Meet our SECRET team

Working on this exciting project are some of the finest minds

The SECRET TEAM

Drawing from City, University of London and from Howden, the SECRET team members are all uniquely qualified to deliver the innovative objective.

Howden/Royal Academy of Engineering Chair in Compressor Technology

Prof. Ahmed Kovacevic

City, University of London

Ahmed

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

I initiated and I now lead the project SECRET which is the acronym for “Smart Efficient Compression: Reliability and Energy Targets”. My main objective with this project is to extend the knowledge on the flow and heat transfer in leakage gaps of rotating machines. Lack of fully understanding physics of this phenomena is currently the major obstacle for radical improvements in rotating positive displacement machines. This will allow improvements in design of these machines and lead to reducing environmental impact and increasing reliability of these machines. This in turn will allow Howden to commercialise new technologies and reinforce their position of a leading provider of rotating machines.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

Scientifically I am looking forward to a breakthrough in understanding internal leakage flows and their influence on the overall performance and reliability. With a great team we built I am sure this will lead to exciting and innovative concepts to deliver more efficient and reliable oil free machines than ever. It is very important for universities to make a positive impact on science, technology and general wellbeing. I hope that with this project we will make remarkable positive impact on environment and living standards.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

Project SECRET is funded by Royal Academy of Engineering and Howden with the aim to extend knowledge and move technology of rotating positive machines forward. This will reduce environmental impact. Being the Director of renowned Centre for Compressor Technology, I am excited that this unique project will contribute to already very extensive portfolio of projects with industry which the Centre had in 25 years of its existence. We are already seeing large interest from industry for this exciting topic of project SECRET and we will be showing the first results at our 12th International Conference on Compressors and their Systems in September 2021.

 

Research Assistant

Aleksander Krupa

City, University of London

Aleksander

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

I am working on experimental arrangement alongside with integration of the DDA monitoring system into the City’s tests rigs.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

The most interesting part is designing and working on things that are later produced and used globally every day as well as introducing technology to pure mechanics for automation, monitoring and self-regulation.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

To be a part of the team having a worldwide impact on compression technology and its sustainability.

 

Solutions Development Lead

Dr. Billy Milligan

Howden

Billy

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

I’ve been involved from the beginning when discussing topics such as instrumentation deployed on rotating equipment and control system connectivity, both locally and to the cloud.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

To deliver connected next generation air and gas handling assets that can measure, analyse and then optimise to provide the most efficient output possible.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

The designing of a complete technology stack, from the measurement tip to the cloud that delivers leading edge analysis back to the actual asset to optimise performance.

 

PhD Student

Brijeshkumar Patel

City University of London -SMCSE

Brijesh

Brijesh is a PhD student at the City University of London since March 2019. Before joining as a PhD scholar, he was working with Ingersoll Rand India Limited as a Research & Development Testing engineer. He holds a bachelor degree in Mechanical engineering and a Masters degree in Thermal Engineering.

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

Responsible for WP1 and WP2 of secret project, which involves development of Roots blower test rig and Experimental investigation of the leakage flows in the optical test rig.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

SECRET project allows me the opportunity to explore and implement the new measurement techniques which is the most interesting part for me.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

Working on the project like this allow us to work with team members from academia as well as Industry, which provide chance to learn from vast range of experience of others. In addition, at the end we will be able to provide excellent new product to the market.

 

Research and Development Manager

Donald Lawson

Howden

Donald

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

Guiding the work of the programme to ensure that the research is focussed on areas which have relevance to industry and making sure that City University and Howden are working together as effectively as possible.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

Being able to collaborate with a team with varied background and interests is fascinating as every meeting generates new ideas and possibilities as the different development threads interact. The potential for revolutionary changes in how we approach machine design and operation is huge.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

Close cooperation between the research team and our product development engineers at such an early stage of the project gives me a huge amount of confidence in our ability to rapidly commercialise the research outcomes. When it comes to reducing energy consumption to help fight climate change every day counts.

 

Lead Design Analysis Engineer

Dr. James Ure

Howden

James

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

My role is primarily to take the newly developed physics and novel clearance management technologies and incorporate them into a new Howden compressor design.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

Being involved in novel research to gain a deeper understanding of the physics of screw compressors.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

The opportunity to create and develop novel technologies which will have a direct practical application to every new oil-free Howden compressor.

