Professor Stephen Beck
BSc PhD CEng FIMechE PFHEA
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
+44 114 222 7730
Full contact details
School of Mechanical, Aerospace and Civil Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
- Profile
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I am Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Sheffield University and Director of the Centre for Engineering Education (CEE). My expertise is in practical education, efficient teaching and examining, unsteady flow in pipes and energy systems.
I graduated from The University of Bath in 1985 having studied Mechanical Engineering and I then worked at Fermilab in Chicago developing software to control anti-protons. I left to get further qualifications and received my PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Sheffield in 1992.
After working as a postdoctoral researcher I became a lecturer in Thermodynamics in the department. I was promoted to Senior Lecturer in 2002 and in 2012 I was awarded my personal chair.
My research is about 3 main topics.
- Finding leaks in pipes. This is a bit like sonar - I put a pressure wave into the pipe and it gets reflected off the leak. By using clever ways of looking at the pressure wave, I can find out where the leak is and sometimes how big it is.
- Energy systems. I like understanding how energy use in buildings can be understood and minimised. This may be due to users and operators working with the building to reduce its heating and electricity use, or it could be using mathematical techniques and computers to understand them so that we can build and operate them more efficiently.
- Fundamentals of education. With the university systems having increased in size, the teaching methods and organisations we have used in the past do not scale well to large groups of students, so I have developed new ways of improving our students experience while not increasing staff time.
I am interested in quality enhancement of teaching and was Director of Undergraduate Studies in Mechanical Engineering. I was appointed as the first Faculty Director of Learning and Teaching, coordinating learning throughout the Engineering Faculty from 2008-2014. During this time I oversaw the implementation of a number of major changes to the teaching such as reducing winter exams, the introduction of activity weeks, and a CPD scheme in teaching, now known as Engineering and Teaching Shorts (EATS).
From about 2010, I was instrumental in designing the University’s flagship Diamond building, including its labs, workspaces and lecture theatres. It was decided to have a department to deliver all the practical engineering teaching for the Faculty of Engineering from this building, so from 2014 to 2022 I set up and ran Multidisciplinary Engineering Education which did this. The 50 staff in the department are changing the way that practical Engineering education is delivered and in 2021, we were awarded a CATE award for collaboration from AdvanceHE.
I am also interested in various forms of committee work both within the University and for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, where I was Vice President (2016-9) and I remain on their Academic Standards panel, accrediting engineering departments.
- Research interests
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Professor Beck's main research interests are in fluid mechanics, notably flow measurement, pipe networks, and leaks in pipes, and his work uses fluidic devices and numerous flow measurement techniques. Professor Beck also has interests in renewable energy, energy use, power production, refrigeration and heat exchange processes. His work is predominantly experimental, but uses CFD and analytical techniques.
He is also researching into waves in fluid pipeline systems. The original work which Professor Beck undertook as part of his PhD and post-doctoral work on the modelling of pressure waves in pipes is being expanded to cover the control and real time analysis of fluid pipeline networks. The signal analysis has led to a novel method of leak detection that works even in branched pipeline systems.
Part of Professor Beck's main research interests is that of fluid flow measurement. He has worked on various fluidic flow devices and is now engaged in projects to improve the accuracy and robustness of orifice plate flowmeters and to examine flow through and after fractal devices.
Professor Beck's teaching of thermodynamics and renewable energy has led to variety of energy based projects and publications on heat transfer, notably from radiators, and energy use in industry and buildings.
- Publications
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Books
- The little book of thermofluids. Stephen Beck.
Journal articles
- . International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, 51(2), 111-122.
- . Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 21(16), 47-50.
- . Renewable Energy, 178, 785-801.
- . Fluids, 5(4).
- . International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education.
- . Journal of Building Engineering.
- . International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 171, 271-277.
- . Frontiers in Energy Research, 6.
- . Journal of Energy Storage, 19, 52-66.
- . Journal of Pipeline Systems Engineering and Practice, 9(3).
- . Journal of Hydroinformatics, 20(4), 815-828.
- . Structural Health Monitoring, 17(4), 959-970.
- . Journal of Energy Storage, 17, 272-286.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science.
- . Applied Acoustics, 119, 146-155.
- . Energy and Buildings, 111, 109-119.
- . International Journal of Refrigeration, 70, 225-234.
- . Applied Energy, 130, 305-313.
- . Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 3(2), 92-109.
- . Proceedings of the ICE - Engineering Sustainability, 167(3), 108-117.
- . Applied Thermal Engineering, 51(1-2), 364-370.
