Fred Starr takes a trip back to his first time visiting the USA, and the opportunities the country presents.
Materials World all features
Exciting raw materials potential meets the financial centre of the mining world. IOM3 and the St Petersburg Mining University hosted the 2nd Russia–UK Dialogue in London.
Nidarosdomen is the world’s northernmost gothic cathedral, centralised in Trondheim, northern Norway. Idha Valeur takes a look at the historical cathedral, Norway’s national shrine.
Professor David V Edmonds, University of Leeds, UK, explores a novel heat treatment concept for quenching and partitioning.
Sulphur feedstock is cheap, available and going to waste. Dr Joseph C Bear of Kingston University, UK, discusses the potential to use sulphur in polymer production.
Dr Nigel Cooke, Director of the UK Quality Ash Association (UKQAA), talks to Gary Peters on his career and the fly ash industry.
Lien Ngo explores materials’ place in the intersection between batteries and AI, and delves into the Internet of Materials.
Decommissioning the ever-growing number of end-of-life abandoned or orphaned mines and oil and gas wells is proving an increasingly costly and technical problem for companies, regulators and policymakers. Nicholas Newman investigates.
Liam Critchley examines in the graphene industry since 2017, and the paths towards commercialisation.
Dr Bernie Rickinson, departing CEO of IOM3, speaks to Ellis Davies about his time at the Institute, his career, and plans for the future.
MATERIAL MARVELS: WINDSOR CASTLE
Nov 2018
Windsor Castle returned to the public eye when Prince Harry married Meghan Markle on 19 May 2018. But the castle itself is the star, spanning Norman, gothic, medieval, Tudor, baroque and modern eras and styles. Ceri Jones takes a look at this building so deeply rooted in British history.
Sumitomo (SHI) Demag’s UK packaging expert Kevin Heap talks through the commercial and ecological benefits of injection compression moulding and how the technique compares with traditional moulding of ultra-thin plastic packaging.
Andrew Almond of European Powder Metallurgy Association* explains the metal injection moulding process and its benefits.
Professor Stephen Donnelly, Director of the Ion Beam Centre at the University of Huddersfield, UK, talks to Ellis Davies about his career, and the creation and purpose of the facility.
Neill Wood, Programme Director for MSc Surveying and Land/Environmental Management at the Camborne School of Mines, UK, looks at how geophysics can help surveyors analyse and test the ground below us.
Stuart Lyon, AkzoNobel Professor of Corrosion Control in the Corrosion and Protection Centre at the University of Manchester, UK, and Simon Gibbon, AkzoNobel Corrosion Community of Practise, discuss their strategic research partnership.
Michael Schwartz profiles a unique mineral deposit from Serbia.
Iain Wood, Regional SHE Manager at Element Material Technology talks to Ellis Davies about the health and safety involved in materials testing.
As the UK continues on its difficult path towards Brexit in March 2019, there is little said so far about European collaborative research and how this might continue with UK participation post-Brexit. Kevin Mottershead, Mark Chatterton and John Sharples describe some of these activities in nuclear research.
Qualifications in metallurgy are increasingly diminishing in the UK. Richard Brown of M&C Educational Training Services Ltd discusses the current situation and how metallurgy training can be saved.
Wolfgang Decker, Global Managing Director at Accenture, Germany, explores the complications and challenges of retrofitting machinery and systems to the Industrial Internet of Things.
Determining material hardness is a process that has been around for over 250 years, and it shows no signs falling down the pecking order. Materials World speaks to Sean Malloy who examines some of the most common tests being used in materials development.
Idha Valeur investigates the lay of the funding-land, the current R&D situation in the UK and what to expect with Brexit looming in the new year.
Idha Valeur talks to Dr Rebecca Boston, research fellow, about her career and how she secured five years of funding for her research into controlling crystal growth in materials.
SPOTLIGHT: HOW TO... USE CT SCANNING IN WELL BORE ANALYSIS
Ben Morgan of Nikon Metrology explains how the company’s computed tomography scans of rock core samples have been used to improve oil and gas flow predictions.
