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HomeAcademic staffDr Alan Foster

Dr Alan Foster

alan.foster@lsbu.ac.uk

Mechanical Engineering and Design

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1358-7990

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I joined LSBU in 2009 as a Senior Research Fellow carrying out research in refrigeration. I originally worked at the Food Refrigeration and Process Engineering Research Centre (FRPERC) at the University of Bristol.

I am also a co-founder and Director in a company carrying out testing and consultancy in the area of refrigeration (Refrigerated Developments and testing Ltd).

I have specific interest and expertise related to supermarket refrigeration and more generally refrigeration in the cold chain.

I am Co-chair of sub-commission International Institute of Refrigeration – Section D1 Refrigerated storage, Refrigerated Display cabinets.

Postgraduate Research Supervision
Current
Ms Mary NajjumaRural efficient And Cooling Hubs (REACH)PhD
Ms Mahnaz SayahiModelling Refrigeration Pathways for Net Zero (MoRe Net Zero)”PhD
Mr Elias EidReducing energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions across the European food chain PhD
PhD

University of Bristol

2005
2007
BEng (Hons) Mechanical Engineering

University of the West of England

1988
1993
Chartered Engineer

Institute of Mechanical Engineers

2009
2021
Research Fellow
University of Bristol

1991
2009
Education
FunderYear wonProjectRole
Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS)2022Industrial Cooling: Transport, Industrial and Commercial Refrigeration - HELGACo-Investigator
Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)2021Zero Emission Cold-Chain(ZECC) - Building the Road to Sustainable Cold-Chain Systems for Food ResilienceCo-Investigator
Institute of Mechanical Engineers
2009
International Institute of Refrigeration
Other

Member of Commission D1 - Refrigerated Storage

Co-president of sub-commission on Refrigerated display cabinets

Refrigerated dispaly

September 2021
University of Guangzhou, China

Invited to work at the University of Guangzhou for a period of 1 month in the area of Refrigerated Transport.

October 2009
November 2009
Prizes, awards, and accolades

Clarence Birdseye Prize (Sep 1999)

International Institute of Refrigeration

YOUNG RESEARCHERS AWARD in Food Science and Engineering


Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Decarbonization in the European Food Supply Chain
Moreira-Dantas, I.R., Martínez-Zarzoso, I., Fernandes de Araujo, M.L., Evans, J., Foster, A., Wang, X., Thakur, M., Jafarzadeh, S. and Martin, M.P. (2023). Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives and Decarbonization in the European Food Supply Chain. Frontiers in Sustainability. 4. https://doi.org/10.3389/frsus.2023.1231684

Modelling energy consumption in supermarkets to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions using EnergyPlus
Evans, J., Foster, A. and Eid, E. (2023). Modelling energy consumption in supermarkets to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions using EnergyPlus. ICR2023 26th International Congress of Refrigeration . Paris 21 - 25 Aug 2023 International Congress of Refrigeration. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2023.0360

Projecting the carbon emissions from refrigeration used in the UK food industry to 2050
Foster, A. and Evans, J. (2023). Projecting the carbon emissions from refrigeration used in the UK food industry to 2050. ICR2023 26th International Congress of Refrigeration . Paris 21 - 25 Aug 2023 International Congress of Refrigeration. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2023.0151

Evaluation of low temperature waste heat as a low carbon heat resource in the UK
G. Davies, H. Lagoeiro, H. Turnell, M. Wegner, A. Foster, J. Evans, A. Revesz, A. Leiper, K. Smyth, J. Hamilton, H. Cooke and G. Maidment (2023). Evaluation of low temperature waste heat as a low carbon heat resource in the UK. Applied Thermal Engineering. 232, p. 121283. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.121283

Carbon emissions from refrigeration used in the UK food industry
Foster, A., Brown, T. and Evans, J. (2023). Carbon emissions from refrigeration used in the UK food industry. International Journal of Refrigeration. 150, pp. 297-303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2023.01.022

