This project is to undertake a feasibility study using AC and pulsed electromagnetic fields to induce voltages for measuring the continuous phase velocity profile in multiphase flows where the continuous phase is an electrical conductor and the dispersed phase(s) has relatively low electrical conductivity. It is envisioned that such a device could ultimately be used, for example, in conjunction with a dual-plane Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) system to enable velocity profile measurements of both (all) phases to be made in two (or three) phase flows. Recent numerical simulation work at Huddersfield has demonstrated that induced voltage electromagnetic flow meters can be used for velocity profile measurement of the conducting continuous phase and that the influence of the mixture conductivity is relatively small. An 18-month research associate will be required for a theoretical and experimental study of electromagnetic flow measurement using an electrode sensor array. The proposal seeks to achieve the generation of a new type of electromagnetic multiphase flowmeter with the novel capability of a high performance dynamic response on velocity profile measurement, together with a proof-of-concept prototype.

Future advanced biofuels will require the integration of new chemical and biological processes and advanced combustion technologies. The heavy reliance worldwide on abundant fossil fuels over the last 50 years means that the development of new sustainable sources of fuels and associated technologies must follow a steep research and development curve over the next 20 to 30 years. Fossils fuels have driven industrial growth for the past two hundred years, however, the security of supply and the continued sustainability of utilising such fuels is increasingly uncertain. The accumulation of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels is resulting in global climate change, and supplies of the most easily extracted sources of liquid fossil fuels are diminishing. Currently utilized biofuels for internal combustion engines derived from vegetable crops reduce tailpipe emissions of fossil bound carbon, but there are increasing concerns that producing fuels from crops that compete with food production may not be a sustainable approach. Furthermore, current bio-fuels require a further processing step after crop harvesting before they are fit for purpose; for example, vegetable oils must be heated and reacted with an alcohol before they can be used as bio-diesel. Advances in chemical engineering and molecular biology are opening new routes for the production of biofuels that do not compete with food crops, for example from waste biomass or photosynthetic micro-organisms (such as micro-algae). Proposed EU regulation will favour the use of these advanced biofuels and demand that they contribute 5 % of all liquid fuels for road transport in the EU by 2020. In this Fellowship, I will investigate prototype fuels for spark ignition and diesel engines, identified in collaboration with researchers and industry working on the chemical and biological conversion processes for producing advanced biofuels. One such collaboration will continue with UCL's Institute of Structural and Molecular Biology who have developed methods of genetically engineering photo-synthetic micro-organisms to increase rates of fuels production, and also alter the fuel molecular make-up. The structure in which individual atoms are arranged to create a fuel molecule impacts significantly on how the molecule performs as a fuel, and my investigations will determine which features of advanced biofuel molecular structure are most desirable. Identifying features which can be achieved through chemical and biological production methods will guide the development of these processes. This will guide further combustion experiments, resulting in the iterative design of advanced biofuels on a molecular level for sustainable production and use.

Surface degradation processes, such as corrosion and wear have very significant societal, economic and safety implications. These degradation processes impact a large number of industrial sectors including, transport (marine & automotive), aerospace, nuclear, oil and gas and their respective supply chains. Corrosion alone costs industry globally $2 trillion each year, of which £55 billion per annum is the cost to the UK and $1.37 billion per year the cost to the global Oil & Gas sector. The resulting cost of wear to the UK economy is estimated at £24 billion per annum, approximately 1.6% of the country's GDP. This programme seeks to tackle this age old problem through harnessing advances in computer modelling, experimental techniques at the atomic level, in operando imaging and characterisation and accessing previously untapped in-field data sets to obtain fresh insights into materials surface degradation under the demanding environments in which they operate. BP invest heavily in research development and innovation and have developed a long term, successful collaboration with the University of Manchester (UoM). In 2012, BP founded the BP International Centre for Advanced Materials (BP-ICAM) a $100m, 10 year investment to address challenges across BP's core business. Following a 'Materials Technology Outlook' workshop hosted by BP, surface degradation was identified as a high priority area for future research with the potential for transformational change. The workshop felt there was an opportunity to replace industrial empiricism with mechanistically driven approaches by exploiting advances in-operando techniques and multiscale modelling to ask fundamental research questions about the nucleation and growth of corrosion scales and tribofilms and how to control them through inhibitors, lubricants and surface coatings and treatments. This Prosperity Partnership will enable us to complement the applied research undertaken within BP-ICAM asking more fundamental research questions about surface degradation than BP-ICAM could tackle. Further this challenge requires additional skills beyond those provided by the ICAM partners and so will benefit from key expertise in the behaviour of materials in high pressure environments and tribocorrosion from the Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds respectively. The preventing surface degradation in demanding environments team will look at how both corrosion scales and tribofilms initiate, grow, and breakdown through a multiscale appreciation identify ways to inhibit or prevent degradation under very demanding environments. This project will consider both the chemical and mechanical effects of surface degradation by understanding the key interaction between the material surface and near surface (10-100nm) fluid environment. It integrates advanced surface analysis studies of realistic conditions in oil and gas operations to gain a better understanding of degradation issues. It is timely as recent advances in the power of computational modelling and imaging enable researchers to look across length and time scales and observe dynamic systems and 'real world' conditions. Finally the basic understanding developed in the laboratory will be held up against big in-field data sets from BP to inform and challenge the research. Through these fundamental insights into the mechanisms underlying surface degradation, this programme will; develop reliable predictive multi-scale models of surface degradation; present new materials systems for protection against, and prevention of, corrosion and wear; create new standardised tests for industry to use in the evaluation of degradation and propose new mitigation strategies to extend operational lifetimes.

