Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering: Unit of Assessment 28

The majority of research in UoA 28 Mechanical, Aeronautical and Manufacturing Engineering is officially classified as world-leading or internationally excellent in terms of originality, significance and rigour, having been placed in the highest categories of 4*and 3* in the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise.

Quality Level 4* 3* 2* 1* Unclassified
% of research activity 15 50 30 5 0

This submission is made jointly from the School of Mechanical and Systems Engineering (MSE), and the School of Marine Science and Technology (MAST). 

Key research activities over the review period have been:

  • The establishment of the Newcastle Centre for Railway Research (NewRail). 
  • Internationally leading neurorehabilitation research at the Centre for Rehabilitation and Engineering Studies (CREST). 
  • The continued success of the Gear Technology Centre (GTC), the UK’s foremost University based gear research unit.
  • The development of models of fluid-particulate flow, with particular application to particle resuspension within nuclear reactors. 
  • Playing a leading role in research and development of podded propulsion technology, an innovative integrated electrically driven approach to ship propulsion. 
  • The establishment of Newcastle as a major centre of micro-electrical-mechanical systems (MEMS) research.
  • The development of an innovative procedure to ensure that non-indigenous species are not transported through the ecosystem in ships’ ballast water. 
  • Leading the development of research into the behaviour of composites in fire, of particular interest for safety critical structural and transport applications of composite materials. 

This submission is from four groups. Three primarily from MSE:

and one from MAST:

Both Schools benefit from well founded manufacturing, electronics, and computing facilities and have sufficient high quality space to undertake research at an industrially relevant scale. Specialised research facilities include:

  • The Research Vessel Bernicia, a 46 tonne multi-purpose stern trawler type vessel providing a platform for marine technology research, and the Dove Marine Laboratory, a unique laboratory on the coast which provides on land access to a marine environment.
  • The UK National Gear Metrology Laboratory (NGML), recognised as a world leading measurement facility in gear metrology. 
  • The only university based cavitation tunnel in regular use in the UK, equipped with state of the art laser flow measuring equipment and dynamometers.
  • NewRail has a unique experimental facility at Barrow Hill in near Chesterfield. 
  • CREST Group has a newly equipped laboratory with a multiple camera motion analysis system, force plate, electromagnetic movement sensors and electromyography, and also have a haptic robot facility to support rehabilitation research.
  • A marine hydrodynamics laboratory containing a unique combined wind, wave and current facility, with a 40m long towing tank.

Research activity within the Schools in highly interdisciplinary. Marine Technology work closely with colleagues in Marine Science (being submitted to UoA17), and more general energy and environment research is in collaboration with staff being returned to both that UoA and UoA27. MEMS research work is in collaboration with staff being submitted to UoA 4 and UoA 24.

Both Schools collaborate extensively with other Universities in the UK and around the world. Internationally,  we have submitted outputs co-authored with staff from organisations in Australia, China, France, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan and Turkey.

Our outputs also indicate some of our industrial links. Over the review period industrial partners on research grants have included Alfa Laval, British Energy, DSTL, EADS, Fiat, International Paint, Lloyd’s Register of Shipping, Schneider Electric, Unilever and VT Group.