spectral regions where the main acetonitrile vibrational bands are observed are shown. The scale for the spectra is indicated by the scale bar in the middle panel

Adsorption from 0.5–80 L_m is not shown here, but shows that bands increase in intensity with increasing amount of acetonitrile on the surface. No frequency shifts are observed for increasing amounts of acetonitrile. This indicates that physisorption is taking place, as already shown by the TPD spectra in Figure 2. The assignments of the bands shown in Figure 5 are given in Table I and are made by comparison with the literature. Bands in the high wavenumber region are assigned to the symmetric and antisymmetric methyl group stretching modes at 3001 cm⁻¹ and 2941 cm⁻¹ respectively. The C≡N stretching mode is observed at 2253 cm⁻¹ and is the most intense band observed in the spectrum. In the lower wavenumber region, a band at 1373 cm⁻¹ is assigned to the symmetric methyl group deformation mode, while bands at 1412 cm⁻¹ and 1448 cm⁻¹ are also assigned to methyl group deformation modes. The band at 1045 cm⁻¹ is assigned to the methyl group rocking mode (not shown) and a further mode at 914 cm⁻¹ (also not shown) is assigned to the C–C stretching mode.

Table I

Reflection-Absorption Infrared Spectroscopy Assignments for Acetonitrile^a

Assignment	HOPG at 29 K	Multilayer on gold at 90 K (95)	SiO₂ at 15 K (84)	Water/silver at 124 K (83)	Water/platinum(100) at 120 K (97)	Gas phase (86)
V₅, CH₃ d-stretch	3001	3000	3001	3001	3001	3009
V₁, CH₃ s-stretch	2941	2939	2941	2940	2941	2954
V₂, CN stretch	2253	2251	2252	2271/2251	2250	2266
V₆, CH₃ d-deformation	1448	1455	1449	1454	1455	1448
V₆, CH₃ d-deformation	1412	1419	1410	1419/1409	1422	1410
V₃, CH₃ s-deformation	1373	1378	1375	1378	1378	1390
V₇, CH₃ rock	1045	1036	1040	1308	1039	1041
V₄, CC stretch	914	917	920	919	–	920

Figure 5 also shows the results of annealing the adlayer of acetonitrile adsorbed on HOPG at 29 K. The acetonitrile was annealed in 10 K increments up to its desorption temperature. No changes were observed in the spectra until 100 K and hence these spectra have been omitted from Figure 5. Following annealing to 100 K, there is an increase in intensity of the C≡N stretch and a small decrease in the wavenumber of this band to 2251 cm⁻¹. This change is accompanied by intensity changes and frequency shifts for other bands in the spectrum. For example, the methyl group stretching mode at 2941 cm⁻¹ moves downwards to 2939 cm⁻¹ following annealing to 100 K; the band at 1448 cm⁻¹ sharpens and increases in wavenumber to 1454 cm⁻¹; and the band at 1045 cm⁻¹ decreases in wavenumber to 1038 cm⁻¹. Further annealing to 110 K shows an increase in intensity of all of the bands in the spectrum, along with a splitting of the bands at 1410 cm⁻¹ and 1373 cm⁻¹. No further changes in the spectrum are observed and all modes have disappeared from the spectrum by 130 K. The lack of bands in the spectrum following annealing to 130 K is evidence for desorption of acetonitrile by this temperature. This temperature is slightly lower than that observed in the TPD spectra, seen in Figure 2, due to the different nature of heating in both cases.

The observed changes in the RAIR spectra following annealing to 110 K can be assigned to the crystallisation of acetonitrile that occurs upon annealing. Acetonitrile crystallisation has been studied in detail by Hudson (92) and the spectra shown in Figure 5 are in good agreement with the high temperature crystalline phase described by Hudson. The crystallisation of solid phase organic species has been observed previously for a range of molecules (42, 92, 100, 102). Recording infrared spectra for ices adsorbed on model grain surfaces helps to allow the identification and assignment of spectra recorded in astrophysical environments. For example, the presence of acetonitrile has been observed in Titan’s atmosphere and hence accurate infrared spectra can help with assignment of observational data (7, 67, 92, 93).

As described in the introduction, astrophysical ices contain large amounts of water ice, with the exact amount and ice phase depending on the region of space. Given that astrophysical ices are primarily composed of water ice, it is necessary to investigate the interaction of astrophysically relevant molecules with various configurations of water ice as shown in Figure 1(b).

Figure 6 shows TPD data resulting from the adsorption of thin films of acetonitrile in the presence of water ice in different configurations. It is clear from Figure 6 that the presence of ASW has a significant effect on the desorption behaviour of acetonitrile compared to pure acetonitrile ices (Figure 2). Even at the lowest exposures, three features are observed in the TPD data.

Fig. 6.

