Publications
124 results found
Charalambides M, Taylor A, Young C, et al., 2023, A numerical model for predicting the time for crack initiation in wood panel paintings under low-cycle environmentally induced fatigue, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Vol: 61, Pages: 23-31, ISSN: 1296-2074
Determining the storage and display conditions for historical panel (wood) paintings requires a balance between ensuring the painting's preservation whilst also considering the energy consumption associated with climate control. The latter has become very important due to the need to lower the carbon footprint of museums and historical houses. In order to address this need, we have developed numerical models based on finite element analysis to simulate the initiation of two types of potential damage in panel paintings, namely interfacial and channelling cracks in the oil paint layer, under cyclically varying relative humidity. These models are based on our case study at Knole House (National Trust), Kent. Using known data for the past environment in which the paintings within the Brown Gallery at Knole House have been exposed, the ambient RH variation was approximated by three cycles, i.e., annual, biannual, and monthly varying cycles. Four RH cases, one containing all three cycles and each of the other three cases containing just two of the three cycles, were applied as boundary conditions to simplified geometries of the panel paintings in an effort to investigate the effects of the frequency and the amplitude of the variation on the possibility of cracking in the painting. The models need several material parameters as input which are not all available. Therefore, the study also includes some parametric studies to determine possible variations in the crack initiation. According to the model predictions, the channelling crack initiates slightly earlier than the interfacial crack. The crack initiation time in an uncontrolled environment (containing all three RH cycles) predicted by the model is approximately 120 years which empirically is a realistic estimate. Furthermore, the annual RH cycle (high amplitude and low frequency) has the most significant effect on the crack initiation. By removing the annual variation from the RH cycle, the initiation of both channelli
Bikos D, Samaras G, Cann P, et al., 2023, Destructive and non-destructive mechanical characterisation of chocolate with different levels of porosity under various modes of deformation, Journal of Materials Science, Vol: 58, Pages: 5104-5127, ISSN: 0022-2461
Chocolate exhibits a complex material response under the varying mechanical loads present during oral processing. Mechanical properties such as Young’s modulus and fracture stress are linked to sensorial attributes such as hardness. Apart from this link with hardness perception, these mechanical properties are important input parameters towards developing a computational model to simulate the first bite. This study aims to determine the mechanical properties of chocolate with different levels of micro-aeration, 0–15%, under varying modes of deformation. Therefore, destructive mechanical experiments under tension, compression, and flexure loading are conducted to calculate the Young’s modulus, yield, and fracture stress of chocolate. The values of Young’s modulus are also confirmed by independent ultrasonic mechanical experiments. The results showed that differences up to 35% were observed amongst the Young’s modulus of chocolate for different mechanical experiments. This maximum difference was found to drop with increasing porosity and a negligible difference in the Young’s modulus measurements amongst the different mechanical experiments is observed for the 15% micro-aerated chocolate. This phenomenon is caused by micro-pores obstructing the microscopic inelastic movement occurring from the early stages of the material’s deformation. This work provides a deeper understanding of the mechanical behaviour of chocolate under different loading scenarios, which are relevant to the multiaxial loading during mastication, and the role of micro-aeration on the mechanical response of chocolate. This will further assist the food industry’s understanding of the design of chocolate products with controlled and/or improved sensory perception.
Tan Z, Berry A, Charalambides M, et al., 2023, Tyre wear particles are toxic for us and the environment
This briefing paper discusses the current knowledge on the effects of tyre wear particles on our health and environment, highlights the need for an ambitious research agenda to build further understanding of the impacts on people and nature and develop solutions, and includes recommendations for policymakers.
Bikos D, Samaras G, Charalambides M, et al., 2023, A micromechanical based finite element model approach to accurately predict the effective thermal properties of micro-aerated chocolate, Innovative Food Science and Emerging Technologies, Vol: 83, ISSN: 1466-8564
Micro-aeration is a method to modify the sensorial attributes of chocolate but also affects the material properties of chocolate, which in turn, determine its material response during manufacturing and oral processes. This study aims to define the effect of micro-aeration on the thermal properties of chocolate by considering the changes of chocolate microstructure due to micro-aeration. Micro-aeration was found to alter the chocolate microstructure creating a layer of a third phase at the porous interfaces, which is argued to consist of cocoa butter of higher melting properties. A multiscale Finite Element Model is developed, which was confirmed by macroscale heat transfer measurements, to parametrically simulate the structural changes of micro-porous chocolates at the microscale level and estimate their effective properties, such as thermal conductivity and specific heat capacity. The developed multiscale computational model simulates the porous chocolate as a two-phase (chocolate- pores) or three-phase material (chocolate-cocoa butter layer- pores). The investigation identified a new, complex transient thermal mechanism that controls the behaviour of micro-aerated chocolate during melting and solidification. The results showed a maximum 13% reduction of keff and 15% increase of Cpeff with 15% micro-aeration resulting to a slower transient heat transfer through the micro-aerated chocolate. The reason is that the micro-aerated chocolate can store a larger amount of thermal energy than its solid counterpart. This effect slows down the transient heat transfer rate in the chocolate and modifies melting/solidification rate and impacts sensorial attributes during oral processing and cooling during manufacturing.
