EPSRC-Royal Society fellowship engagement (2012): Ageing, film formation and cracking in colloidal glasses
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Physics & Astronomy
Abstract
Please refer to attached Royal Society application
Planned Impact
Please refer to attached Royal Society application
People |
ORCID iD |
| Michael Smith (Principal Investigator / Fellow) |
Publications
Smith MI
(2015)
Fracture of Jammed Colloidal Suspensions.
in Scientific reports
Smith MI
(2014)
Origin of contact line forces during the retraction of dilute polymer solution drops.
in Langmuir : the ACS journal of surfaces and colloids
Smith ND
(2017)
Boundary effects in a quasi-two-dimensional driven granular fluid.
in Physical review. E
Temperton RH
(2015)
Mechanical vibrations of pendant liquid droplets.
in The European physical journal. E, Soft matter
Yang B
(2015)
Shear banding in drying films of colloidal nanoparticles.
in ACS nano
Yang B
(2016)
The interplay of crack hopping, delamination and interface failure in drying nanoparticle films.
in Scientific reports
Yang B
(2018)
Shear bands and the evolving microstructure in a drying colloidal film studied with scanning µ-SAXS.
in Scientific reports
| Description | Our research has enabled us to understand a number of mechanisms responsible for failure in particle coatings with relevance to applications such as paints, glazes and ceramics. In particular we have been able to study the way in which drying induced stresses are released by deformations in the film known as shear bands. This has also resulted in applying a new technique at the European Synchotron Radiation Facility known as scanning micro-SAXS to measure the dynamic changes in film structure for the first time. This new technique opens up a new way to study such processes. We have also studied fracture in jammed colloidal samples. The jamming of samples relates to a large area of research trying to understand why the viscosity of some colloids increases abruptly at a particular flow rate known as discontinuous shear thickening. Our work connects concepts in granular physics with this field by showing that there exist two types of jammed states (Fragile and Shear Jammed). Small vibrations prevented jamming in the "Fragile" state but were shown to have no influence on the "Shear Jammed" state. |
| Exploitation Route | Our research on shear bands in colloidal films makes a connection between the poorly understood processes in coatings with the well developed literature on shear bands in metallic glasses where research into these structures is well developed. There are however still quite a few unanswered questions. In particular it is not clear whether these shear bands begin at the drying front or some distance behind it where the accumulated strain is larger. It is hoped that the new Scanning Micro-SAXS technique could be particularly useful in studying the strain fields that develop around the tips of propagating cracks. Using vibrations to unjam samples could have practical applications in preventing jamming / clogging of nozzles (e.g in print heads) or pipe flow of foodstuffs. We hope to develop some of these ideas which might enable the printing of high solid contents drops. This could be of particular interest in fields such as 3D printing. |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Construction,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |
| URL | http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/~ppzmis/ |
| Description | EPSRC industrial case studentship |
| Amount | £111,096 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2017 |
| End | 09/2021 |
| Description | Collaboration with Schlumberger Cambridge |
| Organisation | Schlumberger Limited |
| Department | Schlumberger Cambridge Research |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | I am supervising a PhD studentship which is researching problems of interest to the company in the area of clay rheology |
| Collaborator Contribution | Schlumberger have provided access to facilities and a designated industrial phd supervisor for my student. They will also host the student for 3 months of his PhD. |
| Impact | N/A |
| Start Year | 2017 |
| Description | Nanoscience outreach |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | A 1 day outreach event to a cohort of widening participation students currently studying A-levels. The events involved a lecture on current research and 4 lab activities to expose the students to undergraduate physics. The event also enabled the students to interact informally with staff and current post grad and undergrad students. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017 |