Newcastle University

Introduction

Responsible for research in railways and transport-related issues, Prof Robinson is Associate Dean Transport.

He is a specialist in composites, investigating the replacement of metals with composite materials in the rail industry and other transport sectors and his Main research interests include the development and application of lightweight materials for rail vehicles and crashworthy composite structures. Particular interests are fire safety and energy absorbent crashworthy composites.

His many esteem indicators include Evaluator and Member of the Hearings panel for DG Research and co-author of “A Joint Strategy for European Rail Research-2020. Towards a Single European Rail System”, published by UNIFE.

Qualifications

MPhil in Polymer Technology Loughborough University of Technology 1985
PhD in Polymer Technology Loughborough University of Technology 1991
Fellow of The Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining (FIMMM)
Chartered Engineer (CEng)
Chartered Scientist (CSci)

Previous Positions

PREVIOUSLY: DIRECTOR OF THE ADVANCED RAILWAY RESEARCH CENTRE (ARRC)

As Director of ARRC Mark was responsible for establishing a centre of excellence in the rail transport arena that enjoyed a considerable reputation. ARRC was the first independent self-financing multi-disciplinary research centre within the University of Sheffield. As a transport focused research team it had strong industrial support which was formalised through the Industry Research Strategy Group. The IRSG was established to ensure that the research undertaken had direct relevance to the transport industry in general and the rail industry in particular.

Memberships

Member of the European Railway Research Advisory Council and co-chairman of the ERRAC Evaluation Working Group.

Honours and Awards

2009 Awarded the IMechE Alfred Rosling Bennett Premium/Charles S Lake Award for a paper entitled “Investigation of the Weld Unzipping Failure Mode during Collisions of Welded Aluminium Rail Vehicles”.

2008 IMechE Safety Award in Mechanical Engineering for “Investigation of the Weld Unzipping Failure Mode during Collisions of Welded Aluminium Rail Vehicles”.

Research Interests

Main research interests include railway technology and transport-related issues. He has many esteem indicators such as Evaluator and Member of the Hearings panel for DG Research “New generation of multifunctional materials and technologies for surface transport“ (2004), and co-author of “A Joint Strategy for European Rail Research-2020. Towards a Single European Rail System”, published by UNIFE, to provide a common vision for European Rail Research. (2002).

He is a specialist in composites, investigating the replacement of metals with composite materials in the rail industry and other transport sectors. Particular interests are fire safety, energy absorbent crashworthy composites and lightweight structures for transport applications.

Main research interests include the development and application of lightweight materials for rail vehicles and crashworthy composite structures.

He is a Member of the European Railway Research Advisory Council and co-chairman of the ERRAC Evaluation Working Group.

Other Expertise

Professor Robinson is a specialist in composites, investigating the replacement of metals with composite materials in the rail industry and other transport sectors. Of particular interest are fire safety, energy absorbent crashworthy structures and lightweight composites and materials for transport applications. He is a recent winner of the JEC AWARD for “Composites in Land Transport”. The JEC (European Composite Exhibition) Awards are the highlight of the international composites industry year.

Current Work

DE-LIGHT Transport aims to develop breakthrough technologies and applications for lightweight sandwich materials in the surface transport sectors. A multi-national initiative supported by the European Commission’s Framework 6 programme, it will investigate the design and manufacturing of sandwich structures in the marine, rail and freight container industries.

Postgraduate Supervision

Current Supervision:
- Modelling the structural integrity of composite sandwich panels in fire
- Integrity of Composite Aircraft Materials under Post Crash Fire Conditions
- Design and Optimisation of Sandwich Structures for Transport Applications
- Volumetrically Optimised Energy Absorbing Structures
- Manufacturing of Marine Structures in Thermoplastics
- Fire protection system for composite structures
- Freight logistics
Completed PhDs and MPhils
- Some Aspects of the Energy Absorption of Composite Materials
- A study of crashworthiness design of rail vehicles and statistical analysis of railway accidents
- Design of crashworthy composite vehicle end structures in railway rolling stock
- The case for small train technology as a means of enhancing the commercial, technical and operational capability of rail freight
- Impact on composite sandwich structures
- Modelling of Sandwich Composites for Land Transport Applications
- Composites limits under load in fire using cone calorimeter

Esteem Indicators

2009 Associate Dean Transport, Newcastle University

2009 Member of the Scientific Committee for 15th International Conference on Composite Structures (ICCS/15), 15-17 June, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal

2008 Member European Rail Research Advisory Council (ERRAC) and Co-chairman of the Evaluation Working Group.

2008 Member of the Scientific Committee for DURACOSYS 2008 8th International Conference on Durability of Composite Systems, 16 – 18th JULY 2008, Porto, Portugal

2008 Member of the International Program Committee for 16th International Symposium on Electronics in Traffic, 9th and 10th October 2008, Ljubljana, Slovenia

2007 Evaluator for FP7-NMP-2007-LARGE-1 “Advanced Wood Based Composite Materials and their Production” Collaborative Projects.