A comparison of the desorption of acetonitrile from various different water-containing ices: (a) TPD data for the desorption of acetonitrile for mixed acetonitrile:ASW ices with different compositions; (b) TPD data resulting from the desorption of various exposures of acetonitrile adsorbed on a CI surface in a layered configuration; (c) TPD data for various exposures of acetonitrile desorbing from ASW in a layered ice configuration. Also shown in cyan is an example spectrum for water ice desorption

The highest temperature species at approximately 158 K can be assigned to the co-desorption of acetonitrile with the bulk water ice. This assignment is confirmed by the fact that this peak has the same desorption temperature as the main water desorption. This observation of co-desorption has also been seen for other molecules (100, 102, 103) and occurs as the molecules become trapped in the bulk of the water ice when the ASW-CI phase transition occurs (31, 103).

The sharp acetonitrile desorption feature observed at approximately 146 K is assigned to volcano desorption of acetonitrile that becomes trapped in the pores of the water ice as the ASW to CI phase transition occurs at ~145 K. The observation of the volcano and co-desorption peaks provides evidence that the acetonitrile likely diffuses into the water ice surface, prior to the ASW to CI phase transition occurring. Volcano and co-desorption have previously been seen for a number of molecules, both smaller volatiles (31, 33, 53, 104) and larger organic species (32, 50, 99, 100), adsorbed on and in ASW. The lowest temperature acetonitrile desorption peak seen in Figure 6(c) can be assigned to the desorption of acetonitrile directly from the amorphous water ice surface.

Significant desorption is only seen directly from the ASW surface once the pores of the ASW are saturated and hence this lowest temperature peak only becomes significant for the higher exposures of acetonitrile on ASW. Further increasing the amount of acetonitrile on the ASW leads to the formation of multilayer acetonitrile with desorption behaviour following that of the pure acetonitrile shown in Figure 2.

In contrast to the behaviour of acetonitrile on ASW (Figure 6(c)), adsorption on CI shows simpler desorption behaviour (Figure 6(b)). There are no desorption features that can be assigned to volcano or co-desorption, as expected since the water ice in Figure 6(b) is grown in the crystalline phase. Instead, desorption directly from the CI surface is the only desorption peak observed in the spectrum. Figure 7 shows a comparison between the desorption of acetonitrile from the bare HOPG surface (Figure 7(c) and7(d)) and from the CI surface (Figure 7(a) and 7(b)). There is clearly a difference in the desorption behaviour of acetonitrile bonded to CI compared to acetonitrile bonded to HOPG. In particular, for the lowest exposures, equivalent amounts of acetonitrile desorb at a higher temperature from CI than from HOPG. For example 2 L_m of acetonitrile desorbs from HOPG at a temperature of ~126 K compared to a temperature of ~139 K from CI. In addition, the peak profiles for acetonitrile desorbing from CI are considerably broader compared to those seen for desorption directly from HOPG.

Fig. 7.

TPD data showing a comparison of the desorption behaviour of equivalent doses of acetonitrile: (a) low exposures of acetonitrile, from 1–5 L_m on top of CI; (b) higher exposures of acetonitrile, from 4–10 L_m on top of CI; (c) low exposures of acetonitrile, from 1–5 L_m adsorbed directly on HOPG; (d) higher exposures of acetonitrile, from 4–10 L_m adsorbed directly on HOPG

The broader peak profile for acetonitrile desorbing from CI suggests that there is a range of desorption energies and a distribution of binding sites for the acetonitrile on the CI surface. These observations are in agreement with previous investigations of acetonitrile on CI by Bertin et al. (95) which have also been assigned to the observation of a range of desorption energies for acetonitrile on the CI surface. As seen in Figure 7(a), as the amount of acetonitrile on the CI surface increases above 3 L_m there is evidence for an additional peak growing into the TPD at lower temperature. Figure 7(b) shows that this feature can be assigned to the growth of multilayers of acetonitrile on the CI surface as also seen in Figure 7(d) for acetonitrile adsorbed directly on HOPG.

