Dr Daniel Mitchard
Lecturer
- mitcharddr@cardiff.ac.uk
- +44 (0)29 2048 2093
- E2.22, Queen's Buildings - East Building, 5 The Parade, Newport Road, Cardiff, CF24 3AA
- Available for postgraduate supervision
Overview
I am a Lecturer at Cardiff School of Engineering. I am a particle physicist with research interests in the field of lightning physics and lightning engineering, and am based in the Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, part of the Advanced High Voltage Research Centre, within the Electrical Engineering Department. My expertise is in the characterisation of high voltage and high current laboratory-generated lightning arcs, their interactions and related phenomena, using a variety of advanced optical, high-speed, schlieren and spectrographic techniques. My research is cross-disciplinary involving physics, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemistry and material science and I work closely with other laboratories within the school of engineering, such as the Structural Performance Laboratory and the Wolfson Centre for Magnetics.
I am Head of Year 3 and a member of the Teaching Committee, and Industrial Lead and member of the Industrial Board for the Mechanical Engineering Department. I teach Engineering Control and laboratories, and have taught Matlab and Solidworks in the past. I supervise a number of undergraduate and postgradute sudent projects each year in a variety of engineering fields. This also includes heritage engineering project via the National Museum of Wales.
Biography
Career Overview
2021: Lecturer, Lightning Physics & Engineering
Head of Year 3, Mechanical Engineering
Industrial Lead, Mechanical Engineering
2019: Lecturer, Lightining Physics & Engineering
Head of Year 3, Mechanical Engineering
2017: Research Fellow, Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, and Teacher, Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
2017: Research Fellow, Wolfson Centre for Magnetics, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
2015: Research Fellow, Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Education and Qualifications
2008: CPhys, Chartered Physicist, Institute of Physics, London
2006: PhD, Particle Physics, Swansea University at CERN, Geneva
2002: MPhys, Master of Physics, Swansea University
Professional memberships
MInstP, Member of the Institute of Physics, Institute of Physics, London.
Academic positions
Oct 17 onwards: Research Fellow, Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, and Lecturer, Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Apr 17 - Sep 17: Research Fellow, Wolfson Centre for Magnetics, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Jan 15 - Mar 17: Research Fellow, Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory, School of Engineering, Cardiff University
Speaking engagements
2018: Hay Festival
2016: CBC Dcoumentary "The Nature of Things"
Publications
2020
- Widger, P., Hills, M. and Mitchard, D. 2020. Schlieren images of negative streamer and leader formations in CO2 and a CF3I-CO2 electronegative gas mixture. Applied Sciences 10(22), article number: 8006. (10.3390/app10228006)
2019
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2019. Optical emission spectra of high current and high voltage generated arcs representing lightning. Applied Physics Letters 114(16), article number: 164103. (10.1063/1.5092875)
2017
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2017. Method for recording broadband high resolution emission spectra of laboratory lightning arcs. Journal of Visualized Experiments 150, article number: e56336. (10.3791/56336)
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2017. Investigation of lightning direct effects on aircraft materials. Presented at: 2016 International Conference on Electrical Systems for Aircraft, Railway, Ship Propulsion and Road Vehicles & International Transportation Electrification Conference (ESARS-ITEC), Toulouse, France, 2-4 November 20162016 International Conference on Electrical Systems for Aircraft, Railway, Ship Propulsion and Road Vehicles & International Transportation Electrification Conference (ESARS-ITEC). IEEE, (10.1109/ESARS-ITEC.2016.7841393)
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2017. Investigation of the effect of initiation wires on lighting arcs using spectral and high-speed imaging techniques. Presented at: International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Winc Aichi, Nagoya, Aichi, Japan, 13 - 15 September 2017.
- Clark, D.et al. 2017. Spectroscopic techniques for temperature measurement of laboratory generated lightning arcs. Presented at: 20th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 28 August - 1 September 2017.
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2017. Experimental and theoretical evaluation of aluminium deflection due to lightning strikes. Presented at: 19th International Conference on Lightning Protection, Dubai, UAE, 30 - 31 January 2017.
