Department Of Mechanical Engineering. ISSUE 19: February 2019
MechEngNews
Contents.
Hello!
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It never ceases to amaze me what our mechanical engineers are involved in and the results they can have.
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Athena SWAN Silver Success Profile Dr Hadi Abulrub
This issue of MechEng News is full of stories from current students, colleagues and alumni alike - where mechanical engineers are achieving amazing feats.
06 Sheffield Engineers Get That Festival Feeling 08
Where are they now? Roshni Wijesekera
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Department News More from across MechEng
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Research focus Fixing pipes with underground robots
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Funding awarded This quarter’s grants
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Rocketing Ahead! We meet Team SunrIde
@SheffMechEng In Pictures
From a student team that were the first UK group to enter an international rocket competition, to pioneering research that will help repair underground pipes using robotics, there are plenty of examples of mechanical engineering in action. And with a profile from a former student who is now a fire engineer too... happy reading!
Editor: Amy Grange Email: a.grange@sheffield.ac.uk
18 The International Engineering Experience 20
The final word.
Follow us: @SheffMechEng
/SheffMechEng /department-of-mechanicalengineering-university-of-sheffield 2
This publication is produced using 100% recycled FSC certified paper MechEng News: Issue 16
Athena SWAN Silver Success E
GEND
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Over the course of 2018, Mechanical Engineering and the wider Faculty of Engineering will be R the campaign supporting E by taking a closer look C inspiring R T the next generation of at engineeringH- A innovators and problem-solvers.
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Athena SWAN encourages and recognises commitment within higher educationthe andway research A pioneering campaign to transform organisations women’s in young people to seeadvance engineering and careers boost numbers science, engineering, and entering technology, the profession has been maths launched. medicine (STEMM), as well as arts, humanities, social sciences, businesswill andsee lawministers (AHSSBL). The Year of Engineering join forces with engineers, industry experts and Based on ten principles, participating Athena businesses tokey help change perceptions around SWAN institutions and departments commit to engineering – and highlight the opportunities it acan progressive charter; adopting principles within hold for young people. their policies, practices, action plans and culture that will recognise of genderUK equality. Engineering is one advancement of the most productive sectors, but there’s a shortfall of 20k engineering Prof. Neil Sims, HeadThere’s of thealso Department of graduates every year. widespread Mechanical Engineering said: among young misunderstanding of engineering “I am absolutely the Department’s people as well asdelighted a lack of that diversity. work has been recognised with this award. Achieving greater equality andtodiversity our The Year of Engineering aims fill thoseingaps, environment has been an important priority for us changing misconceptions and sharing inspiring and working experiences with the Athena engineering withSWAN youngCharter people, and their applying for the award has really helped to focus parents and teachers. our minds on this endeavour. It is fantastic to have recognition forState the progress we haveChris made so far.” Secretary of for Transport, Grayling said: In order to achieve Silver, the Department was assessed the Athena SWAN Charter “We wantagainst to show young people and their parents to thatcreativity, women - opportunity whether in academic, theensure immense and value of professional and support roles, or as students the profession. were represented and that their progress into academia or them in reaching career with milestones was “By bringing face-to-face engineering supported. role models and achievements, we can send a clear message that engineering careers are a chance Melanie Scannell, SWAN Champion and for all young people,Athena regardless of gender, ethnicity Departmental Administration Manager or social background, to shape the future ofsaid: this “I’m thrilled awarded country andthat havewe’ve a realbeen impact on theAthena lives ofSWAN those Silver asthem.” it’s acknowledgement of the energy and around effort that comes from across the Department to
CU
The Department of Mechanical Engineering has been recognised for its commitment to promoting gender equality with an Athena SWAN Silver award.
create andoing inclusive for both staff We’ll be thisenvironment through a number of activities and students. and events and by exploring some key engineering themes such solving real life problems, diversity in “The award is raising important as it demonstrates engineering, aspirations and careers. that we are striving to create a place in which everyone flourish and fulfil their@SheffUniEng potential, You can can follow @SheffMechEng regardless their news gender personal for all theoflatest onorwhat we are up to! circumstances.” Work to support equality will not stop with the Silver award, as the Athena SWAN Charter will continue to play a key part in the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s planning and strategy. A live action plan will ensure an ongoing focus on achieving representation, progression and success for all. As Prof. Patrick Fairclough, Athena SWAN Champion and Deputy Head of Department adds: “I’m very proud of all the effort our staff have put into Athena SWAN, they have worked very hard to move us so far in such a short period of time. “We still have a long way to go to get to the position we’d like to be in as there is still work to do, but I’m looking forward to the next three years; it’s going to be challenging and interesting. And that’s what we signed up for.”
