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Northumbria University

Northumbria University

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473 Projects, page 1 of 95
  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: NE/W009129/1
    Funder Contribution: 520,315 GBP

    Space weather describes the variability of conditions in near-Earth space. One of the primary ways in which space weather can impact society is through the generation of anomalous currents (termed Geomagnetically Induced Currents, or GICs) in power networks and pipelines on the ground. These GICs can accelerate the ageing of systems, or more critically lead to the immediate failure of components such as power transformers. This research will take a leap forward in understanding and predicting when we are at risk of suffering large GICs on the ground. GICs are driven by rapid changes in the Earth's magnetic field, and there are a range of phenomena in near-Earth space that are responsible, but one of the most important is the magnetospheric substorm. During a substorm, interactions between the magnetic field of the Earth and the incident solar wind results in the transfer of energy. This additional energy is principally stored in plasma and magnetic field energy on the nightside of a planet in a region known as the magnetotail. Energy is stored until the system reaches the limit of stability, at which point the energy is explosively released, again through the process of magnetic reconnection. This leads to observable phenomena such as the aurora. However, this process can have dire space weather consequences, causing extreme ionospheric currents and posing risks to satellites and other infrastructure, yet even our most sophisticated methods struggle to predict when it will occur. Understanding and forecasting magnetic field variability is a hugely difficult problem when the myriad of sporadic and localised processes at the start of a magnetosphere substorm are poorly understood. One of the fundamental issues is the scale of the system. The processes involved are sporadic and localised, and the domain in which they could operate is huge. The aim of this fellowship is to understand the processes and instabilities by which the magnetosphere becomes unstable, and use this to generate cutting-edge, physics-inspired space weather forecasting models. I will accurately and robustly process huge volumes of data from several missions at the Earth using 'big data' techniques to characterize and predict the conditions under which the substorm is likely to occur. I will develop Bayesian Monte Carlo methods to estimate their spatial and temporal scales and determine causality. I will then use this understanding to generate cutting-edge machine learning models of when and where substorms will occur, as well as the properties and location of the auroral oval. I will then put this together to create a physics-inspired model of forecasting geomagnetic perturbations. This is necessary to provide precise and reliable predictions of when regions are at risk of dangerous GICs. The physics-inspired process will ensure that the model extrapolations to extreme conditions are more reliable than 'black box' extrapolations. During the course of this fellowship I will collaborate with world leading experts on plasma stability (MSSL) and magnetotail dynamics (Michigan), utilizing cutting edge global models (Michigan) to inform state-of-the-art machine learning models. I will then create robust and reliable models for the benefit of stakeholders (Met Office).

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: AH/P006868/1
    Funder Contribution: 32,715 GBP

    Scholars and members of the public rely on records (eg birth/death certificates, census and court records) as the evidence base for research. So too do those making policy or conducting inquiries. All require access to original, authentic records. They do so in the understanding that archivists and records managers have a base of theory and practice that enables the retention of records that are original, authentic, trusted, within context and useable. However, a major issue facing society is the extent to which the digital evidence base is at risk because the concept of the digital record has been challenged. In the digital world the container, i.e. the file, is no longer the record. The record comprises the granular objects that are scattered yet linked, e.g. chains of emails or tweets. Traditional ideas about a record, that it is fixed and unique, are under threat, replaced by uncertainty, mutability and the notion of liquidity. However, records have a 'DNA string', a term coined by Lomas and McLeod to represent the idea that records comprise individual elements, from the body of information and metadata through to software and hardware components, that link globally to create the presentation of a complete object. This DNA can change, degrade or break over time, or it can be maintained via migrations or combined and strengthened through mashups, linked data and blockchain technologies. In the digital world "the record, not the remix, is the anomaly today. The remix is the very nature of the digital."1 Concepts commonly accepted as defining a fixed original record are conflicted in the digital world where systems automatically generate multiple copies of documents (e.g. copies of emails held by both sender and recipient) across networks. Other complex issues surround the interrogation of evidential records. For example in the Hillsborough inquiry it was possible to review typescript statements and determine whether or not there had been alterations. This can be far harder with digital statements where many copies may exist with unclear authorship or the definitive original may disappear into a seemingly infinite cyberspace. If there are no 'original' records in the digital space what does this mean for the future evidence base? In the Hutton Inquiry emails proved critical to the evidence base. In this instance the emails interrogated were still available on the systems and servers in which they had been created. However, had the Inquiry been later and the emails been managed through time then the evidential status of these emails would have been subject to questions surrounding their integrity and authenticity. Since our future evidence base will be digital and multi-media, the reliability, authenticity and usability are crucial if we are to avoid losing our ability to interrogate records through time. The proposed novel international multidisciplinary research network is led by internationally recognised researchers in records management with The National Archives (TNA), UK government's official archive. The aim is to bring together practitioners, academics and others to explore how the digital has put the traditional concept of the record at risk and work towards a new concept of the digital record; to identify the key issues and challenges of ensuring the future usability of digital records (the evidence base) by all stakeholders through time; to propose a research agenda to address the challenges, and to facilitate effective collaboration to progress digital records research in theory and practice. The network will engage expertise in information, law, digital humanities and computer forensics and a wide range of communities (e.g. the public, historians) to provide perspectives to feed into research and ultimately good practice solutions. Using social media tools, participants from any community will be able to contribute to the network. 1 Keen, A. (2007). The cult of the amateur. Nicholas Brealey. p 23-4.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: EP/P019889/1
    Funder Contribution: 100,447 GBP

