Publications
438 results found
S Bhamra J, P Ewen J, Ayestarán Latorre C, et al., 2023, Atomic-scale insights into the tribochemical wear of diamond on quartz surfaces, Applied Surface Science, Vol: 639, Pages: 1-13, ISSN: 0169-4332
A detailed understanding of diamond wear is crucial due to its use in high-performance cutting tools. Despite being a much harder material, diamond shows appreciable wear when cutting silicon dioxides due to a tribochemical mechanism. Here, we use nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations with a reactive force field to investigate the wear of single-crystal diamond tips sliding on α-quartz surfaces. Atom-by-atom attrition of carbon atoms is initiated by the formation of C-O interfacial bonds, followed by C-C cleavage, and either diffusion into the substrate or further oxidation to form CO2 molecules. Water molecules dissociate to form hydroxyl groups, which passivates the surfaces and reduces interfacial bonding and wear. At low loads, the initial wear rate increases exponentially with temperature and normal stress, consistent with stress-augmented thermally activated wear models. At higher loads, the initial wear rate becomes less sensitive to the normal stress, eventually plateauing towards a constant value. This behaviour can be described using the multibond wear model. After long sliding distances, wear also occurs through cluster detachment via tail fracture. Here, wear becomes approximately proportional to the sliding distance and normal load, consistent with the Archard model. The normalised wear rates from the simulations are within the experimentally-measured range.
Ntioudis S, Ewen JP, Dini D, et al., 2023, A hybrid off-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics method for amorphous thin film growth, Computational Materials Science, Vol: 229, ISSN: 0927-0256
The ability to understand and model the growth of amorphous thin films on solid surfaces is essential to a wide range of industrial applications, from the deposition of wear-resistant coatings to the production of solar cells. Here, a three-dimensional (3D) hybrid off-lattice kinetic Monte Carlo/molecular dynamics (kMC/MD) algorithm is developed to study the growth of thin amorphous films on solid substrates with atomistic resolution over timescales of tens of seconds. We use this method to study the growth of polyphosphate films from tricresyl phosphate (TCP) molecules on an iron substrate. Molecular adsorption/desorption, bond breaking/formation processes, and diffusion of iron ions through the film are simulated in the kMC stage and the film is relaxed during the MD stage. The kMC/MD method is approximately eleven orders of magnitude faster than equivalent reactive force field (ReaxFF) MD simulations. The simulated film growth rate and topology agree well with experimental results and the chemical structure of the film is consistent with previous molecular dynamics simulations of iron polyphosphates. The newly-developed hybrid kMC/MD methodology can be adapted to yield important insights into thin film growth for several other potential applications.
Ardah S, Profito FJ, Reddyhoff T, et al., 2023, Advanced modelling of lubricated interfaces in general curvilinear grids, Tribology International, Vol: 188, ISSN: 0301-679X
Tackling fluid-flow problems involving intricate surface geometries has been the catalyst for a plethora of numerical investigations aimed at accommodating curved complex boundaries. An example is the application of body-fitted curvilinear coordinate transformation, where the one-to-one correspondence of grid points from a non-orthogonal curvilinear grid in the physical domain to an orthogonal grid in the computational domain is achieved. In lubricated interfaces, such conversion is challenging due to the complexity of the governing equations in the mapped-grid, the numerical instabilities exhibited by their non-linearities and the severity of the operating conditions. The present contribution proposes a Reynolds-based, finite volume fluid–structure interaction (FSI) framework for solving thermal elastohydrodynamic lubrication (TEHL) problems mapped onto orthogonal grids in the computational domain. We demonstrate how the strong conservation form of the pertinent governing equations can be expressed in three-dimensional curvilinear grids and discretised using the finite volume method to ensure fluid-flow conservation and enforce mass-conserving cavitation conditions. Numerical and experimental benchmarks showcase the robustness and versatility of the proposed framework to simulate a diverse range of lubrication problems, hence achieving a predictive computational tool that would enable a shift towards tribology-aware design.