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Profile: Dr Hadi Abulrub
What made you want to become a mechanical engineer? I was always curious about how things worked and asking big questions, so I shaped my curiosity into studying mechanical engineering. As an engineer, you have an opportunity to improve the world in a small or a big way. For me, it feels great to be in a profession that gives you a chance to contribute something positive to society. Where did you train? I started my journey in Jordan, Mutah University, before moving to the UK to study for my MSc and PhD at the University of Bath. For my PhD, I worked on Active Magnetic Bearings (AMBs) for high-speed machinery. Despite many inherent benefits, AMBs suffer from limited force capacity and this restricts their engineering applications. The aim of my PhD was to investigate the behaviour of a rotor in an AMB system when contact occurs with auxiliary bearings, and apply a
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control to return it to normal operation. After my PhD, I went on to work for a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) project where I was in charge of a £0.5m state-of-theart, immersive 3D virtual reality facility. I was responsible for transferring knowledge and supporting the company’s strategy and decisionmaking related to technology management. Following this, I had a unique and interesting opportunity to join an engineering enterprise working on an innovative wind turbine technology for clean energy generation. I was appointed as a director with responsibility for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. At this stage in my career, I decided to combine study and work, so I also returned to the University of Bath as an alumnus to study for an Executive MBA. Ultimately though, my passion for teaching led me to return to higher education. Specialising in engineering management, I endeavour to inspire students to graduate ‘industry ready’.
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What are your research interests? My research interest is in Engineering Management summarised in three key words; digital, technology and strategy. In my MBA, I investigated the strategic role of consumers in reshaping energy into a smart decentralised system - transforming the traditional energy business model through digital technology innovation and the Internet of Things. Before joining Sheffield, I was a supervisor for a PhD student on this topic too. Alongside this research interest, I also work on pedagogical research related to teaching and learning, and I’ve published on the use of virtual reality in engineering education. What are you working on at the moment? I recently joined the University of Sheffield as a Senior University Teacher and my current focus is on developing new curriculums in relation to Engineering Management for our undergraduate and postgraduate engineers.
The aim is to help our engineers develop strong technical knowledge, whilst enabling them to integrate their engineering expertise with good business judgement and effective interpersonal skills. Future engineers require an interdisciplinary approach and mix of skills to solve today’s complex challenges. If there was one MechEng problem you could solve, what would it be? Ensuring access to affordable, reliable and clean energy for all. What words of advice would you give to your student-self about the future? Continuously learn. Future leaders who are capable of innovative thinking need to stay competent in a continually changing and challenging engineering environment.
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Students showcasing their novel instrument designs at the end of module performance.
Sheffield Engineers Get That Festival Feeling. The Department of Mechanical Engineering might not be top of your festival go-to list, but perhaps maybe we should be after our students shared their novel instrument designs, all developed as part of their course. With a focus on design and manufacturing, students were challenged to create musical instruments that were low power, portable, and innovative making the designs practical for taking along to a festival. Groups were also tasked with developing a ‘kickstarter’ style marketing campaign for their creations to share alongside their manufactured instruments at an end of module performance. Our students didn’t disappoint, with a wide variety of different instruments and designs brought to the performance in December 2018, which was held at the University of Sheffield Students’ Union. The audience, made up of both students and staff, rated each of the seventeen groups on three different criteria – innovation, musical accuracy and complexity, and aesthetics – and then had to
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decide which groups they would commit virtual funds to. “Although we had a lot of fun at the final performance, this module was quite challenging for our students as they had to learn a lot of engineering design principles, apply them to a brief and then see it through to manufacture and testing,” explains Dr Tim Dolmansley, University Teacher on the module. “We wanted to give students an interesting and stretching challenge, something that they perhaps wouldn’t necessarily associate with engineering – although creating something like an instrument actually requires a lot of physics and engineering application. “So alongside some really valuable engineering design skills and experience, our students have also been developing other crucial skills that modern engineers need – communication, teamwork and project planning – invaluable skills in industry.”