Iqbal M, Zhang R, Ryan P, et al., 2022, Mechanical characterisation and cohesive law calibration for a nitrocellulose based - cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) polymer bonded explosive, Experimental Mechanics, Vol: 63, Pages: 97-113, ISSN: 0014-4851
Background: Mechanical characterisation of polymer bonded explosives (PBXs) is crucial for their safe handling during storage and transportation. At temperatures higher than the binder's glass transition temperature, fracture is caused predominantly by interface debonding between the binder and explosive crystals. Interfacial friction between debonded crystals can lead to accidental detonation of the PBX material, even under a very small external load. Cohesive zone laws can describe this interfacial debonding. Objective: This study aims to experimentally calibrate the interfacial cohesive zone parameters of a nitrocellulose based - cyclotetramethylene tetranitramine (HMX) PBX, a particulate composite with a 88% volume fraction of crystals. Methods: Compact tension fracture tests, coupled with Digital Image Correlation (DIC) were used to capture the strain fields around the crack tip. The experimental data were used in conjunction with an extended Mori-Tanaka method considering the effect of interfacial debonding. Results: The cohesive zone parameters were successfully calibrated and were found to be crosshead rate independent. The values of the critical traction σ_int^max and interfacial energy release rate, γ_if, dropped significantly with increasing temperature. The experimental method followed in this study is generic, and it can be employed to extract the cohesive zone parameters characterising the interface behaviour between the filler and matrix in other particulate filled, polymer composite materials. Conclusions: Cohesive zone properties can be experimentally determined to provide inputs in micromechanical simulations linking the microstructure of the PBX composite to its macroscopic response as well as enabling the estimation of hot spot formation at debonded crystal interfaces.
Charalambides M, 2022, Modelling deformation and flow of food during oral and gastric processing, Science Talks, Vol: 3, Pages: 100069-100069, ISSN: 2772-5693
The breakdown of food structure in the oral cavity influences textural perception, flavour release and consumer preference. It also marks the beginning of a complex chain of events within the digestive tract which can drastically affect the metabolism and health of individuals. In this talk, I will summarise our findings related to the effect of micro-aeration on the oral process of chocolate, using a multidisciplinary approach considering mechanics, thermal analysis, rheology and tribology, mimicking the various stages that food is subjected to in the oral process. In addition I will also present the development of preliminary numerical models that can simulate food flow in the gastric process as well as future plans to extend the modelling capability towards more realistic conditions.
Jebalia I, Kristiawan M, Charalambides MN, et al., 2022, Microstructure and local mechanical properties of pea starch / protein composites, Composites Part C: Open Access, Vol: 8, Pages: 100272-100272, ISSN: 2666-6820
Biopolymer composites based on pea starch-protein blends and pea flour are processed using extrusion at various levels of specific mechanical energy (SME). Their morphology was a continuous matrix phase of starch with embedded protein particles, as revealed by Confocal Laser Scanning Microscopy (CLSM). The motivation is to correlate the local Young's modulus (E) in starch and protein phases, as well as their interphase, through nanoindentation tests to macroscopic three-point bending testing results of starch-protein composites. The differences between E of starch and protein phases and interphase were significant and their values were found to vary in the ranges of 4.2–7, 3–6.9 and 4–6.9 GPa, respectively. The local E can be tuned by the protein content and composite morphology, the latter depending on the level of transformation of the biopolymers during extrusion (SME). Pea flour composites have larger modulus values, which can be attributed to the presence of fibres.
