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.
Materials World all features
Oct 2018
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.
Oct 2018
Michael Schwartz reviews coal mined for steelmaking, and takes a look at companies involved in coking coal mining and exploration in Queensland, Australia.
Oct 2018
Atomic Weapons Establishment scientists Giles Aldrich-Smith and Nicholas Bazin describe the development and validation of compact room scale fast neutron imaging capabilities.
Oct 2018
Eric Kid, Bedford Reinforced Plastics, UK, looks at the use of fiberglass-reinforced polymer in bridge construction, reinforcement and retrofitting.
Oct 2018
Ellis Davies speaks with Dr Kerim Sener, MD of Ariana Resources, about the challenges of establishing a gold mining company in Turkey
Oct 2018
Professor Helmut Schober, Director, Institut Laue-Langevin, France, explores how the aerospace industry is reaching new heights with neutron and X-ray probing.
Oct 2018
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.
Oct 2018
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
1 Sep 2018
Dr Alex Robson, Lancaster Material Analysis Ltd explains the uses of beam-exit cross-sectional polishing.
1 Sep 2018
Henniker Scientific Ltd, UK, explain the advantages of using plasma treatment to maintain microscopy equipment.
1 Sep 2018
Peter Wilson* takes a look at the development, and some of the standout works of hardwood cross-laminated timber.
1 Sep 2018
Paula Sonne of manufacturing company Wärtsilä, Finland, examines white metal laser technology and its applications across the metals industry.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
Elizabeth Mills, Edward Pope, and Ian Masters* investigate biofouling and the challenges it causes for marine range hydropower.
1 Sep 2018
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.
1 Sep 2018
With the Institute’s Women into Fellowship initiative underway, Kathryn Allen talks to four Fellows about the application process and their experiences.
1 Sep 2018
Kathryn Allen talks to Laura Jones CEng CEnv FIMMM about her career and chartership.
1 Sep 2018
Michael Schwartz reports on a mining area that suffers from a negative image.
HOW TO... RESEARCH THE OCEAN FLOOR WITH AUTOMATION
1 Aug 2018
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.
1 Aug 2018
Phil Webb, Cranfield University, UK, looks at automation and the potential of humans collaborating with robots.
1 Aug 2018
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.
1 Aug 2018
Tim Outteridge, Secretary-General, International Molybdenum Association looks into the recycling of gold from e-waste.
1 Aug 2018
Malavika Nair, Professor Serena Best, and Professor Ruth Cameron investigate how to design ice-templated collagen scaffolds for tissue regeneration.
1 Aug 2018
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.
1 Aug 2018
Michael Schwartz looks at mining companies’ role in Lesotho’s economy and their views on the country as a mining-friendly administration.
1 Aug 2018
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.
1 Aug 2018
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.
1 Aug 2018
Biobanks and resources have opened up a whole new way of performing research with big cohorts of patients. Anna Perman investigates.
1 Aug 2018
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.
1 Aug 2018
In 1997, the current land speed record was set following a race to Mach 1.
MATERIAL MARVELS: CLIMBING HIGH
1 Jul 2018
The Burj Khalifa, United Arab Emirates, stands as an impressive feat of architecture and engineering, comprising meticulous structural design, as Ellis Davies reports.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
Professor Steve Dunn, University of Hertfordshire, UK, dissects the electric change in automotive transport.
1 Jul 2018
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.
1 Jul 2018
Kathryn Allen takes a look at recent reports on the apprenticeship levy.
1 Jul 2018
Kathryn Allen examines what digitalisation could mean for career paths and job requirements.
1 Jul 2018
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
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
Michael Schwartz reviews the ever-improving situation in Serbia, as this Balkan mining nation looks to continue its rise up the league tables.
1 Jun 2018
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?
1 Jun 2018
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.
1 Jun 2018
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
1 May 2018
Dr Jeremy Hopwood investigates the problem of lead in tap water and what can be done to better protect the UK’s drinking supply.
1 May 2018
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.
1 May 2018
Chris Armitage, Chief Executive at Heliex Power, explains why steam power is making an overdue comeback.
1 May 2018
Mali is climbing the ranks of the mining world. Michael Schwartz explains how.
1 May 2018
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.
1 May 2018
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.
1 May 2018
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.
1 May 2018
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.
1 May 2018
Protolabs, UK, explains how to make the step from planning to production using injection moulding.
1 May 2018
Materials World talks to Nigel Flowers, UK Managing Director at Sumitomo (SHI) Demag, about injection moulding with bio-plastics.
1 May 2018
Richard Gregory, Quality and Engineering Director of the composites facility at Prodrive, explains the process of back-injection moulding of carbon composite parts.
1 May 2018
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
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
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.
1 Apr 2018
Sharon Ann Holgate investigates the developments allowing scientists to go to the next level at some of the most advanced physics facilities ever built.
1 Apr 2018
In a typical year, Axiom Engineering Associates might undertake 50 metallurgical failure investigations. Steve Woodward takes a tour of its black museum of failure.
1 Apr 2018
Tim Norman* explains what to consider when inspecting and assessing the condition of cast iron water pipes.
1 Apr 2018
Ellis Davies takes a look at some of the tourist mines around the UK.
SPEEDING TO A SUPERCAPACITIVE POLYMER
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
Gary Peters talks to Sam Olof about a method to 3D print laboratory-grown cells to form living structures
1 Mar 2018
Professor John L Provis and Dr Susan A Bernal look at the possibility of producing environmentally friendly cements.
1 Mar 2018
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?
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
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.
1 Mar 2018
Kathryn Allen speaks to Abbie Hutty about her career and transition from university to industry.
1 Mar 2018
Afzana Anwer offers insight into best practices for capturing and protecting innovation in scientific research to generate alternative funding sources for universities.
1 Mar 2018
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
1 Feb 2018
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.
1 Feb 2018
Bruce Madu, of Geoscience BC, talks to Gary Peters about developing techniques that use snow, soil and trees to identify buried mineral deposits.
1 Feb 2018
Michael Schwartz investigates how Armenia is attracting investment in its mining sector through a supportive government and diverse mineral wealth.
1 Feb 2018
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.
1 Feb 2018
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.
1 Feb 2018
Dr Salah Rahimi and Stuart Laidlaw investigate the advances in technology to detect, measure and control residual stress.
1 Feb 2018
Ledetta Asfa-Wossen examines the shrewd material innovations underway to address humanitarian needs.
1 Feb 2018
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.
1 Feb 2018
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.
1 Feb 2018
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.
1 Feb 2018
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
1 Feb 2018
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
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
Kathryn Allen looks at how the apprenticeship levy is shaping UK investment in technical education.
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
Michael Schwartz examines the challenges facing the South African mining sector and asks, how long will they last?
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
Anglo American’s Tracey Kerr argues that the mining industry has to be bold and brave in its climate change targets.
1 Jan 2018
Professor Jacqueline Glass looks at what can be done to ensure organisations are sourcing materials from ethical and responsible suppliers.
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
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.
1 Jan 2018
Gary Taylor, Regional Manager at additive manufacturing service provider EOS UK and Ireland, explains the transformative nature of additive manufacturing.