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Complete with a (fake) campfire to give it that festival feel, the groups of students gathered to play their instruments and discuss them with a panel of experts. “There were some great examples on show and it was the culmination of a lot of hard work from the students in terms of understanding the brief and translating that into some excellent concepts and prototypes,” added module leader Dr Pete Mylon, University Teacher and Academic Lead for the iForge, our student-led makerspace based in the Diamond building. “Overall, the students exceeded our already high expectations as the ambition and effort put in was fantastic. I was particularly impressed by the variety of designs and how the students took charge of their own learning – prototyping designs, developing CAD skills and learning manufacturing techniques – which can all be applied in their future studies and careers.” Elsa Bjarnason is studying towards her MEng Mechanical Engineering with a Year in North America and took part in the challenge. “I’d definitely recommend this module, it was a lot of fun and it was also a great chance to meet people on your course. “The skills we have learnt we can transfer, such as teambuilding skills. That was something we definitely worked quite a lot on and will be useful throughout our whole engineering careers – and also time management as that’s a really useful skill for future projects and modules.” Paul Lamberton also took part in the challenge, designing one of the instruments for his group. “It was good fun and there are so many different ideas that you could come up with that no two would be the same, so you’ll always have your own design. For me that was very satisfying.” Whether a MechEngFest will catch on with a general festival audience, we’ll have to see, but with all of the different design approaches and applications, it is safe to say that our students have made a great start to their mechanical engineering courses. We look forward to seeing what they come up with next!
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Where are they now? Roshni Wijesekera studied both her BEng Mechanical Engineering and MSc (Res) Advanced Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sheffield as an international student from Sri Lanka. After graduating in 2013, she joined global engineering consultancy AECOM and is now a Fire and CFD Engineer. Roshni recently featured in a film for Tomorrow’s Engineers Week and in her profile for MechEng News, tells us more about her time in Sheffield and how she’s now on a mission to keep people safe.
What attracted you to engineering and in particular, mechanical engineering? For me it was a combination of many things. I’ve always been good at maths and science, and back at school in Sri Lanka, engineering was encouraged as a profession for students who enjoyed those subjects. I also have a couple of uncles who are engineers, so I grew up being somewhat aware of engineering. Engineering seemed like a natural career choice for me as I wanted to solve problems with science. Choosing which engineering discipline to study at university was a much tougher decision though at the time I had no idea what industry I wanted to work in and the career opportunities each discipline presented. After doing some reading, I chose Mechanical Engineering because of how diverse it is and how it can be applied in a wide range of industries. What first attracted you to Sheffield? Sheffield’s reputation as a great university for engineering (especially Mechanical Engineering) played a huge part. Everyone I knew who studied at the University of Sheffield absolutely loved their time there too and always had good things to say. What were some of your favourite things to do in Sheffield? I’m sure a lot of people say this is their favourite thing about Sheffield – I loved that it was at the edge of the Peak District!
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It was great having places to go for walks, and parks where you could relax when you needed to take a break. I also loved going to the theatre and attending events at the Students’ Union. Did you get involved in any clubs or societies during your studies? I wish I got involved more than I did, but I did take part in activities organised by Sheffield RAG (Raising and Giving) - particularly the Spiderwalk and International Students’ Committee. I was also a member of the Sri Lankan Society. What are your best memories of Sheffield? What I miss the most about Sheffield are the people I met there. I loved the group study sessions at the Information Commons, working late to get some group coursework completed (I didn’t enjoy it at the time, but I smile back on it now), and nights out at Space and Pop Tarts. I also loved the Mappin Building, where I spent a lot of time in the Ripper lab doing experiments for my research projects. After graduating from Sheffield where did you go? I joined AECOM (URS at the time) – a global engineering consultancy in the built environment. I joined their graduate scheme and took on a role as a CFD engineer for their fire engineering team.