2016
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2016. Experimental and theoretical evaluation of aluminium deflection due to lightning strikes. Presented at: Lightning Protection (ICLP), 2016 33rd International Conference, Estoril, Portugal, 25-30 Sept. 20162016 33rd International Conference on Lightning Protection (ICLP). IEEE, (10.1109/ICLP.2016.7791428)
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2016. Technique for the comparison of light spectra from natural and laboratory generated lightning current arcs. Applied Physics Letters 109(9), article number: 93502. (10.1063/1.4962205)
- Crivelli, D.et al. 2016. Acoustic emission for assessment of impact and lightning damage to woven carbon fibre laminates. Presented at: 8th European Workshop On Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2016), Bilbao, Spain, 5-8 July 20168th European Workshop On Structural Health Monitoring (EWSHM 2016).
2015
- Evans, P. R.et al. 2015. Mechanical forces due to lightning strikes to aircraft: a pseudo-stereo DIC technique for measuring full-field displacement. Presented at: 10th International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, UK, 1-3 September 2015.
- Clark, D.et al. 2015. Spectrographic characterisation of high-current arcs for a lightning direct-effects laboratory. Presented at: ISH2015 - 19th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering, Pilsen, Czech Republic, 23-28 August 2015. Proceedings of the 19th International Symposium on High Voltage Engineering: ISH
- Mitchard, D.et al. 2015. Preliminary results for spectrographic lightning arc measurements. Presented at: ICOLSE 2015 - International Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity, Toulouse, France, 9-11 September 2015. Proceedings of the 2015 International Conference on Lightning and Static Electricity: ICOLSE
- Jamoshid, N. S.et al. 2015. Modelling the deflection of carbon fibre reinforced polymer materials under lightning strikes. Presented at: [International Conference on Lightning & Static Electricity (ICOLSE 2015), Toulouse, 9-11 September 2015International Conference on Lightning & Static Electricity (ICOLSE 2015), Vol. 6. pp. 42., (10.1049/ic.2015.0189)
Teaching
Modules
EN4610/ENT465 Control
(Achieved 92% overall satisfaction and 95% on digital education in 2020/21)
SolidWorks
MatLAB
Laboratories
Thermodynamics
PhD Students
Deflection and Vibration of Carbon Composite Materials Struck by Generated Lightning, Co-supervisor
Student Projects
Simulation of Mechanical Lightning Shock
Digital Image Correlation of Materials Struck by Generated Lightning
Funded projects
08/20-01/21: Visiting academic at the University of Florida, USA (suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic).
01/17-12/22: Lightning, an invisible driver of background tree mortality in the tropics. Co-investigator, NERC
11/16-11/17: Streak camera for high-speed spectral analysis of lightning. Co-investigator, RIF
01/15-12/16: Combined Travel Grants, Co-Investigator, Sêr Cymru NRN
Jan 15 – Dec 16: "Dynamic Capacitive Sensor for the Measurement of Millimetre Displacement of Carbon Composite Panels: Application to Aircraft Materials Subjected to Lightning Strikes" Co-Investigator, Sêr Cymru NRN
Apr 15 – Mar 17: "Musculoskeletal Research Centre" Co-Investigator, WEFO
Apr 14 – Jul 14: "GW4 Initiator Fund: Lightning" Co-Investigator, GW4 Initiator Fund
Jun 14 – Aug 14: "Optimisation of the Morgan-Botti Lightning Laboratory Control and Data Acquisition System" Co-Investigator, CUROP
Jun 13 – Dec 14: "Lightning Effects on Aerospace Carbon Composite Materials, the Next Generation of Materials and Components" Manager/Specialist, WEFO A4B
Oct 13 – Sep 15: "Develop Autonomous Load Cells through Power Management Electronics, Wireless Communication and Energy Harvesting Technologies for Monitoring Applications" Facilitator, KTP
2012-14: "Business Gateway, Knowledge Transfer Centre Extension" Co-Investigator, WEFO
2012: "Testing of Rucksacks" Co-Investigator, BCB International
2012: "Impact Strength Testing and Flow Testing" Facilitator, Fuel Defend Global
2009-12: "Knowledge Transfer Centre" Manager/Specialist, WEFO A4B
Public Engagement
07/21 - Sprties, elves and jets: the mysterious world of lightning. Scouts Cymru digital sessions.