Ebrahimi MT, Balint DS, Dini D, 2023, An analytical solution for multiple inclusions subject to a general applied thermal field, Journal of Thermal Stresses, Pages: 1-19, ISSN: 0149-5739
Weiand E, Rodriguez-Ropero F, Roiter Y, et al., 2023, Effects of surfactant adsorption on the wettability and friction of biomimetic surfaces, Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics, Vol: 25, Pages: 21916-21934, ISSN: 1463-9076
The properties of solid–liquid interfaces can be markedly altered by surfactant adsorption. Here, we use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to study the adsorption of ionic surfactants at the interface between water and heterogeneous solid surfaces with randomly arranged hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions, which mimic the surface properties of human hair. We use the coarse-grained MARTINI model to describe both the hair surfaces and surfactant solutions. We consider negatively-charged virgin and bleached hair surface models with different grafting densities of neutral octadecyl and anionic sulfonate groups. The adsorption of cationic cetrimonium bromide (CTAB) and anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) surfactants from water are studied above the critical micelle concentration. The simulated adsorption isotherms suggest that cationic surfactants adsorb to the surfaces via a two-stage process, initially forming monolayers and then bilayers at high concentrations, which is consistent with previous experiments. Anionic surfactants weakly adsorb via hydrophobic interactions, forming only monolayers on both virgin and medium bleached hair surfaces. We also conduct non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations, which show that applying cationic surfactant solutions to bleached hair successfully restores the low friction seen with virgin hair. Friction is controlled by the combined surface coverage of the grafted lipids and the adsorbed CTAB molecules. Treated surfaces containing monolayers and bilayers both show similar friction, since the latter are easily removed by compression and shear. Further wetting MD simulations show that bleached hair treated with CTAB increases the hydrophobicity to similar levels seen for virgin hair. Treated surfaces containing CTAB monolayers with the tailgroups pointing predominantly away from the surface are more hydrophobic than bilayers due to the electrostatic interactions between water molecules and the exposed cationic headgrou
Kew B, Holmes M, Liamas E, et al., 2023, Transforming sustainable plant proteins into high performance lubricating microgels., Nat Commun, Vol: 14
With the resource-intensive meat industry accounting for over 50% of food-linked emissions, plant protein consumption is an inevitable need of the hour. Despite its significance, the key barrier to adoption of plant proteins is their astringent off-sensation, typically associated with high friction and consequently poor lubrication performance. Herein, we demonstrate that by transforming plant proteins into physically cross-linked microgels, it is possible to improve their lubricity remarkably, dependent on their volume fractions, as evidenced by combining tribology using biomimetic tongue-like surface with atomic force microscopy, dynamic light scattering, rheology and adsorption measurements. Experimental findings which are fully supported by numerical modelling reveal that these non-lipidic microgels not only decrease boundary friction by an order of magnitude as compared to native protein but also replicate the lubrication performance of a 20:80 oil/water emulsion. These plant protein microgels offer a much-needed platform to design the next-generation of healthy, palatable and sustainable foods.
Ciniero A, Fatti G, Marsili M, et al., 2023, Defects drive the tribocharging strength of PTFE: An ab-initio study, Nano Energy, Vol: 112, ISSN: 2211-2855
If polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), commonly known as Teflon, is put into contact and rubbed against another material, almost surely it will be more effective than its counterpart in collecting negative charges. This simple, basic property is captured by the so called triboelectric series, where PTFE ranks extremely high, and that qualitatively orders materials in terms of their ability to electrostatically charge upon contact and rubbing. However, while classifying materials, the series does not provide an explanation of their triboelectric strength, besides a loose correlation with the workfunction. Indeed, despite being an extremely familiar process, known from centuries, tribocharging is still elusive and not fully understood. In this work we employ density functional theory to look for the origin of PTFE tribocharging strength. We study how charge transfers when pristine or defective PTFE is put in contact with different clean and oxidized metals. Our results show the important role played by defects in enhancing charge transfer. Interestingly and unexpectedly our results show that negatively charged chains are more stable than neutral ones, if slightly bent. Indeed deformations can be easily promoted in polymers as PTFE, especially in tribological contacts. These results suggest that, in designing materials in view of their triboelectric properties, the characteristics of their defects could be a performance determining factor.
