Projects
Fatigue of fibre-reinforced composites: from multiscale characterisation and optimisation to industrial applications KU Leuven
Multiscale structuring of plant-based foods Ghent University
Food industry is currently experiencing a revolution towards plant-based foods which are seen as more sustainable and healthy. However, to be able to rationally design tasty and high quality plant-based foods, a thorough understanding of the interactions between the different food components (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids) is essential. This project aims at developing a multiscale approach to investigate complex food structures with ...
Simulation of gas transport during controlled atmosphere storage of pome fruit using computational fluid dynamics and discrete element modelling KU Leuven
Pear fruit is a major export product of Flanders. To preserve quality after harvest, pears are commonly stored in a controlled atmosphere (CA), in which the oxygen concentration is reduced and carbon dioxide concentration is elevated to minimize respiration. Too low oxygen concentrations, however, lead to fermentative decay. A recent innovation uses dynamic controlled atmosphere (DCA). In DCA the oxygen concentration is dynamically adapted to ...
A Multiphysics and Multiscale Quantum-Mechanics/Electromagnetics (QM/EM) Modeling Framework for Nanodevices Ghent University
A novel multiscale multiphysics modeling tool will be constructed for the accurate simulation of new nanodevices (based on carbon nanotubes, graphene, fullerenes). The simulation engine combines the rigorous solution of Maxwell’s equations, correctly describing all electromagnetic phenomena,
with either the nonrelativistic Schrödinger equation or the relativistic Dirac equation, rigorously accounting for the quantum mechanical ...
Material Variability across the Scales in Unidirectional Composites - Virtual Material Characterisation under Longitudinal Tension KU Leuven
Their high stiffness, strength and low density make composite materials an excellent choice for lightweight structural components. However, the high performance of these materials comes at the cost of complex mechanical characterisation, certification and design. For this reason, composite components are often designed applying large safety factors, limiting their lightweight potential.
Virtual testing is a cheaper and faster ...
Grain Fragmentation and Texture Development in Titanium during Plastic Deformation - A Multiscale Modelling Approach KU Leuven
Titanium and its alloys have been widely used in many fields nowadays because of their excellent mechanical, physical and biological performance, among which, the biomedical applications are using more and more commercially pure grade titanium materials as artificial joints, bone plates and dental screws etc. However, these materials suffer from their relatively low strength in comparison with other biomedical materials such as steel-based ...
Developing Multifunctionally Optimal composite Structures for construction and transportation applications with an emphasis on environmental sustainability KU Leuven
Due to unmitigated global warming, the EU has suffered unprecedented heatwaves in 2022 resulting in over 12,000 deaths and Europe's worst drought in 500 years. This is attributed to the heavily fuel-dependent construction and transportation sectors - collectively responsible for around 60% of EU's greenhouse gas emissions in 2020. The chief reason lies in these industries' over-reliance on legacy/outdated component architectures, with limited ...
Multiscale dynamics of mammary gland remodeling KU Leuven
The structure of the breast epithelium looks like a tree, and the branches in this tree continuously remodel. In the adult female, this remodeling is driven by hormones, including estrogen and progesterone, which together drive cyclic changes of branch growth and regression in the breast tree during each menstrual cycle to optimally prepare the breast for lactation in case the female gets pregnant. Although this cyclic remodeling of the ...
Tensile Strength Prediction of Fibre-Hybrid Composites: A Multiscale Approach KU Leuven
With the growing environmental concerns, lightweight structural designs are becoming increasingly important as they help meet the global emission regulations. Fibre-reinforced composites are the current state-of-the-art for lightweight structures and their use is rising exponentially in a wide range of applications from aerospace to sporting goods. They exhibit a range of useful material properties—notably specific stiffness and ...