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Industry collaboration Autonomous systems Cyber security Sensing systems Areas of expertise Facilities Consultancy RIf I ISVR Consulting nC2
Industry collaboration The University of Southampton is changing the world for the better, working with industry, governments, charities and research institutions to make a global impact. We respond eagerly and forcefully to the government’s expectation that universities should be hubs of economic activity and enablers of business growth. In the top one per cent of universities globally, we are recognised for our research excellence, with over 97 per cent of our research environment recognised as world-leading and internationally excellent in the 2014 Research Assessment Exercise. That strength is key to delivering impact. At Southampton, we pride ourselves on our close understanding of business and industry, forging strong multifaceted partnerships with local, national and global businesses. Our researchers are at the cutting edge of knowledge, working on solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges. While much of our research begins with concepts at a fundamental level, we work with business to transform that research into answers to real-world problems, enhance quality of life, create jobs, and help make our world safer and more rewarding. Our research continues to have significant impact on society, industry, government and public service. From bespoke one-off projects through to universitywide, strategic business partnerships, we offer a variety of ways for partners to access the skills of our scientists, engineers and students to help achieve their business goals. Whether working on small, short-term projects to solve a particular problem or on long-term, large-scale, bespoke or collaborative research programmes, we can deliver.
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We have strong relationships with all the major public funding agencies, such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Innovate UK, as well as key industry bodies such as the Aerospace Technology Institute. We regularly partner on major initiatives such as commercialisation programmes and industry-facing doctoral training centres, and we are also recipients of major project grant funding, which offers great leverage opportunities for businesses to maximise the value of their research investments. With a large portfolio of projects, the University is a highly active participant in the UK-wide Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) programme that helps businesses and organisations improve their competitiveness and productivity through the use of the knowledge, technology and skills that reside within universities. This Innovate UK scheme facilitates direct collaboration between the company and the University through programmes ranging from one to three years, enabling businesses to draw on our expertise, facilities and research base. There are also a number of other programmes in place that allow companies to secure funding to support research, enabling the employment of skilled people in any company that might benefit from the research. Research councils provide funding through programmes such as secondments, studentships and CASE studentships. EPSRC supports a broad portfolio of aerospace-related research and the University of Southampton is recognised for its research excellence in this sector.
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Autonomous systems Autonomous systems are increasingly part of life. From the Internet of Things (IoT) to specific platforms, the need for systems-level R&D capability has never been greater. Aeronautics, defence and space are examples of strong application areas with a need for technology developments to help exploit this revolution. The University of Southampton has significant research capability in technologies that underpin autonomous systems, including: −− Platforms −− Human factors −− Big data −− Missions and applications −− Multi-agent coordination −− Reliability, risk and regulation −− Sensors These research areas are brought together through a multidisciplinary Autonomous Systems Research Group that responds to industry needs across a number of sectors. We provide world-class, cost-effective facilities and capabilities for scientists and other users, and draw through graduate talent to meet the needs of a rapidly expanding sector. The University produced the world’s first 3D-printed aircraft, and this research has branched out into developments such as low-cost aircraft capable of autonomously scanning our seas, low-cost tailored defence mission capability, and the development of integrated printed electromechanical smart structures.
