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At the beginning of November, NEL met with representatives from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Programme Experts Group (PEG) to review performance of the Flow Programme over the last 12 months. This important strategic meeting also agreed the key issues that should be addressed as part of the new body of Flow Programme work to be undertaken from March 2018.
“The meeting was really positive both in terms of the feedback we got on past and current work and in terms of the direction we have mapped out for future research,” says Operations Director, Mark Roscoe. “Perhaps most importantly, we received a strong recognition that we are undertaking a solid portfolio of research work which reflects industry needs.
At the meeting, there was general agreement that NEL is heading in the right direction with its programme of modernisation for the National Standard facilities. There was also acknowledgement that NEL has done excellent work in developing co-funding for its research work and facility developments.
According to Mark, one other highlight of the meeting included positive feedback on the Eng. D programme that NEL runs with Coventry University. This currently supports nine NEL employees and three external students who are developing their flow metrology expertise through a programme of research. It was agreed that this programme should be further developed and that discussions should be had on the steps needed to move towards a Doctoral Training Centre.
NEL also presented impact roadmaps for ISO5167 (Differential Pressure) and Multiphase research, which were well received. These demonstrated how sustained R & D in these areas will have significant positive impacts for industry over many years.
The Flow Programme is part of the UK’s Engineering and Flow Programme, which underpins measurements of length, mass, density, force, gears and flow in the country. NEL is responsible for the flow measurement aspects of the Programme. This involves a major programme of research, development and knowledge dissemination concerning leading edge flow measurement challenges.