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Can you tell us a bit more about your current role and what it involves? I now work as a Fire and CFD Engineer at AECOM, based at our London office. As a fire engineer, I develop fire strategies for buildings across a wide range of sectors, helping to meet the performance requirements of the Building Regulations (Part B). This focuses on the life safety of occupants and also makes provisions for the fire service to carry out firefighting operations safely and effectively. As part of this, I often carry out CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) modelling of fire and smoke to understand smoke movement. It helps to ensure tenable conditions can be achieved in the event of a fire and what mitigation measures are required. I’ve provided fire safety solutions and developed fire strategies for large infrastructure projects including stations and road tunnels, stadia and other sports venues, high rise residential and commercial buildings, and education buildings such as universities and colleges. Working in the built environment is fantastic because you can see the work you do all around you. What is your ultimate goal for the future? I hope to still work on the built environment and in fire safety because I love knowing that the work I do makes a difference to society. I enjoy CFD and its application in the fire engineering industry and I hope to eventually become a technical expert. What piece of advice would you give to your younger self or a recent graduate starting off in their career? When I started off at university, I did worry quite a bit because I didn’t know what kind of industry I wanted to work in once I left. What I hadn’t realised, was that I didn’t need to have that figured out from the start. At university I got the chance to try out lots of modules and decide which ones I enjoyed (and I didn’t like all of them!) and then towards the end of my degree, used my
Roshni joined AECOM as a graduate engineer and now works as a Fire and CFD Engineer, helping to make buildings safe. Image courtesy of Roshni Wijesekera
favourite subjects in research projects. This helped me understand my interests and luckily, I get to explore them in my role now too. So when I volunteer at STEM events, one thing I always say is don’t worry about it if you haven’t got your career all figured out. You have the time to find out what areas of mechanical engineering you enjoy! For someone starting off in their career, I’d really recommend starting to build a professional network. Attend engineering events and get involved with engineering institutions like the IMechE. These help you to gain skills in leadership and management that can help you in the future. I once attended an event where an engineer said that her goal was to make sure she always improved herself – which I thought was a fantastic message and one that every young engineer should follow. It’s so important that we take the time to evaluate ourselves every few months, identify areas of improvement and set ourselves small targets to achieve so we can make ourselves better engineers! You can watch Roshni’s film at: www.youtube.com/TomorrowsEngineers
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helping Year 10 engineers gain traction with 3D Printing The Department of Mechanical Engineering was delighted to support a team of budding engineers from a local Sheffield school as they prepared to take part in a UK regional heat of the ‘F1 in Schools’ competition. F1 in Schools is the only global multi-disciplinary challenge where teams of students aged 9 to 19 deploy CAD/CAM software to collaborate, design, analyse, manufacture, test, and then race miniature compressed air powered cars made from F1 model block material. Team Hyper Speed Racing, one of two teams from Bradfield School taking part in the challenge, got in touch with the University of Sheffield after designing their F1 car to utilise 3D printing as a manufacturing method for the wheels and wings. As key components of the car design, they wanted to ensure that the 3D printed parts were robust enough for the competition and so contacted us to see if we could help with their manufacture. After hearing about the competition and the pupils’ interest in using 3D printing, Dr Candice Majewski and her team were delighted to help with a set of wheels and wings. “We were really pleased to support this project, the team’s enthusiasm for the competition and exploring 3D printing as a manufacturing method was fantastic... It’s great to have the opportunity to support projects like this as it is really important to encourage our young people to explore and understand engineering and the options it can offer for future careers.” Using industry-standard Laser Sintering equipment based in the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Polymer Sintering laboratory, the printed wheels and wings allowed the team to fully complete and manufacture their design in time for the regional competition in York.
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’s car design.