Leading edge analysis can also be applied to the TPD curves shown in Figures 6(b) and 7(a) to provide an estimate of the desorption energy of acetonitrile from the CI surface. Analysis of the TPD curves for 1 L_m and 2 L_m of acetonitrile adsorbed on CI, with an assumed desorption order of one, give desorption energies of 36.8 ± 0.8 kJ mol⁻¹ and 36.6 ± 0.7 kJ mol⁻¹ respectively. Note that, as already discussed, the shape of the TPD curves for monolayer acetonitrile desorbing from CI indicates that there are a range of desorption energies dictating the desorption. These desorption energy values hence give an estimate of the increase in the desorption energy from the CI surface, compared to the HOPG surface, and do not give the full range of desorption energies across all binding sites. Analysis of multilayer TPD data for acetonitrile adsorbed on CI give the same desorption energies as already determined for pure acetonitrile, as expected. For exposures ≥3 L_m, Figure 7(b) shows that the additional low temperature feature assigned to the growth of multilayers is already growing into the TPD curves. Hence it is not appropriate to use a desorption order of one to obtain desorption energies for these spectra. An attempt was also made to determine desorption energies for acetonitrile monolayers desorbing from the ASW surface. However, the complexity of the data are such that it was not possible to determine reliable energies of desorption for this system. Nonetheless, a comparison can be made with the data for monolayer acetonitrile on CI (Figure 7(a) and 6(c)), which show that the monolayer on both water ice surfaces shows similar features. Hence, it is expected that the monolayer acetonitrile on ASW desorbs with a wide range of energies, and from a broad range of binding sites. As for desorption from CI, the desorption energy from the ASW surface is higher than from HOPG, and is likely to be around ~37 kJ mol⁻¹, as determined from leading edge analysis of the data resulting from desorption of acetonitrile from CI.

The desorption energy values for 1 L_m and 2 L_m of acetonitrile on CI are significantly higher when compared to equivalent exposures adsorbed directly on HOPG (shown in Figure 4) and correspond to a stronger binding energy of the acetonitrile on the CI surface. This can be assigned to an interaction between the C≡N of the acetonitrile and the water ice, as confirmed by RAIR spectra (shown later). This observation of a higher binding energy on CI is in agreement with previous observations (95).

Figure 6(a) also shows the desorption of acetonitrile from mixed ices, formed by co-deposition of acetonitrile and ASW. It is clear from Figure 6(a) that the behaviour of the mixtures is very similar to that of acetonitrile adsorbed on ASW (Figure 6(c)). This behaviour of acetonitrile in the presence of water ice is consistent with that observed for other organic molecules that have weaker interactions (when compared with strongly hydrogen-bonding species such as methanol) with water ice such as methyl formate (103) and ethyl formate (99). This behaviour occurs as the molecule forms a weak interaction with the polar water ice surface, as shown by the different desorption energy when compared to that on HOPG.

Figure 6 also shows that the acetonitrile has an effect on the temperature of the ASW-CI phase transition. Figure 6(c) shows the volcano desorption peak decreasing in temperature with increasing acetonitrile exposure on the ASW surface. The same effect is also seen for mixed ices (Figure 6(a)) where the ice containing a higher percentage of acetonitrile shows a lower temperature volcano desorption. This effect has been reported previously for species that strongly hydrogen bond to water such as methanol (105). It has also been seen for more weakly bonded species that do still interact with water, such as ethyl formate adsorbed in the presence of water ice (99), and provides evidence for an interaction between acetonitrile and water.

Further evidence for an interaction between acetonitrile and water ice is shown in Figure 8, which shows the C≡N stretch of acetonitrile in different ice configurations at 29 K. From Figure 8 it is clear that in the presence of ASW, either in a layered or mixed ice configuration, the C≡N stretch has a different line shape when compared to that observed for pure acetonitrile on HOPG. For the mixed ice, the C≡N stretch shifts to 2266 cm⁻¹, compared to 2253 cm⁻¹ for the pure ice, showing evidence of a direct interaction between the acetonitrile and water ice. In contrast, the C≡N stretch for acetonitrile adsorbed on top of ASW shows features for both the pure acetonitrile (2253 cm⁻¹) and for the acetonitrile bonded to water ice (2266 cm⁻¹). Acetonitrile bonded to CI has the same vibrational frequency as that seen for pure acetonitrile. This is unsurprising since the spectra shown in Figure 8 are for the adsorption of 20 L_m of acetonitrile in different ice configurations. At this exposure, TPD spectra shown in Figure 7 also show that acetonitrile on CI and on HOPG exhibit similar behaviour. The sensitivity of our RAIRS experiment is less than that of the TPD experiment and hence it is not possible to record RAIR spectra for the very lowest exposures of acetonitrile on the surface.

Fig. 8.

RAIR spectra showing the C≡N stretching region for acetonitrile adsorbed in different ice configurations at 29 K. The spectra result from the deposition of 20 L_m acetonitrile on HOPG, on ASW and on CI and from the deposition of a 29% acetonitrile:ASW mixture

Figure 9 shows the results of annealing an acetonitrile adlayer adsorbed on top of ASW (Figure 9(a)) and a mixed acetonitrile water layer (Figure 9(b)), focusing on the C≡N region of the spectrum. This is the only spectral region that shows appreciable differences when compared with spectra that result from annealing a pure acetonitrile ice (Figure 5). For acetonitrile adsorbed on top of ASW, annealing the ice leads to the appearance of a high wavenumber shoulder at 2266 cm⁻¹ (Figure 9(a)), initially becoming more prominent following annealing to 110 K. The main C≡N stretch at 2253 cm⁻¹ also sharpens and shifts down in wavenumber slightly to 2251 cm⁻¹. This effect was also seen for the annealing of pure acetonitrile ice (Figure 5) and can be assigned to the crystallisation of the acetonitrile layer adsorbed on top of the ASW. Subsequent annealing of this system to 130 K leads to a complete change in the RAIR spectrum. The sharp feature at 2251 cm⁻¹ disappears from the spectrum and the only band that remains is a very broad feature centred at 2266 cm⁻¹.

