Turnbull joined the Materials Division of the National Physical Laboratory in 1973, becoming a Fellow in 1989 and a Senior Fellow in 2011.[1] He has developed integrated models for the generation, diffusion and trapping of hydrogen atoms in metals. Hydrogen accumulation modifies the properties of metals and can result in fracture. By controlling this process, engineers can reduce the likelihood of failure and extend the operating lifetime of metal systems used in oil and gas applications, power generation and hydrogen gas transport.[2]
He has authored eight international industry standards.[2]
^ abcdefAnon (2013). "Alan Turnbull". London: Royal Society. One or more of the preceding sentences may incorporate text from the royalsociety.org website where "all text published under the heading 'Biography' on Fellow profile pages is available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License." "Terms, conditions and policies | Royal Society". Archived from the original on 2017-07-10. Retrieved 2017-12-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link), "Intellectual property rights"