2007 Advisor Hellenic Railways

2007 International Programme Committee Member ISEP 2007 – 15th International Symposium on Electronics in Transport “Applications of Intelligent Transport Systems” May 9 – 11, 2007 Ljubljana, Slovenia.

2007 Evaluator for "Nanosciences, Nanotechnologies, Materials and New Production Technologies - NMP"

2007 Member of the Scientific Committee for MATERIAIS 2007 – “Global Materials for the XXI Century: Challenges to Academia and Industry”, Porto, Portugal

2006 Reviewer for DG Research for projects in surface transport.

2005 Referee for EPSRC – Engineering Programme

2005 Member of the Programme Team – Freight Element of the (DfT)
TransportEnergy Best Practice Programme

2004 Visiting Professor: University of Porto Department of Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Management

2004 JEC AWARD Winner “Composites in Land Transport”
The JEC (European Composite Exhibition) Awards are the highlight of the international composites industry year. Each year a jury of international experts selects the most relevant composite solutions in terms of know-how and innovation based on the following criteria: technical excellence, performance of the partnership developed among supplier, researcher, customer and end user, and the potential for creating new market openings. The competition is open to all organisations involved in the composites industry. Prof Mark Robinson Director of NewRail in the School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering accepted the award of the HYCOPROD consortium.

2004 Evaluator and Member of the Hearings panel for DG Research Industrial Technologies “Nanotechnology and nanosciences, knowledge-based multifunctional materials, new production processes and devices – NMP Priority”. New generation of multifunctional materials and technologies for surface transport.

2003 T4TECH Expert of the Month (July and August) Safety in Railways

2003 ERRAC Committee Member for Passive Safety and Innovative Materials

2002-2003 Member of the Cullen Recommendation 57 close-out committee. The only non-industrial academic representative providing research input on crashworthiness of aluminium joints following the Ladbroke Grove accident.

2002 Author of “A Joint Strategy for European Rail Research-2020. Towards a Single European Rail System”, published by UNIFE. To provide a common vision for European Rail Research.

2002 Chairman of the Materials and Manufacturing Session at the European Commission Conference “Surface Transport Technologies for Sustainable Development”, Valencia, Spain, 4-6 June 2002.

2001-2002 Restructuring of Moldovan Railways Freight Services, Training and International Study Tour, included Transport Minister and Head of Moldovan Railways.

2000 Costaferroviaria – training programme. Materials and Structures for rail vehicles.

1998-2002 European Commission evaluator for DG Transport and Energy and extended evaluator for DG Research determining project priorities.

1997-1998 Lecture tour to Korea to advise on the Korean High Speed Train. Materials and Structures lectures provided to:
 KRRI- Korean Railroad Research Institute.
 Korea High Speed Rail.
 Korea High Speed Rail Construction Authority.
 KITECH- Korea Institute of Industrial Technology.
 KAITECH- Korea Academy of Industrial Technology.
 KIST- Korea Institute of Science and Technology

Patents

 UK Patent Application Nº 9300924.9
Energy Absorbing Composite Material
 European Patent Application Nº 94300329
Composite Structure

Projects

• BESTFACT
  Project Leader(s): Mr TH Zunder
• D RAIL
  Project Leader(s): Professor Mark Robinson
  D-RAIL will focus on freight traffic, identifying root causes of derailment of particular significance to freight vehicles, which have a wider range of operating parameters (as a result of the huge range in loads, speeds and maintenance quality) than...
• ERRAC Roadmap
  Project Leader(s): Prof Mark Robinson
  ERRAC Roadmap project addresses the broad coordinating challenges of the FP7’s call STT.2008.5.2.2 - Competitive transport operations; it is a Level 1 Coordination and Support Action aiming at the very important area of coordinating rail research...
• FIRE-RESIST
  Project Leader(s): Professor AM Robinson
  

  FIRE-RESIST is a four-year €7.8 million initiative led by NewRail that brings together the rail, aerospace and marine industries to develop innovative solutions for improving composite material fire performance...

• IMAJINE: Innovative Multimaterials Jointly Integrity Engineering
  Project Leader(s): Prof Mark Robinson
• MOMENTUM: Multidisciplinary Research and Training on Composite Materials for Applications in Transport Modes
  Project Leader(s): Prof Mark Robinson
  

  Multidisciplinary research and provision of training on innovative composite materials applications for transport.

• RAILECT
  Project Leader(s): Dr George Kotsikos
  Alumino-thermic welding of rails has replaced the traditional ‘fishplate’ rail jointing method in the railway industry vastly improving the quality of ride for passenger trains...
• RETRACK
  Project Leader(s): Mr TH Zunder
  The EC has entered into a contract for the RETRACK consortium to research, develop and implement a rail freight corridor from Rotterdam to Constanza.  In the RETRACK Consortium, new and upcoming European rail freight operators...
• SecureMetro
  Project Leader(s): Dr S Ingleton
  The aim of the SecureMetro project is to increase the safety and security of metro vehicles from terrorist attacks by explosives and firebombs through materials choices and design, thereby increasing resilience and reducing the impact of attacks...
• SUSTRAIL
  Project Leader(s): Dr Francis Franklin
  The purpose of the SUSTRAIL project is to contribute to the rail freight system to allow it to regain position and market. The proposed solution is based on a combined improvement in both freight vehicle and track components in an holistic approach...
• Transnew
  Project Leader(s): Prof Mark Robinson
  TransNEW covers all the transport modes including Aeronautics and aims to evaluate research capability in order to support the involvement of New Member States in a number of topics and potentially exploit the synergies between Air transport and surface..