Fig. 9.

RAIRS annealing spectra for: (a) 80 L_m of acetonitrile adsorbed on top of 50 L_m of ASW; and (b) 50 L_m of a 38% acetonitrile:ASW ice mixture, both deposited at 29 K

Comparing the spectrum at 130 K in Figure 9(a) with the spectrum at 130 K for the annealing of pure acetonitrile (Figure 5) shows that this peak can be assigned to acetonitrile trapped within water ice. Annealing of pure acetonitrile ice to 130 K (Figure 5) leads to complete desorption and no peaks are observed in the RAIR spectrum. However, TPD data for acetonitrile adsorbed on top of ASW show the presence of volcano and co-desorption peaks due to acetonitrile trapped within the ASW structure. Hence, the infrared band seen at 130 K following the annealing of the layered ice can be assigned to acetonitrile trapped within the water ice structure. This band occurs at the same wavenumber as that seen for acetonitrile in a mixed ice at base temperature (Figure 8), further confirming the assignment of this peak to acetonitrile trapped within, and interacting with, water ice. Further annealing to 140 K leads to complete desorption of the acetonitrile from the surface. Note that TPD data for the desorption of acetonitrile from the layered ice show slightly higher desorption temperatures than 140 K. This is due to the different heating methods used in the infrared and TPD experiments.

Figure 9(b) shows RAIR spectra resulting from the annealing of a mixed ice. For this ice, there is no evidence of crystallisation of acetonitrile. This is unsurprising since the acetonitrile is within the water ice matrix and hence cannot nucleate to form a crystalline structure. As seen in Figure 9(b), no changes are observed in the RAIR spectrum until the ice has been annealed to above 100 K. Following annealing to above 100 K the spectrum gradually changes to give a very broad feature with bands centred around 2266 cm⁻¹ and 2280 cm⁻¹. Whilst the 2266 cm⁻¹ band has already been assigned, it is not clear what the exact origin of the band at 2260 cm⁻¹ is. However, it is likely that this also occurs due to an interaction between the acetonitrile and the water ice, although the exact assignment of the band requires further investigation. As for the acetonitrile on ASW, there is clear evidence for the presence of acetonitrile trapped within the water ice as bands are observed up to 140 K in the spectrum, which is considerably higher than seen for pure acetonitrile.

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-11T09:34:10+00:00October 11th, 2021|Weld Engineering Services|Comments Off

“Space Robotics”

“Space Robotics” by Yaobing Wang belongs to the series Space Science and Technologies co-published by Beijing Institute of Technology Press, China, and Springer Nature Pte Ltd, Singapore. The Editor-in-Chief of the series, Peijian Ye, is Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing and has published a collection of 10 volumes. This volume’s author, Yaobin Wang, is a research professor of Beijing Institute of Spacecraft System Engineering and Director of Beijing Key Laboratory of Intelligent Space Robotic Systems Technology and Applications. The book’s 363 pages provide a condensed combination of theory and practice as engineering guidance.

Starting from the particularity of space environment and application, the book discusses the theory and method of space robot design. The purpose is to provide the basic concepts and theories and introduce the basic methods and steps of engineering implementation of space robots.

In the following review, the 16 chapters will be described briefly. If you are not planning to design a space robot now, you might want to start reading at Chapter 15.

Chapter 1 provides a very short introduction and gives a brief description of space robot classifications (for example on-orbit operation, planetary exploration) and basic composition of space robots, like the mechanical system, power system and perceptual system. Chapter 2 details kinematics and dynamics, the basis of analysing the characteristics and control with kinematic equations and the modelling process for dynamics, analytics and path planning (Figure 1). Chapter 3 refers to motion planning which is the process of generating the desired motion trajectory in the robot joint space or Cartesian space according to the mission target. Path planning is to find an optimal motion path from the starting point to the target in the working environment with obstacles, which involves using an algorithm to find the optimal or near-optimal collision-free path and controlling the robot to track the planned path.

Fig. 1.

Relationships of robot links. Copyright (2021). Reprinted with permission from Springer

Chapter 4 follows with implementation of motion control after motion planning. This chapter takes the single joint control as example to illustrate the motion control method of space robots. The objective of motion control is to achieve the tracking of the desired joint states (angle, speed) with two main methods: three-loop servo motion control and dynamic model-based motion control. Chapter 5 describes robot force control, a method of modifying the contact force between the robot and the environment by controlling the joint output. The main purposes are to protect the robot or the objects in contact. Several methods have been proposed, most of which fall into two categories, namely hybrid force and position control and impedance control.