Low temperature waste heat sources data
Davies, G., Roscoe Papini Lagoeiro, H., Turnell, H., Wegner, M., Foster, A., Evans, J., Revesz, A., Leiper, A., Smyth, K., Hamilton, J., Cooke, H. and Maidment, G. (2022). Low temperature waste heat sources data. London South Bank University. https://doi.org/10.18744/lsbu.92wq6

Air infiltration control to reduce hygiene hazard in refrigerated food processing and storage facilities
Moerman, F., Fikiin, K., Evans, J. and Foster, A. (2022). Air infiltration control to reduce hygiene hazard in refrigerated food processing and storage facilities. in: Holah, J., Lelieveld, H. and Moerman, F. (ed.) Hygienic Design of Food Factories, 2nd edition Woodhead Publishing.

Baseline Refrigeration Emissions in the UK
Foster, A., Brown, T. and Evans, J. (2022). Baseline Refrigeration Emissions in the UK. The 7th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. on line 11 - 13 Apr 2022 https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2022.1168

Small-scale demonstrator of a cold thermal store for liquid air energy storage
Damas, A, Negro, D, leducq, D, Dallais, A, Alvarez, G, Brown, T, Evans, J and Foster, A (2020). Small-scale demonstrator of a cold thermal store for liquid air energy storage. 6th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. Nantes, France 26 - 28 Aug 2020 International Institute of Refrigeration.

Energy mapping of large refrigerated warehouses co-located with renewable energy sources across Europe
Fikiin, K., Mazzucchelli, P., Foster, A., Evans, J., Akterian, S., Alvarez, G., Leducq, D., Hoang, M., Garcia, G., Varga, L., Truckell, I. and Brown, T. (2019). Energy mapping of large refrigerated warehouses co-located with renewable energy sources across Europe. ICR 2019: The 25th IIR International Conference of Refrigeration. Montreal, Canada 24 - 30 Aug 2019 https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2019.1790

The impact of retrofitting doors on performance of a retail display cabinet
Brown, T., Foster, A. and Evans, J. (2019). The impact of retrofitting doors on performance of a retail display cabinet. 25th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Montreal, Canada 24 - 30 Aug 2019 https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2019.0280

Relationship between specific energy consumption and size of supermarket stores
Foster, A, Brown, T, Evans, J and Maidment, G (2019). Relationship between specific energy consumption and size of supermarket stores. The 25th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Montreal, Canada, 24 - 30 Aug 2019 https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2019.0283

Design and application of a novel cold chain pallet using a phase change material
Liu, G., Junzhang, W., Xie, R., Evans, J. and Foster, A. (2019). Design and application of a novel cold chain pallet using a phase change material. 25th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Montreal, Canada 24 - 30 Aug 2019 https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.icr.2019.0306

Design of Multi-temperature Cold Storage Vehicle and Analysis on Temperature Field in Vehicle
Liu, G, Wu, J, Foster, A, Xie, R, Tang, H and Qu, R (2019). Design of Multi-temperature Cold Storage Vehicle and Analysis on Temperature Field in Vehicle. Nongye Jixie Xuebao/Transactions of the Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery. 50 (4), pp. 309-316. https://doi.org/10.6041/j.issn.1000-1298.2019.04.035

Supermarket Energy Use in the UK
Kolokotroni, M, Mylona, Z, Evans, J, Foster, A and Liddiard, R (2019). Supermarket Energy Use in the UK. Energy Procedia. 161, pp. 325-332. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.egypro.2019.02.108

Design and no-load performance test of GU-PCM2 temperature controlled phase change storage refrigerator
Liu, G, Wu, J, Foster, A, Xie, R, Tang, H, Zou, Y and Qu, R (2019). Design and no-load performance test of GU-PCM2 temperature controlled phase change storage refrigerator. Nongye Gongcheng Xuebao/Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. 35 (6), pp. 288-295. https://doi.org/10.11975/j.issn.1002-6819.2019.06.035

Technological options for retail refrigeration
Foster, A, Hammond, E, Brown, T, Maidment, G and Evans, J (2018). Technological options for retail refrigeration. Paris International Institute of Refrigeration/ London South Bank University.