A model of Team Hyper Speed Racing . Image courtesy of Bradfield School
This meant that after all their hard work, the team were able to join other pupils from across Yorkshire and Humberside to present and race their designs, with some teams honing their designs over a number of years. As Team Captain, Zac, explains: “The school was offering the project as an extracurricular activity and, as a GCSE Engineering student, I decided to get involved – it’s been really great fun making and racing the car, as well as learning other skills such as finance management and marketing. We also had the opportunity to work with local businesses to learn more about manufacturing which was really interesting. “This is our team’s first ever year competing in F1 in Schools and so we’re thrilled to have made it through to the regional finals!” After a fantastic day at the regional competition, Hyper Speed Racing did not progress to the national finals, but the experience has been an invaluable one for all of the members and further sparked their interest in engineering and design manufacturing. They are hoping to work on their design and re-enter the competition next year and also look forward to cheering on their fellow Bradfield teammates – Team SHEFF1 Racing – following their successful competition and progression to the UK finals at Silverstone later in 2019. Well done to all of the pupils involved!
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TRIBOLOGY TRUST BRONZE MEDAL FOR SHEFFIELD PHD STUDENT
SHEFFIELD RAILWAY RESEARCH AT FIRST UKRRIN CONFERENCE
PhD student Matt Harmon has won the prestigious Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) Tribology Trust Bronze Medal, an accolade presented to researchers in the early stages of their career that aims to encourage and recognise research contributions in the field of tribology – or the study of friction, wear and lubrication. “It was an honour to be presented with this award by eminent tribologists and to receive recognition for my work,” says Matt, who has since achieved his doctorate. “Ever since discovering tribology as an undergraduate studying mechanical engineering at the University of Sheffield, I have been fascinated by the field and the challenges, opportunities and applications it can provide.” As a PhD student, Matt was part of the EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Integrated Tribology (iT-CDT). It was whilst at the CDT that he began his research focused on tribology and the railway, a project that was sponsored by the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB). Matt’s PhD supervisor Prof. Roger Lewis said of his award: “Winning the Tribology Trust Bronze Medal is fantastic recognition of [Matt’s] work and commitment to the field, and it is thoroughly deserved. I am looking forward to following his future career and the insight and developments he will no doubt continue to contribute.” Congratulations Matt!
IMechE Matt receiving the ze Medal Tribolog y Trust Bron
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University of Sheffield researchers showcased their rail projects at the first ever UK Rail Research and Innovation Network (UKRRIN) conference, supporting ongoing innovation in the railway sector. Launched in 2018, UKRRIN is a partnership between the rail industry and nine leading UK universities, delivering four world-class Centres of Excellence. With a ten-year plan for collaborative industryacademia research, it is jointly funded by Research England and a variety of industry partners. University of Sheffield partnerships include collaborations with British Steel, Siemens and Network Rail. The first annual conference for the network saw over 200 academic and industry representatives come together to discuss and share partnerships, with the aim of increasing innovation, bringing new products to market, and allowing the rail industry to grow and thrive in uncertain times. Prof. David Fletcher, Professor of Railway Engineering and member of UKRRIN, said: “Attending the first annual UKRRIN conference was an excellent opportunity for researchers at the University of Sheffield to showcase collaborative research that is stimulating innovation in the sector and ultimately working to reduce industry costs, maintain railway safety, and improve experience for passengers. “UKRRIN is a fantastic mechanism for bringing key stakeholders together to explore challenges and opportunities for railways, developing closer links between academia and industry. The conference was a great example of the benefits collaborative approaches can have and I am looking forward to continuing that work.” Read more about these and other stories at: www.sheffield.ac.uk/mecheng/news-events
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@SheffMechEng In Pictures
Above: 3rd year mechanical engineering students test the devices they designed to clear debris from an area of water, such as plastic floating in the ocean, as part of an integrated design skills module.
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From top to bottom row, left to right: Winter graduation saw our MSc students complete their degrees. Oliver Hartfield (pictured with Prof. Neil Sims) also received the Department of Mechanical Engineering Best MSc Project Prize.
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Visiting Y11 students took on a digger challenge to help them learn more about engineering and fluid dynamics.
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University of Sheffield President & Vice-Chancellor, Professor Koen Lamberts, visited the Department of Mechanical Engineering recently, meeting colleagues and two of our student-led activities - Sheffield Formula Racing (left) and Railway Challenge at Sheffield (right).
