DEVELOPMENT DOSSIER · TRL 3 → TRL 4
Timeline, Capability
& Costs
A focused six-month laboratory programme designed to convert DISE from an integrated analytical proof of concept into a repeatable laboratory-validated formulation and operating envelope.
TIMELINE
6 months
Three gated work packages
READINESS
TRL 3 → 4
Integrated laboratory validation
INDICATIVE BUDGET
£50k–£75k
Subject to facility quotations
Evidence status: proposed programme, capabilities and budget envelope—not a claim of completed testing or an awarded institutional work package.
DETAILED PROGRAMME DOSSIER
Review the complete Timeline, Capability & Costs plan
Download the polished Word document covering the six-month work programme, delivery capability, budget assumptions and TRL 4 exit criteria.
TIMELINE · THREE GATED WORK PACKAGES
Six months from defined hypotheses to laboratory proof
DISE can progress from TRL 3 to TRL 4 within approximately six months through a focused laboratory programme at UEL. Progress is evidence-gated: each phase must produce an acceptable data package before experimental complexity increases.
MONTHS 1–2 · WP1
Formulation and kinetic envelope
Establish candidate formulations and quantify induction time, thermal response, complete-fluid viscosity, droplet stability and pumpability.
Gate: identify a credible formulation window below the placement-viscosity ceiling with a usable activation margin.
MONTHS 3–4 · WP2
Particle formation and transport
Optimise particle formation, morphology and size distribution, then test transport through representative packed-bed or porous-media systems.
Gate: demonstrate discrete particles without a connected gel phase, excessive agglomeration or pre-trigger obstruction.
MONTHS 5–6 · WP3
Repeatability and operating envelope
Validate repeatability, pressure/permeability response and spatial distribution, defining the operating envelope and down-selecting the formulation for subsequent scale-up.
Gate: produce a reproducible TRL 4 evidence package and a justified route to relevant-environment testing.
The six-month duration is an indicative, stage-gated estimate dependent on procurement, facility access, experimental outcomes and external-analysis turnaround.
CAPABILITY · MULTIDISCIPLINARY DELIVERY
The disciplines required to make DISE testable
The programme requires coordinated materials, chemical and flow expertise. UEL provides the multidisciplinary academic environment and laboratory context, supplemented where necessary by specialist analytical testing.
Formulation & materials science
Phase compatibility, stabilisation, precursor loading and cured-network design.
Polymerisation kinetics
Thermal-dose modelling, induction control, conversion and exotherm assessment.
Rheology & pumpability
Complete-fluid viscosity, ageing, shear history and transport-release criteria.
Microscopy & particle analysis
D10/D50/D90, circularity, agglomeration, fines and post-load morphology.
Porous-media flow
Pressure response, bridging, spatial distribution and packed-bed permeability.
Experimental design & data
DoE screening, uncertainty analysis, reproducibility and evidence-led down-selection.
UEL DEVELOPMENT ENVIRONMENT
Academic leadership, laboratory governance, technical support and cross-disciplinary interpretation provide the setting for the integrated programme.
SPECIALIST ACCESS AS REQUIRED
HP thermal analysis, advanced microscopy, mechanical testing or representative flow work may be commissioned externally where local capabilities are insufficient.
These statements describe the proposed delivery model; they do not imply that every instrument, facility or external service has already been contracted.
COSTS · INDICATIVE DEVELOPMENT ENVELOPE
A focused £50,000–£75,000 TRL 4 programme
The range covers the work needed to formulate, measure, challenge and down-select DISE. Final expenditure will be governed by quotations, access and stage-gate decisions.
INDICATIVE TOTAL
£50k–£75k
Subject to facility and supplier quotations
Materials & consumables
Precursors, stabilisers, carrier fluids, standards, vessels and disposables.
Laboratory access
Instrument time, infrastructure, technical support and scheduled facilities.
Analytical characterisation
Thermal, rheological, microscopic, particle-size and mechanical measurements.
Test-rig fabrication
Representative mixing, transport and porous-media fixtures with instrumentation.
Researcher & technical time
Experimental delivery, governance, analysis, reporting and project control.
Contingency
Repeat work, procurement variation, external services and evidence gaps.
This envelope is for laboratory proof of concept. It excludes field deployment, industrial manufacture and the complete relevant-environment programme needed for TRL 5.
TRL 4 EXIT DEFINITION
What the six-month programme must deliver
01. Complete-fluid rheology consistent with the ≤10 cP placement requirement.
02. Reproducible delayed activation under defined thermal histories.
03. Discrete particles without a connected bulk-gel phase.
04. Controlled size distribution and limited agglomeration.
05. Bench transport and permeability evidence with defined failure limits.
06. A down-selected formulation, operating envelope, SOP, risk register and scale-up plan.
Decision principle: DISE advances only if the same formulation satisfies transport, timing, particle formation and post-formation flow criteria. Success in one isolated test cannot compensate for failure elsewhere.
Programme status: proposed and costed development plan. Integrated TRL 4 validation remains to be completed.
