Sweet package

Developing algorithms that can optimise the means by which sweets, laundry detergents and pharmaceuticals can be packaged might not initially seem very relevant to companies involved in the decommissioning of nuclear power plants.

But based on his past research, in which he created algorithms for exactly such purposes, Richard Williams, professor of mineral and process engineering at Leeds University, has now helped to develop a software package based on similar principles that can help contractors plan the safe decommissioning of nuclear facilities.

The original software Williams developed uses algorithms to simulate how particles of any shape or size behave when they are placed into a container.

He developed the software after realising that most existing software packages used to solve such packing problems could only handle simple and regular-shaped objects - a scenario that did not reflect real-life problems accurately enough.

When this earlier packaging software was trialled in the food and pharmaceuticals industry, a number of manufacturers expressed an interest in purchasing it, and so Williams and his team commercialised the product through the formation of the Leeds University spin-out company Structure Vision.