 

Lead Design & Development Engineer

Dr. Manoj Heiyantuduwa

Howden

Manoj

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

My involvement in SECRET project includes working within the project team to review the objectives and progress, and also to provide the necessary technical assistance when required.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

SECRET project is aiming to investigate the fundamental physical characteristics of leakage gaps and leakage behaviour of oil free screw compressors. This will enable us to improve the performance of oil free screw compressors without compromising the compressor reliability.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

The opportunity to work within a team which has a wide range of expertise in screw compressor technology. This will help me to enhance my knowledge and expertise and to keep me up-to-date with the latest technological advancements in the screw compressor field.

 

Research Fellow, Centre for Compressor Technology

Dr. Sham Rane

City, University of London School of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering

Sham

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

I am involved in numerical analysis of leakage flows in twin screw compressors under Work Package – 3 and 4. An influence of Conjugate Heat Transfer on the flow physics is being studied to provide better CFD and lower order computational modelling procedures. By developing validated and reliable computational models, it will be possible to investigate further about flow control strategies and leakage gap management to improve the performance of these machines.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

SECRET is focused on the integrating traditional machines and its working to a modern computer assisted infrastructure with real time data monitoring and control. These facilitates a broad platform for innovation and development. In the field of computational analysis, the project aims to develop new models, validate those using experimental data and extend the scope to other flow machines where leakage gap plays an important role.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

Working as a part of an excellent team with wide technical skills and possibility to innovate.

 

Howden/RAEng Postdoctoral Research Fellow

Dr. Thibaud Plantegenet

City, University of London

Thibaud

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

I am mainly working on phase 2 of the SECRET project that consist of improving performance and reliability of oil-free screw compressors by designing and testing a prototype. Especially, I am involved in the definition and realisation of the new design concepts of the oil-free screw compressor in order to reduce or control leakage flows by the use of various methods (new rotor profiles, coatings…). I am also responsible for the installation of the new test rig and the experiments conduct on it.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

I am interested by the SECRET project because his goal is to reduce the power consumption while improving the reliability and efficiency of the oil-free screw compressor and so making this technology much affordable for industry in an equal place with the oil injected screw compressors.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

To be in close collaboration with an industrial partner and working together toward innovative technologies that will reduced our impact on the environment.

 

PhD candidate

Thibault Tam

City, University of London

Thibault

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

I will primarily be working on WP6 as the main topic of my PhD thesis. Specifically, I will be developing a measurement system for monitoring radial clearances in dry-running screw compressors and collecting experimental data at the Centre for Compressor Technology. I hope that measuring the variation in radial clearances of a compressor in operation will allow us to further underline the close relationship between the efficiency and reliability of these machines. We expect this dimension to vary differently depending on its location in the compressor, so it will be very interesting to propose a system that can quantify this.

As the project team explores concepts for controlling and minimising leakage flows on the prototype compressor, the measurement system of WP6 has the potential to collect one of the key parameters of interest during these tests. Moreover, it has the potential to be further developed as an instrument that can be integrated into an industrial compressor package.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

What interest me most about the SECRET project are the technical challenges that can only be addressed by drawing from multiple engineering disciplines. These challenges are not only extremely stimulating to engineers who share these interests, but more importantly they are relevant to today’s industry and research. The findings of this project will open new research opportunities, and will result in industrial solutions that can reduce energy usage while extending the operating life of assets.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

In a first instance, the chance to complete a technical body of work that will be directly relevant to an industrial application is very important to me. But perhaps what excites me most about this unique project is the chance to learn from the most engaging researchers and engineers in this field, and working alongside them towards a common goal. This wouldn’t be possible without the strong partnerships in this project.

 

Marketing Manager

Laura McCusker

Howden

Laura

Describe your involvement in SECRET project?

My role in the SECRET project is Marketing Manager. Innovation needs marketing, and my main objective is to plan, manage and deliver a robust Marketing plan that supports and amplifies the fantastic work of this project. Through our Marketing plan, the main goal is to grow the project and product awareness. My focus is to convey the key benefits and technological advances in our Oil Free Screw Compressor technology. Through different marketing means and communications channels, it is my job to create engaging content, manage public relations, develop our social media strategy and advertisement.

What interests you about the SECRET project?

This project demonstrates the strong collaboration Howden have with our academic partners at City University. This project is special, as it combines academia with industry to apply theoretical principles into a proven and tested design, which in turn advances a technology that has both physical benefits and strong commercial viability.

What excites you most about working on a unique project like this?

My role in the SECRET project is unique, as I get to work with the team to celebrate our successes with the wider world. The true essence of this project is about transformational change; both in engineering and manufacturing processes, but also to develop novel compression technology to support our energy transition and the race to NetZero. It is rare to be offered an opportunity to be part of a team that will produce positive change and impact for decades to come.

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