2023 YPWLC final

3rd place - UK

Georgina Burgoyne Morris

Georgie is a first year PhD student at the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgy at the University of Cambridge, where she stayed having completed her undergraduate degree in Natural Sciences, specialising in Materials Science. Her research, within the Photoactive Materials group, surrounds the development of self-healing polymeric hosts for triplet-triplet annihilation upconversion – a process by which the efficiency of solar cells could be boosted through the ability to usefully harvest sub-bandgap photons.

When she’s not in the lab, Georgie enjoys cooking, playing music, and going to pub quizzes.

Stimuli-responsive polymers as self-healing materials

The ability to autonomously repair damage can lead to significant improvements in lifetime and recyclability of polymeric materials, reducing both waste and production costs. This may be achieved either extrinsically, through the release of healing agents encapsulated in the polymer matrix, or intrinsically, as a result of dynamic interactions between the polymer chains themselves. The latter systems have the advantage that their healing ability is not reliant upon the presence of a secondary reactive species, giving potential to repair more extensive or repeated damage.

This talk will discuss how, through tuning their chemistry, polymers can be made to intrinsically self-heal under ambient conditions, or in response to external stimuli such as heat or light. It will also explore the variety of applications for these materials, from healable protective coatings to recyclable thermoset resins.

 

Hong Kong

Zihan Liu

Zihan is a 2nd year PhD student in the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, under the supervision of Dr Louis N Y Wong. He completed a BEng (2019) and MPhil (2022) in Civil Engineering at China University of Geosciences and Shanghai Jiao Tong University, respectively. His research mainly focuses on rock mechanics. His works have been published in journals like Rock Mechanics and Rock Engineering. Zihan tries to understand the complex thermal response of rock materials through experimental and numerical methods. He believes this fundamental research can further expand the knowledge of geotechnical engineering disciplines and promote the development of deep underground space and energy. 

In his spare time, Zihan likes playing basketball, running, and swimming. He also enjoys travelling, where he can learn and experience different cultures and lives. 

How does thermal shock affect rocks?

Have you ever wondered how ancient civilizations break giant rocks without drilling tools or explosives? They harnessed the power of thermal shock by heating rocks first and then cooling them rapidly. Rocks are composed of various minerals with different thermal expansion coefficients and thermal conductivity. When rocks experience rapid heating or cooling, temperature change-induced thermal deformation differs among adjacent mineral grains and thus creates intragranular and intergranular microcracks. Thermal shock sometimes changes the microstructure of rocks and thus permanently alters the physico-mechanical properties of rocks.

Through theoretical and experimental investigation, the mechanical response of rocks under thermal shock loading and influencing factors of thermal shock can be comprehended. Thermal shock has been applied in thermal spallation drilling for excavation and thermal stimulation for reservoir penetration enhancement.

This presentation will provide an overview of the mechanism, influencing factors, and applications of thermal shock in civil engineering.

 

China

Chuan Yu

Chuan is a graduate of Queen Mary Engineering School where he obtained his bachelor’s degree in Polymer Materials and Engineering. Under the supervision of Dr. Han Zhang and Prof. Guangcheng Zhang, his final year project focused on the 3D Printing of polymer composite and its application in energy absorption structure design. After completing his undergraduate program, Chuan is now pursuing a Master’s degree in the School of Biomedical Engineering at McMaster University where he studies the application of polymer material in health-related fields.

In his personal life, Chuan enjoys reading, baking and doing outdoor sports. He also likes music and is often found relaxing himself with Blues or light music.

Novel Energy Absorption Structure based on 3D Printed Polymer Blend System

Energy absorption structure (EAS) is a type of material system designed to absorb high kinetic mechanical energy through irreversible deformation, which is widely used in many applications. This research project selected Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) method to build up different EAS with a TPU-PVDF polymer blend system. Totally, there are two design strategies used in this project: the gradient configuration design where the EAS is given a gradient structure and the hierarchical design where multi-scale pores are introduced into the EAS.

The success of the two designs in this project strongly depends on the application of FDM 3D printing method whose specific processing procedure will be given in this presentation, together with the performance of the EAS created to evaluate the design strategies used.

 

2nd place - Malaysia

Kugambikai Vangetaraman

Kugam is currently pursuing her fast-track doctorate programme in Biomedical Engineering upon completion of her degree programme with first class honours in the year 2022. Kugam’s passion in research works instigated her to further improve on her degree project in developing vascular patch. Her research interest covers biomaterials and mainly focuses on electrospinning of polymers. Kugam had shared her research innovation during the IJN-UTM Research Convention 2023 and secured third place in the Innopitch Competition held during the 5th International Innovation Day 2023 in UTM. She sincerely envisions making healthcare accessible to all and believes research and innovation is one of the medium to achieve so. Besides research, her side interests would be weightlifting, yoga and she enjoys witticism.

Band aids for blood vessels: Co-electrospinning of polyurethane/chitosan & polyvinyl alcohol/elastin for vascular patch development

Coronary heart diseases build up fatty deposits occluding blood vessels and restricting blood flow. Surgical treatment is required to substitute the defective tissues with vascular patches. However, current commercialized synthetic vascular patches are non-biodegradable and lead to thrombosis. Therefore, there is a need for biodegradable synthetic polymers such as polyurethane (PU) and polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) for the development of vascular patches. The blending of natural polymers such as chitosan (CS) and elastin (EL) in the matrix of biodegradable polymers strongly enhances the mechanical and biological properties. Electrospinning is a prominent technique for the fabrication of fibrous vascular patches, as it enables polymer to be blended in achieving the desired properties mimicking native vessels.

Thus, this lecture emphasizes the introduction of PU/CS and PVA/EL co-electrospun vascular patch, which exhibits biodegradability, elasticity and anti-thrombogenicity, besides being biocompatible and biofunctional to support its implementation as a vascular patch.

 

Winner - South Africa

Lodewikus Vorster

Lodewikus is a first-year master's student in the field of physical chemistry and electrochemical analysis. In 2022, He achieved his honours degree, leaving an indelible mark with a project that sought to revitalize the green hydrogen production initiative in South Africa. This endeavour was about making clean energy solutions accessible to all by enhancing efficiency and reducing costs. In 2023, Lodewikus embarked on an exciting journey as a research student at eNtsa. This experience has been nothing short of transformative, igniting a fervent passion for the world of engineering and materials research.

Beyond the laboratory, Lodewikus is an enthusiast of renewable energy and its possibility to improve the lives of everyone. His spare time is often spent expanding his skill set to enter industry where he can start making his mark.

Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization testing of TIG welded 316L stainless steel for characterization of pitting corrosion

This presentation focuses on the characterization of pitting corrosion in 316L stainless steel in response to Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) welding parameters. The presentation will begin by providing a concise overview of pitting corrosion theory before introducing the results of the investigation. Cyclic potentiodynamic polarization testing was conducted to measure the susceptibility of the three different weld zones (base metal, heat affected zone, weld root) present in welded 316L stainless steel to pitting corrosion under different welding conditions.

The presentation will also discuss microstructure analyses of both heat-treated and untreated samples through Scanning Electron Microscopy / Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS), offering insights into the material's structural responses. The presentation will conclude with the introduction of a full factorial experimental setup designed to evaluate pitting corrosion in relation to TIG welding variables.