Topic of Centre: This i4Nano CDT will accelerate the discovery cycle of functional nanotechnologies and materials, effectively bridging from ground-breaking fundamental science toward industrial device integration, and to drive technological innovation via an interdisciplinary approach. A key overarching theme is understanding and control of the nano-interfaces connecting complex architectures, which is essential for going beyond simple model systems and key to major advances in emerging scientific grand challenges across vital areas of Energy, Health, Manufacturing (particularly considering sustainability), ICT/Internet of things, and Quantum. We focus on the science of nano-interfaces across multiple time scales and material systems (organic-inorganic, bio-nonbio interfaces, gas-liquid-solid, crystalline-amorphous), to control nano-interfaces in a scalable manner across different size scales, and to integrate them into functional systems using engineering approaches, combining interfaces, integration, innovation, and interdisciplinarity (hence 'i4Nano'). The vast range of knowledge, tools and techniques necessary for this underpins the requirement for high-quality broad-based PhD training that effectively links scientific depth and application breadth. National Need: Most breakthrough nanoscience as well as successful translation to innovative technology relies on scientists bridging boundaries between disciplines, but this is hindered by the constrained subject focus of undergraduate courses across the UK. Our recent industry-academia nano-roadmapping event attended by numerous industrial partners strongly emphasised the need for broadly-trained interdisciplinary nanoscience acolytes who are highly valuable across their businesses, acting as transformers and integrators of new knowledge, crucial for the UK. They consistently emphasise there is a clear national need to produce this cadre of interdisciplinary nanoscientists to maintain the UK's international academic leadership, to feed entrepreneurial activity, and to capitalise industrially in the UK by driving innovations in health, energy, ICT and Quantum Technologies. Training Approach: The vision of this i4Nano CDT is to deliver bespoke training in key areas of nano to translate exploratory nanoscience into impactful technologies, and stimulate new interactions that support this vision. We have already demonstrated an ability to attract world-class postgraduates and build high-calibre cohorts of independent young Nano scientists through a distinctive PhD nursery in our current CDT, with cohorts co-housed and jointly mentored in the initial year of intense interdisciplinary training through formal courses, practicals and project work. This programme encourages young researchers to move outside their core disciplines, and is crucial for them to go beyond fragmented graduate training normally experienced. Interactions between cohorts from different years and different CDTs, as well as interactions with >200 other PhD researchers across Cambridge, widens their horizons, making them suited to breaking disciplinary barriers and building an integrated approach to research. The 1st year of this CDT course provides high-quality advanced-level training prior to final selection of preferred PhD research projects. Student progression will depend on passing examinable components assessed both by exams and coursework, providing a formal MRes qualification. Components of the first year training include lectures and practicals on key scientific topics, mini/midi projects, science communication and innovation/scale-up training, and also training for understanding societal and ethical dimensions of Nanoscience. Activities in the later years include conferences, pilot projects, further innovation and scale up training, leadership and team-building weekends, and ED&I and Responsible Innovation workshops

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.

Multiphase flows often play a central role in engineering and have numerous practical applications. The proposed research focuses on free-surface thin-film flows over heated substrates. Such flows are part of the general class of interfacial flows which involve such diverse effects as dispersion and nonlinearity, dissipation and energy accumulation, two- and three-dimensional phenomena and hence they are of great fundamental significance. Film dynamics and stability are governed by the effects of gravity, inertia, capillarity, thermocapillarity, viscosity, as well as surface topology and conditions. The thermocapillary forces give rise to an important surface phenomenon known as the Marangoni effect, in which variations in surface tension due to temperature result in liquid flow. The Marangoni effect leads to film deformation, driving it to rise locally and thus to generate instabilities that lead eventually to the formation of wave structures. In low-Reynolds (Re)-numbers heated falling films the thermocapillary forces are in competition with those of gravity and viscosity. In shear-driven horizontal flows, gravity is absent and the driving force is that of viscous shear at the gas-liquid interface. At higher Re inertia begins to play an increasingly dominant role. Film flows show great promise in terms of their heat exchange capabilities. We aspire to harness and extend this promise, which will allow step improvements to the performance and efficiency of a host of technologies and industrial applications that rely crucially on film flows. This proposal seeks funding for a comprehensive three-year research programme into a three-pronged novel experimental, theoretical and numerical investigation aimed at rationally understanding and systematically predicting the hydrodynamic characteristics of liquid films flowing over heated surfaces, and furthermore, how these characteristics control the heat transfer potential of the corresponding flows. The proposal aims to answer these questions, with the goal of being able to accurately and efficiently predict complex physical behaviour in heated film flows. We focus specifically on two paradigm flows: gravity-driven falling films and gas-driven horizontal films. The analytical work will be complemented by detailed numerical simulations that will act to verify the efficacy of the developed flow models while both analysis and computations will be contrasted with advanced experiments. The work will be undertaken by a team from the Chemical and Mechanical Engineering Departments at Imperial College London with complementary skills and strengths: Kalliadasis (Analysis--Theory), Markides (Experimental Fluid Mechanics) and van Wachem (Multiphase Flow Modelling--Computations).