Numerical study of airflow and temperature distribution in a loaded cold store
Coldrey, P, Moureh, J, Alvarez, G, Leducq, D, Foster, A, Youbi-Idrissi, M, Damas, A and Evans, J (2018). Numerical study of airflow and temperature distribution in a loaded cold store. FOODSIM' 2018. University of Leuven Research Centre, Ghent, Belgium 08 - 12 Apr 2018 pp. 60-67

Modelling of liquid air energy storage applied to refrigerated cold stores
Negro, D, Brown, T, Foster, A, Damas, A, Tovar Ramos, JE and Evans, J (2018). Modelling of liquid air energy storage applied to refrigerated cold stores. 5th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain (ICCC 2018). Beijing, China 06 - 08 Apr 2018 IIR. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.iccc.2018.0027

Financial viability of liquid air energy storage applied to cold storage warehouses.
Foster, A, Negro, D, Varga, L, Hu, Y, Fikiin, K and Evans, J (2018). Financial viability of liquid air energy storage applied to cold storage warehouses. 5th IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. Beijing, China 06 - 08 Apr 2018 IIR. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.iccc.2018.0067

Benchmarking of supermarket energy consumption
Foster, A, Evans, J and Maidment, GG (2018). Benchmarking of supermarket energy consumption. 5th International Institute of Refrigeration Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. Beijing, China, 06 - 08 Apr 2018 IIR. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.iccc.2018.0006

Métodos para evaluar el uso de energía en los almacenes frigoríficos para alimentos (Methods to assess energy usage in food cold stores)
Evans, J, Foster, A, Huet, JM, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K, Zilio, C, Houska, M, Landfeld, A, Bond, C, Scheurs, M and Van Sambeeck, T (2015). Métodos para evaluar el uso de energía en los almacenes frigoríficos para alimentos (Methods to assess energy usage in food cold stores). FRIO CALOR AIRE ACONDICIONADO.

Refrigerated warehouses as intelligent hubs to integrate renewable energy in industrial food refrigeration and to enhance power grid sustainability
Fikiin, K, Stankov, B, Evans, J, Maidment, GG, Foster, A, Brown, T, Radcliffe, J, Youbi-Idrissi, M, Alford, A, Varga, L, Alvarez, G, Ivanov, IE, Bond, C, Colombo, I, Garcia-Naveda, G, Ivanov, I, Hattori, K, Umeki, D, Bojkov, T and Kaloyanov, N (2017). Refrigerated warehouses as intelligent hubs to integrate renewable energy in industrial food refrigeration and to enhance power grid sustainability. Trends in Food Science and Technology. 60, pp. 96-103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tifs.2016.11.011

Experimentation on Air Leakage Characteristics and Key Paremeters Analysis of Refrigerated Transport Unit
Liu, G, Xie, R, Foster, A, Ruigui, Q and Li, J (2016). Experimentation on Air Leakage Characteristics and Key Paremeters Analysis of Refrigerated Transport Unit. Transactions of the Chinese Society for Agricultural Machinery. 10 (47), pp. 302-308.

Carbon reduction opportunities for supermarkets
Evans, J, Maidment, GG, Brown, T, Hammond, E and Foster, A (2016). Carbon reduction opportunities for supermarkets. IRHACE journal.

Carbon reduction opportunities for supermarkets
Evans, JA, Maidment, GG, Brown, T, Hammond, E and Foster, A (2016). Carbon reduction opportunities for supermarkets. 4th IIR International Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. Auckland, New Zealand 07 - 09 Apr 2016 IIR. https://doi.org/10.18462/iir.iccc.2016.0042

Supermarket energy use and greenhouse gas emissions – technology options review
Evans, JA, Maidment, GG, Brown, T, Hammond, E and Foster, A (2016). Supermarket energy use and greenhouse gas emissions – technology options review. Proceedings of the Institute of Refrigeration. London 03 Mar 2016