Bikos D, Samaras G, Charalambides M, et al., 2022, Experimental and numerical evaluation of the effect of micro-aeration on the thermal properties of chocolate, Food and Function, Vol: 13, Pages: 4993-5010, ISSN: 2042-6496
Thermal properties, such as thermal conductivity, specific heat capacity and latent heat, influence the melting and solidification of chocolate. The accurate prediction of these properties for micro-aerated chocolate products with varying levels of porosity ranging from 0% to 15% is beneficial for understanding and control of heat transfer mechanisms during chocolate manufacturing and food oral processing. The former process is important for the final quality of chocolate and the latter is associated with sensorial attributes, such as grittiness, melting time and flavour. This study proposes a novel multiscale Finite Element Model to accurately predict the temporal and spatial evolution of temperature across chocolate samples. The model is evaluated via heat transfer experiments at temperatures varying from 16 °C to 45 °C. Both experimental and numerical results suggest that the rate of heat transfer within the micro-aerated chocolate is reduced by 7% when the 15% micro-aerated chocolate is compared to its solid counterpart. More specifically, on average, the thermal conductivity decreased by 20% and specific heat capacity increased by 10% for 15% micro-aeration, suggesting that micro-pores act as thermal barriers to heat flow. The latter trend is unexpected for porous materials and thus the presence of a third phase at the pore’s interface is proposed which might store thermal energy leading to a delayed release to the chocolate system. The developed multiscale numerical model provides a design tool to create pore structures in chocolate with optimum melting or solidifying response.
Barbera D, Young C, Charalambides M, et al., 2022, A methodology for the use of alkyd paint in thermally aged easel painting reconstructions for mechanical testing, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Vol: 55, Pages: 237-244, ISSN: 1296-2074
For the preservation of painted cultural heritage on wooden substrates, it is important to understand the fracture mechanisms in the multilayer system of which they are constructed and how the environment plays a role in the composites’ physical properties. Past research has investigated the material response of each constituent layer but much more needs to be done to represent the heterogeneous composite structure of easel paintings. In recent years fracture mechanics concepts have been applied to glue and glue/chalk multilayers. However, few experiments have been conducted on multilayers that include oil paint, due to its very long, and impractical drying time, which can be a few years up to decades depending on the type of study. The paper presents a methodology for the use of thermally aged alkyd paint in easel painting reconstructions for mechanical testing, specifically as a substitute for naturally aged traditional linseed oil paint. Elastic and failure properties of the paint have been obtained from environmentally-controlled tensile tests on thin free-film samples. To obtain the characteristic properties of increased elastic modulus and reduced ductility, a thermal ageing protocol has been experimentally developed. The results are compared with data from the published literature, theoretical models and with 30-year-old samples of cold-pressed linseed oil lead white paint tested within this research work. The final methodology provides the research community with a viable way to produce samples that can be used to understand the behaviour of a (simplified) but complete multilayer system.
Zhang R, Mohammed IK, Taylor AC, et al., 2022, A microstructure image-based numerical model for predicting the fracture toughness of alumina trihydrate (ATH) filled poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) composites, Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol: 232, Pages: 109632-109632, ISSN: 1359-8368
A novel finite element model is proposed here for predicting the fracture toughness using real microstructuralimages and accounting for several parameters that can affect the crack propagation such as filler content, particleshape, particle agglomeration and particle debonding. The damage energy prior to the catastrophic failure of thewhole microstructure is taken as the energy required for crack initiation, and the fracture toughness is calculatedusing the concept of a critical crack size. The predictions agree well with the measured values of the criticalenergy release rate at 20 ◦C as a function of both volume fraction and mean particle size. In addition, a para-metric study showed that an increase in interfacial cohesive energy leads to higher fracture energies at 60 ◦C. Theproposed methodology shows great potential and can be widely applied to other particulate composites, enablingindustry to cost-effectively develop tougher, hence safer and more durable, particulate composites
Kansou K, Laurier W, Charalambides MN, et al., 2022, Food modelling strategies and approaches for knowledge transfer, TRENDS IN FOOD SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY, Vol: 120, Pages: 363-373, ISSN: 0924-2244
- Author Web Link
- Cite
- Citations: 3
Charalambides M, Bikos D, Samaras G, et al., 2022, Effect of structure on the mechanical and physical properties of chocolate considering time scale phenomena occuring during oral processing, Food Structure, Vol: 31, Pages: 1-14, ISSN: 2213-3291
Micro-aeration has been employed by the chocolate industry as a texture and flavour modifier. However, the impact of micro-aeration on oral processing is still not well understood. This study quantifies the mechanical, thermal and tribological behaviour of chocolate materials of different porosity levels. These material properties were then linked to sensory data considering the temporal phenomena of the oral process. In-vivo mastication tests were utilised to define the level of fragmentation of chocolate and coupled with heat transfer numerical models to simulate the melting during oral processing. Micro-aeration affects all material properties resulting in lower fracture stresses, rapid melting and a lower friction coefficient. The sensory results showed that micro-aeration creates a perception of a softer, less sticky chocolate which melts fast inside the mouth, without compromising the sweetness perception. This research adopts an innovative multidisciplinary approach to the physics of chocolates, bringing together the fields of solid mechanics, heat transfer, tribology, and sensory analysis and employing engineering experimental and numerical approaches to provide a link between chocolate structure, material properties and sensory perception. The outcome can contribute a powerful design tool for controlling the perception of sensory attributes for specific chocolate composition.