Trevor Wright , MTM Technical Specialist at analytical instruments company Shimadzu UK Limited, talks through the USF-2000A system and how it can be used to test metal samples.
Michael Schwartz reviews coal mined for steelmaking, and takes a look at companies involved in coking coal mining and exploration in Queensland, Australia.
Atomic Weapons Establishment scientists Giles Aldrich-Smith and Nicholas Bazin describe the development and validation of compact room scale fast neutron imaging capabilities.
Eric Kid , Bedford Reinforced Plastics, UK, looks at the use of fiberglass-reinforced polymer in bridge construction, reinforcement and retrofitting.
Ellis Davies speaks with Dr Kerim Sener, MD of Ariana Resources, about the challenges of establishing a gold mining company in Turkey
Professor Helmut Schober , Director, Institut Laue-Langevin, France, explores how the aerospace industry is reaching new heights with neutron and X-ray probing.
Mark Miodownik, Professor of Materials and Society at University College London, and Director of the Institute of Making, talks to Ellis Davies about his career and the future of materials science.
The Institute’s Light Metals Division board members Mike Clinch , Innoval Technology Ltd, and Paul Lyon , Luxfer MEL Technologies, UK, highlight some of the most exciting developments and opportunities in the UK light metals community.
HOW TO... EXAMINE MATERIALS USING BEAM-EXIT CROSS-SECTIONAL POLISHING
Dr Alex Robson, Lancaster Material Analysis Ltd explains the uses of beam-exit cross-sectional polishing.
Henniker Scientific Ltd, UK, explain the advantages of using plasma treatment to maintain microscopy equipment.
Peter Wilson* takes a look at the development, and some of the standout works of hardwood cross-laminated timber.
Paula Sonne of manufacturing company Wärtsilä, Finland, examines white metal laser technology and its applications across the metals industry.
Michael Forrest* explores the financing and exploration side of the mining sector, and takes a look at the FINEX conference ahead of its 2018 event.
Dr Kirsten Dyer, Senior Materials Engineer, Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult explores the testing and projects needed to avoid blade edge erosion through the development of advanced coatings.
Brett L Lucht, Professor of Chemistry, and Zachary L Brown, PhD student, at the University of Rhode Island, USA, talk about the development of lithium-ion batteries and the work done in their lab.
Professor Steve Dunn, Head of Chemical Engineering, London South Bank University, UK, examines the potential of waste heat energy and the technology that could be used to harness it.
Dr Philip Harrison, CEO of SofMat, talks to Gary Peters about the company’s anti-counterfeit 3D marking technologies, which are invisible to the naked eye and could have applications in a number of industries.
There are few sectors where academia and industry work so effectively in unison – horology is one. Ledetta Asfa-Wossen caught up with innovation and development expert Senad Hasanovic* at Ceramaret, Switzerland, to talk about the changing face of watchmaking.
Elizabeth Mills, Edward Pope, and Ian Masters* investigate biofouling and the challenges it causes for marine range hydropower.
A mausoleum and example of Indo-Islamic architecture, the Taj Mahal has become synonymous with India. However, it faces threats from pollution and tourism. Kathryn Allen takes a look at its history.
With the Institute’s Women into Fellowship initiative underway, Kathryn Allen talks to four Fellows about the application process and their experiences.
Kathryn Allen talks to Laura Jones CEng CEnv FIMMM about her career and chartership.
Michael Schwartz reports on a mining area that suffers from a negative image.
HOW TO... RESEARCH THE OCEAN FLOOR WITH AUTOMATION
The world’s deep-sea trenches are mysterious and relatively unexplored areas with the potential to influence the world’s climate. Automation is helping to analyse and answer the questions of the oceans depths, as Faulhaber explains.
Phil Webb, Cranfield University, UK, looks at automation and the potential of humans collaborating with robots.