Chapter 6 lists general processes of space robot system design including task requirement analysis, design feasibility study, preliminary system design and detailed system design. The tasks comprise designs of configuration, information flow, thermal, ergonomic and safety. Chapter 7 details the mechanical system, the core of a space robot, which is used to enable the motion functions. Its performance directly affects the application effect. Mechanical system design generally includes material selection (for example alloys), structural parts design, mechanism components design, lubrication in space and verification scheme design. The environmental conditions are the main constraints to the main components structure, joint, end effector and mobile wheel. Chapter 8 describes the control system consisting of command scheduling layer, motion planning layer and execution control layer. Furthermore, it gives information on the design of the control system (centralised control and distributed control) including the control system architecture and software.

Chapter 9 focuses on the space robot perception system, for example visual perception system and force perception system, but mainly describing visual parts, being optical assembly, structural assembly and electronic assembly. The main functions of the space robot visual perception system are to realise target detection, recognition and measurement (for example binocular, laser). Chapter 10 provides details on the teleoperation system which is an interactive tool between human and space robot. The design requires processes to be developed for the following elements: operator, the core of the system, communications, environment and the human-robot interaction interface, which includes information receipt, simulation of the state of the robot and environment and signal conversion. The teleoperation system generally has the main functions of status feedback and instruction generation.

Chapter 11 explains the system verification methods. Comprehensive and rigorous ground verification prior to launch are important and are done via simulation and physical testing. Due to the complexity of the robot systems, the verification of all parameters is generally done via the design of a prototype using physical test verification, semi-physical simulation verification and mathematical simulation verification.

Chapter 12 is the first chapter mentioning a design example of a large space manipulator mainly used in the field of manned space exploration, such as the construction and operational support of a space station (for example Canadarm for the International Space Station (ISS)). It covers the engineering background, system design, mechanical system design, control system design, perception system design and design verification. Chapter 13 follows with a design example of a planetary exploration mobile robot, currently only in operation on Mars and lunar surfaces (Figure 2). The wheeled movement scheme requires extra design and verification of landing platform, suspension schemes, driving and steering schemes and obstacle avoidance systems. Chapter 14 provides another design example of a planetary surface sampling manipulator which is a space robot that performs sampling tasks on the planet surface, usually mounted on a planetary lander or a planetary rover to perform multi-point sampling and other operations. In this chapter the design and verification are introduced, detailing on performance, task, interface, system and constraints as well as joint design, arm design and sampler design.

Fig. 2.

Composition of the mechanical system of the planetary exploration mobile robot. Copyright (2021). Reprinted with permission from Springer

Chapter 15 starts with the evolution of space robots in the 1980s before moving towards the current research and usage of space robots in space stations and planetary exploration. A list with brief information on on-orbit operation robots and planetary exploration is provided. Chapter 16 is the final chapter and focuses on future prospects of space robots which will be developed with regard to their tasks of manned spaceflight, deep space exploration and on-orbit services. Driven by the mission demands, space robots will integrate the latest achievements in the development of science and technology and will be constantly improved in form, function and performance to meet the needs of space missions. Some new concepts include soft robots, flying robots, space cloud robots, space multi-robot systems and artificially intelligent space robots.

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-05T06:49:31+00:00October 5th, 2021|Weld Engineering Services|Comments Off

Five new industry–academia partnerships aim to develop transformational technologies

From improving ultrasound techniques in cardiovascular surgery to hypersonic flight, the Royal Academy of Engineering has announced five new joint industry–academia research partnerships that will address some of the complex engineering challenges facing society.

With a focus on industry-relevant research across the full range of engineering disciplines, the Academy’s Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships scheme enhances the links between academia and businesses with each of the prestigious five-year positions co-sponsored by an industrial partner. Each awardee will establish a world-leading research group in their engineering field.

Commenting on the appointment of the three new Research Chairs and two Senior Research Fellows, Professor Karen Holford CBE FREng FLSW, Chief Executive and Vice-Chancellor of Cranfield University and Chair of the Academy’s Research Committee, says: “These awardees illustrate brilliantly how expert engineering researchers, when partnered with industry, underpin the success of UK engineering research and innovation. The kind of work we are seeing illustrates why government has demonstrated such confidence in the economic value of our sector through its Innovation Strategy.”

The Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships appointed are as follows:

Research Chairs

Professor Dan Brett, University College London
HORIBA MIRA & NPL / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Metrology for Electrochemical Propulsion

Electric mobility is one of the fastest-growing industries on the planet and is essential to meet the UK government’s legally binding commitments on climate change, including a ban on new diesel and petrol car sales by 2030. There is a seismic shift away from conventional piston engine powered propulsion to electrochemical solutions such as batteries, fuel cells and supercapacitors. This Research Chair will develop measurement tools to support this fundamental change in the way vehicles are powered.

