In May 2005, the investigators of this new proposal started a one-year feasibility study (EP/C517695/1 & EP/C517709/1) of a novel NDE techniques that showed cracks in metal components can be detected by thermography using cw and pulse laser beam heating. The study was a targeted research project funded by EPSRC and three RCNDE industrial partners (Rolls-Royce, BNFL & RWE Npower) through the UK Research Centre in Non Destructive Evaluation (RCNDE). A short feasibility study was requested by RCNDE at the outset because the proposed techniques were untried and judged to have significant technical risk, but there was agreement from the RCNDE Board that if the results obtained in the feasibility study were encouraging, an application would follow for a full research programme which is the current research proposal. The RCNDE Board have agreed that a more extensive investigation should proceed as a targeted research project supported by the same industrial partners, listed above. The EPSRC Review of the Final Report on the feasibility study ranked the outcome as tending to outstanding . The new method of laser beam heating for thermography has all the advantages of conventional flash lamp thermography NDE: it is a non-contact technique; it provides a very clear and simple to interpret defect indication; large areas can be inspected rapidly (using a scanned pulse laser beam) and it requires little sample surface preparation. In addition, where a pulsed laser is used, ultrasonic waves are generated simultaneously and can be monitored to confirm the presence of a crack and to further characterise it. Currently, most complex components, eg gas turbine blades, are inspected for cracks by the fluorescent dye penetrant method which relies on careful and time-consuming component cleaning and surface preparation and is prone to false-calls caused by surface scratches producing indications of cracks. Our new techniques provide an attractive alternative that has the potential of being quicker, more reliable and of providing more quantitative information about a detected defect. In addition, because laser beams can be delivered along optical fibres and very small infrared cameras are now available, the techniques offer a means of inspecting parts where access is severely restricted / eg inside tubes. Whilst the one year feasibility study has shown the new NDE techniques to have the exciting advantages summarised above, they are not ready for implementation in industry because their defect detection sensitivities have not been determined and their reliability in the inspection of real components has not been tested. The tasks of this follow on project are to complete the required investigations that are necessary to bring a new NDE technique to the point at which it can be introduced into industry.

In May 2005, the investigators of this new proposal started a one-year feasibility study (EP/C517695/1 & EP/C517709/1) of a novel NDE technique that showed cracks in metal components can be detected by thermography using cw and pulse laser beam heating. The study was a targeted research project funded by EPSRC and three RCNDE industrial partners (Rolls-Royce, BNFL & RWE Npower) through the UK Research Centre in Non Destructive Evaluation (RCNDE). A short feasibility study was requested by RCNDE at the outset because the proposed techniques were untried and judged to have significant technical risk, but there was agreement from the RCNDE Board that if the results obtained in the feasibility study were encouraging, an application would follow for a full research programme which is the current research proposal. The RCNDE Board have agreed that a more extensive investigation should proceed as a targeted research project supported by the same industrial partners, listed above. The EPSRC Review of the Final Report on the feasibility study ranked the outcome as tending to outstanding . The new method of laser beam heating for thermography has all the advantages of conventional flash lamp thermography NDE: it is a non-contact technique; it provides a very clear and simple to interpret defect indication; large areas can be inspected rapidly (using a scanned pulse laser beam) and it requires little sample surface preparation. In addition, where a pulsed laser is used, ultrasonic waves are generated simultaneously and can be monitored to confirm the presence of a crack and to further characterise it. Currently, most complex components, eg gas turbine blades, are inspected for cracks by the fluorescent dye penetrant method which relies on careful and time-consuming component cleaning and surface preparation and is prone to false-calls caused by surface scratches producing indications of cracks. Our new techniques provide an attractive alternative that has the potential of being quicker, more reliable and of providing more quantitative information about a detected defect. In addition, because laser beams can be delivered along optical fibres and very small infrared cameras are now available, the techniques offer a means of inspecting parts where access is severely restricted / eg inside tubes. Whilst the one year feasibility study has shown the new NDE techniques to have the exciting advantages summarised above, they are not ready for implementation in industry because their defect detection sensitivities have not been determined and their reliability in the inspection of real components has not been tested. The tasks of this follow on project are to complete the required investigations that are necessary to bring a new NDE technique to the point at which it can be introduced into industry.

Meso-Net is a Network project over three years which brings together the science and user communities involved in air quality research and assessment. Mathematical models are a key tool for air quality research and policy support. Over the past few decades most models for air quality applications have been based on simpler approaches. Although these models require modest input data and computer performance, they include significantly simplified treatment of emissions, meteorology and atmospheric chemistry. However, a number of numerical models now exist that include a more complete treatment of atmospheric dynamics and chemistry for air quality applications on urban to regional scales. Although much effort has been devoted in this area internationally, UK on the whole has been slow to benefit from new modelling developments. Recently, research groups and users within the UK have started to adapt and use such models for air pollution research and assessment. Furthermore, initiatives are underway to further develop the Met Office's Unified Model for air quality and climate applications on a range of spatial scales. The overall aim of Meso-Net is to significantly improve the UK capability for developing and applying high resolution air quality mesoscale models to address the needs of policy, regulation and research. From the user perspective there is a need for integrated policies to reduce the impact of air pollution on different spatial and temporal scales. Meso-Net will encourage consistent and coherent approaches and will provide a framework to stimulate such work as well as carry out specific activities mentioned below. Meso-Net will establish robust communication and interaction mechanisms between the air quality, meteorological and climate research communities and policy, regulation and industrial users. It will strengthen knowledge transfer from the science community to users to provide new generation models to support policy and regulation needs. It will do this by establishing direct interaction between the science and user communities through workshops, working groups, seminars, exchange visits and training sessions. It will lead to practical frameworks for users and the research community to have access to the latest advanced models for solving air quality problems. Meso-Net will have a major impact in the following ways: (i) It will provide, for the first time, strategic coordination of a wide range of disparate activities in the UK on mesoscale modelling for air quality applications and a mechanism for users to derive maximum benefit from research developments in this area; (ii) It will coordinate the current support structures to address the needs of the growing advanced air quality modelling community; (iii) It will stimulate interaction between the different sections of the atmospheric science communities which hitherto have tended to work separately with separate goals; (iv) It will significantly enhance the international competitiveness of UK capabilities in high resolution modelling for air quality research and policy applications.