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Our research experts are UK leaders in their areas, bringing together research consortia to exploit autonomous systems in aerospace. They are uniquely connected with international research and development and the only UK university to be a member of the US Federal Aviation Administration’s Centre of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (ASSURE). State-of–the-art, University-based mobile research laboratories support our unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and broader autonomy research. Extensive relationships with industry and public bodies bring emerging technologies closer to market and allow us to explore the boundaries of systems-level autonomy. Visit the Autonomous Systems Research Group website at www.southampton.ac.uk/autonomous-systems/
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Cyber security Cyber security is a substantive issue for defence, aviation and, indeed, humanity. Serious though the attacks reported regularly in the press are, they illustrate only a small percentage of the potential for cyber crime and cyber terrorism. For the UK’s aviation, military and security sectors, cyber security is now a boardroom matter and the dominant issue underpinning service delivery and operational effectiveness. GCHQ Academic Centre of Excellence in Cyber Security Research (ACE-CSR) accreditation recognises Southampton’s multidisciplinary capability in the area of cyber security, acknowledging our excellent research contribution across a range of disciplines including computer science, electronics, criminology, law, business and psychology. Current areas of research include: −− Security for the Internet of Things (IoT) −− Cyber-physical systems and industrial control systems security −− Security in autonomous vehicles −− Cyber risk analysis and management −− Human factors in cyber security −− Security for ATC −− Safety and security co-design −− Hardware security: anti-tamper devices, secure memory-on-chip cryptography −− Data provenance, trust and reliability −− Data privacy, anonymity and anonymisation −− Online identities and authentication −− Distributed ledger technology: security of architectures and applications −− Cloud security −− Web security
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This University-wide defence and security capability is supported by the Cyber Security Academy (CSA). CSA is based in the GCHQ-accredited ACE-CSR and is a national focal point for expertise, research and teaching in cyber security, harnessing the research excellence, industrial expertise and training capacity that exist within the University and our research partner community. Learn more www.southampton.ac.uk/cyber-security-academy
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Sensing systems MENSUS Research Complex, highly sensed systems are now commonplace in aerospace and defence. The demand for new technology and exploiting developments in areas such as optoelectronics is strong. Such activity requires research, innovation and industry engagement. New technologies and innovations are enabling new business models, maintenance approaches and operational procedures. Leading the way, and already working with industry to provide solutions to challenges in these areas, the University of Southampton has capabilities in the following areas: −− Sensing in complex and harsh environments −− Wireless and optical communications for distributed and intelligent networks −− Challenges of signal processing and data handling −− Large-scale sensor deployment −− Green energy harvesting for remote sensing −− Big data analytics and system performance prediction
To leverage multidisciplinary research capability, the University has established MENSUS (Monitoring of Engineered and Natural Systems Using Sensors), a strategic research group of around 100 academics addressing these topics – and more. MENSUS focuses on building integrated innovative sensing systems and applied value for industry through a diverse but complementary research community working on sensors, big data, wireless communications, instrumentation and business aspects for health monitoring of engineered and natural systems. MENSUS has a clear goal: to enable stronger levels of performance through academic and industrial interactions, providing a smooth transition to new, more efficient business approaches. The purpose is to deliver a more cost-effective, sustainable and safer operational environment. New ideas are being generated with and for industry, with networks strengthened, research consortia formed and student courses enhanced. Learn more at www.southampton.ac.uk/mensus
−− Business models and culture
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Areas of expertise Advanced systems
and training capacity existing within the University and in our research partner community into a coherent, University-centred technopole. The Academy is the hub of a vibrant research and commercial community, driving and promoting a wide range of activities in cyber security and the wider security sectors. The Cyber Security Academy, with its specialist laboratories and comprehensive research facilities, is based in the GCHQ Academic Centre of Excellence for Research in Cyber Security (ACE-CSR) at the Computational engineering University of Southampton. and design www.southampton.ac.uk/ The University of Southampton cyber-security-academy has expertise in the use of the ECS maintains strategic latest computational techniques long-term partnerships with some to design high-performance and Flow control in of the world’s leading companies, low-cost aerospace systems. aerodynamics and flight such as the ARM-ECS Research We work with many world-class mechanics Centre, which focuses on advanced aerospace companies including We lead research in fundamental design methods, architectures and Rolls-Royce and Airbus. We have fluid dynamics, computational their practical validations for demonstrated the application of aeroacoustics, applied energy-efficient processor systems. these techniques at a smaller scale, aerodynamics and flight dynamics. It also engages in short-term such as fixed-wing and rotary-winged With experts in theoretical, consultancy in the aerospace and unmanned aircraft, as well as to computational and experimental defence sectors, supporting both large-scale aerospace systems fluid mechanics, we offer an large and small organisations with such as civil transport gas turbine environment where different access to expertise and a range engines. Key research areas include approaches can be combined and of facilities covering the broad uncertainty quantification, robust applied to topics with practical technologies that underpin future design, value-driven design and relevance. Experiments provide advanced systems. parametric geometry modelling. fundamental insight into fluid flow www.ecs.soton.ac.uk www.southampton.ac.uk/ and enable validation of computer engineering/research/themes/ codes. One important area is computational_engineering.page the improvement of computer Centre for Risk Research simulation tools. Recent progress (CRR) in simulation techniques offers Cyber Security Academy Risk analysis, big data analytics new opportunities for exploiting The Cyber Security Academy, and cyber risk management developments in direct and recently launched at the University, large eddy simulation of Our Centre for Risk Research provides a national focal point (CRR) is widely regarded as one turbulence. of expertise, research and of the world’s leading centres of www.southampton.ac.uk/ teaching on cyber security. The risk research, with a strong record engineering/research/groups/ Academy harnesses the research of delivering projects with high afm.page excellence, industrial expertise Electronics and Computer Science at Southampton is the leading university department of its kind in the UK, with an international reputation in the areas of computer science, electronics and mechanical and electrical engineering necessary for the development of the advanced systems that have become critical for the aerospace industry. ECS has ongoing industrial partnerships in areas such as future wireless communication, power and harsh environment electronics, safety critical software and standards, cyber security and autonomous systems.