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You can now view all of the mechanical engineering portraits created for Festival of the Mind 2018 on our Youtube channel @shefunimecheng
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Images courtesy of Team Project Hex
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Research focus: New £7m project launched to fix underground pipes with robots. Robots could soon be swimming in underground water pipes, finding damage and fixing leaks thanks to a major new research project led by the University of Sheffield. A collaborative team led by the University of Sheffield, working with the Universities of Bristol, Birmingham and Leeds, has received £7 million from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) plus a £2 million contribution from the four universities, to develop intelligent ways to find damaged underground water and sewage pipes so they can be repaired without disruptive excavation. The programme will look at other innovative ways to combine new navigation and communication technology to help utility companies inspect and monitor buried pipes. At present it can be extremely difficult to find out when and where underground pipes are damaged and utility companies often have to rely on digging up roads and pavements to find out the exact problem. This means that 1.5 million roads are excavated in the UK every year to fix damaged buried pipes, causing road closures and disruption to business totalling approximately £5.5 billion. The new research programme will investigate ways in which robots can move freely and intelligently through complex underground networks to map and inspect pipes. These autonomous robots will be able to communicate and share data to ensure pipe defects are identified early and repaired, avoiding disruption for households and businesses. Professor Kirill Horoshenkov, from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, who is the lead academic for the project, said: “Maintaining a safe and secure water and energy supply is fundamental for society but faces many challenges such as increased customer demand and climate change.
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“Our new research programme will help utility companies monitor hidden pipe infrastructure and solve problems quickly and efficiently when they arise. This will mean less disruption for traffic and general public.” He added: “This innovation will be the first of its kind to deploy swarms of miniaturised robots in buried pipes together with other emerging in-pipe sensor, navigation and communication solutions with long-term autonomy.” This work will be done in collaboration with a number of industry partners, including key water utilities in the UK, who will help to develop a set of requirements for the new pervasive robotic sensing platform to work in clean water, wastewater and gas pipes. They will support the formation and operation of the new research Centre of Autonomous Sensing for Buried Infrastructure in the UK and ensure that the results of this research have strong practical outcomes. In October this year, the University of Sheffield opened the Integrated Civil and Infrastructure Research Centre (ICAIR), part funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), which hosts the UKCRIC National Distributed Water Infrastructure Facility, a uniquely powerful experimental facility for investigating underground distributed water infrastructure. ICAIR is fundamental to the proposed research programme to test and to demonstrate the new robotics technology platform to end-users. The programme will also make use of the UKCRIC National Buried Infrastructure Facility (NBIF) at the University of Birmingham.
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Research Funding Awarded
£7,708,995 between october and december 2018, with top research grants including:
Prof. Kirill Horoshenkov - Pervasive Sensing for Buried Pipes - £7,290,965 from EPSRC Prof. Roger Lewis - Cryogenic Railhead Cleaning - £150,000 from Arriva Rail North Limited Prof. Roger Lewis - FRA Rail Stress Measurement - £116,279 from Federal Railroad Administration Prof. Roger Lewis - The effect of water on the tranmission of forces between wheels and rails - £79,693 from Railways Safety and Standards Board Prof. Matthew Marshall - Novel AntiVibration Features for Threaded Fasteners - £52,500 from Rolls-Royce PLC (UK) Prof. Kirill Horoshenkov - Fibre-optic cable sensing for buried sewer pipes £19,558 from EPSRC Above; The autonomous robots will be able to communicate and share data to ensure pipe defects are identified early and repaired,
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Rocketing Ahead! Amy Johnson and Dr Helen Sharman are familiar names in the world of engineering and science, and for a group of engineering students at the University of Sheffield they hold even more significance – as they’re the inspiration and namesakes for their student-led project. SunrIde (Sheffield University Nova Rocket Innovation Design Engineering) is a student-led team based in the Faculty of Engineering. First established in 2017, they wanted to bring rocket engineering to Sheffield and as a result, became the first team from the UK to take part in the Spaceport America Cup – the world’s largest rocket engineering competition and conference, involving over 1000 students and 70 different institutions. It attracts sponsorship from a number of spaceflight companies too, including Virgin Galactic, Blue Origin, Boeing and SpaceX. “The idea for SunrIde came from seeing the success of another student activity, Project SunbYte which built and successfully launched a nova balloon telescope. We realised that rocket engineering could be a great project to get involved in too, using the skills we were developing as student engineers,” explains Georgios Rontogiannis, a second year mechanical engineering student and co-leader of the SunrIde team for 2018/2019.