Çam MY, Giacopini M, Dini D, et al., 2023, A numerical algorithm to model wall slip and cavitation in two-dimensional hydrodynamically lubricated contacts, Tribology International, Vol: 184, ISSN: 0301-679X
Hydrodynamic lubrication takes a fundamental role in mechanical systems to reduce energy losses and prevent mechanical breakdown. The analytic instrument usually adopted to describe hydrodynamic lubrication is the Reynolds equation, which in its simplest statement for monophase lubricants and with assuming no fluid slip at the walls, is a linear equation in the hydrodynamic pressure. However, this classical linear Reynolds equation cannot reflect all the lubricant characteristics in engineered surfaces (e.g. superhydro(oleo)phobic surfaces and textured surfaces). In these cases, the effect of two critical factors, such as wall slip and cavitation, need to be considered, introducing non-linearities in the system. In order to tackle this issue, a modified two-dimensional Reynolds equation is introduced, able to capture both the cavitation presence, via a complementary mass-conserving model, and wall slippage, starting from the multi-linearity description introduced by Ma et al. (2007). In addition, an alternative model for the slippage at the wall is proposed by modifying the multi-linearity wall slip model to improve accuracy and computational cost. In this new model, the possible slip directions are limited to three, separated by equal angles, with the slip occurring only along the first direction, and the other directions, then, used to iteratively adjust the direction of slippage, until a suitable convergence criterion is satisfied. The proposed mathematical model is validated versus results available in literature with tests performed on (i) journal bearings, (ii) slider bearings, (iii) squeeze dampers, and (iv) surface textured bearings. By conducting these tests, the proposed alternative wall slip model is proved to be up to one order of magnitude more computational efficient than the original multi-linearity wall slip model.
Lalli NS, Shen L, Dini D, et al., 2023, The stability of magnetic soap films, Physics of Fluids, Vol: 35, Pages: 1-16, ISSN: 1070-6631
Although previous studies have shown that a magnetic field can drastically alter drainage in soap films containing particles responsive to a magnetic field, which we refer to as magnetic soap films, it is yet to be understood whether a magnetic field may be able to control the rate of drainage and film stability. Furthermore, the effect of a magnetic field on key drainage mechanisms, such as marginal regeneration, is unknown. An experimental investigation involving interferometry is conducted here to develop further understanding of the behavior of horizontal soap films containing magnetite nanoparticles. Three scenarios are considered: soap films, magnetic soap films, and magnetic soap films in an inhomogeneous magnetic field. In each of the three scenarios, high-resolution images capturing the time evolution of each film are acquired, and the lifetime of each film is measured. In addition, a measure of the rate of drainage and the velocities of thin patches of fluid arising from marginal regeneration are evaluated. The results suggest that a magnetic field may be able to have either a stabilizing or destabilizing effect on magnetic soap films, depending on their composition. Furthermore, applying a magnetic field to magnetic soap films alters the trajectory of thin patches of fluid arising from marginal regeneration. This study reveals how a magnetic field can be used in conjunction with magnetic particles to control the stability of soap films, which opens up the possibility for new technologies that require a fine control of film stability.