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impact for commercial partners. Our distinctive, interdisciplinary approach to the analysis and management of risk is enabled by the wide spread of disciplines represented in the Centre, from statistics, through management science, risk management, finance, reputation management, psychology, computer science and project management to information systems. www.southampton.ac.uk/risk/ index.page
Future Photonics Hub
Hand and wrist kinematics
Intelligent agents
Our £10m EPSRC-supported Future Photonics Hub is focusing on understanding, adapting and integrating photonics in four critical technology platforms: high-performance silica optical fibres; light generation and delivery; silicon photonics; and large-scale manufacture of metamaterials and 2D materials. Meeting this ‘grand challenge’ of developing new, industry-ready manufacturing processes is helping our partners maintain a competitive edge across a range of applications.
Hollywood technology that maps movement is being used by researchers to unlock secrets of the human hand. Hand And Wrist Kinematics (HAWK) is a unique and comprehensive platform technology that utilises a complex set of integrated algorithms to simultaneously analyse the movements of the wrist, hand, fingers and thumb. It is the first technique to accurately measure all these dynamic movements. The technology can be used to understand how the hands move to complete functional tasks. This information is leading to innovations in performance and learning metrics, and addressing complex environment, object and interface design challenges within a range of applications. www.southampton.ac.uk/ healthsciences/business_ partnership/services/hawk.page
Agent technology underpins the decentralised control mechanisms that allow heterogeneous teams of autonomous platforms to operate in dynamic and uncertain environments while flexibly interacting with human operators. For example, during major disasters, multiple unmanned vehicles of different types, individually controlled by an intelligent agent, would be able to negotiate with each other and human responders to agree on the best plans to gather situational awareness and rescue casualties with minimal human involvement. We are developing systems that allow first responders, unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, and software agents to work effectively together. www.orchid.ac.uk/
Combining the expertise of Southampton’s Zepler Institute and the ESPRC National III-V Centre at the University of Sheffield, the new Hub provides synergistic benefits and national leadership in manufacturing for the next generation of photonics technologies: we work with the UK’s high-value manufacturing sector to achieve greater efficiency and improve profitability. With over 40 partners, the Hub is a national resource for UK industry. If you have an interest in how photonics and optoelectronics could impact your business, please visit www.photonicshubuk.org The Future Photonics Hub is an EPSRC Future Manufacturing research hub.
Information technologies The IT Innovation Centre is advancing a wide range of information technologies and their deployment in industry, commerce and the public sector. Technologies include: trusted systems and dynamic security; big data analytics; geosemantics; computer vision and analytics; digital preservation; and user experience and its relationship to new business models, processes and values. Current research and innovation themes encompass big data, information discovery and decision support, information security and risk management, and human-centric computing and information science. www.it-innovation.soton.ac.uk
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Marine science The National Oceanography Centre Southampton provides long-term marine science capability, including sustained ocean observing, mapping and survey, data management, scientific advice and access to major facilities. Key environmental monitoring technologies and UAVs have direct application to the aviation industries. www.southampton.ac.uk/oes/ research/facilities.page The Southampton Marine and Maritime Institute (SMMI) has a breadth of world class, authoritative, independent expertise spanning both the marine and maritime sectors. We generate knowledge and intelligence for businesses of all sizes, government at all scales and organisations of all kinds. Alone and with partners we create new technologies and innovations to stimulate economic growth and improve quality of life and the environment. www.southampton.ac.uk/smmi
NMI-UoS Hub NMI is the champion for the UK electronic systems and technology industry, with a mission to help make the UK a leading location for electronic systems and technology businesses. The NMI-UoS Hub is a joint collaboration which aims to create and develop mutually beneficial links between the industry, NMI and the University. It will focus on autonomous control (intelligence, reliability, certification, social and legal), embedded intelligent systems (low power, mobile devices, many-core, robotics, machine learning), the Internet
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of Things (devices, security, communications, applications), and nanoelectronics and photonics (fabrication, nanoelectronic devices, photonic systems, quantum devices). The Hub provides opportunities for SMEs, increasing their awareness and understanding of the work of the University through SME access vouchers, new small-scale collaboration funding, access to funded research collaborations, and SME involvement in student projects.