Tim McCutcheon, President at Wealth Minerals, which has interests in Canada, Mexico, Peru, and Chile, tells Gary Peters about the company’s foray into lithium mining.
Tim Outteridge, Secretary-General, International Molybdenum Association looks into the recycling of gold from e-waste.
Malavika Nair, Professor Serena Best, and Professor Ruth Cameron investigate how to design ice-templated collagen scaffolds for tissue regeneration.
Dr Karen Alvey and Dr David Scurr explore the analysis of nanoscale materials and the work carried out at the University of Nottingham’s Nanoscale and Microscale Research Centre, UK.
Michael Schwartz looks at mining companies’ role in Lesotho’s economy and their views on the country as a mining-friendly administration.
Beth Harlen looks at the technology helping doctors and medical device developers make better use of materials information to help engineering enterprises use them creatively in their products.
David Kelly, Group Director of the UK’s Building Research Establishment’s Innovation Parks Network, talks to Gary Peters about how the organisation is engaging with the sustainability agenda, and how it developed its dementia-friendly and flood-resistant homes.
Biobanks and resources have opened up a whole new way of performing research with big cohorts of patients. Anna Perman investigates.
Researchers from the Universities of Sheffield, Brighton, Liverpool, and the King’s College London Dental Institute, UK, present case studies covering the use of materials to overcome challenges in medicine.
In 1997, the current land speed record was set following a race to Mach 1.
MATERIAL MARVELS: CLIMBING HIGH
The Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates, stands as an impressive feat of architecture and engineering, comprising meticulous structural design, as Ellis Davies reports.
Peter Morgan, Technical Product Specialist at Elementar UK, discusses how 3D printing works, the role of metals and plastics in the process, and what techniques can be used for quality control.
Trisha Rice, Vice President and General Manager of materials science solutions at Thermo Fisher Scientific, talks about the company’s new analysing technology for additive manufacture.
Since Adam Waugh joined BlueRock Diamonds as CEO, the company has undergone a mini revolution, following a number of issues, including poor machinery. He tells Gary Peters what has changed and why the future now looks a lot brighter.
The amount of single-use plastic material littering the countryside, rivers, and oceans has stirred plenty of emotion in recent months. But, what can be done to change this? Stuart Patrick* investigates.
Ion adsorption type deposits (IOA) are two faced. They supply much of the world’s most critical rare earths (REE), but their mining process has led to the destruction of agricultural areas in South East China. Now, the search is on to find similar deposits outside the country – and to learn how to mine and process them in an environmentally friendly way, as Martin Smith, Eva Marquis, and Frances Wall* report.
3D printing, or additive manufacturing (AM), has the potential to transform the maritime industry and redefine the entire supply chain. Alan Johnstone investigates how the industry can navigate the way into the future of spare parts.
Alastair Marsh, University of Bath, UK, Cecilia Isvén, Senior Technical Consultant at IBM, and Peter Gates, Associate Structural Engineer at Giraffe Engineering, UK, talk about how engineers can support the greater good.
Michael Schwartz talks to Dr Cliff Taylor, a US Geological Survey senior geologist, about Mauritania’s mining success, and profiles Algold Resources, which owns the Tijirit resource in the northwest of the country.
Espen Storkaas, ABB’s Vice President of Industry Sector Digital Lead, Upstream Oil, Gas, and Chemicals, is a man in the know when it comes to technology in the energy sector. As he tells Gary Peters, the key hurdle to overcome is how it is used in the field.
Mark Summers, Head of Technology (Manufacturing, Materials, & Structures) at the Aerospace Technology Institute, UK, talks to Gary Peters about the use of graphene and composites in aerospace, and recent INSIGHT paper, Graphene Exploitation materials applications in aerospace.
Professor Steve Dunn, University of Hertfordshire, UK, dissects the electric change in automotive transport.
Hydrogen could revolutionise the rail industry, and plans are gathering pace, as witnessed with the Coradia iLint train, which is undergoing pilot tests in Germany. But, could hydrogen become the pre-eminent method of moving people from A to B? Gary Peters reports.
