A flow wrap for high volume metal products that is said to prevent corrosion during storage has been launched by Technology Packaging, based in Northwood, UK. 

A long-time proponent of high-speed rail in the UK, Professor Roderick Smith of Imperial College London is passionate about showing people how engineering can improve their lives.

A process for imparting wear, abrasion and chemical resistance to titanium components has been developed, say researchers at Hardide Coatings, based in Bicester, UK. The Hardide-T coating, made from nanostructured tungsten carbide, is applied using low temperature chemical vapour deposition (CVD).

As fusion power becomes more of a reality, scientists at the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority are working against the clock to develop materials that can handle its extreme conditions.

Diamond explorers might have a new tool at their disposal as research in Australia is underway into a thermochronology technique for detecting indicator mineral zircon. The team believes its approach could improve upon traditional methods that involve searching for kimberlite indicator minerals (KIMs) such as garnet and diopside.

A representative body for the aggregates, asphalt, cement, concrete, lime, mortar and silica sand industries has been established. The Mineral Products Association (MPA aims to provide a single effective voice for 222 members, who are the single largest supplier of materials to the UK construction sector, which has been hit severely by the recession.

Ionic liquids could boost the efficiency of removing impurities from natural gas and have potential for capturing carbon from coal-fired plants, say researchers at a US university spin-out company.

UK scientists have developed a computer model that is said to make more accurate predictions of creep within turbine blades. The software accounts for microstructural behaviour in nickel superalloys.

Scientists in the USA are exploring pore-free and fully-dense neodymium-doped yttrium aluminium garnet (Nd:YAG) advanced ceramics. They believe these optically transparent materials could eventually replace YAG crystals in lasers for improved quality.