Charalambides M, Bikos D, Masen M, et al., 2021, Effect of micro-aeration on the mechanical behaviour of chocolates and implications for oral processing, Food and Function, Vol: 12, Pages: 4864-4886, ISSN: 2042-6496
Aeration in foods has been widely utilised in the food industry to develop novel foods with enhanced sensorial characteristics. Specifically, aeration at the micron-sized scale has a significant impact on the microstructure where micro-bubbles interact with the other microstructural features in chocolates. This study aims to determine the effect of micro-aeration on the mechanical properties of chocolate products, which are directly correlated with textural attributes such as hardness and crumbliness. Uniaxial compression tests were performed to determine the mechanical properties such as Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus and macroscopic yield strength together with fracture tests to estimate the fracture toughness. In vivo mastication tests were also conducted to investigate the link between the fracture properties and fragmentation during the first two chewing cycles. The uniaxial stress–strain data were used to calibrate a viscoplastic constitutive law. The results showed that micro-aeration significantly affects mechanical properties such as Young's modulus, yield and fracture stresses, as well as fracture toughness. In addition, it enhances the brittle nature of the chocolate, as evidenced by lower fracture stress but also lower fracture toughness leading to higher fragmentation, in agreement with observations in the in vivo mastication tests. As evidenced by the XRT images and the stress–strain measurements micro-aeration hinders the re-arrangement of the microscopic features inside the chocolate during the material's deformation. The work provides a new insight of the role of bubbles on the bulk behaviour of complex multiphase materials, such as chocolates, and defines the mechanical properties which are important input parameters for the development of oral processing simulations.
Charalambides M, Zhang R, Taylor A, et al., 2021, A numerical investigation of interfacial and channelling crack growth rates under low-cycle fatigue in bi-layer materials relevant to cultural heritage, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Vol: 49, Pages: 70-78, ISSN: 1296-2074
In traditional and modern paintings on canvas or wood, two crack types have been identified, these are: (i) delamination between two of the many layers and (ii) channelling through the paint layer, terminating at the paint-substrate interface. One cause of this damage can be attributed to environment-induced low-cycle fatigue, specifically through relative humidity and temperature fluctuations. We present novel 2D as well as 3D finite element models that, for the first time, identify the time for each type of crack to initiate under a variety of realistic relative humidity (RH) cycles, as well as the corresponding crack growth rates. The focus is on modern paintings that have some layers executed in alkyd paint, found to be a vulnerable layer in a relatively short period of time. The paintings are idealised as a two-layer construction with a visco-hyperelastic alkyd paint layer on a linear elastic (acrylic) primed canvas substrate. Cracks, both interfacial and channelling, are represented using cohesive elements. To simulate the damage caused by a relative humidity cycle, a fatigue damage parameter was incorporated in the traction-separation law using a user-defined field. It was found that channelling cracks initiate slightly earlier than interfacial cracks for all the environmental conditions studied. Specifically, for an RH cycle of 35%–90%, channelling cracks initiate at 2.2 years and grow at an accelerating rate, while the interfacial crack initiates at 2.6 years and grows at a stable rate of approximately 0.1 mm/year. Narrower RH cycles lead to longer crack initiation times, e.g. the channelling crack initiates at 13.9 years under 40%–65% RH, and when the RH cycle was further narrowed to 45%–55%, the initiation time increased to 86 years. Our models are applicable to other painted or coated cultural heritage objects and can be used to inform preservation and environmental control strategies.
