Nearly half of the total energy generation in the developed world is inefficiently used to heat, cool, ventilate and control humidity in buildings. Unfortunately, the concepts developed through many research and demonstration projects have struggled to become assimilated into main-stream construction. In Europe, the most successful passive design standard, the German PassivHaus standard, has certified only 30,000 buildings in 15 years. Comparing this with the UK Government's 2016 target for the construction of 240,000 new homes per year and current quarterly output of around 29,380 homes it is evident that additional routes to achieving low and zero energy buildings must be investigated and developed if deep cuts in energy use and associated carbon emissions are to be attained by the building sector. Furthermore, there must be a focus on whole-life impact. To achieve the space heating energy targets of the PassivHaus standard, walls typically require insulation to a thickness of at least 300 mm and this level of conventional insulation material significantly increases the embodied energy content of the finished building. At present, inorganic insulation materials dominate the building industry, although interest in the use of natural fibre insulation products is steadily increasing. In Europe inorganic fibrous materials, e.g. stone wool and glass wool, account for 60% of the market. Organic foamy materials such as expanded and extruded polystyrene account for 27% of the market, whilst all other materials combined make up less than 13%. In the case of the mineral fibre materials adhesives are often added as are water-repellent oils as both increase mechanical strength. Expanded and extruded polystyrene are both oil-based polymerised polystyrol and the production process requires blowing agents which, since the phase-out of ozone depleting materials, are typically pentane and carbon dioxide, respectively. Pentane contributes to smog and ground level ozone and carbon dioxide, due to its low solubility and high diffusivity in polymers, make it difficult to produce low density foams which result in poorer thermal performance compared with those insulation materials made using HCFC blowing agents. Natural fibre insulation (NFI) can be seen as an excellent form of carbon emission mitigation. NFI not only reduces the in-service carbon emissions of buildings through reduced energy demands, but through the use of plant based fibres carbon is stored within the material, as a result of plant photosynthesis, so significantly reducing the global warming impact of the insulation material. However, much is unknown about the performance of NFI materials. Where evidence-based data are available they are almost universally based on steady-state test performance data rather than the more complex dynamic variations experienced in real buildings. Frequently, where test data relating to thermal conductivity are presented, it is based on standard test conditions of a material in a dry state and at one mean temperature. Accordingly practitioners use such test results for prediction of in-service energy performance or evaluation of retrofit benefits, often without consideration for variability due to the changeability in the thermo-physical properties of the material or the validity of the test conditions. Whilst this situation affects all building materials attempts have been made to evaluate sensitivity and the impact on energy performance for more conventional products but there is little evidence of the same approach for NFI. Furthermore, the hygroscopic nature of NFI materials results in much greater variability in their thermal performance. The primary aim of this project is the quantification of the dynamic thermal performance of NFI materials through experiment and simulation, which will help to support a growing 'green economy' and provide valuable data for building designers and developers of building simulation models.

NIMRC's research portfolio is at the heart of the national manufacturing agenda and is active in the generation of patents and the construction of full scale demonstrators to enhance technology transfer. The Centre has strong links with industry in a range of sectors including aerospace, automotive, instrumentation, power engineering, steel, textiles and clothing, and consumer product sectors. With the exception of a small number of blue-skies projects, all projects are driven by industrial need. During the past 3 years, the Nottingham Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre (NIMRC) has continued to succeed in its stated objectives. By exploiting synergies between themes and research strands within the Centre and with other academic groups and industry outside the Centre, NIMRC has continued to expand its world-leading research portfolio and develop new directions. From a start of 8 principal investigators in the IMRC, this year we have an additional 15 investigators participating in current projects within the portfolio, complemented by 22 researchers and 29 research students. In the past 3 years, 9 students have been been awarded a PhD and another 7 are currently submitting their dissertations.The quality, timeliness and novelty of NIMRC's research is highlighted by its publication record. Since the Centre began, staff have published widely in peer review journals and presented at prestigious international conferences.The IMRC status has attracted a wider research community both in the University and without. The NIMRC continues to develop strategic partnerships with research groups outside the University and include many internationally recognised centre's of manufacturing excellence. The Centre also has strong links with other IMRCs. Already, NIMRC has collaborative research projects with Warwick, Bath, Cranfield and Loughborough IMRCs. NIMRC is also participating in the Grand Challenge 3D Mintigration related to the economic Manufacture of 3D Miniaturised Devices . NIMRC has made excellent progress during the last 3 years towards its stated objectives. It believes that the future research strategy it has developed will continue to address both the immediate and longer term needs of the manufacturing industry and it looks forward to providing the enabling research needed to improve the competitiveness of UK plc. The importance of NIMRC's world-class research is demonstrated in the composition of the Industrial Advisory Board which includes 20 senior industrialists from well established UK manufacturing sectors. The Board is impressed with the work of the Centre and the rapport with the Board of PIs. Board members have their own examples of how their company has benefited from the work of the NIMRC. In summary, Rolls-Royce and the Industrial Advisory Board fully support the activities of the NIMRC and will continue to do so. Chair of NIMRC Industrial Advisory Board, Mr Stephen Burgess, Manufacturing Process and Technology Director, Rolls-Royce Plc.