Patino-Ramirez F, O'Sullivan C, Dini D, 2023, Percolating contacts network and force chains during interface shear in granular media, Publisher: SPRINGER
Weiand E, Ewen JP, Roiter Y, et al., 2023, Nanoscale friction of biomimetic hair surfaces, Nanoscale, Vol: 15, Pages: 7086-7104, ISSN: 2040-3364
We investigate the nanoscale friction between biomimetic hair surfaces using chemical colloidal probe atomic force microscopy experiments and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. In the experiments, friction is measured between water-lubricated silica surfaces functionalised with monolayers formed from either octadecyl or sulfonate groups, which are representative of the surfaces of virgin and ultimately bleached hair, respectively. In the simulations, friction is monitored between coarse-grained model hair surfaces with different levels of chemical damage, where a specified amount of grafted octadecyl groups are randomly replaced with sulfonate groups. The sliding velocity dependence of friction in the simulations can be described using an extended stress-augmented thermally activation model. As the damage level increases in the simulations, the friction coefficient generally increases, but its sliding velocity-dependence decreases. At low sliding velocities, which are closer to those encountered experimentally and physiologically, we observe a monotonic increase of the friction coefficient with damage ratio, which is consistent with our new experiments using biomimetic surfaces and previous ones using real hair. This observation demonstrates that modified surface chemistry, rather than roughness changes or subsurface damage, control the increase in nanoscale friction of bleached or chemically damaged hair. We expect the methods and biomimetic surfaces proposed here to be useful to screen the tribological performance of hair care formulations both experimentally and computationally.
Rahman MR, Shen L, Ewen JP, et al., 2023, Non-equilibrium molecular simulations of thin film rupture., J Chem Phys, Vol: 158
The retraction of thin films, as described by the Taylor-Culick (TC) theory, is subject to widespread debate, particularly for films at the nanoscale. We use non-equilibrium molecular dynamics simulations to explore the validity of the assumptions used in continuum models by tracking the evolution of holes in a film. By deriving a new mathematical form for the surface shape and considering a locally varying surface tension at the front of the retracting film, we reconcile the original theory with our simulation to recover a corrected TC speed valid at the nanoscale.
Bartolo MK, Newman S, Dandridge O, et al., 2023, Ovine knee kinematics and contact pressures of a novel fibre matrix-reinforced hydrogel total meniscus replacement, Orthopaedic Proceedings, Vol: 105-B, Pages: 14-14
Heyes DM, Dini D, Pieprzyk S, et al., 2023, Departures from perfect isomorph behavior in Lennard-Jones fluids and solids., J Chem Phys, Vol: 158
Isomorphs are lines on a fluid or solid phase diagram along which the microstructure is invariant on affine density scaling of the molecular coordinates. Only inverse power (IP) and hard sphere potential systems are perfectly isomorphic. This work provides new theoretical tools and criteria to determine the extent of deviation from perfect isomorphicity for other pair potentials using the Lennard-Jones (LJ) system as a test case. A simple prescription for predicting isomorphs in the fluid range using the freezing line as a reference is shown to be quite accurate for the LJ system. The shear viscosity and self-diffusion coefficient scale well are calculated using this method, which enables comments on the physical significance of the correlations found previously in the literature to be made. The virial-potential energy fluctuation and the concept of an effective IPL system and exponent, n', are investigated, particularly with reference to the LJ freezing and melting lines. It is shown that the exponent, n', converges to the value 12 at a high temperature as ∼T-1/2, where T is the temperature. Analytic expressions are derived for the density, temperature, and radius derivatives of the radial distribution function along an isomorph that can be used in molecular simulation. The variance of the radial distribution function and radial fluctuation function are shown to be isomorph invariant.
Yuan T, Zhan W, Dini D, 2023, Linking fluid-axons interactions to the macroscopic fluid transport properties of the brain, ACTA BIOMATERIALIA, Vol: 160, Pages: 152-163, ISSN: 1742-7061
Xu Y, Balint D, Greiner C, et al., 2023, On the origin of plasticity-induced microstructure change under sliding contacts, Friction, Vol: 11, Pages: 473-488, ISSN: 2223-7704
Discrete dislocation plasticity (DDP) calculations are carried out to investigate the response of a single crystal contacted by a rigid sinusoidal asperity under sliding loading conditions to look for causes of microstructure change in the dislocation structure. The mechanistic driver is identified as the development of lattice rotations and stored energy in the subsurface, which can be quantitatively correlated to recent tribological experimental observations. Maps of surface slip initiation and substrate permanent deformation obtained from DDP calculations for varying contact size and normal load suggest ways of optimally tailoring the interface and microstructural material properties for various frictional loads.
