New generation insulation material for use within the building envelope

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EPSRC
NERC
NERC
NERC
NERC

No funds listed.

Sept. 30, 2019

Dec. 31, 2023

TATA steel is Europe's second largest steel producer and under its Building Systems division, has extensive insulating panel manufacturing capabilities throughout Europe. In the UK alone, the steel faced insulated panel market is worth over £200 million pounds per annum. This type of produce is governed by European Standard EN14509.

Since the Grenfell Tower disaster in June 2017, reviews of building regulations have resulted in all combustible materials being banned for high rise residential building. Further reviews for all building types are ongoing. With building designers not being allowed to use highly efficient thermally insulating product (i.e. PIR foams) in these types of buildings, demand is rising for non-combustible products (stone wool). With weight and thermal performance being approximately half of the combustible alternatives, the result is lower thermal efficiency in new and refurbished buildings and greater structural costs.

In order to meet government targets on CO2 and gain efficiencies within building design, TATA Steel UK wish to investigate novel insulating materials that are non-combustible, <50Kg/m3, below 0.035 W/mK and lend themselves to adhering to steel face skins.

It is anticipated a range of techniques will be required including but not limited to: Simultaneous Thermal Analysis (STA), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) and Fourier-transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), to characterise substrate material and an identified range of potential novel insulating materials capable of delivering high standards of thermal performance.

The Research Engineer will work closely with the insulating panel manufacturing site in North Wales, to understand manufacturing capabilities and the appropriate legislative drivers. It is intended the experimental programme will deliver a product suitable for upscaling, leading to a roll out across manufacturing sites throughout Europe.

Potential Impact:
The CDT will produce 50 graduates with doctoral level knowledge and research skills focussed on the development and manufacture of functional industrial coatings. Key impact areas are:

Knowledge
- The development of new products and processes to address real scientific challenges existing in industry and to transfer this knowledge into partnering companies. The CDT will enable rapid knowledge transfer between academia and industry due to the co-created projects and co-supervision.
- The creation of knowledge sharing network for partner companies created by the environment of the CDT.
- On average 2-3 publications per RE. Publications in high impact factor journals. The scientific scope of the CDT comprises a mixture of interdisciplinary areas and as such a breadth of knowledge can be generated through the CDT. Examples would include Photovoltaic coatings - Journal of Materials Chemistry A (IF 8.867) and Anti-corrosion Coatings - Corrosion Science (IF 5.245), Progress in Organic Coatings (IF 2.903)
- REs will disseminate knowledge at leading conferences e.g. Materials Research Society (MRS), Meetings of the Electrochemical Society, and through trade associations and Institutes representing the coatings sector.
- A bespoke training package on the formulation, function, use, degradation and end of life that will embed the latest research and will be available to industry partners for employees to attend as CPD and for other PGRs demonstrating added value from the CDT environment.

Wealth Creation
- Value added products and processes created through the CDT will generate benefits for Industrial partners and supply chains helping to build a productive nation.
- Employment of graduates into industry will transfer their knowledge and skills into businesses enabling innovation within these companies.
- Swansea University will support potential spin out companies where appropriate through its dedicated EU funded commercialisation project, Agor IP.

Environment and society
- Functionalised surfaces can potentially improve human health through anti-microbial surfaces for health care infrastructure and treatment of water using photocatalytic coatings.
- Functionalised energy generation coatings will contribute towards national strategies regarding clean and secure energy.
- Responsible research and innovation is an overarching theme of the CDT with materials sustainability, ethics, energy and end of life considered throughout the development of new coatings and processes. Thus, REs will be trained to approach all future problems with this mind set.
- Outreach is a critical element of the training programme (for example, a module delivered by the Ri on public engagement) and our REs will have skills that enable the dissemination of their knowledge to wide audiences thus generating interest in science and engineering and the benefits that investments can bring.

People
- Highly employable doctoral gradates with a holistic knowledge of functional coatings manufacture who can make an immediate impact in industry or academia.
- The REs will have transferable skills that are pertinent across multiple sectors.
- The CDT will develop ethically aware engineers with sustainability embed throughout their training
- The promotion of equality, diversity and inclusivity within our cohorts through CDT and University wide initiatives.
- The development of alumni networks to grow new opportunities for our CDT and provide REs with mentors.