Five come to Secomak

Five University of Hertfordshire students from the AADE Engineering Department are working with Secomak on their final year projects. Secomak Ltd is a leading drying specialists based at Elstree Herts. The five students are pictured below and are from Undergraduate courses in Aerospace, Aerospace Systems and Mechanical Engineering.

Secomak are currently partners on a KTP (Knowledge Transfer Partnership) project with the University of Hertfordshire and each of the students is able to further their own knowledge in their particular subject area by investigating a real world application.

Noura Bhakti, a final year student in Mechanical Engineering is designing a new Airknife using computational fluid dynamics software and she will also investigate how best the Airknives can be incorporated into a drying machine to enable consistent setting. The Airknife provides the high velocity stream of air which impacts onto containers to remove the moisture

Mihir Thakkar is another Mechanical Engineering student who is evaluating the energy levels throughout a drying machine from the motor driven blower inlet to the Airknife high velocity outlet. Energy is a crucial issue and a clear understanding of the process will enable energy savings to be identified.

Brendan Quinn is an Aerospace Systems student who is analysing the current ECO-pack product which Secomak incorporates in their machines with the aim of creating additional control features. The ECO-pack already has the capacity of saving 40-50% of the electrical costs and Brendan hopes to add another 10% saving to this figure.

Lazeros Aresto is a student in Aerospace Engineering and Management and his knowledge of aerodynamics is helping him to investigate the part that both turbulent and laminar flows play in the successful removal of the water from the surface of a wet container such as a can or a bottle. This fundamental study will have real implications in the creation of the ‘total drying machine’ which is the central aim of the KTP study.

The fifth student is Navin Chohan who is studying Aerospace engineering and is researching case studies of the airborne bacteriological contamination such as Legionella in the food and drink industry and how to mitigate these occurrences. There is an opportunity to create in-built systems in the drying machine to eradicate bacteriological transfer through the machine.

By using the combined resources of Secomak and the University, the students are able to experience the application of their studies in an industrial setting and to obtain a ‘business facing’ view to enable them to move forward into their chosen careers with confidence and enhanced skills. They can do this with the knowledge that they have the support of the University staff and its facilities such as the Laboratories and the LRC. They may even be fortunate enough to gain a post as a KTP Associate on graduation. – The number of funded KTP projects in Engineering is increasing and the University of Hertfordshire is a leader in establishing such projects.

For further information on KTP opportunities see http://www.ktponline.org.uk/