How Can NPL Help?

• Improving performance - Greater understanding of materials and their performance under different and challenging conditions is important to improve overall performance and provide confidence in materials selection. We predict and model performance of existing and new materials and processes to enable better product development and quicker introduction times, whilst retaining confidence in their suitability for safety critical applications.
• Reduce risk, increase reliability - There is a need to monitor systems and structures, such as bridges, buildings, and aircraft to understand their structural integrity and reduce the risk of product failure. NPL can model behaviour, develop accelerated ageing techniques, and characterise sensors and materials to enable companies to effectively predict through life behaviour. This allows predictions on product failure to be made and more effective maintenance strategies to be put in place.
• Manufacturing for a sustainable future - NPL supports the low carbon economy and is providing leading edge measurement solutions. We advise on the development and use of materials or technologies to address these challenges, especially against the backdrop of new and complex regulatory requirements. Novel, low-carbon technologies need to be subjected to rigorous testing to ensure they are fit for purpose and offer genuine carbon reductions. NPL can assess technology against international standards or bespoke verification protocols. This independent assessment of performance accelerates innovation, routes to market, and provides assurances to investors, regulators, and consumers.
• Testing in harsh conditions - NPL has extensive facilities for environment assisted cracking and corrosion/electrochemical testing at ambient and elevated temperatures. We have two laboratories dedicated to H₂S testing and tests are conducted to most of the common ISO, ASTM and NACE standards.
• Training - NPL carries out a range of training courses that are based on the principles of measurement designed to teach technical staff the difference between how to use a measurement tool and knowing how to use measurement as a tool.

From aerospace to food processing, NPL is working closely with the Advanced Manufacturing sector in the development of new products and processes helping drive forward innovation.

Underpinned by our expertise in measurement science, NPL's applied approach to research and development is working with industry to understand the costs of through life management of equipment, modelled from purchase, through running, monitoring, maintenance, and decommissioning, allowing companies to be competitive on a global scale. As the desire for efficient and sustainable innovation increases, working with NPL will give you access to solution driven technical experts that will ensure a successful outcome for all projects.

Challenge Driven, Solution Focused
Our expertise and innovation eliminates the need for specialist in-house resources, reduces technical risk and can deliver revenue, cost and time savings for complex technical challenges. For over 110 years we have solved real world government and business problems and today this is applied to global customer requests from a range of markets. NPL solutions are delivered in world-class research facilities using the outputs from significant research programmes supported by government and have been shown to be world-leading in over 80% of science areas.

Customers have access to over 500 multi-disciplinary scientists, along with an extensive national and international network of partners. Our collaboration network of other science organisations, industry, academia and international laboratories prove invaluable to deliver the requirements of our customers who range from government departments, start-ups to large global multinational corporations.

NPL is working with the Advanced Manufacturing sector by developing solutions driven by your challenges through the application of cutting edge measurement that meets our customer's needs.

Materials and sensor characterisation for harsh and complex environments

Freeform metrology for non-geometric structures

Residual stress analysis for structural integrity

Electrical interconnects testing and consultancy

Surface metrology for precision manufacturing

Materials modelling for corrosion and materials performance

Instrumentation - development, validation and optimisation

Training and skills development

Working with business and industry, NPL's Research and Development programmes focus on identifying and addressing customer needs, ensuring our expertise and knowledge is always relevant and easily applied by our partners.

For more information, please contact Matt Smith

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