Collaborating with HORIBA MIRA and the National Physical Laboratory, Professor Brett’s research aims to make the UK a world-leader, both scientifically and commercially, in metrology for electrochemical power systems.

Professor Adrien Desjardins, University College London
Echopoint Medical / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Clinical Translation of Optical Ultrasound Imaging

Professor Desjardins’ research aims to improve the diagnosis and treatment of cardiovascular patients by developing all-optical ultrasound imaging probes for real-time visualisation of tissues and medical devices from inside the body.

A multidisciplinary, collaborative effort between University College London and Echopoint Medical, this project will focus attention and stimulate connections across many fields, including optics, ultrasound, materials science and medical device design, thereby creating a knowledge base to speed up the translation of future biomedical sensing innovations.

Professor Wladek Forysiak, Aston University
EFFECT Photonics / Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair in Highly Integrated Coherent optical fibre Communications

With increased home-working and greater requirements for mobility via 5G and other access technologies, Professor Forysiak is committed to developing new advances in photonic integration to increase digital communications capacity. His research aims to build on the ‘system-on-chip’ photonic integration technology developed by EFFECT Photonics to develop new transceivers, transceiver arrays, and entire multi-channel optical fibre transmission systems.

By reducing the cost and power requirements of these components, sub-systems, and systems, this project will contribute to a more sustainable society and a greener future by providing greater bandwidth, serving our ever-increasing reliance on remote communications for work, education, health and well-being, social life and entertainment.

Senior Research Fellows

Dr Liliana de Lillo, University of Nottingham
ITT Industrial Process / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Advanced Embedded Motor Drive technologies to reduce global energy consumption

The world needs more energy but there is also a global drive to reduce carbon emissions. Innovative technologies are required to achieve this, and the electrification of multiple sectors such as automotive and aerospace is gathering pace. 28% of global electricity is used in industrial motors, of which 85% are run at full speed and use mechanical systems to regulate the output, which is wasteful. Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) technologies allow these motors to run at an optimum speed. While very significant savings can be made using VFD technologies they require a clean, temperature-controlled environment and expensive filters and cables to connect to the motors. Installation costs are prohibitively expensive and typically take many years to recover.

In collaboration with ITT Industrial Process, Dr de Lillo’s research focuses on Embedded Motor Drives, where the VFD is integrated into the motor so that only a direct replacement of an old motor is necessary in order to reduce energy use during the manufacturing process, as well as the amount of raw materials needed. Her innovations will ensure that the through-life energy losses are minimised, resulting in reduced running costs and CO2 emissions.

Dr Matthew McGilvray, University of Oxford
MoD / Royal Academy of Engineering Senior Research Fellow in Hypersonic Aerothermodynamics

High-speed flight has opened up new possibilities for humanity, underpinned by the grand engineering achievements of the 50s and 60s, when manned space flight was pioneered by the US and the USSR. The vision of this fellowship is to deliver a step change in UK capability to design and develop domestic hypersonic vehicles that can fly at over five times the speed of sound or 4000 miles per hour.

Hypersonic flight is a key component of the MoD’s future technical and capability strategy and it is vital that the UK is able to bring together academia and industry in both the civil and defence communities in order to achieve it. This fellowship will expand the capability and experimental techniques of the Oxford hypersonic wind tunnels and use them to investigate the key fundamental physics of aerodynamics, thermal management and high-temperature thermochemistry.

Notes for Editors

Research Chairs and Senior Research Fellowships aim to strengthen the links between industry and academia by supporting exceptional academics in UK universities to undertake use-inspired research that meets the needs of the industrial partners. Awardees are expected to:

Establish or enhance a world leading engineering research group
Deliver ‘use-inspired’ research that meets the needs of their industrial partners
Disseminate the outcomes of their research for appropriate academic impact
Become a self-sustaining research group by the end of the award (by securing substantial external grant income: RCUK, EU, industry, charities, etc.)

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone. In collaboration with our Fellows and partners, we’re growing talent and developing skills for the future, driving innovation and building global partnerships, and influencing policy and engaging the public. Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

Media enquiries to: Pippa Cox at the Royal Academy of Engineering Tel. +44 207 766 0745; email: Pippa.Cox@raeng.org.uk

By Arc Consulting|2021-10-03T23:01:00+00:00October 3rd, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off

Fellow’s substantial gift to the Academy helps to supercharge SME leadership

The Royal Academy of Engineering’s Enterprise Hub has received a major boost to its mission to enhance SME leadership through a seven-figure gift from Ian Shott CBE FREng. Ian is a highly successful entrepreneur who played a pivotal role in establishing and growing the Enterprise Hub since its inception in 2013 to support new and scaling engineering and technology companies.

SMEs have always been the backbone of the UK economy and Ian’s gift will fill a clear gap in support provision for the fast-growing SME sector. The Shott Scale Up Accelerator, a six-month programme run twice a year, will offer a game changing support package to individuals in decision making roles to develop their leadership skills in high-growth engineering and technology SMEs that display excellence in engineering. Support includes a £10,000 grant towards leadership courses, a transformational programme of training and workshops, expert business mentoring, one to one development coaching, and facilitated access to an exceptional network of specialist experts, entrepreneurs and industry leaders drawn from the Academy Fellowship. The Accelerator will help scale up businesses built around technologies of strategic importance for UK Government – such as AI, digital and advanced computing, energy, bioinformatics and smart machines – and play a key role in supporting UK economic recovery post COVID-19.

Ian Shott says: “Supporting the growth of a dynamic, home-grown SME sector is vital to UK economic recovery, and so we need to help SMEs scale up more ambitiously. Engineering has given me a fantastic career, and I am indebted to the profession and many exceptional entrepreneurs from whom I have learnt a great deal. I am delighted to now be able to support a new generation of entrepreneurial engineers to scale their businesses and succeed. I hope this contribution to the Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub will help to bolster the entrepreneurial atmosphere in the UK to rival the successful ecosystems of the US.”

Dr Hayaatun Sillem CBE, CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “The UK needs a thriving innovation ecosystem. Ian’s gift comes at a time where innovation is key to help drive economic growth in the UK. We are fortunate and grateful to receive his support to invigorate our ability to support SME leaders to develop their skills and leadership to reach their full potential through the Shott Scale Up Accelerator.”

Sir Jim McDonald FREng FRSE, President of the Royal Academy of Engineering, says: “Ian’s significant contribution demonstrates great philanthropic leadership by recognising the need to support SME scale up at this critical time. Through the Shott Scale Up Accelerator, he will inspire the next generation of engineering and technology leaders and founders, as they grow their businesses and contribute to a more prosperous, greener and fairer society.”

Eleven members of the first cohort embark on the programme today:

Dr Alex Groombridge, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of Echion Technologies Ltd

Echion Technologies replaces the graphite and lithium titanate anodes currently used in battery cells. Echion’s mixed niobium oxide technology superfast charges lithium-ion battery cells that are safe, reliable and have a long cycle life, which are ideal for a range of applications, from medical devices to commercial electric vehicles.

Dr Alex Groombridge is Echion’s Co-Founder and CTO. Alex joined the Scale Up Accelerator programme in 2021. He hopes that the mentor advice and supporting network will flag up potential pitfalls and help him rapidly scale up the product delivery of his expanding company.

Alan Mosca, Founder and CTO of nPlan Ltd

Large scale infrastructure upgrades are complex and can cost millions, if not billions, of pounds, so nPlan uses machine learning to forecast the duration and risks associated with construction projects. The technology works by collating and studying the world’s largest dataset of previous construction schedules. By examining patterns in historical performance, its machine learning algorithms can predict potential bottlenecks and uncertainty while providing possible solutions and efficiency gains. Now, nPlan is looking to scale up while generating sustainable and growing revenue streams.

Dr Angela de Manzanos, CEO and co-founder of Fa Bio (formerly FungiAlert Ltd)

SponSenZ, patented by Fa Bio (formerly FungiAlert), captures active and dominant microbes directly from the field, isolating and cultivating them faster than existing discovery routes. It identifies microbial biocontrol, biostimulant and biofertilisier candidates, reducing the discovery phase when developing biological products. The company aims to minimise agriculture’s environmental impact while sustainably increasing crop productivity.

Dr Ben Carter, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, CytoSeek

Of the 20 million new cancer cases diagnosed each year worldwide, around 85% consist of solid tumours. Solid tumours are able to resist cell therapy treatments. CytoSeek Ltd, a spin-out from Bristol University, has developed artificial membrane-binding protein technology that will help the next generation of cell therapies to target solid tumours.

Carlton Cummins, Co-Founder and CTO, Aceleron Ltd

Electric vehicle batteries have components that are welded or glued together, making it extremely difficult to take the individual units apart for reuse. Aceleron Ltd manufactures advanced circular economy lithium-ion batteries that can be serviced, maintained and upgraded. Its batteries are put together using patented compression technology that places individual fuel cells into a circuit using a series of removable fasteners so that they can be fixed or replaced.

Daniel Irving, Executive Product Development Manager, Novosound Ltd

Novosound Ltd produces sensors for ultrasonic non-destructive corrosion testing in key industries including energy, aerospace and power generation. Novosound has found a way around existing technology limits by replacing conventional sensor materials with flexible piezoelectric thin-film technology. Its technology can measure corrosion at up to 400° C with regular data capture via cloud computing. Daniel Irving is the Executive Product Development Manager at Novosound.