Kathryn Allen takes a look at recent reports on the apprenticeship levy.
Kathryn Allen examines what digitalisation could mean for career paths and job requirements.
Kathryn Allen talks to Dr Lilian Hodgson FIMMM about choosing a career path and maintaining a work–life balance.
FOX MARBLE – STANDING TALL IN KOSOVO
Chris Gilbert, CEO at Fox Marble, a UK-based quarrying, stone processing and dimension stone company, speaks to Gary Peters about his career in the record business and entertainment industry, and the potential of developing Kosovo’s unexploited natural resources.
Andrew Pollard and Dr Ravi Sundaram outline the growing potential of 2D materials, such as graphene and molybdenum disulphide, and how they can make their way into everyday life.
Micah Willbrand, Global Head of Anti-Bribery & Corruption Solutions at Nice Actimize, an international firm that fights financial crime, argues that the mining industry needs to open its eyes to the use of technology in the fight against bribery and corruption.
Deep coal mining in the UK might have ceased, but landscapes are still dominated by its legacy. Eric Burgess, from the Coal Authority, examines how to keep environments safe.
Jarkko Väinämö, CTO at Norsepower Oy Ltd, analyses the role that sandwich composites can play in wind propulsion and in efforts to decarbonise the maritime industry.
Rowena Sellens is CEO of Econic Technologies, a company that uses captured CO2 in the production of plastics. Here, she tells Gary Peters how the technology works and the potential impact on CO2 emissions.
Michael Schwartz reviews the ever-improving situation in Serbia, as this Balkan mining nation looks to continue its rise up the league tables.
The UK government is keen to burnish its low carbon credentials and has unveiled a variety of measures for doing so over the past two years. But, Rhiannon Garth Jones asks, is it all just (the wrong kind of) hot air?
A major part of global trade routes, the Panama Canal celebrated its centenary in 2014. However, the first attempt to build the canal failed. Kathryn Allen examines how the waterway, nevertheless, became
a vital access point.
Joakim Fagerlund*, Senior R&D Engineerat steel solutions company Ovako, Sweden, talks about the company’s new online heat treatment guide.
LEAD IN WATER – KEEPING IT CLEAN
Dr Jeremy Hopwood investigates the problem of lead in tap water and what can be done to better protect the UK’s drinking supply.
Over the past 17 years, the amount of PVC recycled annually in Europe has jumped from around 0 to 600,000 tonnes. Brigitte Dero explains how.
Chris Armitage, Chief Executive at Heliex Power, explains why steam power is making an overdue comeback.
Mali is climbing the ranks of the mining world. Michael Schwartz explains how.
Society is progressing towards a future where digital connectivity exceeds the personal computer. With this comes the Internet of Things, which, according to Veronika Kapsali, could prove useful for textiles.
Guglielmo Carra, who leads Arup’s Materials Consulting team in Europe, tells Gary Peters why organic waste should be used as a vital resource in the future.
Mike Lawrence, who has spent 12 years working in the field of natural building materials, examines why there is growing interest in plant-based alternatives in the construction industry.
Kathryn Allen talks to Dr Nan Li, Lecturer at the Dyson School of Design Engineering, Imperial College London, UK, about her career to date and the importance of mentoring.
Protolabs, UK, explains how to make the step from planning to production using injection moulding.
Materials World talks to Nigel Flowers, UK Managing Director at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, about injection moulding with bio-plastics.
Richard Gregory, Quality and Engineering Director of the composites facility at Prodrive, explains the process of back-injection moulding of carbon composite parts.
Only in Las Vegas, USA, could you get a brain clinic that has an alter ego as an events venue, the Lou Ruvo Clinic for Brain Health. Ines Nastali investigates the materials used to build the hospital with a twist.
MATERIAL MARVELS: LINKING A NATION
In smaller countries, the links that connect communities rarely register. However, in vast landscapes, across numerous time zones, such as Russia, the importance of transport cannot be overlooked, as Gary Peters reports.