Mulakkal M, Castillo Castillo A, Taylor A, et al., 2021, Advancing mechanical recycling of multilayer plastics through finite element modelling and environmental policy, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, Vol: 166, ISSN: 0921-3449
Plastics are attracting negative publicity due to the scale of current pollution levels, yet they are irreplaceable in several applications such as food packaging, where different types of plastics are combined in laminate form to produce multilayered packaging (MLP) materials which extend the life of food items packaged within them. Increased plastic recycling is urgently needed, however for MLP it is particularly difficult. For the first time, this study combines engineering tools with environmental policy towards developing solutions for current single use plastic packaging. This study investigates recycling challenges for MLP and emerging melt-blending based mechanical recycling solutions as this is the main current method for material recovery of conventional plastics. Melt-blending of MLP with compatibilisers is explored, and the current lack of models addressing the influence of compatibilisers is identified. This gap in knowledge is addressed using novel engineering models based on the finite element (FE) micromechanical modelling technique to estimate the mechanical properties of recycled blends. Our model output is compared with experimental data available in literature and the good agreement highlights its predictive ability, providing a fast and cost-effective novel method for optimising recycled plastics. The policy aspect proposes the introduction of twenty policies based on mission-oriented innovation strategy to enable deployment of the recycling technologies studied whilst improving the viability of recycling of material currently not recycled. Implementation of these measures by the stakeholders will enable adoption of new MLP recycling techniques, create demand for recycled materials from MLP and incentivise MLP collection to mitigate pollution.
Zhang R, Stannard A, Street G, et al., 2021, Towards optimisation of rolling process of potato dough: Effect of processing on the microstructure and the mechanical properties, Journal of Food Engineering, Vol: 291, ISSN: 0260-8774
The quality of potato chips is highly dependent on the mechanical properties of the dough sheet produced prior to frying. It has been well established that poor mechanical properties result in fragile dough sheets and associated high product wastage. However, the effect of the rolling process on the mechanical properties of the dough is unknown so the optimum rolling process can only be obtained via a trial and error approach. This work reports for the first time the effects of dry flake size and rolling parameters on the mechanical performance of potato dough sheets. The laboratory scale rolling setup used a 10 cm roller diameter with a 0.2 mm gap height. Furthermore, an experimental method was developed enabling rigorous tensile testing of fragile potato dough sheets. The mechanical performance of the potato dough sheets was anisotropic, as the Young's modulus and strength were 35% and 57% higher across the rolling direction than those along the rolling direction, respectively. The formability, i.e. the ability to form a coherent sheet of the potato dough is improved by using smaller dry flakes (<500 μm). However, further decrease in the flakes size had no effect on the mechanical behaviour of potato dough sheets, i.e. flakes with diameter smaller than 212 μm showed similar tensile response to flakes smaller than 500 μm. Rolling the dough increases the coherence and the strength of the potato dough sheets, but also introduces defects orientated across the rolling direction which decrease the strength if the dough is rolled too many times. For example, sheets rolled for seven passes showed over 100% improvement in failure stress comparing to sheets rolled for five passes, but when the sheets were rolled for the eighth pass, the failure stress dropped by 17%. Due to the viscoelasticity of the dough, both the tensile modulus and strength of the sheets are higher when tested at higher strain rate. In addition, at higher strain rate, the defects in the shee
Carvalho O, Charalambides MN, Djekic I, et al., 2021, Modelling Processes and Products in the Cereal Chain, Foods, Vol: 10, ISSN: 2304-8158
Skamniotis CG, Edwards CH, Bakalis S, et al., 2020, Eulerian-Lagrangian finite element modelling of food flow-fracture in the stomach to engineer digestion, Innovative Food Science & Emerging Technologies, Vol: 66, ISSN: 1466-8564
Highly processed foods tend to form weak structures which breakdown rapidly in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, often causing negative effects on human metabolism and health. Developing healthier foods has been limited by the lack of understanding of how foods are digested. Through computational modelling we reveal mechanical gastric food breakdown phenomena and relate food mechanical properties with performance during critical initial digestion stages. Our model relies strictly on a viscoplastic-damage constitutive law, calibrated via rheological experiments on an artificial biscuit bolus and validated by simulating cutting tests. Simulations suggest that bolus separation during bolus backward extrusion and/or indentation by peristaltic waves, and, bolus agglomeration due to hydrostatic compression near the pylorus, are two competing phenomena that can influence the bolus free surface to volume ratio. This showcases the importance of including mechanical aspects of breakdown when designing foods for controlled chemo-mechanical breakdown and associated nutrient release rates.