Jane Theaker, CEO of Kinomica Ltd

Kinomica develops medicines that are patient-personalised and focus on a deep, molecular knowledge of a particular person’s disease. Its bioinformatics platform, KScan®, generates insights into the activities of the cell’s proteins and their complex signalling cascades, especially in cancer. KScan uses a database, patented algorithms and a protein activity ranking method to analyse diseased tissue and identify the best match of drug for each patient.

Dr Leonie Mueck, Chief Product Officer, Riverlane

Quantum computers have the potential to vastly scale up computing power. However, the problem of how hardware and software interact while enabling the best possible performance of a quantum computer has been slowing down this development. Riverlane’s innovative Deltaflow.OS system helps solve this by providing a shared language for applications and quantum hardware development.

Dr Marc Rodriguez-Garcia, Co-Founder, Head of Research, Xampla Ltd

Xampla Ltd has developed the world’s first plant protein material for commercial use. The material performs like synthetic polymers, but decomposes naturally and fully, without harming the environment. The company’s aim is to replace everyday single-use plastics like sachets and flexible packaging films as well as the less obvious, such as microplastics within liquids and lotions.

Dr Richard J. E. Taylor, Co-Founder and CTO at Vector Photonics Ltd

Vector Photonics, a University of Glasgow spin-out, has developed photonic crystal surface emitting semiconductor lasers that are low cost, robust, have a broad wavelength range and high power. These have shown potential for internet communications, 5G, LiDAR, 3D printing, the Internet of Things and lots more.

Rudy Benfredj, Co-Founder and CEO, Mendelian Ltd

Worldwide, there are over 6,000 rare diseases that 1 in 17 people will get in their lifetime. Mendelian has developed a methodology for analysing clinical clues across medical healthcare records to speed up diagnosis of rare diseases. The MendelScan algorithm aggregates data, finds patterns and digitises knowledge so the results can be searched and found, speeding up clinicians’ diagnostic capabilities.

Notes for Editors

For more information about the Shott Scale Up Accelerator, see: https://enterprisehub.raeng.org.uk/programmes/scale-up-accelerator/.

Ian Shott CBE FREng:

A prominent entrepreneur, Ian has a strong track record of helping businesses in the engineering and life science sectors transform their approach and improve their vision, ambition, business models, enterprise value and social benefits. He is the Founder and former Executive Chair of contract pharmaceutical development and manufacturing company ARCINOVA, which he sold to Quotient Sciences in February 2021 and continues as Senior Advisor to the board. Ian is also the Managing Director at investment and advisory firm Shott Trinova, a specialist advisory firm focused on helping organisations accelerate growth and performance improvement in chemicals, engineering, biology, and pharmaceuticals sectors. Prior to his specialist investment work at Shott Trinova, Ian was the founder and CEO of Excelsyn, which was sold to an American multinational in 2010. Ian chaired the UK government’s Leadership Forum for Industrial Biotechnology, was a founding chair of IBiolC and was a Governing Board Member of Innovate UK. He is also a Visiting Professor at Oxford, Nottingham and Newcastle universities, was elected a Royal Academy of Engineering Fellow in 2008 and was presented with the Academy’s President’s Medal in 2017 for his outstanding work for the Academy and promoting excellence in engineering.

The Royal Academy of Engineering Enterprise Hub supports the UK’s brightest technology and engineering entrepreneurs to realise their potential.

We run three programmes for entrepreneurial engineers at different career stages. Each one offers equity-free funding, an extended programme of mentorship and coaching, and a lifetime of support through connection to an exceptional community of engineers and innovators.

The Enterprise Hub focuses on supporting individuals and fostering their potential in the long term, taking nothing in return. This sets us apart from the usual ‘accelerator’ model. The Enterprise Hub’s programmes last between 6 and 12 months, and all programmes give entrepreneurs lifelong access to an unrivalled community of mentors and alumni.

Our goal is to encourage creativity and innovation in engineering for the benefit of all. By fostering lasting, exceptional connections between talent and expertise, we aim to create a virtuous cycle of innovation that can deliver on this ambition.

The Enterprise Hub was formally launched in April 2013. Since then, we have supported over 220 researchers, recent graduates and SME leaders to start up and scale up businesses that can give practical application to their inventions. We’ve awarded over £8 million in grant funding, and our Hub Members have gone on to raise over £380 million in additional funding.

The Royal Academy of Engineering is harnessing the power of engineering to build a sustainable society and an inclusive economy that works for everyone.

Together we’re working to tackle the greatest challenges of our age.

For more information please contact:

Jane Sutton at the Royal Academy of Engineering

T: +44 207 766 0636

E: Jane Sutton

By Arc Consulting|2021-09-28T08:00:00+00:00September 28th, 2021|Engineering News|Comments Off