NEL will tackle pump, heating and fan problems
15 Jan 2000
One of the UK's leading R&D organisations, the National Engineering Laboratory, is seeking new projects from pump, heat transfer equipment and fan manufacturers for researchers studying for PhDs.
`This is an opportunity for industry to employ high quality researchers utilising state-of-the art facilities,' says Jim Watson, Postgraduate Training Partnership manager at NEL, which is based in East Kilbride, near Glasgow.
The PTP initiative is intended to boost research with industrial relevance. `We are interested in hearing from any organisation with project proposals in the following areas: reducing a pump's energy consumption and fugitive emissions; improving pump bearing reliability and noise performance; and the testing of intelligent valves,' Watson adds.
Heat transfer projects could examine the optimisation of fluidised bed combustion in incinerators; improvement of heat transfer characteristics of extended surface heat exchangers; and the development of better techniques for predicting schedules of heat exchanger fouling and cleaning schedules.
Likely research areas for industrial fans are: improving fan performance modelling techniques; cutting `noise pollution', and the development of more stable fans.
The PTP associates are registered with Strathclyde University for a PhD but spend the bulk of their time working alongside NEL's engineers at the laboratory's advanced research facilities.
Phillip Bush, who gained a double first in mechanical and electrical engineering, is typical of the researchers available to industry through PTP.
`The PhD allows me to keep up with the academic side,' he says, `but, more importantly, it is in industrial research, so if an opportunity arises at NEL or another research company my qualifications are enhanced with my experience of working with industry.'
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