Digital and Analogue interactions:Process Chain Networks for the Design of Service Processes

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Combinatorial development and high throughput materials characterisation of steels

A series of small iron specimens with minor additions of C, Si and Mn were manufactured via induction melting and characterised using a high throughput methodology. The aim was to analyse the high throughput approach itself, not the effects of minor additions to steel. Despite their small size, the trends in measured standard mechanical properties were consistent with published data, and target alloy compositions were achieved to a sufficient degree of accuracy. This is most encouraging as the experimental approaches described here delivered results in a very short time frame, with time per composition estimated to be < 2 h per sample. Such an approach would appear to be an excellent precursor to more traditional, expensive and time consuming alloy development methods used by industry. Limitations of the methodology are described, and key bottlenecks are identified. However, the use of small specimens to quantify trends in properties of steels and identify possible new alloys is potentially a valuable addition to the development of new steels

Organic farming: technology transfer (Environmental impact and soil fertility) (OF0405)

This project covered two separate activities, but both were examples of technology transfer, relating to organic farming: 1. Developing a science-based report, which covered an assessment of the environmental impacts of organic farming. Defra’s Action Plan to Develop Organic Food and Farming included as Annexe 3 an assessment of the environmental impacts of organic farming. This paper was prepared by a Subgroup of the Action Plan for Organic Farming. Its purpose was to summarise the Subgroup’s views of the likely comparative effects of organic and conventional farming on the environment. However, to be robust and defensible, the assessment needs to be supported by scientific data. Although the report was based on such an assessment, the scientific data were not summarised and this needed to be done. The objective of this part of the project was therefore to collate and publish on the Defra website the evidence that underpinned the overall conclusions. 2. Preparation of a booklet to provide guidelines for managing soil fertility in organic farming. Organic farming aims to create an economically and environmentally sustainable agriculture, with the emphasis placed on self-sustaining biological systems, rather than external inputs. Building soil fertility is central to this ethos. ‘Soil fertility’ can be considered as a measure of the soil’s ability to sustain satisfactory crop growth, both in the short- and longer-term, and it is determined by a set of interactions between the soil’s physical environment, chemical environment and biological activity. The aim of recent Defra-funded projects has been, therefore, to provide a better scientific understanding of ‘soil fertility’ under organic farming, in line with Defra’s policy objective of greater technical support to organic farming. The aim here was to prepare a booklet based on the findings of Defra-funded project OF0164 ‘Soil fertility in organically farmed soils’

Rapid Alloy Prototyping for a range of strip related advanced steel grades

Over many decades, the traditional route for material product developments, especially in the steel industry has been the laboratory VIM cast route at scale of 25 to 60kg, followed by through-processing of steel ingots involving hot rolling and cooling as well as further downstream processes to simulate finished cold annealed rolled and coated products. This traditional route has so far delivered value for optimising current grades and process routes as well as developing new products prior to production implementation. However, in order to accelerate process and grade developments even smaller scale and faster laboratory synthesis and processing is desired. The AccMet project [1] developed strategies for new alloy development [2,3] and this needs to be further developed to account for the complex processing route for strip steel production. Strategies combining small scale laboratory alloy processing routes, together with mechanical/thermal testing and modelling are being developed, ranging from 20-30g to 4.5 kg [4-8].This paper summarises current Rapid Alloy Prototyping (RAP) approaches and rationale developed under a new UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) Prosperity project between Tata Steel and the Universities of Swansea and Warwick (WMG). Specific attention is paid to the overall experimental methodology as well as benefits (throughput) of small-scale manufacturing and testing, the generation of representative microstructures for a range of strip grades as well as ways of integrating new concepts which bridge the physical length scale. A range of experimental facilities (20-40g) based on a powder route and induction melting (IM)/heat treatments is being developed to provide material for hot/cold rolling/annealing prior to mechanical testing. Modelling and testing to account for mechanical test specimen size effects for small scale RAP samples is being carried out to ensure consistent mechanical properties are obtained. This small-scale RAP is also being complemented with an intermediate material route operating between 200g and 4.5kg using centrifugal casting and small size ingot vacuum induction melting respectively to provide additional material and throughput sitting alongside the more traditional pilot-scale 25-30kg route. Finally, the 25-30kg standard route is being reviewed to provide a bridge to the laboratory routes through various innovative concepts. This paper concludes with a review of future activities and challenges for effective development and implementation of a range of small scale experimental and pilot manufacturing lines

Legume based plant mixtures for delivery of multiple ecosystem services: An overview of benefits

As costs for mineral fertilizers rise, legume-based leys are recognised as a potential alternative nitrogen source for crops. Here we demonstrate that including species-rich legume-based leys in the rotation helps to maximize synergies between agricultural productivity and other ecosystem services. By using functionally diverse plant species mixtures these services can be optimised and fine-tuned to regional and farm-specific needs. Field experiments run over three years at multiple locations showed that the stability of ley performance was greater in multi-species mixtures than in legume monocultures. In addition, mixing different legume species in the ley helps to suppress both early and late weeds. Further, combining complementary phenologies of different legume species extended forage availability for key pollinator species. Finally, widening the range of legume species increases opportunities to build short term leys into rotations on conventional farms via cover cropping or undersowing