Noise and vibration ISVR Consulting provides advice, consultancy and contract research in most areas of acoustics, noise, vibration, hearing and audio communication. Our Airbus Noise Technology Centre covers a range of airframe noise components, new technologies and state-of-the-art computational and experimental methods. The University Technology Centre for Computational Engineering, funded by Rolls-Royce, has particular expertise in the fields of design search, robustness, optimisation, cost modelling, and the use of advanced geometry manipulation schemes. We have a wide range of computational facilities, including a dedicated supercomputing cluster with hundreds of 64bit processors and licences for the aerospace industry’s principal CFD and FEA codes. www.isvr.co.uk
Optimisation and mathematical modelling Our Centre for Operational Research, Management Science and Information Systems (CORMSIS) is the UK’s leading
university-based group for advanced optimisation and mathematical modelling. We provide tools to improve business decisions and for optimal design and use of aerospace systems. Our capabilities include supply chain management, logistics, forecasting, flight path optimisation, runway operations, and other areas relevant to aerospace and defence. Examples of previous collaborations include subsystem design of spacecraft for the European Space Agency, computing aircraft trajectories to optimise performance for environmental impact and fuel efficiency in the European Clean Sky initiative, and optimising supply chain management for various partners in the aerospace industry. www.southampton.ac.uk/ cormsis
Statistical science Southampton Statistical Sciences Research Institute (S3RI) is one of the largest groups of statisticians in the UK. We are a centre of excellence for methodological research on the design of experiments and statistical modelling of large and complex datasets. We work with researchers and practitioners from across disciplines to generate meaningful information for the solution of substantive applied problems. www.southampton.ac.uk/s3ri/
Structronics and UAV skunkworks Rapid prototyping, whereby complex 3D parts can be made directly from computer models, is becoming widely established as a viable process. The next research
step in this area is being pioneered by the University of Southampton. This involves the production of ‘intelligent’ 3D parts whereby structures can be produced containing sensors and electronic components (commonly called ‘structronics’). www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/research/projects/ structronics_research.page
Transportation and human factors Our Transportation Research Group is involved in a number of aviation projects. ALICIA is developing future aircraft technology to primarily reduce delays by allowing for flight in degraded visual environments via the use of head-up displays. i-VISION is designing a tool to support visualisation and analysis of pilot interactions with future cockpits, allowing designers and engineers to visualise, manipulate and interact with the digital mock-up in an intelligent manner. This enables decisions to be taken very early in the design process, reducing costly design errors. Future Flight Deck is developing an open architecture flight deck user system using world-leading human factors approaches. www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/research/groups/ transportation_group.page
Tribological design
Zepler Institute
Researchers are exploring nextgeneration tribological design to enable surface interactions to occur with minimal energy loss and impact on the environment. Collaborating with 28 partner companies, such as Rolls-Royce, Airbus, Dstl and GE, we have a wide range of active networks involving over 150 companies, including supply chain and coating companies as well as BAE Systems and GKN. Research includes: developing sensors and probes for tribological processes in aerospace bearings and to detect corrosion in inaccessible places; the tribology of renewable energy systems (gearboxes and blade protection); the development of low-friction and wear-resistant coatings for transmissions; and tribology of aeroengine transmissions and surface engineering solutions for fan blade leading-edge erosion and root fretting. www.southampton.ac.uk/ncats
The Zepler Institute is the largest photonics and electronics institute in the UK. It brings together over 350 research staff and students in areas such as optoelectronics, electronics, quantum technologies, physics and nanoscience. We tackle key societal challenges and develop technologies and devices that make a real difference to our daily lives. Our Cleanroom Complex is home to the best set of nanoelectronics and photonics fabrication capabilities in the UK. We offer a unique mix of expertise in established and cutting-edge technologies, combined with a wide range of equipment for micro- and nanofabrication and electronic and optical characterisation across a range of facilities. For more information see www.zeplerinstitute.com
