The Engineer articles from February 2009

The Engineer archives from February 2009

COMMENT: Perils of protectionism.
February 9, 2009... The sight of engineers and construction staff walking out of some of the UK's key energy facilities in protest at the use of overseas labour was a reminder of how frayed the nerve endings of the nation have become. When times get tough,...

NEWS: Animal instinct.
February 9, 2009... Sensor network architecture inspired by animal group behaviour A University College London spinout has launched a versatile wireless sensor network inspired by the behaviour of creatures that act together, such as flocks of birds, termite...

NEWS: Pre-treatment potential.
February 9, 2009... Process allows plant to run purely on waste What is claimed to be the first biogas plant to run purely on waste instead of edible raw materials has been developed by German researchers. A team from the Fraunhofer Institute for Ceramic...

NEWS: Infection detection.
February 9, 2009... Testing device uses an RPA technique to determine the presence of the MRSA virus in patients The spread of MRSA in hospitals could be curtailed with a quick test from a portable device according to its developer, Cambridge-based TwistDx....

NEWS: Glass in print.
February 9, 2009... Pioneering inkjet research promises flexible glass and metal printing ability A team of researchers from Southampton and Cambridge universities is developing very high temperature inkjet-style printers that will print with glass to...

NEWS: Incisions for vision.
February 9, 2009... A superelastic nickel-titanium blade makes circular cutting a more viable option for cataract operations A new circular cutting tool will make cataract surgery an easier process for doctors, according to its developers. The device from...

NEWS: Making a move.
February 9, 2009... Research into a technique that could help stroke patients regain movement has been given a boost by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). The study, undertaken by scientists at Southampton University's School of...

NEWS: Smooth ride.
February 9, 2009... UK-based project aims to reduce aircraft fuel consumption by integrating a system that will reduce friction Engineers in England and Northern Ireland are taking part in a project to develop technologies that will allow sustained growth in...

NEWS: Ethanol gets a boost.
February 9, 2009... Ethanol-fuelled engines could soon be cheaper and more efficient than those powered by petrol, according to researchers at Ricardo's Petrol Product division. The company is in the process of developing the Ethanol Boosted Direct...

NEWS: Stealth and efficiency.
February 9, 2009... UK team investigates use of composites in submarines Future submarines could be less costly to maintain, more manoeuvrable and possibly stealthier with the use of composites. So think engineers at Oxford University who are leading a...

NEWS: Sense of release.
February 9, 2009... Drugs could be monitored at the site of a disease with MRI A major European project aimed at advancing image-guided drug-delivery techniques could improve the future treatment of illnesses such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. ...

VIEWWPOINT: Rising tide.
February 9, 2009... The consumer electronics industry is resilient enough to lead the way out of the global economic crisis, says Gary Shapiro We struggle daily with news that seems bleaker than each day before. We are gripped by the worst economic crisis...

LETTER: Snow solution.(Letter to the editor)
February 9, 2009... Like everyone else I have watched as the first sign of heavy snow makes the UK apparently unable to function as a modern society. Like everyone else I have wondered what we can do about it. But as an engineer I have shaken my head in...

LETTER: Back in the news.(Letter to the editor)
February 9, 2009... Strange isn't it how skilled engineers and construction contractors are back in the news for walking out on strike because they are left out in the cold and overseas labour is brought in to do work they are capable of doing? It must be...

LETTER: Spirit of compromise.(Letter to the editor)
February 9, 2009... Randy Dutton (Letters, 26 January) is probably right to say there is a downside to every technical solution proposed for the global-warming problem (hydrogen in the case he raises). But that is not a reason for not exploring all the...

LETTER: Severn Barrage.(Letter to the editor)
February 9, 2009... Our online leader 'Take me to the river' considered the Severn Barrage renewable energy project and the apparent inability of the UK government to come to any firm decision regarding its future. Here is a selection of your emails. I...

STEAM CARS: Boiling point.
February 9, 2009... Could a UK-led assault on one of the oldest land-speed records herald the dawn of a new age of steam? Stuart Nathan reports Civilisation is steam-powered. Steam generates four-fifths of the world's electricity and provides the heat for...

BIOENERGY: Photons to fuel.
February 9, 2009... An investment of #27m has been made in bioenergy research to find out if fuel can be developed from agricultural wastes and non-food crops. Stuart Nathan reports The Isle of Wight is an unusual place to look for answers to major...

