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Mechanical Engineering
Food texture is related to the way our senses perceive and feel the rheological and mechanical properties of edible substances. For example a potato chip is crispy; an apple is crunchy; butter is soft; bread is firm; candy is hard; yogurt is smooth; cream is thick; cake is moist, and honey is sticky. Food texture is critical for the consumer and impacts on a product’s market share. It is affected by the composition, manufacturing process, storage conditions and aging. It impacts the final quality and nutrition value of the food product. Food industry strives to improve texture while enhancing the product’s nutritional value and health benefits. For example, healthy oleogels can be used in substitution of harmful trans/saturated fats while retaining the sense of a “mouthful” product.
Texture is complex to quantify, as it is the result of interplay of the food mechanical and rheological properties as physically sensed in the mouth. It is the result of the complex movement of chewing involving our jaws, teeth, and tongue, and the combined comminution (particle size distribution change) and gradual dissolution of substances in saliva.
This project aims to develop and combine mechanical and rheological testing methodologies that will characterize texture rapidly and reliably, in real time, during the manufacturing and storage period. The experimental program will be complemented by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) methodologies in order to correlate improved texture with optimized manufacturing and storage processes.
The ideal candidate will combine strong experimental and computational skills, an interest in food science and engineering, mechanics, rheology and numerical methods/software (e.g., MATLAB, Python).
https://vasileioskoutsos.wixsite.com/softmaterials
www.eng.ed.ac.uk/about/people/dr-dimitrios-i-gerogiorgis
The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity. Please see details here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity
An undergraduate degree in Chemical/Mechanical Engineering, or a closely related area (Physics, Chemistry), with a strong background in computational modelling.
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree.
Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.
Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere
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The wetting behaviours of liquids on solid surfaces play an important role for a wide range of engineering applications, including coatings, electronics, oil recovery, microfluidics, and inkjet printing. For many of these applications, the key challenge is to control the static and dynamic wettability of a given substrate against various liquids. To achieve such control, especially over the full range of wettability landscape, surface chemistry, while crucial, is inadequate by itself. Recent works have shown that novel surfaces with exceptional wetting properties (often termed as superwettability) can be designed by introducing roughness, lubrication, chemical heterogeneities, and tuning the elasticity of the substrate.
The underlying theme of this PhD project is to study the rich interplay between fluid flow dynamics, surface chemistry, geometry, roughness, and solid elasticity in the context of wetting phenomena. Depending on the interests of the student, they can focus on modelling or combine modelling and experiments to develop engineering design principles for structured surfaces with superwettability properties. We will consider both model surfaces with regular patterns (e.g., posts, holes) and non-ideal, industrially relevant substrates (e.g., complex fibres, meshes). This project will also involve collaborations with our international experimental and industrial partners, Dr.-Ing. Hutomo Suryo Wasisto (Infineon Technologies AG, Germany) and Prof. Kuwat Triyana (Universitas Gadjah Mada, Indonesia), to explore how these design principles can be exploited for applications in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) and sensor technologies.
It is expected that the applicant will have a good degree in Engineering, Physics, Mathematics, or any other related subject. We are particularly keen to hear from applicants who want to develop expertise in fluids, surfaces, and/or simulations using high performance computing. Prior experience in any of these areas is useful but not a necessity to apply.
The student will join Prof Halim Kusumaatmaja’s group which will move to the Institute for Multiscale Thermofliuds at the University of Edinburgh in May 2024. The student will also benefit from a vibrant community of PhD students, postdoctoral research associates and academics working in various aspects of surfaces and wetting in Edinburgh.
The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity. Please see details here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity
Further information about Prof Halim Kusumaatmaja’s group can be found in: https://sites.google.com/site/kusumaatmaja/home
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree. Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.
Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.
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This project aims to investigate the capabilities of adaptive structures that change their geometry and mechanical properties to accommodate operational loading and extend their lifespan, thereby supporting sustainable infrastructure and a circular economy.
The core objective of this project is to engineer a self-adapting structure that adjusts to the prescribed loading conditions. This adaptation is achieved by integrating local structures that accommodate stiffness variations along the global structure. The local structures will change their geometry and shape in response to the applied loads, resulting in emergent properties in the main global structure. Analytical modeling of the sub-structures will provide understanding and control for stiffness tailoring, which will translate into desirable mechanical properties in the main structure. The connection between global properties and sub-structure geometry changes aims to be achieved by understanding the relationships between geometric parameters and vibration response. The geometric nonlinearity induced by the local sub-structures may cause amplitude-dependent nonlinear dynamic responses. Thus, understanding the underlying physics in the coupling between local and global structures, along with the vibration response of the global structure, aims to facilitate feedback to passively control the mechanical properties of the structure. Consequently, this dynamic response leads to continuous shape and geometry modifications within the structure, ultimately enhancing its capacity to accommodate specified loading requirements more effectively. The adaptive structures will benefit operability by maximizing structural capacity during service.
This project is supervised by Dr David Garcia Cava (School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh). It will involve regular interaction with collaborators from academia and industry. Interested candidates may contact the supervisor for further information (david.garcia@ed.ac.uk).
Personal website: https://dgarciacava.github.io/
This advert might close once a suitable candidate is found. Please apply as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
References
[1] Sundararaman, V., O’Donnell, M.P., Chenchiah, I.V., Clancy, G. and Weaver, P.M., 2023. Stiffness tailoring in sinusoidal lattice structures through passive topology morphing using contact connections. Materials & Design, 226, p.111649.
[2] Zhao, B., Thomsen, H.R., Pu, X., Fang, S., Lai, Z., Van Damme, B., Bergamini, A., Chatzi, E. and Colombi, A., 2024. A nonlinear damped metamaterial: Wideband attenuation with nonlinear bandgap and modal dissipation. Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing, 208, p.111079.
The University of Edinburgh is committed to equality of opportunity for all its staff and students, and promotes a culture of inclusivity. Please see details here: https://www.ed.ac.uk/equality-diversity
Minimum entry qualification - an Honours degree at 2:1 or above (or International equivalent) in a relevant science or engineering discipline, possibly supported by an MSc Degree.
Applications are particularly welcome from candidates expecting to receive a first-class degree in mechanical engineering, physics, applied mathematics or a closely related subject.
Interests on: Structural mechanics and dynamics, Stochastic modelling and uncertainty quantification.
Further information on English language requirements for EU/Overseas applicants.
Applications are welcomed from self-funded students, or students who are applying for scholarships from the University of Edinburgh or elsewhere.
*Competition (EPSRC) funding may be available for an exceptional candidate but please note you must be a UK student or an EU student who has pre-settled/settled status and has lived in the UK for at leats 3 years.
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