BONSAI is an ambitious 3-year research project aimed at investigating the fundamental heat and mass transfer features of boiling flows in miniaturised channels. It combines cutting-edge experiments based on space/time-resolved diagnostics, with high-fidelity interface-resolving numerical simulations, to ultimately provide validated thermal-design tools for high-performance compact evaporators. The proposed project assembles multidisciplinary expertise of investigators at Imperial College London, Brunel University London, and the University of Nottingham, with support from 3 world-leading research institutes: Alan Turing Institute, CERN (Switzerland) and VIR2AL; and 11 industry partners: Aavid Boyd Thermacore, Alfa Laval, CALGAVIN, HEXAG&PIN, HiETA, Hubbard/Daikin, IBM, Oxford nanoSystems, Ricardo, TMD and TTP. The recent trend towards device miniaturisation driven by the microelectronics industry has placed an increasing demand on removing higher thermal loads, of order of MW/m2, from areas of order cm2. In some applications (e.g. refrigeration) new 'green' refrigerants are needed, but in small volumes due to flammability or cost, while in others (e.g. batteries for EV and other applications) non-uniform or unsteady heat dissipation is highly detrimental to performance and lifetime. Flow boiling in multi-microchannel evaporators promises to meet such challenging requirements with low fluid volumes, also allowing better temperature uniformity and smaller pumping power, in systems that go well beyond the current state-of-the-art. Due to significant industrial (heat exchange) and environmental (efficient energy use) interest, the understanding of boiling heat transfer has improved in recent years, with focus on flow pattern transitions and characteristics, pressure drop, and heat transfer performance. However, our current understanding is simply insufficient to facilitate the wider use of these micro-heat-exchangers in industry, which remains unexploited. BONSAI has been tailored specifically to address the fundamental phenomena underlying boiling in miniaturised devices and their relevance to industrial design. The challenges to be addressed include the impact of channel shape and surface characteristics on flow instabilities, heat transfer and pressure drop, and the relationship between the time-dependent evolution of the liquid-vapour interface, thin liquid-film dynamics, flow field, appearance of dry vapour patches, hot spots, and local heat transfer characteristics. The extensive experimental/numerical database generated will be exploited via theoretical and novel machine-learning methods to develop physics-based design tools for predicting the effects of industrially-relevant thermohydraulic parameters on system performance. The collaboration with our partners will ensure alignment with industrial needs and accelerate technology transfer to industry. In addition, HiETA will provide Metal Additive Manufacturing heat sinks that will be assessed against embossing technologies as ways of mass-producing microchannel heat exchangers, Oxford nanoSystems will provide nano-structured surface coatings, and IBM will support visits to their Research Labs focussed on efficient parallelisation of the numerical solver and scale-out studies. The proposed research will not only enable a wider adoption of two-phase thermal solutions and hence the meeting of current and future needs across industrial sectors, but also will lead to more efficient thermal management of data-centres with associated reduction in energy consumption and carbon footprint, and the recovery and reuse of waste heat that is currently being rejected. This will constitute an important step towards meeting the UK's emission targets by 2050. Additionally, BONSAI will integrate with EPSRC Prosperity Outcomes of Delivery Plan 2016-20 and enable technological advances in relation to the Manufacturing the Future theme, contributing to a Productive and Resilient Nation.

Two-phase flows occur frequently in nature and industrial applications, such as coastal engineering, land, air and marine propulsion, energy generation and in medical diagnostics and therapy. Many of these two-phase flows comprise essential interfacial transport mechanisms at microscale. Today, systems that comprise interfacial transport mechanisms and complex physicochemical phenomena at microscale are designed based predominantly on empirical observations, since a fundamental theoretical framework and associated predictive tools are not available. Direct numerical simulation (DNS) can provide a powerful and cost-efficient tool to study and predict the complex behaviour of two-phase flows and the associated interfacial transport mechanisms. However, despite extensive research efforts dedicated to two-phase flow modelling, substantial difficulties remain in simulating interfacial transport mechanisms at microscale. Having the means to accurately simulate interfacial transport mechanisms at microscale is an enabling technology for both industry and academia, which will aid the design of novel and improved processes as well as better consumer products, with direct economical and societal impact. The proposed research conducts an in-depth study of unprecedented detail of the complex physicochemical phenomena and transport mechanisms that govern microscopic two-phase flows. The proposed research includes the development of pioneering numerical techniques in the remit of continuum mechanics to predict the complex behaviour of two-phase flows at microscale as well as the study of interfacial transport mechanisms in two prototypical applications with immediate industrial relevance: a) two-phase microprocessor cooling and b) the dynamics of foams in lubricants. The novel numerical techniques will resolve key issues of available numerical methods and enable the DNS of interfacial transport mechanisms at microscale in a rational computational framework. The capability to directly simulate two-phase flows at microscale will not only increase our fundamental understanding of the complex physics governing interfacial transport mechanisms at microscale, but will also enable engineers to build better devices and systems that rely on such flows. Through the study of the prototypical applications, the proposed research will provide a detailed understanding of interfacial transport mechanisms at microscale, relevant to microfluidic two-phase flows in general and will directly contribute to the development of cooling systems that are capable of handling the heat generated by the next generation of microprocessors and the development of more reliable, efficient and economically friendly lubricants.