INSIGHT: Home time.
February 9, 2009... The automation of functions within the home - heating, lighting, security - has yet to bear significant fruit in the market. This could be set to change, reports Jon Excell Rather like the domestic android or the flying car, the...

INTERVIEW: Natural defences.(Interview)
February 9, 2009... Dr Alex Parfitt, a biologist-turned-engineer at BAE Systems, explains the impact of biomimetics on the development of defence technology. Jon Excell reports Self-repairing materials, tiny aerial spies, advanced image sensors and armies...

DESIGN ENGINEERING: Go with the flow.
February 9, 2009... An airflow simulation technique involving hundreds of tiny helium bubbles inside a wind tunnel could help in the design of more environmentally friendly cars. Siobhan Wagner reports A NEW WIND TUNNEL technology that allows designers to...

STRUCTURAL TECHNOLOGY: Concrete plan.
February 9, 2009... Ultra-High Performance Fibre-Reinforced Concrete (UHPFRC) could help protect UK landmarks and public areas against bomb blasts. Siobhan Wagner reports An advanced composition of concrete that incorporates needle-thin steel fibres has...

ENERGY TECHNOLOGY: Hot house.
February 9, 2009... Low-grade heat contained in waste water could be recovered and used to supplement domestic boilers with a new heat exchanger. The Lowheat heat-recovery unit from technical moulders AK Industries Ltd, based in Hereford, is expected to go...

PROTOTYPING & MODELLING: Saving face.
February 9, 2009... The same technology used to make functional prototypes and production components in engineering research is now being applied in the medical field. Rapid prototyping specialist, 3T RPD, based in Newbury, Berkshire, is using two 3D...

DRIVES MOTORS AND GEARS: Wheel work.
February 9, 2009... Considering it is one of Germany's busiest car plants, the factory floor at Audi's Ingolstadt facility in Bavaria is an environment relatively uncluttered by human activity. And although, like most carmakers, Audi is currently feeling the...

MAINTEC 2009: Asset management.
February 9, 2009... With capital expenditure projects going on the back-burner, maintenance of existing assets has come to the fore for many companies. MAINTEC 2009 offers a host of potential solutions As the recession bites, keeping up to date with ways to...

CAREERS: Power moves.
February 9, 2009... Increased interest in Combined Heat and Power has had the effect of creating new engineering positions in the sector across a number of disciplines With the UK in the midst of one of the coldest winters in recent years, the question of...

COMMENT: Great expectations.
February 23, 2009... So far, Gordon Brown's pledge to fight the downturn with a recession- busting package of transport, communications and energy initiatives hasn't amounted to much more than a bit of heel-dragging on the Severn Barrage and a vague pronouncement...

NEWS: Night light.
February 23, 2009... A utility-grade solar-power station will continue to produce energy at night The world's first utility-grade solar power plant with central tower and thermal molten salt storage technology is set for construction in Spain. Its...

NEWS: Making waves.
February 23, 2009... Researchers design commercial wave-energy device A research project aimed at developing hydroelectric wave-power converters could provide a significant boost to the UK's future renewable energy plans. In a five-year partnership with...

NEWS: Fat-free fuel.
February 23, 2009... A catalyst and reactor that neutralise fatty acids in plant-oil feedstocks could simplify biofuel production A SOLID catalyst being developed by a cross-disciplinary UK team could allow farmers to produce biodiesel from a variety of plant...

NEWS: Signalling change.
February 23, 2009... Engineers are investigating ways to mount antennas onto soft, flexible surfaces for wireless applications UK researchers are studying the properties of metallic materials deposited in novel ways on elastomeric substrates to produce...

NEWS: Bacterial bioreactor.
February 23, 2009... A bacterial treatment is reducing the environmental impact of the metalworking fluid disposal process A toxin-eating bioreactor designed to improve the disposal process of metalworking fluids (MWFs) has successfully completed trials at BAE...

NEWS: Funding boost.
February 23, 2009... Project will develop core technologies to power spaceplane through the Earth's atmosphere and in space OXFORDSHIRE rocket developer Reaction Engines (REL) has been awarded #1m by the British National Space Centre and ESA to develop a...

NEWS: Crime watch.
February 23, 2009... Identifying criminal suspects on CCTV could soon become easier and more accurate following a #1.5m collaboration between BAE Systems and facial recognition expert, OmniPerception. The joint project aims to improve the use of surveillance...

NEWS: Single-shot circuit boards.
February 23, 2009... University researchers develop an environmentally friendly technique for printing high-value PCBs De Montfort University (DMU) researchers are developing a novel, environmentally friendly laser- printing process to produce small runs of...