Alexandra Mitchell, Alison Allen and Edvard Glücksman compare the EU environmental directives and the World Bank’s IFC Performance Standards, and how these assist in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals, in relation to infrastructure projects.
Paul Bradley, Operations Manager at the Mines Inspectorate, talks to Gary Peters about the ins and out of having responsibility for all UK underground mining operations.
An EU-backed project has developed a set of best practices to analyse short- and long-term environmental risks of shale gas exploration, as Dr Catherine Isherwood explains.
James Tallentire and Gary Peters explain how the Henry Royce Institute attempts to develop and secure a world leading advanced materials sector in the UK.
Historically, battery development has focused on energy density and thermal stability. However, researchers are now becoming interested in measuring the thermal properties of the active materials and the electrodes that incorporate these materials, as Sharon Dalton-Castor, Brad Hammond, Suresh Sriramulu, and Peter Ralbovsky explain.
Michael Schwartz looks at the rise of Ethiopia’s mining sector and profiles some of the companies that help create the country’s exceptional growth.
Sharon Ann Holgate investigates the developments allowing scientists to go to the next level at some of the most advanced physics facilities ever built.
In a typical year, Axiom Engineering Associates might undertake 50 metallurgical failure investigations. Steve Woodward takes a tour of its black museum of failure.
Tim Norman* explains what to consider when inspecting and assessing the condition of cast iron water pipes.
Ellis Davies takes a look at some of the tourist mines around the UK.
SPEEDING TO A SUPERCAPACITIVE POLYMER
Gary Peters talks to Dr Maria Asplund, from the Department of Microsystems Engineering, University of Freiburg, Germany, about the SPEEDER project – a plan to create a supercapacitive polymer.
Leslie M Shore examines the legacy of William Menelaus, a renowned engineer-industrialist who played a role in the creation of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining, 200 years since his birth.
Michael Schwartz examines the ins and outs of the mining sector in Tanzania, and political efforts to make it a fundamental part of the country’s financial backbone.
Stronger, high-temperature steels are being developed in an effort to improve the efficiency of conventional power plants and reduce CO2 emissions. Professor Scott Lockyer, Dr Mark Jepson and Dr David Allen discuss the potential of MarBN steels to meet these requirements.
Gary Peters talks to Sam Olof about a method to 3D print laboratory-grown cells to form living structures
Professor John L Provis and Dr Susan A Bernal look at the possibility of producing environmentally friendly cements.
Dr Arnab Basu investigates the growing potential of cadmium zinc telluride, a semiconductor that is making waves, and asks, can it really transform the world of X-ray and gamma ray detectors?
Hybrid steel is, according to Ovako’s Patrik Ölund, Jan-Erik Andersson and Fredrik Lindberg, set to open up new possibilities for highly stressed components.
Gary Peters sits down with John Peters and Peter Wale from Strategic Minerals to find out more about the company’s Redmoor project, in Cornwall, UK.
Luxembourg has passed legislation to enable private companies to mine in space. Is it a fantasy worthy of science fiction or the future of the mining industry? Rhiannon Garth Jones investigates.
From its completion in 1937 to the construction of the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in New York in 1964, the Golden Gate Bridge had the longest main span in the world. It now stands as an iconic landmark in San Francisco. Kathryn Allen reports.
Kathryn Allen speaks to Abbie Hutty about her career and transition from university to industry.
Afzana Anwer offers insight into best practices for capturing and protecting innovation in scientific research to generate alternative funding sources for universities.
Cement is created by a complex process involving multiple ingredients, testing is therefore essential to ensure compliance with specification and application requirements. Alfonso Rivera, Technical Department and Field Service Manager for materials testing ELE International, UK, reports.
NO STOPPING LITHIUM
Lithium is the element of the moment, and analysts expect demand to grow more than 20% annually through to 2030. Pertti Lamberg and Chris Broadbent take a closer look at ambitious plans by Finnish mining company Keliber to produce 9,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per annum.
