Mark Laing

MARC LAING

HEAD OF COMPUTATIONAL FLUID DYNAMICS (CFD) AND MODELLING 

What is your role?

I am the head of the Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Modelling group, with my time split between overseeing consultancy projects and work on BEIS-funded flow measurement projects.

What is your academic/industrial background?

I have a master’s degree in Chemical & Process Engineering from the University of Strathclyde. Previously I worked in the nuclear industry with the National Nuclear Laboratory & AMEC, I have also worked in the energy sector with Doosan Babcock, specifically in their coal combustion research centre.

What was the route of your interest in engineering?

I have always been interested in engineering; even from an early age I enjoyed making things and always had an eye for how something could be made better or more efficient. At school my strengths were the sciences and mathematics, so it seemed to be perfectly suited.

What are your main areas of expertise?

I work primarily with Computational Fluid Dynamics to simulate complex problems for clients that would otherwise be dangerous, expensive or possibly even impractical to solve with other methods. This covers all areas of flow measurement from single phase to multiphase and virtual flow metering.

What are your current key projects and who are your key clients?

My key clients are generally major oil and gas operators from all over the world who are looking to evaluate the performance of their infrastructure to ensure that they are operating efficiently, safely and in a way that minimises their environmental footprint.

Currently we are working on many different projects, however the most exciting of these is a 3-phase flow simulation of a sub-sea riser, and also a flare gas metering & combustion simulation for a major operator across all their global assets

I am also involved in a BEIS-funded project through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund which is looking at how we can monitor and verify the performance of multiphase flow meters in situ, which is an exciting project and a huge step forward for industry if successful.

What most excites/interests you about working at TÜV SÜD National Engineering Laboratory?

I enjoy the variety of projects that I have the opportunity to work on. As I carry out a lot of consultancy work, the opportunity to work on real industry challenges provides a sense of satisfaction knowing that the work you are doing is adding value.
I also get to travel a lot for work which allows me to see many different parts of the world that you wouldn’t often see.

What future trends do you see developing in your area of work?

The cloud is becoming much more prominent, both for providing resources such as high-power computing, and the ability to connect multiple different technologies together to minimise common errors.
The IoT (internet of things) will also likely play a bigger role, along with digital twin models of major assets, however we are a few years away from this becoming the norm.

Whilst much of our CFD work has historically been related to O&G, we are increasingly translating this to other sectors such as clean fuels, water and life sciences. CFD is highly transferable between sectors and coupled with our flow measurement specific knowledge, CFD will be highly valuable to these new areas as the organisation diversifies.