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Facilities 3D printing Additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, is regarded as the third industrial revolution in manufacturing, providing greater design freedom, faster design processes, more efficient materials usage and toolless manufacturing. Our state-of-the-art additive manufacturing facilities include a unique powder bed-based multiple materials AM SLS/SLM machine (the first and only one in the world), a concept laser M2 metal machine, a powder-based 3D Systems ZPrinter Z650 full-colour machine, a homemade pyrotechnic materials printer, a homemade bioprinter, a plastic photopolymer-based ZBuilder Ultra printer and dozens of desktop 3D printers housed in a few labs. These machines are designed to produce a model of a physical part quickly using three-dimensional computer-aided design data. Access to expert design staff is available. www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/news/2012/08/16_ new_3d_printing_facility.page
Anechoic and reverberation chambers The Rayleigh Laboratories comprise two reverberation chambers, a large anechoic chamber and various facilities for aeroacoustic testing of aerofoils, small jets and valves. The laboratories are well served with comprehensive control and preparation areas. A wide range of modern, highly specialised
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instrumentation is available. Single and three-phase electrical supplies are available, as is compressed air. Mechanical workshop and handling facilities are available within the department. The facilities are used for: high-intensity noise testing; sound power determination of sound sources, using either the reverberation room or the anechoic chamber; sound reduction index determination of panels; and sound absorption testing of porous materials. Measurements are offered to national and international standards. www.isvr.co.uk/facility.htm
Computed tomography A dedicated centre for computed tomography (CT), the Îź-VIS centre, provides complete support for 3D imaging science. Its flagship scanner is one of the largest and highest-energy microfocus CT systems in the UK. It is used to produce high-resolution 3D images of the internal structure of objects. Materials that have been scanned by Îź-VIS range from aircraft components and substructures to giant fossils. The centre encompasses seven complementary scanning systems supporting a wide range of sample sizes (imaged volumes up to 1.5x1x1m) and resolution (down to ~200nm). Both academic and industrial consultancy services are available. www.muvis.org
Doak jet facility Our anechoic Doak laboratory is approximately 15x7x5m high and is fully anechoic down to 400Hz. It is used for jet and valve noise and is equipped with an air supply that can achieve up to 20bar pressure. Both polar and a transversable azimuthal array of microphones can be used to give a complete three-dimensional sound field up to a maximum acquisition frequency of 40kHz. The laboratory is equipped with 2ins and 38mm nozzles, high-and low-mass flow air supplies and a 64-channel data acquisition system. www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/research/facilities/ doak_lab.page
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Flight simulator
Human vibration
Materials testing
Initially funded by BAE Systems, our flight simulator allows researchers to work closely with leading aerospace, flight simulation, hardware and software companies. GKN Westland Helicopters also contributed to its development, and support from Qinetiq, Microsoft, Intel, Matrox, Just Flight, Thrustmaster, Eizo, Visual Flight, Getmapping and Tigress Productions is currently helping further development of this facility. The simulator is used to test student design programmes and plays an important role in the design, testing and manufacturing aspects of air vehicles. www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/research/facilities/ flightsim.page
The Human Factors Research Unit laboratories have a unique range of human-rated test facilities for experimental studies of human responses to whole-body vibration, hand-transmitted vibration and low-frequency oscillation. The unit offers diagnostic assessments of the vascular and neurological components of the hand–arm vibration syndrome, tests seats and gloves to assess what effects they have on human exposures to vibration, and measures exposures to hand-transmitted vibration and whole-body vibration to assess the likely effects on comfort, performance and health. Lab facilities include a 6-axis motion simulator, vertical and horizontal vibrators, turntable, treadmill, indenter rig, 12m tilting and translating cabin, and electrodynamic shakers. www.southampton.ac.uk/hfru
The national Centre for Advanced Tribology at Southampton (nCATS) has full access to the surface engineering and tribology facilities for measurement and analysis at both the University of Southampton and the National Physical Laboratory. nCATS has the capability and facilities to conduct tests and analysis on coatings and materials including polymer, paints, ceramics, metallics, smart self-healing coatings and anti-fouling; sensing including corrosion, wear and lubricant quantity; lubrication and wear including oil-additive chemistry, self-assembled monolayers, environmentally friendly lubricants, soot, texturing, nanolayers formed at tribological interfaces, and downhole wear and friction control. www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/research/groups/ ncats.page
