Coatings are ubiquitous throughout day to day life and ensure the function, durability and aesthetics of millions of products and processes. The use of coatings is essential across multiple sectors including construction, automotive, aerospace, packaging and energy and as such the industry has a considerable value of £2.7 billion annually with over 300,000 people employed throughout manufacturers and supply chains. The cars that we drive are reliant on advanced coating technology for their durability and aesthetics. Planes can only survive the harsh conditions of flight through coatings. These coatings are multi-material systems with carefully controlled chemistries and the development and application of coatings at scale is challenging. Most coatings surfaces are currently passive and thus an opportunity exists to transform these products through the development of functional industrial coatings. For example, the next generation of buildings will use coating technology to embed energy generation, storage and release within the fabric of building. Photocatalytic coated surfaces can be used to clean effluent streams and anti-microbial coatings could revolutionise healthcare infrastructure. This means that this new generation of coatings will offer greater value-added benefits and product differentiation opportunities for manufacturers. The major challenges in translating these technologies into industry and hence products are the complex science involved in the development, application and durability of these new coatings systems. Hence, through this CDT we aim to train 50 EngD research engineers (REs) with the fundamental scientific expertise and research acumen to bridge this knowledge gap. Our REs will gather expertise on coatings manufacture regarding: - The substrate to be coated and the inherent challenges of adhesion - the fundamental chemical and physical understanding of a multitude of advanced functional coatings technologies ranging from photovoltaic materials to smart anti corrosion coatings - the chemical and physical challenges of the application and curing processes of coatings - the assessment of coating durability and lifetime with regards to environmental exposure e.g. corrosion and photo-degradation resistance - the implantation of a responsible and sustainable engineering philosophy throughout the manufacturing route to address materials scarcity issues and the fate of the materials at the end of their useful life. To address these challenges the CDT has been co-created with industry partners to ensure that the training and research is aligned to the needs of both manufacturers and the academic community thus providing a pathway for research translation but also a talent pipeline of people who are able to lead industry in the next generation of products and processes. These advanced coating technologies require a new scientific understanding with regards to their development, application and durability and hence the academic impact is also great enabling our REs to also lead within academia.

This proposal to modernise existing equipment and to establish new, leading research facilities in the field of materials characterisation comprises two "bundles" of equipment. The first comprises a Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM) and an X-Ray Tomographic Microscope. Advanced characterisation is only possible with state-of-the art imaging; this equipment will link engineering at the macro-scale with fundamental scientific discoveries at the nano-scale. There are clear synergies with research being undertaken at the SPECIFIC Innovation and Knowledge Centre, which is backed by £10M funding from EPSRC and Technology Strategy Board/Innovate UK. The proposed equipment underpins an atoms to applications approach to science and engineering and will be housed in a purpose-built scientific imaging facility with bespoke climatic control and vibration free floors. This facility is already under construction and will permit an emphasis on correlative microscopy spanning two, three and four dimensions, combining multiple scales and different forms of advanced microanalysis, to provide new insight and connect cutting-edge imaging and analysis techniques. The facility's ex- and in-situ mechanical testing and multi-dimension/scale imaging modalities will be a 'beamline-bridge' for advancing lab-based investigations to STFC Diamond Light Source/ISIS, increasing the number and diversity of academic/industrial take-up of central strategic RCUK facilities. The second bundle is aligned to the Institute of Structural Materials (ISM), which supports a pool of highly experienced post-doctoral research officers and support staff, and significant rolling research funding including the Rolls-Royce/EPSRC Strategic Partnership, which is designed to extend the capability of existing high temperature metallic systems and develop novel alloys for potential use within a twenty-year horizon (the "Vision 20" materials). ISM is globally recognised as a centre of excellence for mechanical characterisation of Structural Materials, and has ~£700k PA rolling EPSRC research funding secured to 2019. This proposal seeks to refresh experimental equipment which will be housed in a bespoke £14M research and testing building also under construction as part of the University's £450M campus development programme. The equipment to be refreshed includes: *Test frame for use in corrosion-fatigue environment *Thermo-mechanical fatigue test facility *Gleeble thermo-mechanical simulator *Component lifing under strain control *High frequency servo-hydraulic test facility *High temperature vacuum crack propagation facilities The proposal also seeks funding for a new, desktop tensile testing facility which will provide a bridge between theoretical teaching and full scale mechanical testing. The proposal benefits from significant additional investment from the Welsh European Funding Office, Welsh Government National Research Networks and Ser Cymru, and Swansea University; support from industrial users; partnership with STFC; an extensive network of academic collaborators, and the infrastructure of the University's new Science and Innovation Campus, scheduled to open in September 2015.