Wayfinding without Visual Cues: Evaluation of an Interactive Audio Map System

Work completed as part of an MSc by Research project

Development of a qualification procedure, and quality assurance and quality control concepts and procedures for repairing and reproducing parts with additive manufacturing in MRO processes

This MSc by Research is focused mainly on Quality Assurance (QA) and Qualification Procedures for metal parts manufactured using new Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques in the aerospace industry. The main aim is to understand the state of the art of these technologies and the strong regulatory framework of this industry in order to develop correct QA/QC procedures in accordance with the certification process for the technology and spare parts. These include all the testing and validation necessary to implement them in the field, as well as to maintain their capability throughout their lifecycle, specific procedures to manufacture or repair parts, workflows and records amongst others. At the end of this MSc by Research, an entire Qualification Procedure for Electron Beam Melting (EBM) and Selective Laser Melting (SLM) for reproduction of an aerospace part will be developed and defined. Also, General Procedures, Operational Instructions, and Control Procedures with its respective registers, activities, and performance indicators for both technologies will be developed. These will be part of the future Quality Assurance and Quality Management systems of those aerospace companies that implement EBM or SLM in their supply chain

Assessing the Spatial Distribution of Volcanic Risk for Tourists on the Island of Santorini

Tourists visiting the islands of Santorini, Greece, currently have little insight into the potential volcanic risks associated with the geographical location and geological conditions. To date, a wide body of research has mostly focussed on volcanism in and around Santorini, both past and present. In recent years, the number of tourists that visit Santorini has increased significantly (2.3 million in 2019) and this is expected to keep growing. Volcanic risk and the potential impact this may have for tourists and tourism has not yet been researched. Whilst the local authorities in Santorini have produced a general emergency response plan (named ‘Talos’), the connection between the volcanic risks and the distribution and understanding of tourists' specifically has not been assessed. This study begins to address this gap, spatially highlighting the risks to tourists on Santorini as well as gaining insight into their perceptions of volcanic risk. Using a mixed-methods approach; a tourist-targeted questionnaire, a spatial survey of tourist accommodation, and GIS mapping of risks associated with an eruption. This study shows that the most popular tourist areas (for hotel accommodation or for visiting) are also those of highest risk. It also reveals that tourists have an inaccurate perception of volcanic risks, and of which areas of the islands are most or least at risk in the event of an eruption. From this work it is recommended that further research be conducted into how best to educate tourists of the risks whilst not deterring them from visiting Santorini. The emergency plan should also be updated to account for tourism on the island

The Distribution of ESBL-Producing Enterobacteriaceae: Leicestershire UK Compared to Worldwide

open access articl

Non-thermal plasma technology for the abatement of NOx and SOx from the exhaust of marine diesel engine

Non-thermal plasma based technology is proposed to the abatement of NOx and SOx of the exhaust gas from marine diesel engine. Proposed technology uses electron gun and microwave energy to generate the plasma. Fundamentals of non-thermal plasma and chemistry are presented with a set of simulation results of the reduction of NOx and SO2 for a typical two stoke marine diesel exhaust engine which is supported by an experimental results obtained with microwave plasma. A new scheme is also proposed in this paper to generate required plasma for the treatment of NOx and SOx form high exhaust flow rate

Open Learning Network: the evidence of OER impact

Much of the initial work on Open Educational Resources (OER) has inevitably concentrated on how to produce the resources themselves and to establish the idea in the community. It is now eight years since the term OER was first used and more than ten years since the concept of open content was described and a greater focus is now emerging on the way in which OER can influence policy and change the way in which educational systems help people learn. The Open University UK and Carnegie Mellon University are working in partnership on the OLnet (Open Learning Network), funded by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation with the aims to search out the evidence for use and reuse of OER and to establish a network for information sharing about research in the field. This means both gathering evidence and developing approaches for how to research and understand ways to learn in a more open world, particularly linked to OER, but also looking at other influences

Negative lift generation in a tidal device structure

Becoming aware of the impact of global warming, all countries of the European Union have agreed to produce 20% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2020. Hence, a new market emerged to develop more efficient technologies of sustainable power production. Cranfield University has been involved since 2006 in wave and tidal energy design projects through various government agencies funded partnerships with the emerging industry of marine renewable energy. This thesis is based on one of these projects called “DeltaStream” which was developed by Tidal Energy Ltd (TEL). The tidal stream turbine is one of the most efficient concepts in marine renewable energy, because of the high predictability of tidal streams compared to wave and wind energy. Many devices are currently being developed in the UK. Most of them are moored to the seabed using traditional methods used in the offshore oil industry, which means drilling the sea floor. The goal of this work is to avoid drilling the seabed by adding hydrofoils on the structure. Indeed, by setting a hydrofoil in the tidal stream, the goal is to prove that a downward lift force is created and is efficient enough to maintain the structure at its location, avoiding mooring costs and ecological issues relative to drilling the sea floor. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) models have been performed, studying the sensitivity of mesh size compared to results quality, and testing then different hydrofoils to get the best downward lift force in local conditions. The main characteristics of the simulation are unsteady and one phase. The chosen geometry is a “quasi-2D” domain in order to minimize computational requirements. A validation case has been first performed on a well-known geometry of a circular cylinder, to compare analytical results and CFD data. Small variations between results validated the model to enable us to use the model on a less-known simulation such as a hydrofoil. Different parameters influencing the efficiency of the hydrofoil in terms of lift production and drag reduction have been tested. These results have been compared with tank tests undertaken by the OENA Group in June-July 2009 in IFREMER (France). And complementary studies have been performed to compare these results and CFD results