Yu M, Evangelou S, Dini D, 2023, Advances in active suspension systems for road vehicles, Engineering, ISSN: 2095-8099
Active suspension systems (ASSs) have been proposed and developed for a few decades, and nowadays again become a thriving topic in both academia and industry, due to the high demand in driving comfort and safety, and the compatibility with vehicle electrification and autonomy. Existing review papers on ASSs are mainly about dynamics modelling and robust control, however, the gap between academic research outcomes and industrial application requirements is not yet bridged, hindering most ASS research knowledge from transferring to vehicle companies. This paper comprehensively reviews advances in ASSs for road vehicles, focusing on hardware structures and control strategies. Particularly, state-of-the-art ASSs that have been recently adopted in production cars are detailed, including representative solutions of Mercedes Active Body Control and Audi Predictive Active Suspension; novel concepts that could become alternative candidates are also introduced, including the Series Active Variable Geometry Suspension, and the Active Wheel Alignment System. The ASSs with compact structure, small mass increment, low power consumption, high frequency response, acceptable economic costs and high reliability are more likely to be adopted by car manufacturers. In terms of control strategies, future ASSs not only aim to stabilize the chassis attitude and attenuate the chassis vibration, moreover, but also cooperate with other bodies (e.g., steering and braking) and sensors (e.g., camera) within a car, and even with high-level decision (e.g., reference driving speed) in the overall transportation system – these strategies will be compatible with the rapidly developed electric and autonomous vehicles.
Yuan T, Yang Y, Zhan W, et al., 2023, Mathematical optimisation of magnetic nanoparticle diffusion in the brain white matter, International Journal of Molecular Sciences, Vol: 24, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 1422-0067
Magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) are a promising drug delivery system to treat brain diseases, as the particle transport trajectory can be manipulated by an external magnetic field. However, due to the complex microstructure of brain tissues, particularly the arrangement of nerve fibres in the white matter (WM), how to achieve desired drug distribution patterns, e.g., uniform distribution, is largely unknown. In this study, by adopting a mathematical model capable of capturing the diffusion trajectories of MNPs, we conducted a pilot study to investigate the effects of key parameters in the MNP delivery on the particle diffusion behaviours in the brain WM microstructures. The results show that (i) a uniform distribution of MNPs can be achieved in anisotropic tissues by adjusting the particle size and magnetic field; (ii) particle size plays a key role in determining MNPs’ diffusion behaviours. The magnitude of MNP equivalent diffusivity is reversely correlated to the particle size. The MNPs with a dimension greater than 90 nm cannot reach a uniform distribution in the brain WM even in an external magnitude field; (iii) axon tortuosity may lead to transversely anisotropic MNP transport in the brain WM; however, this effect can be mitigated by applying an external magnetic field perpendicular to the local axon track. This study not only advances understanding to answer the question of how to optimise MNP delivery, but also demonstrates the potential of mathematical modelling to help achieve desired drug distributions in biological tissues with a complex microstructure.
Fatti G, Ciniero A, Ko H, et al., 2023, Rational Design Strategy for Triboelectric Nanogenerators Based on Electron Back Flow and Ionic Defects: The Case of Polytetrafluoroethylene, Advanced Electronic Materials
The lack of theoretical understanding of triboelectrification has hindered the development of energy harvesting technologies like triboelectric nanogenerators. Focusing on polytetrafluoroethylene, a material with a strong triboelectric output, a model predictive of its triboelectric behavior, driving the development of improved nanogenerators are formulated. With a combined computational-experimental approach it is shown that defluorination enhances polytetrafluoroethylene nanoscale triboelectric charging. Then a model, explaining the macroscale triboelectric output as determined by the competition of two mechanisms is developed. Defluorination enhances charging while also reducing the interface gap, favoring the backflow of electrons, and possibly reducing charging. However, numerical analysis shows that backflow is negligible, aligning with the prediction of increased triboelectric output. By building triboelectric nanogenerators with defluorinated polytetrafluoroethylene samples, achieved by X-ray irradiation, a one-order-of-magnitude output increase is demonstrated. The predictive models, supported by experiments, lead to an improved strategy for designing effective energy harvesting devices and new applicative breakthroughs.