Bruce Madu, of Geoscience BC, talks to Gary Peters about developing techniques that use snow, soil and trees to identify buried mineral deposits.
Michael Schwartz investigates how Armenia is attracting investment in its mining sector through a supportive government and diverse mineral wealth.
Gary Peters speaks to Jon Schwantes about the Nuclear Forensics International Technical Working Group (ITWG) and how to respond to incidents of nuclear and radioactive materials out of regulatory control.
Developing materials that can withstand the harsh realities of the environments they are used in remains a significant challenge. The UK’s Henry Royce Institute, a diverse group of universities and organisations, aims to change this through the M4DE concept, as Michael Preuss and Freyja Peters explain.
Dr Salah Rahimi and Stuart Laidlaw investigate the advances in technology to detect, measure and control residual stress.
Ledetta Asfa-Wossen examines the shrewd material innovations underway to address humanitarian needs.
Mike Unsworth is the director of engineering and construction at Tidal Lagoon Power. Here, the mechanical engineer tells Ines Nastali what materials will be used to build the planned tidal power lagoons in Wales and explains how to maintain them.
Nancy Sottos talks to Khai Trung Le about smart coatings that can identify and even fix damage before it’s visible to the naked eye.
At the western point of Hamburg’s HafenCity, Germany, stands Europe’s largest inner-city development, Elbphilharmonie, which is set to become a centre for culture and social life, as Ellis Davies reports.
Dr. Roger Barnett, Applications Development Engineer, Carl Zeiss Microscopy Ltd, gives an overview of microscopy in the metals industry.
SPOTLIGHT – HOW TO... CHARACTERISE AND ANALYSE MATERIALS WITH A QUANTUM TRANSPORT MEASUREMENT SYSTEM
Dr Harriet van der Vliet*, Quantum Engineer at Oxford Instruments, Dr George Lengel at SPECS-TII Inc. and Dr Alessandro Pioda at SPECS Zurich GmbH explain how quantum transport measurement systems, such as the Nanonis Tramea, facilitate research in device characterisation.
SPOTLIGHT – A SNAPSHOT OF ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
Dr Martin Baumers, Assistant Professor of Additive Manufacturing Management at the Centre for Additive Manufacturing, UK, takes a look at the industry and the materials it uses.
Kathryn Allen talks to Peter Winebloom, Technical Training Director at EEF – The Manufacturers’ Organisation, UK, about his career to date, technical training and the apprenticeship levy.
Kathryn Allen looks at how the apprenticeship levy is shaping UK investment in technical education.
In the 1930s, during a time of global depression, the Hoover Dam project brings work to the western American states and valuable lessons for future dam engineering. Ines Nastali reports.
Michael Schwartz examines the challenges facing the South African mining sector and asks, how long will they last?
In the last ten years, the number of local authorities collecting beverage cartons at kerbside has jumped from 10% to 67%. Mandy Kelly, from The Alliance for Beverage Cartons and the Environment, outlines how it was done.
Anglo American’s Tracey Kerr argues that the mining industry has to be bold and brave in its climate change targets.
Professor Jacqueline Glass looks at what can be done to ensure organisations are sourcing materials from ethical and responsible suppliers.
The global mining equipment market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% over the next decade, reaching US$198.3bln by 2025. But what factors are influencing this upward trend? Ledetta Asfa-Wossen reports.
Markus Mannström, Executive Vice President Biomaterials at packaging and pulp company Stora Enso, tells Gary Peters why wooden biomaterials
need to be put on the map.
An effective way to reduce CO2 emissions is to use supplementary cementitious materials such as calcined clays, as Mark Tyrer, Christopher Cheeseman and
Alan Maries argue.
Crossrail’s boring machines excavated 42km of tunnels for the new train line that will run through the south east of England in 2019, but what happens to the excavated material? Ines Nastali investigates.
Gary Taylor, Regional Manager at additive manufacturing service provider EOS UK and Ireland, explains the transformative nature of additive manufacturing.