In this proposal we will design, fabricate and employ a novel multiple materials additive manufacturing (MMAM) equipment to enable us to make optical fibre preforms (both in conventional and microstructured fibre geometries) in silica and other host glass materials. In existing low-loss fibre preform fabrication methods, based on either chemical vapour deposition technique for conventional solid index guiding fibres or 'stack and draw' process for micro-structured fibre, it is very difficult to control composition in 3D. Our proposed MMAM can be utilised to produce complex preforms, which is otherwise too difficult or time consuming or currently impossible to achieve by the existing fabrication techniques. This will open up a route to manufacture novel fibre structures in silica and other glasses for a wide range of applications, covering from telecommunications, sensing, lab-in-a-fibre, metamaterial fibre, to high-power laser, and subsequently we are expected to gain significant economic growth in the future.

The automotive industry in the UK remains one of the key strategic sectors in the overall national R&D footprint, employing some 160,000 people (38000 in motor sport) [1]. The UK is home to a number of global OEMs representing the largest inward investment in the country's R&D through the establishment of significant technical centres. Influenced by the stringent emission mandates (Euro 4: Directive 98/70/EC and amendment: 70/220/EEC) and noise pollution targets (EU:DIRECTIVE 70/157/EEC and amendment: 2007/34/EC, USA: FHWA-HEP-06-020) improvements in engine efficiency have assumed a high priority with automotive manufacturers. An effective way is to reduce frictional (parasitic) and mechanical (errant dynamic) losses, accounting for 15 / 25 % of lost energy. Errant dynamic losses refer to inertial imbalance and structural deformation, also contributing to noise and vibration pollution. The largest mechanical losses are due to translational imbalance of pistons and rotational imbalance of the crank system, with increasing engine roughness due to demands for high output power-to-weight ratio. Engine roughness refers to structural vibration of lightly damped engine systems. Worst conditions for frictional losses arise under stop-start conditions or other transient events, where interactions between system dynamics and tribological behaviour of engine sub-systems play significant roles (Andersson [2]). Nearly half of the friction losses in internal combustion engines originate in the piston-ring-cylinder contacts, about 50% (Blau et al [3]), two thirds of which is attributable to the compression ring. Hitherto, interactions between frictional and mechanical losses have not received the fundamental analysis that they deserve. With increasing demand for high performance engines, the piston is subjected to even higher loads and, thus, increased losses. At the same time, engine development is driven by high fuel efficiency and output power-to-weight ratio, as well as reduced NOx and particulate emissions. These requirements frequently lead to conflicting demands put on combustion, system dynamics and tribological performance. It is significant to note that a mere 4% reduction in parasitic losses can lead to 1% improvement in fuel efficiency. Rapidly diminishing fossil fuel deposits in the UK's territorial waters and the difficulty of extraction, together with the adverse environmental impact of significant vehicular emissions, make improved fuel efficiency by reduction of parasitic losses a national imperative and a paramount objective. Whilst large national projects have been undertaken for development of efficient combustion strategies, a large consortium project has not hitherto been undertaken for tribology and dynamics of the piston-connecting rod-crankshaft sub-system which contributes significantly to engine losses. This project will bring together experts in the fields of dynamics, surface engineering, contact mechanics, lubricant rheology and tribology to collectively provide unique and novel solutions for this challenging multi-disciplinary problem of utmost importance to the UK automotive industry. An approach incorporating these inter-related disciplines within a unified analysis framework is referred to as multi-physics. This points to a single integrated project across all the interacting disciplines to deal with physics on a wide range of scales from large displacement dynamics to small thermo-elastic distortion of components and further down to micro-scale tribological contacts (such as EHD films, and asperity interactions) and onto the diminishing conjunctions of surface textured patterns with nano-scale interactions such as the molecular behaviour of lubricants due to their physical chemistry and free surface energy effects.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.

The development of implantable prosthetics has revolutionised medicine. Where joint injury or destruction would once have once significantly reduced quality of life, to the detriment of a patient's fitness and health, we can now almost fully restore function. The manufacturing methods used for the production of prosthetics are quite crude and often require the casting of metal into a mould before finishing by hand. As a consequence they are usually made to only a few different sizes and the resulting structures must be made to fit by the surgeon. This is acceptable for the majority of patients who require joint replacement, but there are some medical conditions that require very irregularly shaped (customised) structures to enable an adequate repair. For example, bone cancers often require extensive cutting away of the bone and this can leave a very large and irregular defect. Similarly the bone structure of the face and skull is very specific to an individual and when bone must be removed, again due to cancer or following physical damage. To restore physical appearance, it would be best if a clinician were able to generate a plate that could allow them to replace like for like. In this project, we will refine an Additive Layer Manufacturing (ALM) technology called selective laser meeting (SLM) to allow us to produce implants that are individual to a patient. These technologies use lasers to fuse powder and create a three dimensional object in a layer by layer fashion. By taking three dimensional images (MRI and CT) from a patient, operators can design structures that will be able to directly replace tissue with the optimum shaped implant. In this project, we will work with doctors from the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Hospital and the Royal Centre for Defence Medicine to develop a process that we hope will eventually allow these clinicians to produce implants in their own hospitals or even on the front-line of a conflict and enable better treatment for their patients. As well as allowing the production of complex-shaped parts, ALM has another significant advantage over casting in that it allows the production of very complex porous structures within a material. This means that we can modify the physical properties of the material by incorporating holes or structured porosity into the structure. These holes can be sealed from the surface of the prosthesis, or can be linked to the surface using a network of even narrower holes. We would like to explore the use of this added manufacturing capability to make prosthetics with a very closely defined internal structure that is completely interconnected. A second, cement like, material can then be injected into the pore structure and will harden in place. This second phase can be used to modify mechanical properties or could be used as a carrier for drugs that may stop infection or help the tissue to heal. It is hoped that this modification could help us eliminate implant-based infections, which is the leading cause of failure following prosthetic implantation.