2005 IRISH SCIENTIST YEAR BOOK

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Trinity College Dublin
John Fitzpatrick
Research in Mechanical & Manufacturing Engineering at TCD
Research activities in Mechanical & Manufac- turing Engineering at Trinity continue to thrive with an income of close to �2M per annum. The main research areas are in Biomechanics, Fluids & Vibrations and Manufacturing & Materials and a common theme of analysis, modelling and experimental validation of complex systems underpins much of the work. There are currently over 50 graduate research students from Ireland and abroad working for Ph.D. and M.Sc. degrees together with 15 Postdoctoral Fellows. The philosophy in the Department is to develop fundamental models of complex systems in engineering in which analysis, experimentation and computer modelling are used in a synergistic way to optimise design procedures and performance predictions.


Simulation of colliding vortex rings in a jet

The Trinity Centre for Bioengineering has recently been completed with funding from the HEA PRTLI. The research in the Centre is focussed on Finite Element Modelling & Testing of Implants, Active Implant Technologies, Biomechanical Response of Tissues and Bio-fluids, Tissue Engineering and the Characterisation of Orthopaedic and Cardiovascular Implants. The Centre includes other Departments in TCD as well as colleagues from NUIG, UCD and the Royal College of Surgeons (see article below).

The Fluids & Vibrations Group continues to work on a wide range of interdependent disciplines with engineering applications. The areas in which the work is focused are Fluid Mechanics, Aeroacoustics, Vibrations & Acoustics, Thermodynamics & Combustion and Heat Transfer. The expertise ranges from the development of advanced measurement and analysis techniques to analytical and numerical modelling including the development of new technologies for aircraft noise reduction and modelling heat transfer in complex systems. State of the art equipment includes laser Doppler anemometry (LDA), particle image velocimetry (PIV) and other high speed imaging systems for flow visualisation. This is supported by the development of efficient methods for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for analysis of jet flows and flow structure interactions.

Activities in Manufacturing & Materials include Finite Element Analysis of Machining & Forming Processes, Analysis of Wear and Lubrication, Mechanics of Grinding and Fracture Mechanics including Fatigue. Recent work includes participation in the Microman project which is developing methodologies for use in Irish Manufacturing at the microlevel.

Contact: Professor John Fitzpatrick, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing,
Trinity Colege, Dublin 2;
Web: www.mme.tcd.ie.