- . JOURNAL AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION, 104(8), 35-36.
- . Structural Health Monitoring: an international journal, 11(4), 405-412.
- A Dimensionless Solution to Radiation and Turbulent Natural Convection in Square and Rectangular Enclosures. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 7(2), 257-279.
- A dimensionless solution to radiation and turbulent natural convection in square and rectangular enclosures. Journal of Engineering Science and Technology, 7(2), 257-279.
- . Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 29, 187-200.
- The fractal flow conditioner for orifice plate flow meters. Flow Measurement and Instrumentation.
- Assessing the energy implications of replacing car trips with bicycle trips in Sheffield, UK. Energy Policy.
- . Energy and Buildings, 43(2-3), 400-406.
- . Structural Health Monitoring, 10(4), 351-360.
- . Energy and Buildings, 42(10), 1582-1591.
- Leak detection in pipes using induced water hammer pulses and cepstrum analysis. International Journal of COMADEM, 13(1), 19-25.
- . EXP THERM FLUID SCI, 34(1), 104-111.
- Investigation of the Flow in a Compliant Idealised Human Cystic Duct. Journal of Biomechanical Science and Engineering, 3(3), 411-417.
- . The Proceedings of the Asian Pacific Conference on Biomechanics : emerging science and technology in biomechanics, 2007.3(0), S234-S234.
- . STRUCT CONTROL HLTH, 14(8), 1063-1082.
- From cystic duct to static mixer: A serendipitous journey via flow visualization. J VISUAL-JAPAN, 10(2), 141-144.
- IN-VITRO INVESTIGATION OF THE FUNCTIONS OF THE VALVES OF HEISTER(3D3 Biorheology & Microcirculation II). The Proceedings of the Asian Pacific Conference on Biomechanics : emerging science and technology in biomechanics, 2007(0).
- Leak location in a T-shaped pipe with CFD modelling. Damage Assessment of Structures VII, 347, 607-612.
- . INT J HEAT FLUID FL, 27(6), 1054-1060.
- . MEAS SCI TECHNOL, 17(2), 367-372.
- . J HYDRAUL ENG-ASCE, 131(8), 715-723.
- . Proceedings of 2005 ASME Fluids Engineering Division Summer Meeting, FEDSM2005, 2005, 2081-2086.
- . International Journal of Pressure Vessels and Piping, 82(7), 565-570.
- . Sensor Review, 25(1), 63-68.
- Energy consumption and capacity utilization of galvanizing furnaces. P I MECH ENG E-J PRO, 218(E4), 251-259.
- . APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING, 24(8-9), 1291-1300.
- An integrated approach to modelling the fluid-structure interaction of a collapsible tube. JSME INT J B-FLUID T, 47(1), 20-28.
- . Fatigue & Fracture of Engineering Materials & Structures, 25(11), 1059-1059.
- Pipeline system identification through cross-correlation analysis. P I MECH ENG E-J PRO, 216(E3), 133-142.
- . Flow Measurement and Instrumentation, 12(5-6), 379-384.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 215(8), 893-903.
- . Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 22(3), 185-194.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 215(8), 893-904.
- Measurement and simulation of pressure wave attenuation in upward air-water bubbly flow. INT J HEAT FLUID FL, 21(1), 104-111.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part C: Journal of Mechanical Engineering Science, 214(8), 1099-1106.
- Pressure wave attenuation in an air pipe flow. P I MECH ENG C-J MEC, 214(4), 619-632.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical, 213(2), 121-126.
- A remote measuring flow meter for petroleum and other industrial applications. MEAS SCI TECHNOL, 9(5), 779-789.
- Fluidic pressure pulse transmitting flowmeter. CHEM ENG RES DES, 75(A4), 381-391.
- Proportional feedback control of an electro-rheological vibration damper. J INTEL MAT SYST STR, 8(5), 426-433.
- Measurement of fluid flow rates through cracks. INT J PRES VES PIP, 71(1), 71-75.
- . Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 75(1), 73-80.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering, 211(2), 109-114.
- Development of fluidic flowmeters for monitoring crude oil production. FLOW MEAS INSTRUM, 7(2), 91-98.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part E: Journal of Process Mechanical Engineering, 210(2), 93-100.
- . Powder Metallurgy, 39(4), 271-274.
- . International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education, 23(3), 245-255.
- Transmission line modelling of simulated drill strings undergoing water-hammer. P I MECH ENG C-J MEC, 209(6), 419-427.
- Stability of vortex amplifier circuits with twin control pipes.