Evaluation of Supermarket Energy Use and Emissions with Various Technology Options
Evans, J, Ge, YT, Tassou, SA, Foster, A and Maidment, GG (2016). Evaluation of Supermarket Energy Use and Emissions with Various Technology Options. Proceedings of IOR. Solihul 03 Mar 2016

Reducing energy consumption in cold stores using a freely available mathematical model
Foster, A, Reinholdt, L, Brown, T, Hammond, E and Evans, JA (2015). Reducing energy consumption in cold stores using a freely available mathematical model. Sustainable Cities and Society. 21, pp. 26 - 34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scs.2015.11.006

Use of phase change materials in retail display cabinets to reduce the effect of defrosts
Foster, A, Orlandi, M, Brown, T and Evans, J (2015). Use of phase change materials in retail display cabinets to reduce the effect of defrosts. The 24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Yokohama, Japan 16 - 22 Aug 2015 International Institute of Refrigeration.

A Novel Passive Defrost System for a Frozen Retail Display Cabinet with a Low Evaporator
Foster, A, Campbell, R, Davies, T and Evans, J (2015). A Novel Passive Defrost System for a Frozen Retail Display Cabinet with a Low Evaporator. The 24th IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Yokohama, Japan 16 - 22 Aug 2015 International Institute of Refrigeration.

Rendimiento Energético Delalmacenamiento en Frío (Cold store energy performance)
Evans, J, Foster, A, Huet, JM, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K, Zilio, C, Houska, M, Landfeld, A, Bond, C, Scheurs, M and Van Sambeeck, T (2014). Rendimiento Energético Delalmacenamiento en Frío (Cold store energy performance). Frío Calor Aire Acondicionado. 43.

Temperature control in domestic refrigerators and freezers
Evans, JA, Foster, A and Brown, T (2014). Temperature control in domestic refrigerators and freezers. Refrigeration Science and Technology.

Methods to assess energy usage in food cold stores
Evans, JA, Foster, A, Huet, JM, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K, Zilio, C, Houska, M, Landfeld, A, Bond, C, Scheurs, M and Van Sambeeck, T (2014). Methods to assess energy usage in food cold stores. 3rd IIR International Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. St Mary’s University, Twickenham, London 23 - 26 Jun 2014 International Institute of Refrigeration. pp. 150-157

Novel Aerofoils used for Reducing Energy Consumption and Improving Temperature Performance for Multi-Deck Refrigerated Display Cabinets
Foster, A, McAndrew, P and Evans, JA (2014). Novel Aerofoils used for Reducing Energy Consumption and Improving Temperature Performance for Multi-Deck Refrigerated Display Cabinets. Proc. of 3rd IIR International Conference on the Cold Chain and Sustainability. Twickenham, UK 23 - 25 Jun 2014 International Institute of Refrigeration.

Use of heat pipes to improve temperature performance of a chilled refrigerated display cabinet
Foster, A, Orlandi, M and Evans, J (2014). Use of heat pipes to improve temperature performance of a chilled refrigerated display cabinet. 3rd IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain. Twickenham, London, UK 23 - 25 Jun 2014 International Institute of Refrigeration. pp. 117-124

Specific energy consumption values for various refrigerated food cold stores
Evans, JA, Foster, A, Huet, JM, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K, Zilio, C, Houska, M, Landfeld, A, Bond, C, Scheurs, M and Van Sambeeck, T (2013). Specific energy consumption values for various refrigerated food cold stores. Energy and Buildings. 74, pp. 141-151. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enbuild.2013.11.075

Assessment of methods to reduce the energy consumption of food cold stores
Evans, JA, Hammond, E, Gigiel, A, Foster, A, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K and Zilio, C (2013). Assessment of methods to reduce the energy consumption of food cold stores. Applied Thermal Engineering. 62 (2), pp. 697-705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2013.10.023

Cold store energy performance
Evans, JA, Foster, A, Huet, JM, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K, Zilio, C, Houska, M, Landfeld, A, Bond, C, Scheurs, M and Van Sambeeck, T (2013). Cold store energy performance. 2nd IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, Paris, 2013. Paris 02 - 04 Apr 2103 International Institute of Refrigeration.