High-voltage laboratory The Tony Davies HV Laboratory is an active centre for research into dielectric materials and insulation systems, as well as high-voltage and related phenomena. The lab is equipped with state-ofthe-art facilities, supported by a specialist engineering team who are all actively involved in internationally leading research. The lab provides commercial testing, technical consultancy and a modelling/simulation service to support industrial customers through a range of activities including development testing, type approval, material characterisation, forensic analysis and FEA modelling (mechanical, thermal, electrical). www.isvr.co.uk/facility.htm
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Nanofabrication
Photonics
Unmanned air systems
Our Nanofabrication facility offers industry-compatible processing with a range of standard options, including 150mm and up to 200mm wafer processing. We offer device fabrication for silicon electronics, photonics, MEMs, lab-on-a-chip, and spintronics. Our characterisation capability includes dual-focused ion beam with integrated SEM and SIMS, as well as ellipsometry, XPS, Raman spectroscopy, cryogenic prober, RF measurements, a range of AFMs, and a helium ion microscope.
We have extensive fabrication capabilities across a range of photonics technology platforms, including silica fibre, planar processing across a wide range of materials, flame hydrolysis deposition for growing silica films, and novel and compound glass facilities. The facilities are well integrated, ranging from materials purification and glass melting through to device fabrication. We are able to fabricate a wide range of photonic devices and components, including speciality optical fibre (eg rare-earth doped, microstructured), photonic chips (eg lab-on-chip, all-optical data processing), and optical components using novel glasses with transmission into the infrared (eg using chalcogenide glasses). www.zeplerinstitute.ac.uk/ facilities/cleanrooms
By allying advanced computational tools with rapid manufacturing processes, we have developed a range of novel unmanned systems including the world’s first printed aircraft. Our most recent developments are very long-range maritime unmanned systems, new highaltitude sensor platforms for atmospheric research, and experimental unmanned aircraft operations in harsh environments. The University’s unmanned aircraft operations are supported by two sophisticated mobile command, control and communications vehicles (funded by EPSRC). flic.kr/s/aHsknG1R17
We can also fabricate novel electronic sensors, actuators, circuits and systems using screen and inkjet printers. Devices include include micropumps, heaters, multilayer, flexible printed circuit boards, accelerometers, gas and liquid sensors, electroluminescent displays, pressure sensors and energy harvesters. www.zeplerinstitute.ac.uk/ facilities/cleanrooms
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Testing and structures Our state-of-the-art materials and structures testing facility enables development in measurement methodologies, with a focus on utilising imaging systems to provide information on structural performance. Research in this area addresses microstructure– property relationships, material–structure synthesis, design–production coupling and fluid–structure interactions. Alongside the Testing and Structures Research Laboratory are the μ-VIS: Multidisciplinary, Multiscale, Microtomographic Volume Imaging and the Heavy Structures laboratory, which provide opportunities for studies across the length scales from micro to component to full structure. www.southampton.ac.uk/ engineering/research/ facilities/360/tsrl_360.page
Wind tunnels The University of Southampton wind tunnels provide world-class and affordable facilities capable of accommodating anything from brief half-day validation studies to extended development testing in a wide range of areas, including unmanned aircraft, vehicle aerodynamics, wind load testing and anemometer calibration. The R J Mitchell Wind Tunnel is the largest in the UK university sector (3.6x2.4m) with an overhead six-component balance, surface pressure scanner as well as both high-speed and high-resolution stereo PIV systems. Our other primary facility is the 2.1x1.5m wind tunnel equipped with an overhead three-component balance and moving ground capable of speeds up to 45m/s. www.southampton.ac.uk/ windtunnels/index.page
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Consultancy The University of Southampton offers a professional consultancy service exploiting its research capability in many areas. Innovation and market exploitation of world-leading research and development undertaken by our academics and students are key drivers for us. We have leading teams in the aerospace and defence sector, with research strengths in structures, power plants, autonomous systems, sensing, materials, fluid dynamics, electronics, electro-optics and cyber systems, as well as supply chains and logistics. Our consultancy projects are conducted across an entire range of companies, from multinational blue chip companies through to SMEs and micro-companies. Our portfolio of consultancy work is worth approaching ÂŁ30m annually to the University, with a significant portion linked to work for SMEs.