Samaras G, Bikos D, Vieira J, et al., 2020, Measurement of molten chocolate friction under simulated tongue-palate kinematics: effect of cocoa solids content and aeration, Current Research in Food Science, Vol: 3, Pages: 304-313, ISSN: 2665-9271
The perception of some food attributes is related to mechanical stimulation and friction experienced in the tongue-palate contact during mastication. This paper reports a new bench test to measure friction in the simulated tongue-palate contact. The test consists of a flat PDMS disk, representing the tongue loaded and reciprocating against a stationary lower glass surface representing the palate. The test was applied to molten chocolate samples with and without artificial saliva. Friction was measured over the first few rubbing cycles, simulating mechanical degradation of chocolate in the tongue-palate region. The effects of chocolate composition (cocoa solids content ranging between 28 wt% and 85 wt%) and structure (micro-aeration/non-aeration 0–15 vol%) were studied. The bench test clearly differentiates between the various chocolate samples. The coefficient of friction increases with cocoa solids percentage and decreases with increasing micro-aeration level. The presence of artificial saliva in the contact reduced the friction for all chocolate samples, however the relative ranking remained the same.
Petropoulou K, Salt LJ, Edwards CH, et al., 2020, A natural mutation in Pisum sativum L. (pea) alters starch assembly and improves glucose homeostasis in humans, Nature Food
Skamniotis CG, Charalambides MN, 2020, Development of computational design tools for characterising and modelling cutting in ultra soft solids, Extreme Mechanics Letters, Vol: 40, Pages: 1-17, ISSN: 2352-4316
Computational modelling of the in vivo mechanical response of various biological materials within the human organism, such as brain tissue, bone, arteries, ingested food, is an increasingly cost-effective design tool for bio-medical, bio-engineering and surgical applications. This study addresses the knowledge gap in simulating deformation-fracture during cutting in continua that lie in the transition between a soft solid and a complex fluid state. Hydrated food is one such system produced naturally after swallowing. We show that a viscoplastic-damage constitutive law calibrated through compression tests on hydrated biscuit particles, can be utilised in Eulerian Finite Element (FE) analysis to predict complex localised deformation-fracture material behaviour during cutting at two length scales with high fidelity. We demonstrate that in such materials a fracture term is not always necessary to predict ultimate separation and that the Eulerian FE analysis is a versatile approach based on which largely different material cutting behaviours can be modelled. Our study provides a platform for understanding and optimising processes involving ultra-soft materials which flow excessively and exhibit weak or strong cutting resistance.
Li-Mayer JYS, Lewis D, Connors S, et al., 2020, Hierarchical multi-scale models for mechanical response prediction of highly filled elastic–plastic and viscoplastic particulate composites, Computational Materials Science, Vol: 181, Pages: 1-15, ISSN: 0927-0256
Though a vast amount of literature can be found on modelling particulate reinforced composites and suspensions, the treatment of such materials at very high volume fractions (>90%), typical of high performance energetic materials, remains a challenge. The latter is due to the very wide particle size distribution needed to reach such a high value of In order to meet this challenge, multiscale models that can treat the presence of particles at various scales are needed. This study presents a novel hierarchical multiscale method for predicting the effective properties of elasto-viscoplastic polymeric composites at high . Firstly, simulated microstructures with randomly packed spherical inclusions in a polymeric matrix were generated. Homogenised properties predicted using the finite element (FE) method were then iteratively passed in a hierarchical multi-scale manner as modified matrix properties until the desired filler was achieved. The validated hierarchical model was then applied to a real composite with microstructures reconstructed from image scan data, incorporating cohesive elements to predict debonding of the filler particles and subsequent catastrophic failure. The predicted behaviour was compared to data from uniaxial tensile tests. Our method is applicable to the prediction of mechanical behaviour of any highly filled composite with a non-linear matrix, arbitrary particle filler shape and a large particle size distribution, surpassing limitations of traditional analytical models and other published computational models.
Chen KJ, Wood JD, Mohammed IK, et al., 2020, Mechanical Characterisation and modelling of the rolling process of potato-based dough, Journal of Food Engineering, Vol: 278, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 0260-8774
Motivated by social, economic and health factors, food product manufacturers are increasingly attracted towards the incorporation of potato into snack foods. However, the lack of gluten degrades the mechanical properties of potato dough, posing a challenge in ensuring optimal manufacturing processes. An important process of industrial dough production is the sheeting or rolling process. This study developed a computational design tool to ensure smooth sheeting processes for potato doughs. A visco-hyperelastic constitutive model was calibrated using uniaxial compression data, providing the required material parameters for the rolling simulation. The model output was validated through tests on a laboratory small-scale instrumented rolling rig, where the roller speed and roll gap were varied to determine the effect on the rolling force and sheet exit thickness. A good agreement between the experimental and numerical results for the roll force and sheet exit thickness was found for smaller reduction ratios. At larger reductions, the numerical rolling force and exit thickness values were higher than the experimental values, and this was attributed to the dough being damaged while being fed through small roll gaps. A critical tensile strain-based failure criterion was proven to be accurate in predicting conditions for sheet tearing. The combination of the newly developed numerical model and tensile strain failure criterion can serve as a simple and powerful design tool for predicting the roll forces, the rolled sheet height as well as the process conditions which may lead to damage in the potato dough. As a result, interruptions in the continuous sheeting process associated with sheet damage or tearing may be avoided. Since the present study focuses on rolling parameters in a laboratory scale setup, future work will provide greater insight in scaling up the results to industrial rolling processes.