Increasing Incidence, but Lack of Seasonality, of Elevated TSH Levels, on Newborn Screening, in the North of England

Previous studies of congenital hypothyroidism have suggested an increasing incidence and seasonal variation in incidence, which may suggest nongenetic factors involved in aetiology. This study describes the incidence of elevated thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) values in newborns, a surrogate for congenital hypothyroidism, measured as part of the screening programme for congenital hypothyroidism, over an eleven-year period (1994–2005), and assesses whether seasonal variation exists. All infants born in the Northern Region of England are screened by measuring levels of circulating TSH using a blood spot assay. Data on all 213 cases born from 1994 to 2005 inclusive were available. Annual incidence increased significantly from 37 per 100,000 in 1994 to a peak of 92.8 per 100,000 in 2003. There was no evidence of seasonal variation in incidence. The reasons for the increasing incidence are unclear, but do not appear to involve increasing exposure to seasonally varying factors or changes in measurements methods

Pore-Scale Characterization of Biogeochemical Controls on Iron and Uranium Speciation under Flow Conditions

Etched silicon microfluidic pore network models (micromodels) with controlled chemical and redox gradients, mineralogy, and microbiology under continuous flow conditions are used for the incremental development of complex microenvironments that simulate subsurface conditions. We demonstrate the colonization of micromodel pore spaces by an anaerobic Fe(III)-reducing bacterial species (Geobacter sulfurreducens) and the enzymatic reduction of a bioavailable Fe(III) phase within this environment. Using both Xray microprobe and X-ray absorption spectroscopy, we investigate the combined effects of the precipitated Fe(III) phases and the microbial population on uranium biogeochemistry under flow conditions. Precipitated Fe(III) phases within the micromodel were most effectively reduced in the presence of an electron shuttle (AQDS), and Fe(II) ions adsorbed onto the precipitated mineral surface without inducing any structural change. In the absence of Fe(III), U(VI) was effectively reduced by the microbial population to insoluble U(IV), which was precipitated in discrete regions associated with biomass. In the presence of Fe(III) phases, however, both U(IV) and U(VI) could be detected associated with biomass, suggesting reoxidation of U(IV) by localized Fe(III) phases. These results demonstrate the importance of the spatial localization of biomass and redox active metals, and illustrate the key effects of pore-scale processes on contaminant fate and reactive transport

Formal Specifications and Analysis of the Computer Assisted Resuscitation Algorithm (CARA) Infusion Pump Control System

Reliability of medical devices such as the CARA Infusion Pump Control System is of extreme importance given that these devices are being used on patients in critical condition. The Infusion Pump Control System includes embedded processors and accompanying embedded software for monitoring as well as controlling sensors and actuators that allow the embedded systems to interact with their environments. This nature of the Infusion Pump Control System adds to the complexity of assuring the reliability of the total system. The traditional methods of developing embedded systems are inadequate for such safety-critical devices. In this paper, we study the application of formal methods to the requirements capture and analysis for the Infusion Pump Control System. Our approach consists of two phases. The first phase is to convert the informal design requirements into a set of reference specifications using a formal system, in this case EFSMs (Extended Finite State Machines). The second phase is to translate the reference specifications to the tools supporting formal analysis, such as SCR and Hermes. This allows us to conclude properties of the reference specifications. Our research goal is to develop a framework and methodology for the integrated use of formal methods in the development of embedded medical systems that require high assurance and confidence

Hot exozodis: cometary supply without trapping is unlikely to be the mechanism

Excess near-infrared emission is detected around one fifth of main-sequence stars, but its nature is a mystery. These excesses are interpreted as thermal emission from populations of small, hot dust very close to their stars (`hot exozodis'), but such grains should rapidly sublimate or be blown out of the system. To date, no model has fully explained this phenomenon. One mechanism commonly suggested in the literature is cometary supply, where star-grazing comets deposit dust close to the star, replenishing losses from grain sublimation and blowout. However, we show that this mechanism alone is very unlikely to be responsible for hot exozodis. We model the trajectory and size evolution of dust grains released by star-grazing comets, to establish the dust and comet properties required to reproduce hot-exozodi observations. We find that cometary supply alone can only reproduce observations if dust ejecta has an extremely steep size distribution upon release, and the dust-deposition rate is extraordinarily high. These requirements strongly contradict our current understanding of cometary dust and planetary systems. Cometary supply is therefore unlikely to be solely responsible for hot exozodis, so may need to be combined with some dust-trapping mechanism (such as gas or magnetic trapping) if it is to reproduce observations.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA