The UK Solidification Workshop 2022 aims to provide a networking platform for the UK Solidification community.
About this event
Solidification plays a vital role in various manufacturing processes such as casting, welding and additive manufacturing. It also has implications for downstream processes, and it will be crucial to the development of a circular economy for the metals sector.
However, the UK solidification community has shrunk since the late 1990s, posing a risk to the nation’s productivity and leadership in manufacturing with metals. This workshop aims to help reverse this trend, by facilitating collaboration and knowledge transfer, and discussing the opportunities for revitalising the sector.
Objectives
The UK Solidification Workshop 2022 aims to provide a networking platform for the UK solidification community, building on the foundations of a successful series of previous workshops, open-days and academic conferences hosted by the LiME Hub. The specific objectives are:
• To bring together people from all parts of the UK metals landscape, including higher education institutions, research organisations, industrial companies, government, funders, learned societies and trade bodies.
• To promote collaboration within the community
• To map out solidification research across the nation
• To discuss the future needs of the sector and new opportunities for reinvigorating metals in the UK.
Who should attend?
Academics, research students, engineers, product developers, process designers and R&D managers involved in any solidification-based manufacturing process, and those with an interest in the future of the UK metals sector.
Topics
The workshop aims to cover a broad spectrum of topics in the field of solidification and casting, and other related and dependent processes, and will include developments in sustainability. Examples of the topics of interest include but are not limited to:
Modelling and simulation of solidification at different length scales; alloy development and microstructural studies; process development and component innovation; and low carbon technologies, recycling and circular economy.
Key features
The workshop is scheduled provisionally to start mid-morning on the first day (7 June) and end in the afternoon of the second day, and to include:
• Presentations from Research Funders, government and metals sector bodies to describe the current and future landscape
• Technical talks from major UK solidification research groups and programmes, and from industry
• A discussion on the direction of metallurgical research and the future of metallurgy and the metals sector in the UK
• Poster session to showcase specific research outcomes*
• An ‘elevator pitch’ competition for early career researchers*
• Networking and dinner on the evening of the first day
• A tour of the facilities at BCAST (the Brunel Centre for Advanced Solidification Technology)
*Poster Session and Elevator Pitch: We encourage participants to present their research outcomes in the form of posters during the workshop. Research students and other early career researchers are encouraged to enter an ‘elevator pitch’ competition.
About the organiser
The Future LiME Hub is a national centre in liquid metal engineering primarily funded by EPSRC and based at Brunel University London in collaboration with the Universities of Oxford, Leeds and Manchester, and Imperial College London. The Hub aims to lay down a solid foundation for full metal circulation by conducting research in physical metallurgy, solidification science and processing technology. For more information please visit www.lime.ac.uk.
Contact and registration
For registration please follow the Eventbrite registration link: SWS22 registration
For general enquiries please contact lime@brunel.ac.uk.
Financial Support: This is a free event (registration is required but there are no fees) sponsored by the LiME Hub, as part of its outreach activities. The LiME Hub will also provide financial support to those participants who may need help in covering their travel and accommodation costs. Applications from research students will take priority. If you would like to apply for financial help for this workshop, please complete the relevant section during the registration process.