• Hudson CW, Carruthers JJ, Robinson AM. A comparison of three population-based optimization techniques for the design of composite sandwich materials. Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials 2011, 13(2), 213-235.
• Ulianov C, Robinson A, Gibson A, Fallatah G. Reliability analysis of aramid fibre yarns. Plastics, Rubber and Composites 2010, 39(3-5), 157-164.
• Otheguy M, Gibson A, Robinson A. Towards recyclable composite craft: Fusion bonded thermoplastic composite T-joints. In: International Conference on Marine and Offshore Composites. 2010, London, UK: RINA.
• Xue X, Ingleton S, Roberts J, Robinson M. Qualitative comparison of the characteristics of articulated and non-articulated trains and their effects on impact. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit 2011, 225(1), 24-37.
• Hudson CW, Carruthers JJ, Robinson AM. Multiple objective optimisation of composite sandwich structures for rail vehicle floor panels. Composite Structures 2010,92 9 2077-2082.
• Hudson CW, Carruthers JJ, Robinson AM. Application of Particle swarm optimisation to Sandwich material design. Plastics, Rubber and Composites 2009,38 2-4 106-110.
• Elmughrabi AE, Robinson M, Gibson AG. Effect of stress on the fire reaction properties of polymer composite laminates. Polymer Degradation and Stability 2008, 93(10), 1877-1883.
• Zangani D, Robinson M, Gibson AG. Energy Absorption Characteristics of Web-Core Sandwich Composite Panels Subjected to Drop-Weight Impact. Applied Composite Materials 2008, 15(3), 139-156.
• Feih S, Mathys Z, Mathys G, Gibson AG, Robinson M, Mouritz AP. Influence of water content on failure of phenolic composites in fire. Polymer Degradation and Stability 2008, 93(2), 376-382.
• Hudson CW, Carruthers JJ, Robinson AM. The application of particle swarm optimisation to sandwich material design. In: 13th European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM 13). 2008, Stockholm, Sweden.
• O'Neill C, Carruthers JJ, Ingleton S, Robinson AM. Design and analysis of a composite energy absorbing rail cab nose cone. In: 13th European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM 13). 2008, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Pitarresi G, Carruthers JJ, Robinson AM, Torre G, Kenny JM, Ingleton S, Velecela O, Found MS. A comparative evaluation of crashworthy composite sandwich structures. Composite Structures 2007, 78(1), 34-44.
• Ijaz M, Robinson M, Gibson AG. Cooling and crystallisation behaviour during vacuum-consolidation of commingled thermoplastic composites. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing 2007, 38(3), 828-842.
• Zangani D, Robinson M, Gibson AG. Evaluation of stiffness terms for Z-cored sandwich panels. Applied Composite Materials 2007, 14(3), 159-175.
• Zangani D, Robinson M, Gibson AG, Torre L, Holmberg JA. Numerical simulation of bending and failure behaviour of z-core sandwich panels. Plastics, Rubber and Composites 2007, 36(9), 389-395.
• Kotsikos G, Robinson AM, Gibson AG. Prediction of elevated temperature, creep and damping behaviour of composite laminates from quantitative DMTA. Plastics, Rubber and Composites 2007, 36(9), 396-402.
• Gibson AG, Zangani D, Robinson M. Progressive failure of composite hollow sections with foam-filled corrugated sandwich walls. Applied Composite Materials 2007, 14(5-6), 325-342.
• Ijaz M, Robinson M, Wright PNH, Gibson AG. Vacuum consolidation of commingled thermoplastic matrix composites. Journal of Composite Materials 2007, 41(2), 243-262.
• Robinson M. Composite Applications in Land Transport: Practical Case Studies. :Elsevier Science Ltd,2006.
• Robinson M. Fatigue in the Rail System. Woodhead Publishing, 2006. In Press.
• Robinson M, Hiroshi N. Strategic thinking can reduce the mass of commuter EMUs. Railway Gazette International 2006,162 5 267-270.
• Ijaz M, Wright PNH, Robinson M, Gibson AG. Vacuum consolidation of commingled thermoplastic matrix composites for marine applications. In: Advanced Marine Materials and Coatings: RINA, Royal Institution of Naval Architects International Conference. 2006, London, UK: Royal Institution of Naval Architects.
• Carruthers J, O'Neill C, Ingleton S, Robinson M, Grasso M, Roberts J, Prockat J, Simmonds G. The design and prototyping of a lightweight crashworthy rail vehicle driver's cab. In: 9th World Congress on Railway Research. 2011, Lille, France.
• Kotsikos G, Robinson M, Zangani D, Roberts J. Investigation of the weld unzipping failure mode during collisions of welded aluminium rail vehicles. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit 2008, 222(1), 59-68.