Research
Industrial Collaboration
The Wolfson Centre's research activities are aimed at addressing problems found in industry and increasing the understanding applied to bulk solids handling. Many equipment suppliers and users participate in these activities. For further details of the options available to industry for collaboration or exploitation of research, contact our research co-ordinator by e-mail: R.J.Farnish@gre.ac.uk.
Our current research projects include:
- Engineering the Green State of Powder Products
- Development of a toolkit to predict the intensity and scale of air-induced segregation in powder handling and flow for compaction processes
- Powder flowability testing and its application to a Company's powder products to create business value
- Improving the adhesion of particulate ingredients to food products
- Modelling of a dosator filling and discharge
- Improved Discharge Equipment Performance for Coals with Poor Handling Characteristics
- Enhancing pneumatic conveying modelling through improvements in instrumentation
Some of our previous Research projects include:
- Analysis of particle erosion in pneumatic conveying pipelines
- Modelling of flows in the vicinity of local exhaust ventilation
- Segregation of free flowing particulate materials
- Pressure loss in pneumatic conveying pipelines
- Particle degradation in pneumatic conveying systems
- Design of silos & hoppers for reliable gravity flow
- Analysis and control of pulverised fuel in pneumatic conveying pipelines
- Development of a method for predicting wear in hoppers and chutes
- The Influence of Temperature and Work Hardening on the Solid Particle Erosion of Steels
- Investigations into caking tendencies for particulates
- Development of online flow property measurement for bulk solids
- Modelling of elutriation effects and subsequent segregated deposition of fine particulates
- Handling characteristics of biomass/coal mixes for cofiring: measurement techniques and establishing benchmarks
- Direct on-line measurement of wall friction of coal as an indicator of handleability
The Wolfson Centre receives grants from both Research Councils, such as the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), as well as direct from Industry, to undertake research projects into powder and bulk solids handling. All the projects that are undertaken are of direct relevance to the problems that are encountered in industry. The knowledge gained from these projects is disseminated in the form of technical papers and presentations at conferences. The information derived from the research projects is also applied during the course of consultancy work for industry, and to the short courses that are provided.