Institution news
Q: Please briefly explain your role, involvement, and experience with Bulk Materials Handling
Mike Bradley (MB): As Professor of Bulk and Particulate Technology, and Director of The Wolfson Centre for Bulk Solids Handling Technology at the University of Greenwich, I’m responsible for technical and intellectual leadership of our research, educational and consultancy services to industry. I’ve been involved in this for 37 years, first doing research in Pneumatic Conveying as a PhD student then progressing through virtually every branch of bulk solids handling! The Wolfson Centre celebrates 50 years of providing these services to industry, in 2024.
Q: What is the top challenge facing your industry at present?
MB: Same as for the last four decades that I have been involved – companies who specify and design equipment without sufficient knowledge of the behaviour of the bulk solids to be handled, because of lack of education and understanding in the area. Most people who buy solids handling equipment, and many who design it, have no formal training in the area so we have “the blind leading the blind” with the result that the performance of solids processing systems in industry is often very poor.
Q: How would you say your industry has evolved over the past two years?
MB: The industry of the supply of bulk handling equipment is a fairly stable one, mostly made of fairly small companies with a few larger players. It has been this way for many years.
Q: What developments are going on in your industry that may have an impact on the future work of materials handlers?
MB: Increasing focus on recycling of materials and waste processing, also expansion of interest in battery materials and powders for additive manufacturing. Renewed interest in mining in the UK, but not of coal.
Q: What will you be presenting at the ‘Compliance in Bulk Materials Handling’ seminar and how will this benefit participants?
MB: Personally, I shall be presenting on the subject of hoppers and silos, and compliance with the structural code BS EN 1991-4. My group investigates many instances of silo failure, often leading to complete collapse - this is alarmingly common in industry. The code gives us design principles that should ensure silos don’t fall down, but often mistakes or misjudgements are made so I’ll be using case studies of failed silos to show how to avoid these problems.
Q: Why is it important for academia and industry to come together at this event and share experiences and project developments?
MB: Academics in the area get a very wide overview of the solids handling problems that go on in industry, as well as generating leading research to improve best practice. Most engineers and managers in industry have little or no formal education in the subject of bulk solids handling, learning by experience, but experience only gets you so far especially in our field where there are so many different materials handled, all with different behaviour – reliance on experience alone has often resulted in catastrophe. This is the opportunity for people from industry to get a more fundamental insight and understanding. For academics, it will be an opportunity to get exposure to the unresolved challenges faced by industry, hopefully stimulating more research.
Compliance in Bulk Materials Handling 2023 will be taking place on 10 October at the Argyll Ruane Engineering Training Centre in Sheffield.
Join this seminar to:
- Gain a broad overview of relevant regulations and compliance applicable to a wide range of bulk handling scenarios
- Hear practical case studies to guide them on compliance and best practice, allowing them to more perform their duties more safely and with reduced environmental impact
- Remain informed of changes to codes and interpretations of codes allowing them to keep up to date with movement in the industry
- Be more aligned with senior industry peers who have more compliance experience which will improve organisational synergy
- Learn best practice to follow which will improve the lifetime of equipment, increasing the value extracted from it and reducing the likelihood of warranty void issues
To book your place, please visit the event website.