The research consists of three parallel activities, within three different departments at Imperial College London: Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering and Materials. Chemical Engineering The Chemical Engineering activity will include the validation and demonstration of a scheme for separating CO2 from oxy-combustion effluent gases, utilising a proprietary reaction/separation scheme proposed by Air Products. At present, there are insufficient data to confidently predict the performance of the scheme under industrial conditions and full process design. To this purpose a theoretical, modelling and experimental study will be carried out, involving five steps: 1) the design and commissioning of a laboratory rig suitable for characterisation of the underlying main reaction and mass exchange mechanisms involved, using a well characterised synthetic effluent gas that simulates the actual effluents (but without impurities such as mercury and arsenic); 2) the design and execution of a set of experiments with these synthetic feeds, followed by data analysis and model development; 3) the design and commissioning of a ruggedised reactor/separator rig, suitable for operation in a pilot plant environment, and its validation against the laboratory rig using the same relatively clean synthetic feeds; 4) the commissioning and running of the pilot plant reactor/separator rig at the pilot plant site, utilising the actual effluents produced by the oxy-combustion of pulverised coal; and 5) the analysis of the pilot plant data. This will enable us to: a) assess the separation achieved in practice under various conditions, in terms of purities, recoveries, efficiencies, etc., for CO2 and other main species of interest (such as NOx, SOx, mercury, chlorine); b) to produce a set of quality data suitable for modelling development and estimation of the main mechanisms and parameters involved: c) to produce a set of mathematical models that make use of those data; and d) to assess the ability of the theoretical and numerical models to represent the data obtained, their predictive capabilities over a range of operations, and their potential for use in subsequent process development and design of equipment at a much larger (industrial) scale. Mechanical Engineering The Mechanical Engineering activity will include measuring ignition behaviour of coal dust suspensions in O2/CO2 mixtures representative of oxyfuel power plant conditions using the NIOSH 20 litre ignition test vessel. Tests will be undertaken on the same six coals characterised using different techniques at Nottingham and results will be compared for cross-checking and to identify appropriate fundamental coal property test methods to support future oxyfuel developments. Staff will work closely with industrial staff at RWE to identify novel Reliability, Availability, Maintainability and Operability (RAMO) issues for a range of oxyfuel plant design options and key factors likely to have significant effects on plant performance. They will identify how existing knowledge on coal utilisation science can be applied to analyse and predict RAMO issues, and will specify and undertake any additional fundamental coal characterisation tests that may be possible within the scope of the project and identify and analyse further key fundamental coal utilisation research needs to support RAMO performance prediction and improvement in new oxyfuel plants. Materials The Materials activity will acquire samples of coal, ash and deposits from oxyfuel trials on the E.ON combustion test facility and characterise the microstructures and chemical compositions of these samples, mainly by electron microscopy. This will allow the difference in behaviour of coal minerals and ash between oxyfuel and conventional pulverised coal combustion conditions to be investigated, and the impact of oxyfuel combustion on coal ash properties and boiler deposition to be predicted.

Bioenergy is now becoming a commercial reality, ranging from cofiring in power stations, small units for power and/or heat, as well as transport fuels such as biodiesel. This SUPERGEN bioenergy project will continue to deliver the scientific background to the provision and utilisation of bioenergy, as well as innovative concepts for new applications. The research brings together growers, biologists, agronomists, economists, scientists and engineers in a unique multi-disciplinary team that will tackle the challenges associated with the further development of this renewable resource in a sustainable manner. The extended programme examines production and utilisation related factors that affect quality and suitability of a biomass fuel for different end uses, with a particular emphasis on the energy crops, willow and miscanthus, as well as more diverse fuel streams including residues and co-products. The work programme ranges from practical issues associated with fuel handling and preparation, to fundamental studies of genetics, agronomy and chemistry that affect both desirable and undesirable fuel characteristics. In addition, key engineering solutions for the successful development of biomass thermal conversion technologies are sought through (a) an understanding of the basic science in thermal conversion and (b) component and plant engineering issues. These topics are developed further in this renewal proposal through advanced engineering models complemented by experimental studies in a range of combustion, gasification and pyrolysis units.In addition, the scope of the project has been widened in this continuation to consider challenges in fuels and chemicals production from biomass, integrated with energy production in a bio-refinery approach.