NEWS: Routing renewables.
February 23, 2009... A European project is using intelligent networks to better manage electricity from distributed sources such as small wind farms and domestic solar panels being fed into power grids. Renewable sources generate seven per cent of the European...

VIEWPOINT: Carbon challenge.
February 23, 2009... Engineers need to come up with a way for people to use fossil fuels without putting CO2 into the atmosphere, says Jon Gibbins This is a terrible time to be an engineer in the sense that there is a real problem. And the problem is not how...

LETTER: Scrap costs.(Letter to the editor)
February 23, 2009... Our online leader article 'Bangers and cash' discussed a recent call from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders for a European- style scrappage incentive scheme to persuade customers back into car showrooms. The scheme would allow...

LETTER: Scrap pays.(Letter to the editor)
February 23, 2009... Our online leader article 'Scrap trade' discussed the asbestos-ridden French Navy aircraft carrier Clemenceau, which has arrived in the UK to be broken up. We asked the question: should the UK become the world's scrap-heap? Surely it is...

LETTER: Leveraged woes.(Letter to the editor)
February 23, 2009... Leverage in engineering is usually beneficial; much force with little effort. In finance, too, it can create great wealth from nothing by borrowing. It seems leverage can also act detrimentally in engineering. Some mishaps have had worse...

SECURITY SYSTEMS: Games plan.
February 23, 2009... With the London 2012 Olympics only three years away, the security technology industry is ready to capitalise on the demand for new and existing systems to counter crime and terrorism. Berenice Baker reports The London 2012 Olympics are set...

DISASTER RESPONSE: Organised chaos.
February 23, 2009... A UK team is working on a suite of computer-based technologies that is designed to improve the response of the emergency services in disaster zones. Jon Excell reports In the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, following the...

INSIGHT: Air force.
February 23, 2009... Pratt & Whitney predicts that its new geared-turbofan engine will reduce the environmental impact of flying and save airlines millions. Stuart Nathan reports It may be a quirk of nature, or it may just be a symptom of how engineering...

INTERVIEW: Flying start.(Interview)
February 23, 2009... Nieves Lapena-Rey, chief engineer on Boeing's fuel-cell-powered aviation project, explains the potential for the technology in emissions-free flight. Jon Excell reports Visitors to Madrid's Museum 'Del Aire' could be forgiven for walking...

PRODUCTION ENGINEERING: Silicon economy.
February 23, 2009... New technology developed at Cambridge University promises to bring affordable LED lighting to homes and offices by using silicon wafers. Siobhan Wagner reports LEDs could soon be manufactured for less expense using a novel technique for...

PHARMACEUTICALS: Quick reactions.
February 23, 2009... A prototype microwave reactor system could aid the swift production of drugs on an industrial scale. Siobhan Wagner reports Pharmaceutical manufacturers could reduce their carbon footprint using new microwave technology that speeds up the...

MATERIALS: Aluminium toil.
February 23, 2009... Researchers have found a way to ensure microcrystalline aluminium alloys retain their strength and firmness when made into tools. Siobhan Wagner reports A new manufacturing technique ensures microcrystalline structures inside...

AUTOMATION: Space craft.
February 23, 2009... An automotive supplier has used advanced automated-handling systems to make the most of the limited space available in its production facilities and create a storage area that it said helps it to meet a 'just in time' contract with BMW. ...

MACHINE TOOLS: Shaping the future.
February 23, 2009... Developers of software-controlled all-electric tube bending systems claim the technology has passed another landmark after being used to aid part production on one of the UK's biggest ever naval projects. Since first appearing on the market...

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING UK: Tool time.
February 23, 2009... A manufacturing event consisting of several co-located exhibition looks to provide an insight into the latest technologies and performance- improvement methods With MORE THAN 6,000 visitors, the launch of the Advanced Manufacturing UK...

CAREERS: Worldly goods.
February 23, 2009... The global downturn has not lessened the demand for skilled engineers in certain regions and sectors With the number of job opportunities in recession-hit Britain decreasing, engineers are increasingly looking further afield for...

CAREERS: Rocky Mountain high.
February 23, 2009... Andy Hughes is a senior water resources engineer working for Klohn Crippen Berger Ltd in Calgary. He has lived in Alberta for 13 months. 'We emigrated for a number of reasons,' he said. 'Mainly both my wife and I were concerned about the...