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The extreme high-speed laser application (EHLA) is a metallic coating process recently developed (2017) in Germany by Fraunhofer ILT. It has received multiple awards and gained significant industrial interest. This has led to strong interest, from the proposal applicant, TWI and its industrial members (both in the UK and overseas); with the EHLA approach now an integral part of TWI additive manufacturing (AM) strategy roadmaps. Currently, there is no capability in the UK to support industry uptake and offer services, expertise or process development in relation to EHLA processing. To bridge this gap, this application is focused on realising the aspirations of the proposer and to building and developing a team to direct and undertake industrial focused research programs on the EHLA process - covering both existing/known capabilities and extensive future potential. The project will require 4 years and will cover the following key aspects: Acquisition and integration of suitable processing equipment as an enabler for EHLA innovation. Build, train and develop an expert team to drive and develop EHLA Investigate the capability of EHLA for coatings, repair and high-speed additive manufacturing Disseminate a portfolio of case studies to TWI industrial members and the wider academic and industry communities. Technology Concept The EHLA technology is capable of applying metallic coatings of 10 um to 300 um thick per layer at a maximum coverage rate of 250 cm2/min. Conventional laser metal deposition coverage rates are 10-40 cm2/min. This is achieved by melting the powder prior to reaching the substrate, thereby reducing the time/energy that would otherwise be needed to invoke melting of the substrate. The resultant quality of coating (>99.9% dense, metallurgically fused and defect free), can be considered superior to that of thermal spray technologies. The process is also an economic and more environmentally friendly alternative approach to hexavalent chromium plating. Project concept To achieve the goals of the project and aspirations of the proposer, FLF funding will enable the setup of an EHLA facility and appropriately, resource industrial focused research and innovation. The research will include high-speed coatings, metal additive freeform manufacturing, repair, and dissimilar material joining. The project will initially establish fundamentals of the process- and resultant material characteristics. Some of the expected, diverse, applications from current industrial engagement and support include: Next generation car brake discs Hexavalent chrome plating replacement, such as hydraulic shafts and offshore components. Hardfacing coatings of hard alloy or MMC materials including, valve seats and discs in gate valves valve stems, cylinders and tooling. Repair of blisks and blades for aerospace and energy applications. Impact FLF funding will significantly accelerate the introduction and operation of a first UK centre focused on giving industrial support to the EHLA process. It will also accelerate the career profile of the proposer and establish Josh Barras as a leading authority across the globe for the EHLA technology. This new disruptive technology has strong opportunities for UK and EU markets in many industrial sectors including automotive, offshore, energy, mining and drilling, and aerospace. With the technical and economic advantages of the EHLA process, the technology will create new opportunities and is expected to capture a large percentage of hard chrome plating and thermal spray markets. EHLA also has the potential to influence and disrupt a wider number of markets across coatings, repair, and additive manufacturing. The project is expected to create growth at TWI and into industrial companies following technology uptake. Within the first two years, TWI expects to create 2 new jobs and additional project income of >£1M, increasing to >£3M within 4 years, and >£5M and 6 new jobs within 8 years.

The surface treatment of niobium cavities has been shown to significantly influence the efficiency of high power, superconducting particle accelerators. Heat treatment and surface preparation processes that deposit nitrogen in the near-surface region of cavities can greatly improve machine efficiency and hence drive down the cost of performing research. An international research consortium is advancing the science of surface preparation for niobium cavities. The United Kingdom's academic institutes and businesses are not currently active in this forum. Knowledge sharing on developments in particle accelerator efficiency is therefore not guaranteed. As part of a project to support the US-led Proton Improvement Plan - Phase 2 (PIP-II), the UK is developing a supply chain for superconducting cavities. The scope of supply does not extend to the surface treatment of these cavities. The organisations involved are Daresbury Laboratory (within STFC-UKRI) and an industrial consortium led by The Welding Institute (TWI). The Proton Improvement Plan is part of a larger project to create Long Baseline Neutrino Facility (LBNF) in support of the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE). Benefits to science and industry of the UK's involvement in this broad initiative are captured in the outline business case for LBNF-DUNE. This proposal seeks to augment the scientific and economic benefits introduced in the LNBF-DUNE business case by developing processing techniques in the UK for superconducting accelerating cavities. Specifically, this proposal requests investment in two lines of scientific development: 1. nitrogen doping; and 2. chemical polishing to improve cavity efficiency. Within the work to develop chemical polishing techniques, will be the investigation of alternative polishing methods to reduce hazards associated with the current chemical procedures.

Huddersfield has an excellent research record on eddy current NDT&E, particularly pulsed eddy current and signal processing using experimental methods. Dr Theodoulidis has very good research records on analytical eddy current models and notable publication. Currently, there are gaps between theoretical and experimental eddy current NDT (ECT). For examples, analytical models of ECT concentrate on computation on coil impedance variation vs defects; in contrast, most experimental study of ECT investigates the magnetic field distribution vs defects. Many inverse models are investigated by experiments or numerical models, which is very costly. The proposed Visiting Fellowship is to enable Dr Theodoulidis (University of West Macedonia) to work in the Systems Engineering Research Group led by Professor Tian at Huddersfield. We propose to integrate the Truncated Region Eigenfunction Expansion (TREE) techniques into a wide range of our existing numerical electromagnetic simulation experimental studies on pulsed eddy current, micro magnetic sensor array, stress mapping and applications on stirring friction welds and detection of fatigue cracks in complex, multilayered structure.

Energy storage devices such as batteries and capacitors have become an integral part of our daily life and there is a tremendous zeal to accelerate this technology to be used in electric vehicles and grid storage. It also plays a vital role in mitigating climate change, and enables a low carbon economy by storing and utilising the energy generated from renewable resources. Although lithium ion batteries (LIBs) have dominated the market from 1990's, the shortage of resources and challenges faced in recycling LIBs which contain hazardous and reactive materials will have a detrimental effect on UK and make it dependent on external markets. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop energy storage devices with environmentally benign and sustainable materials that are easy to recycle which would lead the way to a circular economy. In this regard, Zn ion capacitors (ZICs) offer a sustainable, cost-effective (cost-per-kWh) and safe energy storage system which is also easy to recycle. Building on our previous work on using vitamin based ionic liquid electrolytes in batteries that are environmentally benign, the current project aims at developing Zn ion capacitors (ZICs) having high energy and power densities. This would lead ZICs to charge at a faster rate and store more energy. As an emerging topic, the major challenge in ZICs is the size and charge of Zn ions which are difficult to store at the cathode and leads to lower capacity and limited cyclability. Therefore, the project aims at 1. Developing suitable hybrid cathodes with 2D porous carbon embedded with transition metal oxides that can improve electronic conductivity and diffusion kinetics of Zn ions to obtain high power density, and also inducing storage sites in the cathode to obtain high energy density. 2. Understanding the Zn storage mechanism and impedimental reactions which take place in the capacitors by in situ measurement techniques in collaboration with Diamond Light Source. 3. Modulating the cathode to mitigate the impedimental reactions and improve the ZIC performance. 4. Engaging with project partners (TWI) for scale-up and implementation