Research informed teaching
Government sponsored schemes have encouraged the interaction between HEIs and industry in a variety of ways. This research group has engaged with Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTP), Industrial Cooperative Awards in Science & Engineering (iCASE) and all phases of the East of England Knowledge Partners (KEEP) projects.
The research group houses equipment donated by company partners for testing and validating design and computational modelling projects. A major benefit to the university is to enhance the learning and student experience through the use of these facilities from research for undergraduate and post-graduate courses.
Typical examples are given as follows:
Secomak
Secomak, a KTP industrial partner, installed a high-speed conveyor operation up to 1200 containers per minute for wetting and drying stations. The area is currently in use by BSc, BEng, MSc and PhD students for the completion of projects in conjunction with Secomak. These include low energy techniques in drying, anti-condensation trials, and high speed photography for flow visualisation and noise reduction.
The success has resulted in Lord Stafford’ Awards in 2009, highlighting the University’s involvement in industrially focused research and development projects.
Cooper Roller Bearings Limited
Cooper Roller Bearings Limited, a KTP industrial partner, set up a test rig in the group lab at the University of Hertfordshire to validate an integrated computational analysis system for the product development of novel configurations of split roller bearings under multi-variant configuration and load conditions, typically as used in wind turbines.
This test rig has been employed for both the KTP project and undergraduates and postgraduates. The advanced technology has been directly bedded into higher education in the University.
UPM Group Limited
UPM Group Limited engaged in an EPSRC iCASE PhD project to develop a standardised methodology for specifying fuel cell performance.
As part of the project to test a polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cell, the group gained a new test rig equipped with proper instruments to measure pressures, temperatures, mass flow rates and electrical output (current and voltage).
The facilities are currently in use by PhD students for further fuel cell development for domestic applications. Constant use of the facility enables undergraduate students and research students to prove theory and experiment with a range of engineering scenarios.