Freely available cold store energy models
Evans, J, Foster, A, Zilio, C, Corradi, M and Reinholdt, L (2013). Freely available cold store energy models. 2nd IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, Paris, 2013. Paris 02 - 04 Apr 2013 International Institute of Refrigeration.

A novel PCM thermo siphon defrost system for a frozen retail display cabinet
Evans, J, Foster, A, Campbell, R and Davies, T (2013). A novel PCM thermo siphon defrost system for a frozen retail display cabinet. 2nd IIR Conference on Sustainability and the Cold Chain, Paris, 2013. Paris, France 02 - 04 Apr 2013 International Institute of Refrigeration.

Initiatives to reduce energy use in cold stores
Foster, A, Zilio, C, Reinholdt, L, Fikiin, K, Scheurs, M, Bond, C, Houska, M, Van Sambeeck, T and Evans, J (2013). Initiatives to reduce energy use in cold stores. Proceedings of the Institute of Refrigeration.. Solihull 07 - 07 Mar 2013 Institute of Refrigeration.

Air cycle combined heating and cooling for the food industry
Foster, A, Brown, T, Gigiel, A, Alford, A and Evans, JA (2011). Air cycle combined heating and cooling for the food industry. International Journal of Refrigeration. 34 (5), pp. 1296-1304. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2011.03.016

Mathematical Modelling Of Air Cycle Systems For Combined Heating And Cooling
Brown, T, Foster, A and Evans, JA (2011). Mathematical Modelling Of Air Cycle Systems For Combined Heating And Cooling. The 23rd IIR International Congress of Refrigeration. Prague, Czech Republic 01 - 01 Aug 2011 International Institute of Refrigeration.

Three-dimensional effects of an air curtain used to restrict cold room infiltration
Foster, A, Swain, MJ, Barrett, R, D apos Agaro, P, Ketteringham, LP and James, SJ (2007). Three-dimensional effects of an air curtain used to restrict cold room infiltration. Applied Mathematical Modelling. 31 (6), pp. 1109-1123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apm.2006.04.005

Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling to retail display and storage of food
Foster, A, Evans, J and James, SJ (2006). Application of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling to retail display and storage of food. CHISA 2006 - 17th International Congress of Chemical and Process Engineering. Prague, Czech Republic 27 - 31 Aug 2006 Czech Society of Chemical Engineering.

New apparatus to provide repeatable surface temperature-time treatments on inoculated food samples
Foster, A, Ketteringham, LP, Purnell, GL, Kondjoyan, A, Havet, M and Evans, JA (2006). New apparatus to provide repeatable surface temperature-time treatments on inoculated food samples. Journal of Food Engineering. 76 (1), pp. 19-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.05.027

The use of CFD to improve the performance of a chilled multi-deck retail display cabinet
Foster, A, Madge, M and Evans, JA (2005). The use of CFD to improve the performance of a chilled multi-deck retail display cabinet. International Journal of Refrigeration. 28 (5), pp. 698-705. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijrefrig.2004.12.009

Design and development of apparatus to provide repeatable surface temperature-time treatments on inoculated food samples
Foster, A, Ketteringham, LP, Swain, MJ, Kondjoyan, A, Havet, M, Rouaud, O and Evans, JA (2005). Design and development of apparatus to provide repeatable surface temperature-time treatments on inoculated food samples. Journal of Food Engineering. 76 (1), pp. 7-18. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.05.012

Design and development of apparatus to provide repeatable surface temperature-time treatments on inoculated food samples
Foster, A, Ketteringham, LP, Swain, MJ, Kondjoyan, A, Havet, M, Rouaud, O and Evans, JA (2005). Design and development of apparatus to provide repeatable surface temperature-time treatments on inoculated food samples. Journal of Food Engineering. 76 (1), pp. 7-18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfoodeng.2005.05.012