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“With students coming together from across the Faculty of Engineering – including Automatic Control and Systems Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace and Bioengineering – as well as the Department of Mathematics, we decided to set ourselves the challenge of designing and manufacturing our own rocket and enter it into the Spaceport America Cup.” And so the plan for ‘Amy’ was born – a high power rocket designed to reach 10k feet altitude - named after Amy Johnson, for her pioneering spirit as the first female pilot to fly from Britain to Australia. “We were so happy to have our Amy rocket design accepted to the Spaceport America Cup in 2018,” says SunrIde co-leader Vishan Nair, a final year mechanical engineering student. “Whilst building it, we learnt lots of new skills and met some amazing people, including Charles Simpson from the UK Rocketry Association (UKRA) who mentored us as part of the UKRA Team Project Support (TPS) scheme.
Members of Team SunrIde at the Spaceport America Cup competition in 2018. Image couresty of Team SunrIde.
“Yet as student engineers with no previous experience of rocket engineering, we went to Spaceport purely for the experience. We had no expectations at all, so you can imagine how thrilled we were when we won the James Barrowman Award for the most accurate altitude prediction!” After a fantastic experience in 2018, the team are now ready to do it all over again and busily preparing for the 2019 competition – and they’re still up for a challenge. “This year we’re taking it a stage further and entering a new rocket into the 30k feet category. Alongside designing for a higher altitude, we’ll also be incorporating a scientific payload that will be ejected at apogee – the highest point it reaches. This means it could be used for observation during situations like natural disasters or rescue missions,” adds Vishan. “The new rocket is called Helen, named after Dr Helen Sharman CMG OBE, the first British astronaut. As the rocket will be reaching a 10th of the way to space, we thought it was quite fitting especially with the Sheffield link. “Most of all we want to inspire others, just like Helen, and encourage more students to get involved in rocket engineering – and with three more UK teams now competing alongside SunrIde this year, we think word is spreading!” Karan Mangat is a third year mechanical engineering student who recently joined the team and is looking forward to getting involved. “It’ll be a lot of work but a lot of learning too. I think it’s definitely something that will be beneficial to me as a mechanical engineering student and the team have been so welcoming and helpful, supporting me to bridge the gap between theory and practice.” All the very best of luck to all the team with their plans this year!
SunrIde at the 2018 Spaceport America Cup Conference with rocket ‘Amy’. Image couresty of Team SunrIde.
Amy (2018) • • • • • • •
10k feet altitude category 4kg payload Solid COTS (commercial off the shelf) motor Phenolic kraft body tubes enhanced with fibre glass Fibre glass reinforced plastic nose cone Flywood fins Achieved 10,017ft and 99.83% accuracy
Helen (2019) • • • •
30k feet altitude Scientific payload No restrictions on height or weight Novel design
Find out more about Team SunrIde at: www.sunride.group.shef.ac.uk For more on the Spaceport America Cup, visit www.spaceportamericacup.com SunrIde is part of the Sheffield Space Initiative (SSI), the umbrella body that links all space related projects across the University of Sheffield. Other projects include SunbYte, Moonworks, Avalon and CubeSat. The SSI aims to engage students in the science and engineering challenges involved in the exploration of space.
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THE INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING EXPERIENCE. Natalka Shackley is the International Engineering Ambassador (IEA) Scheme Co-ordinator and Recruitment Support Officer for the Faculty of Engineering. In her guest article for MechEng News, she tells us more about our International Engineering Ambassadors and how they’re helping to share their experiences of engineering in Sheffield, worldwide. each of our departments in the Faculty of Engineering. The main purpose behind the scheme was to help and support prospective students in their decision-making, with IEA’s offering the benefit of their first hand experiences as international students already living and studying in Sheffield.