    Most automotive and satellite microactuators (hydraulic, pneumatic, etc) utilize seals to prevent egress of fluids and ingress of dirt, humidity and other extraneous materials. In these dynamic applications the seal is in contact with the rotating surface of the shaft and has to meet certain requirements of maximum friction, wear and leakage over the working temperature range. This temperature normally varies from about -50 to 150 degrees Celsius in vehicles while in satellites the temperature range is wider (-100 to 200 degrees Celsius) depending on whether the surface is exposed to the sun or in the shadow. The main limitation for using shaft seals at a wide temperature range stems from the differences in dilatation with temperature of the shaft and seal. At low temperature (freezing conditions) the seal-shaft friction is high while at high temperature (above 100 degrees Celsius) the shaft-seal clearance becomes so large that excessive leakage may occur and therefore it is of interest to maintain the pressure constant over the working temperature range. Excessive friction and wear would shorten the service life of seals while leakage would result in lubricant loss (i.e., seizure) or lubricant ingress (i.e., extraneous materials could enter and damage engines and other components). At the same time, seals should wear faster than the shaft on which it is mounted since shafts are more costly and difficult to replace than seals. This suggests the need for novel shaft seals with tuned performance over the working temperature range. In this research programme I will develop a new strategy for overcoming these limitations consisting of using shape memory alloys with tailored reversibility and wear performance through optimal control of the microstructure and composition. The microstructure, i.e., grain size and distribution, will be tuned upon cooling in a single processing step by controlling the cooling rate and composition. Novel compositions will be developed through multiple minor element co-addition of relatively low-cost elements such as iron and nickel compared to copper to promote the twinning propensity of austenite. Deformation twinning is a small movement of atoms that occurs in a co-operative process in austenite when the material is subjected to a minimum stress value, resulting in macroscopic deformation. Once the material is twinned, and the force applied released, it keeps its deformed shape unless heated up above a benchmark temperature for which the material recovers to the initial position (i.e., detwinning). Some elements have the ability to decrease the energy required for twining and therefore promotes the twinning propensity (i.e., the ease with which atoms move when strained). This enables to control the temperature, and therefore the shaft-seal contact stress, at which martensite transforms into austenite resulting in a smaller seal diameter and therefore reducing leakage. To decrease the cost of the Cu- based shape memory alloys and make them more appealing for the actuator industry than NiTi alloys, low cost minor elements will be employed. Understanding how to tailor the thermomechanical and tribological performance of these Cu-based shape memory alloys is therefore of utmost importance in fundamental physical metallurgy as well as for industrial applications. Traditionally, the grain size of rapidly solidified materials has been optimized by tuning the composition, through partial substitution of one element by another or by controlling the cooling rate. However, the synergistic effect resulting from optimizing both parameters is novel and has huge potential for tailoring the properties of shape memory alloys. In this regard, as I have previously observed (S. González et al. Sci. Tech. Adv. Mater. 15, 2014), the addition of some minor elements (such as Fe and Co) at certain concentrations can promote a mechanically-driven martensitic transformation of Cu-containing alloys.

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  • Funder: European Commission Project Code: 644988
    Overall Budget: 1,559,420 EURFunder Contribution: 1,468,900 EUR

    CREA aims to promote ICT development and creativity as new drivers able to produce specific structural changes and arrangements in the European entrepreneurial base, to influence the future paths of social change and innovation to a large extent. CREA project wants to validate a new European Model of Summer Academy for students who wants to develop business ideas focus on creativity and ICT and able to explore innovation in advanced fields: new products for new markets, social innovation, meaning drive innovation in old sectors, service innovation, technology driven innovation etc. CREA will test 2 edition of Summer Academy simultaneously organized in 6 European Cities (Milan, Stuttgart, Ljubljana, Newcastle, Tallin, Utrecht), which will end with an international event (CREA ICT Business Idea Contest) for the presentation of results to international investors and the awarding of a prize. The project includes training courses, mentoring activities and the incubation program for start up companies that will be able to use the opportunities of ICT and Creativity to propose new business model with a European vision. The general objectives of CREA project are: - To create European wide system of Summer Academies for university and last year high school students entirely focused on ICT entrepreneurship; - To create a model of Summer Academy action oriented with a strong focus on ICT and entrepreneurial skills development and a rich offer of mentoring, support for business planning, matchmaking opportunities and generation of ICT related business idea; - To stimulate the development of new start up business ideas boosting on ICT and creativity; - To complement and extend similar existing Summer Academy program while strongly focusing on ICT and creativity entrepreneurship; - To organize and promote ICT Business Idea Contests.

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  • Funder: UK Research and Innovation Project Code: 2742875

    Sunlight is an abundant source of clean and economical energy. One-hour of sunlight can satisfy a year's energy demand across the entire world. Inspired from natural photosynthesis, the proposed project develops a bionic leaf that provides a hybrid approach to the conversion of solar energy into fuels and chemicals by integrating microbes with synthetic light harvesters. In such hybrid systems, microbes perform thermodynamically and kinetically challenging chemical reactions with high rates and selectivity, whereas light harvesters act as substrates for microbes or functional components to carry out light absorption, charge transfer and product separation. The project also investigates the microbial life on the photoexcited light harvesters by employing gene expression analysis, live/dead assay and BioRad protein assay. Finally, the project elucidates the fundamental electron transfer mechanism from light harvesters to microbes using advanced spectroscopic techniques.

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