Local collaboration with top engineering firm rated ‘Outstanding’ by Innovate UK

Professor Rakesh Mishra led the work with Trillium Flow Technologies in Elland and recently completed his third Knowledge Transfer Partnership with the company

THE latest research collaboration between a University of Huddersfield professor and a local engineering firm has been hailed ‘Outstanding’ by a Government body. 

Professor Rakesh Mishra, an expert in fluid dynamics, formed a sequence of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) with Trillium Flow Technologies based in Elland, formerly known as Weir Valves & Controls UK. In total the three partnerships have led to massive sales increases and cost savings. 

Trillium manufactures a wide variety of valves to the power generation, Oil & Gas, Chemical and Nuclear Power Generation industries.

The ‘Outstanding’ partnership was with KTP Associate Dr Dharminder Singh and supported a particular product range of Control and Choke Valves which are used for control applications predominantly for power generation and Oil & Gas.

This recently completed collaboration is the second consecutive KTP between Trillium and Professor Mishra (pictured below) to be awarded the highest grade of ‘Outstanding’ by a Government body. It will now join a coveted shortlist used to prepare case studies illustrating the usefulness of Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and how they support industry in their quest for embedding knowledge developed within academia for a competitive advantage. 

The project commenced in January 2017 and was backed to the tune of £211,000 over a three-year period. Half of the investment came from the company and half from Innovate UK, while the University was able to contribute to its research expertise. 

The goal was to develop SMART valves, embedded with sensors that can estimate the remaining useful life of the product, leading to cost and operational savings for manufacturers and end-users. 

KTPs are part-funded by the Government-backed body Innovate UK and every project is assessed by an independent grading panel. 

The KTP programme is part of the Government’s Industrial Strategy and aims to help businesses to improve their competitiveness and productivity through the better use of knowledge, technology and skills that reside within the UK knowledge base.

A KTP success story 

A second KTP which also achieved a grade of ‘Outstanding’ culminated in October 2017. The latest fluid dynamics knowledge was used to help the company improve the design accuracy of valves that are heavily used by the oil and gas industry around the world and contributed to a 640 per cent increase in sales for valves in multiphase applications.  

The initial KTP had taken place three years prior and focused on the company’s need to embed complex flow knowledge into its design, operation and sales teams.  It successfully enhanced valve performance whilst fully complying with the latest international standards and was chosen as a finalist in the Knowledge Transfer Network's ‘Best of the Best KTPs’, supported by EPSRC awards. 

Tom Newstead, Trillium Flow Technologies' Head of Engineering, praised the decade of collaboration with the University of Huddersfield and the valuable outcomes it had produced. 

“The access to facilities and knowledge that the KTP brought to the company with this collaboration has been excellent,” he said. “With this being the third KTP undertaken by the company, it highlights the continued benefit of such a partnership.”

Energy, Emissions and Environment Research Group

Professor Mishra heads the Energy, Emissions and Environment Research Group (EEERG) part of the Centre for Efficiency and Performance Engineering within the University’s School of Computing and Engineering.  The group is at the forefront in supporting industries through the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.

“The EEERG largely works as a research and development centre for companies that are unable to have their own research base because of resource issues,” said Professor Mishra. 

“Many businesses have benefitted immensely from the research and development inputs offered by the research group,” he added.