To celebrate the season, we’ve created a fascinating explainer showcasing the power of forensic science – with a suitably festive theme!
Watch the video and see how our expert uses FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) spectroscopy to distinguish between different polymeric materials – specifically, the sticky tape used for Christmas wrapping.
Can our scientist identify which one of three different tapes was used…?
It was great to welcome Steve Jackson, Declan O’Brien and Anthony Britt from Siemens Mobility on a tour of the state-of-the-art μ-VIS X-ray Imaging Centre (muvis) facilities within the School of Engineering.
Bethany Harding has been scanning items to kick-start an investigation that we are supporting the rail company with.
If you’d like to see the μ-VIS facilities for yourself, you can take the virtual tour.
This week the whole team went to visit the Air Accidents Investigation Branch at Farnborough.
While our Director, Professor Nicola Symonds, works with them often, contributing her failure analysis expertise to their investigations, it was a great opportunity for the rest of the team to learn about their history, see the improvement in digital technologies over the years and understand better their role and aims.
As well as corrosion testing, our experts can design cathodic protection systems.
We recently provided advice to our sister unit, the Wolfson Unit MTIA on how to use cathodic protection in fresh water to extend the life of the metallic structures in their world-leading University of Southampton Towing Tank. We will be monitoring the effectiveness of the protection over the course of its life.
Find out more about our corrosion testing cathodic protection services.
Our focus on corrosion continues with a look at our electrochemical testing capabilities.
Our experts can combine environmental testing with shorter-running electrochemical tests allowing us to correlate results, quickly, for additional insights. Our benchtop laboratory potentiostats are capable of various electrochemical techniques and corrosion testing methods to determine corrosion rates and surface characteristics.
Recent projects have included anode capacity measurements to DNV standards and determining the galvanic compatibility of materials used in ships.
Get in touch to discuss your project, or find out about our corrosion testing services.
We’re delighted that our Director, Professor Nicola Symonds, has been nominated as an Engineering Role Model as part of National Engineering Day 2024.
Nicola is tireless in her mission to inspire girls and women to pursue engineering, through activities in schools and within the University of Southampton, recruiting talented women to her team at nC², and being a visible presence on the wider stage nationally and internationally. Considering that women still make up only 15.7% of the UK engineering workforce, down from 16.5% in 2023, positive role models like Nicola are all the more important.
She says: “A heartfelt thank you to those who nominated me and to the Royal Academy of Engineering for this recognition. It’s an honour to be part of a community that inspires the future generation of engineers!”
From desert sun to ocean spray, our corrosion facilities enable us to set up bespoke tests to simulate a wide range of environmental conditions. These include salt spray, UV testing and humidity testing using our environmental chambers.
All our chambers are designed to expose samples to specific conditions over a period of months. We also have outdoor exposure racking and a test tank at the National Oceanography Centre where we carry out immersion testing in sea water.
Whatever rigours your paint, coating or material will be up against, we can give you insights into how it will perform. Find out more about our corrosion testing services.
This month we’re shining the spotlight on our corrosion testing capabilities – and what better place to start than an introduction to the team.
Senior consultants Spencer and Rachel lead on our corrosion and paint testing projects. Both have a wealth of corrosion expertise; Spencer in the maritime and offshore industries and Rachel in the aerospace industry. Rachel also conducts our corrosion failure investigations. They are supported by Sam, our Senior Engineering Technician.
Corrosion testing could help you understand a failure issue or make evidence-based decisions about the optimal coating or material for your product and environment. Spencer and Rachel will be delighted to talk through your options – here’s how to get in touch.
As Halloween comes around, we answer the question on every surface scientist’s lips… what is the wear resistance of a pumpkin?
To find out, we tested samples from four different types on our TE66 micro-scale abrasion testing rig. Which was the most wear resistant? Watch the video to see the testing process and the results…
Here’s the technical bit: weight used: 240 g, revolutions: 1,200 rev completed, ball speed: 90 rpm, ball diameter: 25 mm, slurry: 4 um diameter particles in water (0.75 g/cm3).
A big thank you to third-year PhD student Lijia Yi who ran the tests, and to our Director Nicola who made sure nothing went to waste by barbecuing the leftovers (the acorn squash won the taste test).
Happy Halloween from all at nC²!
We’re delighted to introduce Dr Franklin Nobrega, an expert in microbiology and the latest addition to our network of specialists.
If your project involves understanding the presence or behaviour of microorganisms we will bring Franklin on board to advise on the best approach and conduct testing and analysis. With extensive research and industry experience and access to advanced equipment for testing and discovery, Franklin is well placed to meet our clients’ testing needs. You can read more about Franklin here.
If your project could benefit from his expertise, please get in touch.
We’ve made another step towards sustainability by moving our website to a hosting provider verified by the Green Web Foundation. This means it’s now on a server powered by green energy.
Delighted to do our bit towards the Foundation’s goal of a fossil-free internet by 2030. Thank you to PinkSEO for helping to make it happen.
On Ada Lovelace Day we’re celebrating the brilliant women in the nC2 team. We’re proud that our engineering consultancy bucks the trend of gender imbalance in engineering, with women making up more than half of our core team, and experts such as Dr Kathryn Rankin, Dr Julie Herman, Professor Lindsay-Marie Armstrong, Dr Dimitra Georgiadou and Dr Agnes Macey-Michalik among our specialist advisors.
Today is nC2’s 9th birthday! We’ve achieved so much in the last 9 years – growing from 2 staff members to 7, expanding our network of specialist advisors, delivering expert materials testing and advice to clients across many industry sectors and building lasting relationships along the way.
Thank you to everyone who has been part of the journey so far.
Congratulations to our Director, Professor Nicola Symonds, who has been nominated for a University of Southampton Vice-Chancellor’s Award in the Knowledge Exchange and Enterprise category.
The awards will be presented at a celebratory dinner on Thursday – best of luck to Nicola and to the other nominees in the category, Dr Wonyong Park, NeuroKids Team and the International Blast Injury Research Network team.
By looking at materials at micro scale we provide invaluable insights into their behaviour. This optical microscopy image shows a tungsten carbide coating that has been subjected to air-sand erosion testing.
Engineering components that are vulnerable to erosion are often protected with coatings to prolong their operating life. We have advanced testing facilities and specialist expertise to assess the performance of these materials for our clients.
If air-sand erosion would benefit your project, get in touch for a free consultation.
Our unique erosion testing capabilities include a purpose-built air-sand erosion testing rig. The samples inside are blasted by dry sand in a fast-moving dry air stream, with the tests tailored to clients’ specific in-service conditions.
These bespoke tests are essential for selecting materials or coatings that will be exposed to particles in air, from industrial drill bits to aerospace components.
If air-sand erosion testing would benefit your project, our expert consultant JB will be happy to hear from you.
Always a thrill to see your name on a billboard! Here’s our Director, Professor Nicola Symonds, with a new hoarding that showcases nC2‘s work supporting the conservation of HMS Victory.
We’re proud to tell the world how our materials testing expertise is helping the National Museum of the Royal Navy to preserve this icon of maritime heritage. Learn more about the HMS Victory project here.
Our spotlight on erosion testing continues with a look at some of our bespoke kit. This is our slurry (water-sand) erosion test rig, which works by firing a mix of sand and water through a nozzle onto a surface for a set time. We design tests tailored to simulate specific real-world conditions, to give insights into how a product or material will perform in service.
After the samples have been blasted with particles, we analyse them using a range of techniques to see the effects, helping clients to understand why a problem has occurred, or select the right coatings or materials for their product. You can find out more on our particulate erosion testing page.