How can we help? Many companies require specialist facilities or technical expertise to maintain their leading-edge capability, develop new technologies, or identify the root cause of a specific problem. We offer general consultancy ranging from a single day with a specialist academic to a variety of well-established, specialist enterprise units offering dedicated, professional teams solely deployed to work on longer-term projects with external organisations. Projects are undertaken to agreed specifications, costs and timescales. We have standard contracts that can be flexed to suit your needs. Our academics have close links with each other and with other university-based consultancy groups, allowing interdisciplinary projects to be tackled head-on, with bespoke teams of experts and specialist research and testing facilities assembled to meet your particular needs.
www.southampton.ac.uk/business
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RIfI The Research Institute for Industry (RIf I) is one of the University’s professional consultancy units in the Faculty of Engineering and the Environment. Its technical expertise is focused on materials and structures, specifically: −− Cryogenics (low-temperature engineering) −− Experimental mechanics (materials and structural testing) −− Structural analysis (using finite element analysis (FEA)) We utilise our knowledge to solve complex problems for the aerospace industry, for example experimental testing in a variety of environmental conditions and temperatures. This includes static and fatigue loading and impact and dynamic conditions. State-of-the-art imaging techniques can be utilised to produce full-field data for stress/strain and damage assessment. Experimental data can be used to support and validate FEA and FEA in turn can be used to optimise test campaigns through parametric studies to provide cost efficient solutions.
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RIf I is engaging with teams from the European Space Agency (ESA) to investigate material selection for liquid natural gas (LNG) as an aerospace fuel, provide fatigue characteristics of aerospace components at -250°C, and prove compatibility of insulation materials and composite structures in hydrogen environments. RIf I supports R&D and deploys expertise in thermodynamics, superconductivity and low-temperature instrumentation to design cryogen and cryogen-free cooling solutions for complex heat-transfer problems onboard satellites, rockets and light aircraft. Contact Tel: +44 (0)23 8059 7052 Email: rifi@soton.ac.uk www.rifi.soton.ac.uk
ISVR Consulting Services ISVR Consulting undertakes consultancy and applied research in acoustics, vibration, dynamics and aeroacoustics. Our skills and experience in testing and modelling, supported by an extensive range of numerical, semi-empirical and analytical software, enable us to investigate and solve many engineering problems in the aerospace industry. We have anechoic and reverberant test rooms on site, and access to the University’s wind tunnels. A wide range of modern test equipment and instrumentation allows us to measure flow noise and the acoustic and dynamic properties of materials and structures.
−− Laboratory testing: anechoic and reverberant rooms for acoustic tests; bespoke rigs for measurement of dynamic and acoustic material properties; wind tunnels for aeroacoustic tests −− Field trials: environmental noise measurements; noise control manoeuvres; noise at work onboard aircraft; audibility and intelligibility of communications systems −− Design and modelling studies: low-noise design for mechanical equipment; dynamic response of structures; control of aerodynamic noise; performance of absorptive and reactive silencers; design of specialist test facilities
Contact Tel: +44 (0)23 8059 2162 Email: consultancy@isvr.co.uk www.isvr.co.uk
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nC2 Our new industrial consultancy unit, nC2, combines our unique expertise with state-of-the-art facilities.
Tribological testing
We offer solutions to industrial questions in the fields of tribology, surface science and materials engineering. We can perform short turn-around consultancy testing or facilitate larger industry-led research projects.
−− Abrasive wear testing
Based at the University of Southampton, we can draw on academic experts in the specialist fields required. We also have access to world-class research facilities and equipment not found in industry. In addition to applying our knowledge directly, we offer bespoke CPD seminars and learning opportunities.
−− Erosion wear testing −− Nanoindentation −− Corrosion testing −− Friction measurements Charaterisation work −− 2D and 3D profilometry −− Metallography −− C scanning of composites −− CT scanning
Contact
−− Microscopy
Tel: +44 (0)7917 265160 Email:nc2@soton.ac.uk www.southampton.ac.uk/nc2
Investigation −− Examination −− Systems analysis −− Fractography −− Expert witness
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