- Steady state analysis of fluid networks containing vortex amplifiers.((ed.), Bedford, U.K., H.S. Stephens & Assocs., 1988, Paper SII:1, p.489-492. (ISBN 0-9510271-3-1)).
- . SEFI Journal of Engineering Education Advancement, 1(1), 26-37.
- . European Journal of Engineering Education, 1-16.
- . Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part A: Journal of Power and Energy, 095765092097605-095765092097605.
Chapters
- , The Interdisciplinary Future of Engineering Education (pp. 33-48). Routledge
Conference proceedings papers
- BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME: MAINTAINING STUDENTS ACCESS TO FABRICATION AND TESTING DURING A PANDEMIC. Proceedings - SEFI 49th Annual Conference: Blended Learning in Engineering Education: Challenging, Enlightening - and Lasting? (pp 1382-1386)
- BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME: MAINTAINING STUDENTS ACCESS TO FABRICATION AND TESTING DURING A PANDEMIC. Proceedings of the SEFI 49th Annual Conference: Blended Learning in Engineering Education: Challenging, Enlightening - and Lasting? (pp 1401-1405)
- . Energy Procedia, Vol. 151 (pp 31-36). Sheffield, UK, 11 September 2018 - 12 September 2018.
- . Energy Procedia, Vol. 151 (pp 47-51), 11 September 2018 - 12 September 2018.
- Leak detection in a long pipe system. 13th International Conference on Pressure Surges, Vol. 1 (pp 187-200)
- Application of least squares support vector machines and acoustic measurements for leak flow rate prediction. CCWI 2017 - 15th International Conference on Computing and Control for the Water Industry
- . Procedia Engineering, Vol. 186 (pp 311-318), 24 July 2016 - 28 July 2016.
- The use of the cross-correlation of two signals as a transient leak detection method. BHR Group - 12th International Conference on Pressure Surges (pp 581-594)
- . ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and Exposition, Proceedings (IMECE), Vol. 13-2015
- . Volume 13: Vibration, Acoustics and Wave Propagation, 13 November 2015 - 19 November 2015.
- IMPROVING LEAK LOCATION ACCURACY BY OPTIMISING THE TIME DELAY MEASUREMENT OF ACOUSTIC EMISSION FROM LEAKS IN MOPE PIPE. PROCEEDINGS OF THE 22ND INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS ON SOUND AND VIBRATION
- (pp 197-202)
- Controlled multi-scale turbulence through the use of Laser Sintered Sierpinski Pyramids. 24th International SFF Symposium - An Additive Manufacturing Conference, SFF 2013 (pp 869-878)
- . WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment, Vol. 176 (pp 119-131)
- Transient source localisation methodology and laboratory validation. 12th International Conference on Computing and Control for the Water Industry, Perugia, Italy. Perugia, Italy
- . ASME 2012 11th Biennial Conference on Engineering Systems Design and Analysis, ESDA 2012, Vol. 2 (pp 21-27)
- . Water Distribution Systems Analysis 2010 - Proceedings of the 12th International Conference, WDSA 2010 (pp 585-594)
- Intrusion into water distribution systems through leaks and orifices: Initial experimental results. 11th Computing and Control in the Water Industry 2011. Exeter
- GIS thematic mapping to identify persistent failures in water distribution networks. 11th Computing and Control in the Water Industry 2011. Exeter
- Improving engagement and learning experience for students using lab-in-a-box concept. Engineering Education 2010: Inspiring the Next Generation of Engineers, EE 2010
- Leakage Detection in Pipelines Using Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition. 5th European Workshop on Structural Health Monitoring. Sorrento
- EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF TURBULENCE ACROSS THE FRACTAL ORIFICE PLATE. PROCEEDINGS OF THE ASME 10TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE ON ENGINEERING SYSTEMS DESIGN AND ANALYSIS, 2010, VOL 3 (pp 353-360)
- Experimental study of the pressure drop after fractal-shaped orifices in a Turbulent flow pipe. World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology, Vol. 40 (pp 194-197)
- Leak and feature detection in a water distribution network. BHR Group - Surge Analysis - System Design, Simulation, Monitoring and Control, 10th International Conference on Pressure Surges (pp 125-135)
- Streaming Birefringence - A Step Forward. ADVANCES IN EXPERIMENTAL MECHANICS VI, Vol. 13-14 (pp 23-28)
- Experimental study of a fractal flowmeter in a pipe. NEW TRENDS IN FLUID MECHANICS RESEARCH (pp 456-458)
- Flow in idealised compliant human cystic duct models. NEW TRENDS IN FLUID MECHANICS RESEARCH (pp 610-613)
- . Proceedings of the ASME Turbo Expo, Vol. 1 (pp 709-714)