Feng Z, Yu M, Evangelou SA, et al., 2023, Mu-synthesis PID control of full-car with parallel active link suspension under variable payload, IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology, Vol: 72, Pages: 176-189, ISSN: 0018-9545
This paper presents a combined μ -synthesis PID control scheme, employing a frequency separation paradigm, for a recently proposed novel active suspension, the Parallel Active Link Suspension (PALS). The developed μ -synthesis control scheme is superior to the conventional H∞ control, previously designed for the PALS, in terms of ride comfort and road holding (higher frequency dynamics), with important realistic uncertainties, such as in vehicle payload, taken into account. The developed PID control method is applied to guarantee good chassis attitude control capabilities and minimization of pitch and roll motions (low frequency dynamics). A multi-objective control method, which merges the aforementioned PID and μ -synthesis-based controls is further introduced to achieve simultaneously the low frequency mitigation of attitude motions and the high frequency vibration suppression of the vehicle. A seven-degree-of-freedom Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) full car model with PALS, is employed in this work to test the synthesized controller by nonlinear simulations with different ISO-defined road events and variable vehicle payload. The results demonstrate the control scheme's significant robustness and performance, as compared to the conventional passive suspension as well as the actively controlled PALS by conventional H∞ control, achieved for a wide range of vehicle payload considered in the investigation.
Lasen M, Salles L, Dini D, et al., 2023, Tribomechadynamics Challenge 2021: A Multi-harmonic Balance Analysis from Imperial College London, 40th Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics (IMAC), Publisher: SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, Pages: 79-82, ISSN: 2191-5644
Ardah S, Profito FJ, Dini D, 2023, An integrated finite volume framework for thermal elasto-hydrodynamic lubrication, TRIBOLOGY INTERNATIONAL, Vol: 177, ISSN: 0301-679X
Abdelbar M, Ewen J, Dini D, et al., 2023, Polymer brushes for friction control: Contributions of molecular simulations, Biointerphases, Vol: 18, ISSN: 1934-8630
When polymer chains are grafted to solid surfaces at sufficiently high density, they form brushes that can modify the surface properties. In particular, polymer brushes are increasingly being used to reduce friction in water-lubricated systems close to the very low levels found in natural systems, such as synovial joints. New types of polymer brush are continually being developed to improve with lower friction and adhesion, as well as higher load-bearing capacities. To complement experimental studies, molecular simulations are increasingly being used to help to understand how polymer brushes reduce friction. In this paper, we review how molecular simulations of polymer brush friction have progressed from very simple coarse-grained models toward more detailed models that can capture the effects of brush topology and chemistry as well as electrostatic interactions for polyelectrolyte brushes. We pay particular attention to studies that have attempted to match experimental friction data of polymer brush bilayers to results obtained using molecular simulations. We also critically look at the remaining challenges and key limitations to overcome and propose future modifications that could potentially improve agreement with experimental studies, thus enabling molecular simulations to be used predictively to modify the brush structure for optimal friction reduction.
