Advanced corrosion monitoring for marine and civil infrastructure - bringing new technology closer to market

这一“后续”项目建立在申请人最近开展的工作的成功基础上，特别是在EPSRC第一轮生物工程方案下，并关键地将该研究推向工业应用和开发。这项工作延续了伦敦城市大学（CUL）电气工程和贝尔法斯特女王大学（QUB）土木工程之间强大的跨学科合作伙伴关系，与各自的技术转让官员（TTO）一起工作，充分利用所建立的良好关系，包括与分拆公司Sengenia和其他工业合作伙伴，Network Rail，北方爱尔兰的道路服务，艾米公司和柯林斯工程公司。该提案有一个明确的重点-使研究的商业潜力更加明显，既面向市场，又为未来供资组织产生可持续的兴趣建立一个平台，为该技术的商业开发创造适当的条件。支撑商业潜力并提供能力的关键技术优势是成功开发（通过EPSRC EP/D 030269/1，EP/D 030196/1，EP/D 009162/1，EP/F012829/1的支持）用于监测混凝土腐蚀早期特征的新型腐蚀传感器系统。据申请人所知，这是第一次能够创造新的、有针对性的、具有可证明的测量高于12的pH值的能力的耐用的原位pH传感器，以及不仅仅能够测量游离氯浓度的氯传感器（低至20 mM）而且在高碱性环境中也是可持续的。迄今为止进行的研究显示出真实的希望，通过为海洋和民用基础设施提供更好的监测解决方案，确定了市场差距，从而克服了英国及其他地区目前的商业限制，特别是在传感范围，灵敏度和耐用性方面。已经确定了几个重要的技术和商业挑战，这些挑战与后续融资议程非常协调，该提案的成功有望使行业获得更好的数据，以便更及时地维护和节省成本-创造一个成功的商业提案，使英国和全球行业受益。应该强调的是，向后续基金提出的这一申请不仅是针对传感器本身的另一年工作，而且是为了使产生的想法和完成的工作更适合迅速的商业利用，使工业界和学术界都受益。所采取的方法是建立在SME和最终用户的支持和建议的基础上，以更好地了解建筑环境中的衰变和腐蚀过程。

This 'follow-on' project builds upon the success of recent work undertaken by the applicants, particularly under the first round of the EPSRC Challenging Engineering Programme and, critically, takes that research forward towards industrial application and exploitation. The work continues the strong interdisciplinary partnership between Electrical Engineering at City University London (CUL) and Civil Engineering at Queen's University of Belfast (QUB), working together with their respective Technology Transfer Officers (TTOs) to take full advantage of the excellent relationship forged, including with the spin-out company, Sengenia, and the other industrial partners, Network Rail, Roads Services of Northern Ireland, Amey Plc and Collins Engineering. There is a clear focus of the proposal - to make the commercial potential of the research more evident, both to the market and to set a platform for generating sustainable interest from future funding organizations to create the right conditions for commercial exploitation of the technology. The key technical strength, underpinning the commercial potential and providing the capability, is the successful development (through the support from EPSRC EP/D030269/1, EP/D030196/1, EP/D009162/1, EP/F012829/1) of novel corrosion sensor systems for monitoring early signatures of concrete corrosion. This has enabled the creation of, for the first time to the knowledge of applicants, new, tailored, durable in-situ pH sensors which have a demonstrable capability to measure pH values higher than 12 and chloride sensors which have not just been able to measure free chloride concentrations (to a level as low as 20mM) but also been sustainable in the high alkaline environment experienced.The research undertaken to date has shown real promise to bridge currently identified market gaps by providing better monitoring solutions for both marine and civil infrastructures and thus to overcome current commercial limitations in the UK and beyond, especially in terms of the sensing range, sensitivity and durability. Several important technical and commercial challenges have been identified which are well attuned to the Follow-on funding agenda and the success of this proposal promises industry access to better data to allow more timely maintenance and cost saving - creating a successful commercial proposition, to the benefit of UK and global industry. It should be stressed that this application to the Follow-on Fund is targeted not simply at another year's work on sensors per se but is designed to make the ideas generated and the work done better suited to rapid commercial exploitation, to the benefit both of industry and academia. The approach taken is built on the support of and advice from both an SME and end users, to give a better understanding of decay and corrosion processes in the built environment.