Our International Engineering Ambassadors help and support prospective students, offering the benefit of their experience as Sheffield students.
Choosing where and what to study at university is a big deal, with a multitude of subjects and places to choose from. Now imagine wanting to study for an engineering degree on the other side of the world as an international student. What type of engineering degree will be the one for you? Where do you study it? Who and what will be there when you arrive? What do you pack? These are the kinds of questions international students exploring their study options will be asking, and here at Sheffield, they are questions our amazing team of International Engineering Ambassadors (IEA’s) help to answer. Our International Engineering Ambassador scheme was first established six years ago, with a cohort of 20 international students, representing
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Since then, the scheme has come on leaps and bounds, now boasting an impressive 72 student members. These are students with a diverse range of experiences, knowledge and interests who have established a wonderful community as IEA’s, developing strong friendships and collaborations along the way. So what do they get up to? One of the main activities for our IEA’s is working at various University events. This includes our open days, where prospective students - whether home or international – can chat with IEA’s about their courses, accommodation and the extra-curricular activities they’re involved in. IEA’s also take their experiences back home, visiting their old schools to share their passion for engineering and inspiring a new generation of future engineers. Last year alone, the IEA’s collectively spoke to over 2000 students at talks like this - from Kenya, to Greece, India, UAE, Italy and more. Alongside events and talks, the IEA’s also run a blog for prospective students. Here they share what inspired them to pursue engineering, as well as what they enjoy outside of their studies in
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Sheffield. From blogs on the Sheffield Students’ Union and summer placements, to interviews with alumni and stories on the best places to eat in the city, it’s another way IEA’s are giving prospective students a taste for what student life is like here in Sheffield. So as you can see, they are very busy and committed students! But for me, the best thing about our IEA’s is the passion they have for their courses, the University and also the city of Sheffield – and their enthusiasm is infectious!
To find out more about our International Engineering Ambassadors, please visit the blog at: www.ieasheffield.blogspot.co.uk If you would like to involve IEAs in any upcoming projects or opportunities, please contact Natalka Shackley via n.a.shackley@sheffield.ac.uk
“I enjoy inspiring prospective students to pursue a challenge, and also a very satisfying engineering career. I want to share my experiences of studying Mechanical Engineering, particularly the practical side of my course, which I really enjoy. All of the labs, projects, assignments with the real-life contexts and extra-curricular activities have helped me to gain experience and grow as an engineer.” Michal Stepkiewicz, 2nd Year Mechanical Engineering Student from Poland
“I love influencing prospective students by sharing my experiences of studying engineering at the University of Sheffield. It is a great way of bringing more people to this amazing community we have. I really enjoy the freedom that comes with pursuing mechanical engineering. The learning in the course can be applied to so many sectors such as aerospace, automotive, biomedical, energy, materials and more.” Vamesh Jajoo, 4th Year Mechanical Engineering Student from India
The Final Word. We’re at the beginning of another year already and the start of our spring semester. As we touched on in the last issue of MechEng News, there were some fantastic milestones and achievements in 2018 and 2019 promises to be just as full. I am particularly looking forward to seeing what our students will be producing over the next semester, both as part of their studies and their student-led activities. From design projects, to competitions and challenges, I know there is a lot of hard work going on across the student community and it’s exciting to see it all come together. There’s some excellent research being undertaken in the Department too, and again it will be fascinating to see how these projects develop. As you have seen from this issue of MechEng News, our academics and researchers get involved in some really innovative projects including collaborative partnerships with industry. It will also be exciting to learn more about our alumni and what they have gone on to achieve since finishing their studies at Sheffield. We have learnt of some inpsiring alumni stories over recent months - from a former student being honoured with an MBE, to others excelling in their careers and being featured in national campaigns. So as we invite prospective students and their families to explore studying at Sheffield over the coming months, these are the stories we will share - highlighting all of the opportunities mechanical engineering can offer and encouraging the next generation to join us as they start on their journey.
Neil Sims
Head of Department, Mechanical Engineering
This publication is produced using 100% recycled FSC certified paper
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MechEng News: Issue 16