Flexural transducer currently are only designed for operation in ambient atmospheric conditions, at frequencies of up to approximately 50 kHz, with a long wavelengths in fluids and therefore reduced measurement resolution in many cases. If we could find a way to increase the frequency range of operation of these devices, whilst at the same time creating new designs that could withstand high pressures and temperatures, a plethora of new applications will open up, in some cases enabling measurements to be made that could not otherwise be taken - that is what this project will do, establishing a world lead in this field of research of High Frequency Flexural Transducers. Techniques will be created that used the HiFFUTs for the non-destructive testing of low acoustic impedance materials such as aerospace composites, flow measurements and metrology in hostile environments. Flexural ultrasonic transducers (sometimes referred to as uni-morphs) operate through the action of the bending / flexing of a piezoelectric material that is attached to a passive material. This is exactly how an ultrasonic car parking sensor operates, and these devices operating at twice the maximum audible frequency of humans, of around 40kHz, have had a tremendous impact, particularly on the automotive sector. The key to the success of flexural transducers used in parking sensors lies in the fact that they are extremely sensitive and efficient, whilst at the same time they are relatively simple to construct and are extremely robust. Imagine the typical environment that these sensors have to survive in; high vibration, large fluctuations in operating temperature, corrosive, dirty and wet conditions - whilst operating at a low power with a high sensitivity. So what makes these flexural transducers attractive to the automotive sector, where there is high pressure to keep sensor costs low at the same time as the sensors being very reliable? The two key factors are that (1) the piezoelectric element is bonded to the inside of a metal cap and the rear of the cap is hermetically sealed, and (2) the flexing of the metal cap and thin piezoelectric element, either from piezoelectric excitation or the arrival of a pressure wave requires relatively little energy. There is currently a surprising lack of any published, rigorous scientific study on these types of small flexural transducers, even at low frequencies and nothing appears to have been attempted using these types of transducers in liquids or for non-destructive evaluation. The vibration characteristics of a HiFFUT are dependent on the combined response and interaction of all the sensor's components with the medium it operates within or upon. Usually the mechanical response of these transducers is dominated by the vibration behaviour of the passive flexing membrane of the transducer housing to which the piezoelectric is attached, rather than the thickness or diameter of the piezoelectric element bonded to the housing. There are related examples of MEMs based transducers that operate by a flexural membrane at higher frequencies such as Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducers and Piezoelectric Micro-machined Ultrasonic Transducers and whilst these are clearly elegant devices, there are clearly a number of significant advantages to the use of HiFFUTs in many industrial applications. The most useful modes of operation are probably the axisymmetric modes, which will generate axisymmetric wave fields and work will mainly focus on these, but there may be instances where an anisotropic wave field provides an advantage. Flexural transducers or HiFFUTs can also be driven at a number of axisymmetric harmonic modes or frequencies - using one transducer to cover a wide bandwidth, with each mode having a different directivity pattern will dramatically increase the depth and breadth of information that can be obtained. These transducers are going to find applications in a wide range of industrial application

Decarbonising both heating and cooling across residential, business and industry sectors is fundamental to delivering the recently announced net-zero greenhouse gas emissions targets. Such a monumental change to this sector can only be delivered through the collective advancement of science, engineering and technology combined with prudent planning, demand management and effective policy. The aim of the proposed H+C Zero Network will be to facilitate this through funded workshops, conferences and secondments which in combination will enable researchers, technology developers, managers, policymakers and funders to come together to share their progress, new knowledge and experiences. It will also directly impact on this through a series of research funding calls which will offer seed funding to address key technical, economic, social, environmental and policy challenges. The proposed Network will focus on the following five themes which are essential for decarbonising heating and cooling effectively: Theme 1 Primary engineering technologies and systems for decarbonisation Theme 2 Underpinning technologies, materials, control, retrofit and infrastructure Theme 3 Future energy systems and economics Theme 4 Social impact and end users' perspectives Theme 5 Policy Support and leadership for the transition to net-zero

EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Resilient Decarbonised Fuel Energy Systems Led by the University of Nottingham, with Sheffield and Cardiff SUMMARY This Centre is designed to support the UK energy sector at a time of fundamental change. The UK needs a knowledgeable but flexible workforce to deliver against this uncertain future. Our vision is to develop a world-leading CDT, delivering research leaders with broad economic, societal and contextual awareness, having excellent technical skills and capable of operating in multi-disciplinary teams covering a range of roles. The Centre builds on a heritage of two successful predecessor CDTs but adds significant new capabilities to meet research needs which are now fundamentally different. Over 80% of our graduates to date have entered high-quality jobs in energy-related industry or academe, showing a demand for the highly trained yet flexible graduates we produce. National Need for a Centre The need for a Centre is demonstrated by both industry pull and by government strategic thinking. More than forty industrial and government organisations have been consulted in the shaping and preparation of this proposal. The bid is strongly aligned with EPSRC's Priority Area 5 (Energy Resilience through Security, Integration, Demand Management and Decarbonisation) and government policy. Working with our partners, we have identified the following priority research themes. They have a unifying vision of re-purposing and re-using existing energy infrastructure to deliver rapid and cost-effective decarbonisation. 1. Allowing the re-use and development of existing processes to generate energy and co-products from low-carbon biomass and waste fuels, and to maximise the social, environmental and economic benefits for the UK from this transition 2. Decreasing CO2 emissions from industrial processes by implementation of CCUS, integrating with heat networks where appropriate. 3. Assessing options for the decarbonisation of natural gas users (as fuel or feedstock) in the power generation, industry and domestic heating system through a combination of hydrogen enhancement and/or CO2 capture. Also critical in this theme is the development of technologies that enable the sustainable supply of carbon-lean H2 and the adoption of H2 or H2 enriched fuel/feedstock in various applications. 4. Automating existing electricity, gas and other vector infrastructure (including existing and new methods of energy storage) based on advanced control technologies, data-mining and development of novel instrumentation, ensuring a smarter, more flexible energy system at lower cost. Training Our current Centre operates a training programme branded 'exemplary' by our external examiner and our intention is to use this as solid basis for further improvements which will include a new technical core module, a module on risk management and enhanced training in inclusivity and responsible research. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Our current statistics on gender balance and disability are better than the EPSRC mean. We will seek to further improve this record. We are also keen to demonstrate ED&I within the Centre staff and our team also reflects a diversity in gender, ethnicity and experience. Management and Governance Our PI has joined us after a career conducting and managing energy research for a major energy company and led development of technologies from benchtop to full-scale implementation. He sharpens our industrial focus and enhances an already excellent team with a track record of research delivery. One Co-I chairs the UoN Ethics Committee, ensuring that Responsible Innovation remains a priority. Value for Money Because most of the Centre infrastructure and organisation is already in place, start-up costs for the new centre will be minimal giving the benefit of giving a new, highly refreshed technical capability but with a very low organisational on-cost.

The Cranfield IMRC vision is to grow the existing world class research activity through the development and interaction between:Manufacturing Technologies and Product/Service Systems that move UK manufacturing up the value chain to provide high added value manufacturing business opportunities.This research vision builds on the existing strengths and expertise at Cranfield and is complementary to the activities at other IMRCs. It represents a unique combination of manufacturing research skills and resource that will address key aspects of the UK's future manufacturing needs. The research is multi-disciplinary and cross-sectoral and is designed to promote knowledge transfer between sectors. To realise this vision the Cranfield IMRC has two interdependent strategic aims which will be pursued simultaneously:1.To produce world/beating process and product technologies in the areas of precision engineering and materials processing.2.To enable the creation and exploitation of these technologies within the context of service/based competitive strategies.

The United Kingdom has a strong history of having developed imaging techniques and technologies that allow us to visualize a range of biomedical phenomena, from being able to visualise molecules inside individual cells, to being able to take pictures non invasively inside patients. Examples of this include the pioneering work done by Sir Godfrey Hounsfield (Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of the Computed Tomography scanner), and Sir Peter Mansfield of Nottingham University (Nobel Prize winner and co-inventor of magnetic resonance imaging). A recent report from two of the UK Research Councils showed that the UK still has a world-leading research profile in this area, but also showed that there was a shortage of trained UK individuals who are experts in medical imaging. This means that our research institutions and industries struggle to employ suitably qualified individuals, and either have to employ non-UK nationals or cannot undertake the work they wish to. The aim of this Centre for Doctoral Training is therefore to address the need for more trained imaging scientists by linking together two of the UK's top research-intensive universities to deliver a rigorous training programme in this area. In particular, and in response to the needs expressed both by our industry colleagues and by our NHS colleagues, we will put in place a doctoral training programme that gives students an understanding of the full landscape of medical imaging (e.g. different types of imaging, different scales of imaging from cellular imaging up to whole human imaging, and different ways of analyzing the resulting images). Since these will mostly be students with a background in the physical sciences (physics, engineering and mathematics) we will also provide them with a training in the basic biology of cells, and in the range of diseases in which medical imaging can make a difference. Following a first year of training the students will work in specialist research laboratories in Oxford and Nottingham (with some students working between the two institutions). Both universities have world-renowned scientists and excellent facilities to host research projects for the students, culminating in each student receiving a doctoral degree from either Nottingham or Oxford. The range of research and opportunities available to these students is very large, with researchers in both institutions working at all scales of medical imaging (single cells to whole humans), and on various diseases, including cancer, brain disorders, and heart disorders. As major partners we will work with colleagues from industry so that our students gain experience in working in an industry environment, and so that some of the projects they work on are ones that are proposed by industry. This partnership will also help us produce trained experts who have an appreciation for the way that industry operates, and an understanding of how research ideas can be commercialized so that they become a source of income to the nation. We believe that by having a rigorous doctoral training programme like this we will ensure that the UK is well placed to compete academically and industrially in the future. We also believe that there will be benefits to the NHS, since our graduates will develop imaging techniques that will refine the way the NHS treats us, thus saving money and making the treatments that we receive more relevant to us as individuals.