- Wavelet and cepstrum analyses of leaks in pipe networks. Progress in Industrial Mathematics at ECMI 2004, Vol. 8 (pp 559-563)
- Leak detection in pipeline with use of Cepstrum method. 16th International Conference on Pipeline Protection (pp 357-364)
- The swirling orifice plate: A flowmeter for all reasons. Proceedings of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fluids Engineering Division Summer Conference, Vol. 2 (pp 409-414)
- . APPLIED THERMAL ENGINEERING, Vol. 24(8-9) (pp 1301-1319)
- . Fuel Cell Science, Engineering and Technology - 2004 (pp 79-84)
- Leak monitoring in pipeline networks using wavelet analysis. DAMAGE ASSESSMENT OF STRUCTURES, PROCEEDINGS, Vol. 245-2 (pp 51-58)
- Pipe network identification through signal analysis techniques. 8TH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON PRESSURE SURGES(39) (pp 547-556)
- Pressure wave attenuation in two phase flow. Proceedings of the International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering - OMAE
- Fluidic flow meter for downhole and other flow measurements. Proceedings of the International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering - OMAE
- The UHX - A summary. 4TH UK NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEAT TRANSFER, Vol. 1995(2) (pp 473-477)
- THE IN-LINE FLUIDIC HAMMER DEVICE. 1994 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT, VOLS 1 AND 2 (pp 1169-1171)
- MODELLING WATER HAMMER WITH TRANSMISSION LINE TECHNIQUES. 1994 ICHEME RESEARCH EVENT, VOLS 1 AND 2 (pp 1099-1101)
- Stability of vortex amplifier circuits with twin control pipes. Flucome '91 (pp 467-472)
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- Trapping Pressure Surges Using Two Valves and Feedforward Control. 11th International Conference on Pressure Surges. Lisbon, Portugal, 24 October 2012 - 26 October 2012.
- Intrusion and leakage through cracks and slits in plastic (MDPE) pipes. 14th Water Distribution Systems Analysis Conference. Adelaide, Australia, 24 September 2012 - 27 September 2012.
- Onset Detection of Transient Waves Using a Novel Experimental Data Set. 11th International Conference on Pressure Surges. Lisbon, Portugal, 24 October 2012 - 26 October 2012.
Preprints
- , MDPI AG.
- , MDPI AG.
- , MDPI AG.
- The little book of thermofluids. Stephen Beck.
- Research group
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Twenty eight of his students have submitted or completed their PhDs and MPhils.
Recent graduates are:
- Butterfield, JB, Deriving further information from the leak signal in water distribution pipes, 2018, STREAM DTC student
- AlHarbi, H, Leak Detection approach in long pipelines systems, 2018, Kuwait Oil Corporation
- Goonekeseera, AK, Performance Optimisation of Hot Water Cylinders, 2017 – KTP assocoiate
- Braun, MR, Affect of Climate change on supermarkets, 2015, e-futures DTC student
- Buckman, AH, Smart buildings for energy savings, 2016, e-futures DTC student
- Tiyafi, P, Leakage in Plastic Pipes, 2015-, STREAM DTC student
- Castleton, HF, Energy use in buildings, 2014, e-futures DTC student
- Teaching interests
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Professor Beck believes that lectures should be to entertain, signpost and inform in that order. As well as giving enthusiastic lectures, he is interested in novel ways of teaching, assessment and providing feedback. He has published papers on his use of podcasts to aid student induction, and (among other things) how he got students to write Haiku summaries of technical papers. He particularly enjoys teaching thermodynamics to first year students because he feels that the first and second laws hold the key to understanding the world and he wants every else to feel the same way.
Between 2008 and 2014 he was Faculty Director of Learning and Teaching for Engineering, and was thus in charge of Learning, Teaching, Assessment and Quality assurance and Enhancement for the Faculty. Arising from this was the idea for The Diamond.
He realised that there was a large amount of commonality in the laboratories (and indeed in other teaching), and by sharing space and equipment across departments, a far better student experience could be obtained. After a few pilot projects, the basic philosophy for The Diamond arose, and the Faculty now has one large, laboratory filled with multiples of equipment for each topic, and students from the entire faculty come to use them.
- Teaching activities
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- AER192: Aerospace Matter Flow and Energy
- AER282: Aerospace Fluids Engineering
- MEC333: Integrated Design Skills