Iqbal M, Li-Mayer JYS, Lewis D, et al., 2020, Mechanical characterization of the nitrocellulose-based visco-hyperelastic binder in polymer bonded explosives, Physics of Fluids, Vol: 32, Pages: 023103-023103, ISSN: 1070-6631
A rheological constitutive model is required to characterize the behavior of a nitrocellulose-based material used as a binder in polymer bonded explosives. The behavior of the binder is extremely important as it heavily influences the mechanical response of the polymer composite; this is due to the binder having stiffness five orders of magnitude lower than the stiffness of the explosive crystals. Determination of the material model parameters is not straightforward; a constitutive law that will capture the pronounced time-dependent, temperature-dependent, and highly non-linear, large deformation response of this material is required. In this study, the material properties of the binder are determined using constant shear strain rate, shear stress relaxation, and monotonic tensile test results obtained over a wide range of temperature and strain rates. A visco-hyperelastic model is parameterized using the derived test data. In addition, recommendations are made regarding accurate data derived from rheological testing on such materials falling in the soft solid rather than the complex fluid domain.
Mohammed IK, Skamniotis CG, Charalambides MN, 2020, Developing Food Structure for Mechanical Performance, HANDBOOK OF FOOD STRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT, Editors: Spyropoulos, Lazidis, Norton, Publisher: ROYAL SOC CHEMISTRY, Pages: 199-224, ISBN: 978-1-78801-216-4
- Cite
- Citations: 2
Djekic I, Mujčinović A, Nikolić A, et al., 2019, Cross-European initial survey on the use of mathematical models in food industry, Journal of Food Engineering, Vol: 261, Pages: 109-116, ISSN: 0260-8774
Mathematical modelling plays an important role in food engineering having various mathematical models tailored for different food topics. However, mathematical models are followed by limited information on their application in food companies. This paper aims to discuss the extent and the conditions surrounding the usage of mathematical models in the context of European food and drinks industry. It investigates the knowledge, nature and current use of modelling approaches in relation to the industry main characteristics. A total of 203 food companies from 12 European countries were included in this research.Results reveal that the country where the company operates, and size of the company, are more important predictors on the usage of mathematical models followed by the type of food sector. The more developed countries are positioned at the higher level of knowledge and use of available models. Similar pattern was observed at the micro level showing that small or medium sized companies exhibit lack of knowledge, resources and limiting usage of models.