1. TO UNDERTAKE MARKET RESEARCH TO MAKE INFORMED ASSESSMENTS OF THE PRODUCT & SERVICES This involves engaging with end-users within the known market sector of oil & gas: BP and Chevron have agreed to supply samples (reservoir cores) to test the performance of the new device against well characterised samples; M-I SWACO have already expressed interest and Saudi Aramco will be approached via existing contacts. The stakeholders will primarily be approached for assistance in developing and refining the IP in the following ways: - What are the needs of the end-users in terms of features and functionality and final analysis reporting of clay hydration and drilling fluid analysis? This will help us realise the full scope of a product/service that can be considered competitive in the market we intend to address. - What are their current methods for initial hydration tests of wellbore material and drilling fluid effectiveness? This information will allow us to identify the strengths and weaknesses of our existing IP. - Can they confirm that there is a market need for our IP? 2. TO RESEARCH COMPETITORS FOR BOTH TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND MARKETING STRATEGY This research will involve: - A technological analysis on the available competitor products to determine key areas of scientific development which can be incorporated into our product designs. This will also expose the risks involved with building a more advanced product. - An investigation into the analysis techniques used to extract useful information from the data of the instruments. This will enable us to develop a standardised reporting format which will great increase efficiency and effectiveness of our IP. - Market strategy analysis which will shed light on competitor strength of brand, distribution strength, market reputation, breadth of product and technical support. This will allow us to develop the IP to a point where it can offer benefits over competing solutions. The starting point for the research is a competitor GRACE's instruments with which R. Patel (the researcher) and contacts in M-I SWACO have direct experience. Access to other competitor products will be made via BP and Chevron. 3. TO INVESTIGATE OTHER POTENTIAL MARKETS Although the driving market use for our IP is oil & gas exploration, the measurements that can be made using our IP are applicable to a broader market. There has been interest from existing contacts in hydrogen storage company, Cella Energy looking to measure expansion of their materials in water at high pressure and temperature, as well as UCL Physics. Any discipline where expansion of a material is measured over time in contact with water and other fluid chemicals can be approached. We will explore existing contacts within the food and pharmaceutical materials industry, as we believe these are another market for out IP. It is therefore imperative that these relationships are built and maintained to optimise the position of our IP within the overall market. 4. TO PERFORM ASSESSMENT OF MARKET OPPORTUNITY AND COMPETITORS TO BUILD COMMERCIALISATION STRATEGY & ROUTE TO MARKET This work will be performed by external consultancy, Woodview Technology Limited, who have considerable expertise in technology development for the energy industry (see Letter of Support). Alongside our existing contacts with end-users, they will engage with their own, larger network of supply chain companies who might be potential customers of our IP. This will broaden our network and develop a better informed strategy for commercialisation. Woodview Technology Ltd will address the following points: - Perform a market and IP analysis to aid in the development of a licencing agreement for partners to buy into the technology. - Investigate opportunities for patenting the IP. - Investigate viability of providing IP as a product or service. - Develop a route to market strategy, involving liable future activities, risks, etc

Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are complex organic molecules which have the unique trait of including in their molecular structure more than one carbon rings. Everyday examples include naphthalene and some household solvents, however they are more common as chemical feedstocks and materials. Chemically, these compounds are unique both in terms of the physical properties and in terms of the way they interact with other compounds. PAHs have a strong propensity to self-associate, which must be either carefully controlled to obtain optimum material properties or appropriately inhibited to avoid unwarranted behaviour. The crux of the matter is that the association of PAHs in mixtures of organic solvents is central to a diverse range of contemporary engineering challenges including the fabrication of organic photovoltaics, design of high-performance discotic liquid crystals, and prevention of petroleum asphaltene aggregation and fouling. The problem faced by us is that the association of PAH's is misunderstood. It is a complex problem that involves not only the chemical nature of the molecules but the collective behaviour of molecules forming solid structures from solution. We are uniquely placed to study this problem, as we will obtain detailed information from X-ray and neutron experiments, where high energy beams scatter off pairs and clusters of these molecules giving us direct information on the type, shape and size of the clusters formed. In parallel, we will study these systems through molecular simulations, where we solve by numerical methods the time evolution of a model of the fluid at the level of the atoms forming the molecules. These simulations intimately depend on the description of the intermolecular forces, which we will validate against the scattering experiments. The disordered (as opposed to crystalline) multiscale structure of petroleum asphaltenes (aromatic aggregates of 4-8 molecules and diffuse clusters of radii ~5-20 nm) will serve as a benchmark case. Their association is driven by a collection of interactions, including, but possibly not limited to, a) phase separation due to the large difference in average molecular size between molecules and the surrounding solvents, b) enhanced interactions between the cores of the PAH cores that form a significant part of the molecules and c) polar interactions arising from the presence of heteroatoms (S, N, O, etc.). Of these three contributions, the latter is much less studied and is the focus of this study. In a final stage of our integrated approach we will consider coarse-grained simulations, where molecules are modelled by larger units (of several atoms each). This strategy, which we will fine tune to our rigorous experiments and fine-grained simulations, will allow us to perform extremely large simulations and explore time scales that are relevant to the association of PAH's. Our ultimate objective is to develop a set of guidelines that could inform the computer design of inhibitors to self-assembly. This will open an incredibly powerful research area where one could envision engineering molecules on a computer to satisfy industrial requirements.