Lasen M, Dini D, Schwingshackl CW, 2023, Experimental Proof of Concept of Contact Pressure Distribution Control in Frictional Interfaces with Piezoelectric Actuators, 40th Conference and Exposition on Structural Dynamics (IMAC), Publisher: SPRINGER INTERNATIONAL PUBLISHING AG, Pages: 83-86, ISSN: 2191-5644
Shi Y, Liu J, Li J, et al., 2022, Improved mechanical and tribological properties of PAAm/PVA hydrogel-Ti6Al4V alloy configuration for cartilage repair, JOURNAL OF POLYMER RESEARCH, Vol: 29, ISSN: 1022-9760
Bernardini A, Trovatelli M, Klosowski M, et al., 2022, Reconstruction of ovine axonal cytoarchitecture enables more accurate models of brain biomechanics, Communications Biology, Vol: 5, ISSN: 2399-3642
There is an increased need and focus to understand how local brain microstructure affects the transport of drug molecules directly administered to the brain tissue, for example in convection-enhanced delivery procedures. This study reports a systematic attempt to characterize the cytoarchitecture of commissural, long association and projection fibres, namely the corpus callosum, the fornix and the corona radiata, with the specific aim to map different regions of the tissue and provide essential information for the development of accurate models of brain biomechanics. Ovine samples are imaged using scanning electron microscopy combined with focused ion beam milling to generate 3D volume reconstructions of the tissue at subcellular spatial resolution. Focus is placed on the characteristic cytological feature of the white matter: the axons and their alignment in the tissue. For each tract, a 3D reconstruction of relatively large volumes, including a significant number of axons, is performed and outer axonal ellipticity, outer axonal cross-sectional area and their relative perimeter are measured. The study of well-resolved microstructural features provides useful insight into the fibrous organization of the tissue, whose micromechanical behaviour is that of a composite material presenting elliptical tortuous tubular axonal structures embedded in the extra-cellular matrix. Drug flow can be captured through microstructurally-based models using 3D volumes, either reconstructed directly from images or generated in silico using parameters extracted from the database of images, leading to a workflow to enable physically-accurate simulations of drug delivery to the targeted tissue.
Bonari J, Paggi M, Dini D, 2022, A new finite element paradigm to solve contact problems with roughness, International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol: 253, ISSN: 0020-7683
This article's main scope is the presentation of a computational method for the simulation of contact problems within the finite element method involving complex and rough surfaces. The approach relies on the MPJR (eMbedded Profile for Joint Roughness) interface finite element proposed in [Paggi, M., Reinoso, J., 2020. Mech. Adv. Mater. Struct. 27:1731–1747], which is nominally flat but can embed at the nodal level any arbitrary height to reconstruct the displacement field due to contact in the presence of roughness. Here, the formulation is generalized to handle 3D surface height fields and any arbitrary nonlinear interface constitutive relation, including friction and adhesion. The methodology is herein validated with BEM solutions for linear elastic contact problems. Then, a selection of nonlinear contact problems prohibitive to be simulated by BEM and by standard contact algorithms in FEM are detailed, to highlight the promising aspects of the proposed method for tribology.
Hills D, Dini D, Paggi M, 2022, Editorial for Special Issue in Honour of 80th Birthday of Prof. J.R. Barber, International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol: 253, ISSN: 0020-7683
Wenman M, Grimes R, Tate J, et al., 2022, Parliament Committees. Delivering nuclear power: Written evidence from Imperial College London (NCL0026), Publisher: UK Parliment
Weiand E, Ewen JP, Roiter Y, et al., 2022, Nanoscale Friction of Biomimetic Hair Surfaces
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:p>We investigate the nanoscale friction between biomimetic hair surfaces using chemical colloidal probe atomic force microscopy experiments and nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations. In the experiments, friction is measured between water-lubricated silica surfaces functionalised with monolayers of either octadecyl or sulfonate groups, which are representative of the surfaces of virgin and ultimately bleached hair, respectively. In the simulations, friction is monitored between coarse-grained model hair surfaces with different levels of chemical damage, where different fractions of grafted lipid molecules are randomly replaced with sulfonate groups. The sliding velocity dependence of friction can be described using an extended stress-augmented thermally activation model. As the damage level increases, the friction generally increases, but its sliding velocity-dependence decreases. At low sliding speeds, which are closer to those encountered physiologically and experimentally, we observe a monotonic increase of friction with the damage ratio, which is consistent with our new experiments using biomimetic surfaces and previous ones using real hair. This observation demonstrates that modified surface chemistry, rather than roughness changes or subsurface damage, control the increase in nanoscale friction of damaged hair. We expect the experimental and computational model surfaces proposed here to be useful to screen the tribological performance of hair care formulations.</jats:p>
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