To better understand the fatigue failure of composite tidal turbine blades in sea water we have used micromechanical testing (nanoindentation) to determine the effect of the environment on different parts of a composite material.

Investigation of the effects of environmental fatigue on the mechanical properties of GFRP composite constituents using nanoindentation, H Gonabadi, A Oila, A. Yadav and S Bull, J. Experimental Mechanics, (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s11340-021-00808-4.

Following on from previous work on developing composite materials for tidal turbine blades we have undertaken a detailed study of anisotropic response using full-field strain measurement in conjunction with finite element analysis.

Investigation of anisotropy effects in glass fibre reinforced polymer composites on tensile and shear properties using full field strain measurement and finite element multi-scale techniques, Hassan Gonabadi, Adrian Oila, Arti Yadav, and Steve Bull, J. Composite Materials, (2021). https://doi.org/10.1177/00219983211054232

Our latest work on the use of waste material to make high value products.

Role of precursor microstructure in the development of graphene quantum dots from biomass, Aumber Abbas, Saleem Abbas, Tanveer A Tabish, Steve Bull, Tuti Mariana Lim, Anh N Phan, J. Env. Chem. Eng, 9 (2021) 106154.

We have previously shown that the properties of FFF printed parts can be controlled by the printing design and layer orientation. This paper expands on this work and shows how finite element homgenisation techniques can give a better description of printed material properties for design.

See “Investigation of the effect of raster angle, build orientation and infill density on the elastic response of 3D printed parts using Finite Element microstructural modelling and homogenization techniques”, Hassan Gonabadi, Yao Chen, Arti Yadav, and Steve Bull, Int. J. Adv. Manufact. Technol., (2021) https://doi.org/10.1007/s00170-021-07940-4.

Hydrogen production is attracting increasing attention in the nett carbon zero world. This paper highlights some of our recent work on the gasification of waste wood showing that significant hydrogen production is possible using carbon dioxide as the gasifying medium.

Sustainable hydrogen production from waste wood and CO₂, Phuet Prasertcharoensuk, Steve Bull, Amornchai Arpornwichanop and Anh N. Phan, Ind, Eng. Chem Res., 60 (2021) 12362-12376.