Research and Development Achievements
I have 14 years experience of impactful research and development expertise in sustainable technologies. I have successfully delivered, technology readiness levels 2 to 8 projects in, energy conversion, energy storage and sustainable fuels, via simulation and experimental methods applied to transport and stationary applications. I have complete concept-to-commissioning experience on new large-scale energy recovery test facilities, to operational experience on advanced heavy-duty research engines.
My research outputs are the result of successful industry focused projects, these include, (1) Recuperated Engine - Advanced Route to Market Demonstrator via Innovate UK 2021 (£250K); (2) Development of high-grade heat storage for integration with liquid air energy storage via Innovate UK 2018 (£58K); (3) Engine efficiency challenge via Advanced Propulsion Centre 2018 (£20K); (4) Utilizing low grade heat via Ricardo Plc 2016 (£20K); (5) Libertine waste heat recovery unit via Innovate UK 2016 (£220K) etc.
I am a recognised scholar who has presented at conferences across UK, Poland, Malaysia, Italy, India, Portugal, USA, Spain etc. I have authored 20+ peer reviewed publications and my outputs have contributed to institutional Research Excellence Frameworks. My notable outputs include, sole authorship in high impact factor journals, such as in ‘Applied Energy (11.4)’ for the work titled ‘An innovative Organic Rankine Cycle system for integrated cooling and heat recovery 2017’. I have also published via high impact special issue journal invitations, for instance in ‘Energy (8.8)’ for the issue titled ‘Towards low carbon energy systems: engineering and economic perspectives 2016’.
As a Fellow in Thermal Storage and Waste Heat Recovery, I was recognised as,
(1) Substantial Speaker as the sole author at the Thermal Management Systems Symposium 2016.
(2) Best Paper Award as the lead author from over 120 submissions at the International Conference on Production, Energy and Reliability 2014.
Training Achievements
I received my PhD in Mechanical Engineering (Energy themed research) with successive awards of,
(1) Best Presentation in the Faculty 2014 in Computing, Engineering and Mathematics.
(2) Best Presentation in the Faculty 2013 in Computing, Engineering and Mathematics.
My specialisation was in ‘Waste heat recovery using fluid bottoming cycles for heavy duty Diesel engines’ at the Sir Harry Ricardo Laboratories. The academic achievement of my earlier works resulted in my lead author conference paper being in the top quartile of over 170 submissions, and hence being chosen for publication in the International Journal of Engines (2013-24-0089).
I hold additional qualifications from University Alliance, Russell Group and Professional Institutions. I received my MPhil in Mechanical Engineering (Energy themed research) from City University London, MSc (Distinction) in Mechatronics from Kings College London, GradWeld I from the Welding Institute Professional Division, and BEng (First Class Honours) in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Greenwich.
My specialisations included, ‘Performance prediction of energy systems with expansion performed by twin screw machines’, ‘Investigation into the fundamental problem of inverse dynamics method using an instrumented robotic test-rig’ (with Royal Veterinary College) and ‘Design, manufacture and commissioning of an instrumented drop weight impact tester’. In these I was awarded the,
(1) Best Overall Performance in Engineering.
(2) Best Industrial Board Innovation Project.
I also hold certification in, ‘Management, Leadership and Business’ from Roehampton University London, and in ‘Development through Philosophy’ from City University London. Building from such experiences, I have gained and implemented, new lateral thinking actions in, investment planning to conflict resolution.
Active Research Themes
My research interests cover the theme of sustainable energy production, conversion and storage, with a strong focus on waste to power, thermal energy storage, high efficiency engines, sustainable fuels and life cycle assessment. At the systems level, this includes, heat to power technologies, fluid bottoming cycles, energy recovery expanders, working fluids, nano-particles, concentrated solar power plants, molten salt thermal batteries, compact heat exchangers, liquid air energy storage systems, NOx/HC emissions, heavy-duty and split cycle engines, carbon free fuels, ammonia/hydrogen/methane combustion, process integration, techno-economic evaluations, exergy analysis, hazard and operability studies, research methodology to improve technology readiness level, system wide modelling, optimisation, control and validation, and quantifying environmental impacts of a products, services and materials. I have investigated most of these research strands via simulation and experimental methods as part of knowledge transfers, industrial consultancies and research grants.
I am a member of the Advanced Engineering Centre and the Thermal Efficiency Spoke of the Advanced Propulsion Centre. My live industrial (e.g. Dolphin N2) and university supported, doctoral research projects include,
(1) Combustion Chemistry for Optimisation of Advanced Propulsion Cycles with E-fuels - by Elisa Wylie
(2) Universal Life Cycle Emissions Tool Applied to Electric Vehicles in Automotive Sector - by Aleksandra Skalba
(3) Micro-Power Volumetric Machines as Energy Recovery Expanders in Two-Phase Conditions - by Ian Kemp