Wood J, Gauvin C, Young C, et al., 2019, Reconstruction of historical temperature and relative humidity cycles within Knole House, Kent, Journal of Cultural Heritage, Vol: 39, Pages: 212-220, ISSN: 1296-2074
It is essential for the preservation of cultural heritage that the effects of climate change are investigated. With this in mind, the daily temperature and relative humidity (RH) cycles within the Brown Gallery at Knole House, Kent, have been reconstructed for the period 1605 – 2015 enabling the study of low-cycle environmental fatigue on a set of 17th century panel paintings. By establishing a relationship between the temperature in the Brown Gallery and the Hadley Centre Central England Temperature (HadCET) dataset over a sixteen year period (2000 – 2015), it is possible to use the full HadCET dataset to obtain the daily minimum and maximum temperatures in the Brown Gallery for the period 1878 – 2015. Using a Fourier series to fit the periodic data it is then possible to extrapolate back to 1605. Furthermore, correction factors derived using the HadCET average daily temperature in the period 1772 – 1877 and average monthly temperature in the period 1659 – 1771 are applied to the temperature data to increase the model accuracy. The daily minimum and maximum RH for the period 1605 – 2015 are obtained using the Brown Gallery maximum and minimum temperatures respectively, and assuming that the daily dew point temperature at Knole is calculated by subtracting a monthly-dependent constant from the daily minimum temperature at Knole, thus enabling the calculation of the daily actual water vapour pressure of air. Changes in RH are a result of the daily temperature cycle changing the saturation vapour pressure of air in the gallery. This data is valuable as it enables a study of the effects of low-cycle fatigue on the 17th century panel paintings housed in the Brown Gallery at Knole House, Kent due to these temperature and relative humidity cycles. Furthermore, the method presented offers a technique that can be utilised to replicate the internal environment for any unheated monument building so that the effects of past and future temper
Charalambides M, Skamniotis C, Matthew E, 2019, Computer simulations of food oral processing to engineer teeth cleaning, Nature Communications, Vol: 10, Pages: 1-12, ISSN: 2041-1723
Oral biofilm accumulation in pets is a growing concern. It is desirable to address this problem via non-invasive teeth cleaning techniques, such as through friction between teeth and food during chewing. Therefore, pet food design tools are needed towards optimising cleaning efficacy. Developing such tools is challenging, as several parameters affecting teeth cleaning should be considered: the food’s complex mechanical response, the contacting surfaces topology as well as the wide range of masticatory and anatomical characteristics amongst breeds. We show that Finite Element (FE) models can efficiently account for all these parameters, through the simulation of food deformation and fracture during the first bite. This reduces the need for time consuming and costly in-vivo or in-vitro trials. Our in-silico model is validated through in-vitro tests, demonstrating that the initial oral processing stage can be engineered through computers with high fidelity.
Zhou J, Liu J, Zhang X, et al., 2019, Experimental and numerical investigation of high velocity soft impact loading on aircraft materials, Aerospace Science and Technology, Vol: 90, Pages: 44-58, ISSN: 1270-9638
Bird strike on aircraft remains a serious threat to flight safety. Experimental investigations employing real birds are associated with high cost and low reproducibility. Therefore, physical substitute materials are often used instead of real birds. This study investigates the soft impact loading on aluminium and laminated glass targets from ballistic gelatine and rubber projectiles. The two targets simulate strike on the aircrafts' fuselage and windshield respectively. The full field out of plane displacements of the targets were recorded for velocities 110 to 170 m s−1 using digital image correlation during gas gun experiments. A simulation model based on Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics was developed and validated against the experimental data from all four projectile-target material combinations. It was shown that for the same momentum, a rubber projectile exerts a higher pressure on a target as compared to gelatine, even though the out of plane displacements and in-plane strains are similar. This led to fractures in the impacted laminated glass when rubber was used. The study offers new experimental data as well as efficient design modelling tools to mitigate damage imposed during bird strike. The models provide a way towards enabling the optimisation of real, large scale aircraft structures and components.
Skamniotis CG, Elliott M, Charalambides MN, 2019, On modelling the constitutive and damage behaviour of highly non-linear bio-composites - Mesh sensitivity of the viscoplastic-damage law computations, International Journal of Plasticity, Vol: 114, Pages: 40-62, ISSN: 0749-6419
The large strain fracture of non-linear complex solids concerns a wide range of applications, such as material forming, food oral processing, surgical instrumental penetration as well as more recently, the design of biodegradable composites for packaging and bio-medical use. Although simulations are a powerful tool towards understanding and designing such processes, modelling ductile fracture in materials such as soft natural composites imposes a new challenge, particularly when the fracture patterns cannot be pre-defined. Here we bring to light new information on these aspects of benefit to the multidisciplinary community, by characterising and modelling the deformation and fracture of short cellulose fibre starch extruded composites. Hyperviscoelastic-Mullins damage laws show merits in modelling such complex systems. Yet they are inferior to a viscoplastic-damage law able to capture exactly their highly non-linear, rate dependent and pressure dependent pseudo-plastic stress-strain response. The viscoplastic-damage law also predicts fracture based on experimental toughness values without pre-specifying the crack path in a Finite Element (FE) model, displaying superiority over the conventional cohesive zone approach. Yet, despite using a toughness parameter to drive crack propagation, spurious mesh dependency is still observed while other previously unreported sources of error imposed by the finite element aspect ratio are also highlighted. The latter is rectified by developing a novel numerical strategy for calculating the characteristic element length used in the damage computations. Inherent mesh dependency suggests that non-local damage models may be essential to model this newly investigated class of natural composites.
This data is extracted from the Web of Science and reproduced under a licence from Thomson Reuters. You may not copy or re-distribute this data in whole or in part without the written consent of the Science business of Thomson Reuters.