The Art of Engineering and Architecture research photo contest is an opportunity for Faculty of Engineering faculty, students and staff to showcase their research, scholarly, and artistic work in a compelling and vibrant way.
Congratulations to our 2023 winners!
Photo by David Correa & Simon Poppinga
First-place: Biomimetic compliant mechanism
Submission by David Correa (ARCH associate professor)
The opening of the lily cultivar Lilium "Casa Blanca" (top) serves as a biomimetic role model for a 3D-printed actuator (bottom). The differentiated edge growth of the petals allows the flowers to rapidly open; this kinematic model is matched by the 3D-printed actuator through water-driven expansion within the same functional region. Inspired by nature, these biobased structures can change shape in response to relative humidity changes.
This is a sustainable approach that uses nature's ingenuity to create actuators that do not need fossil fuels, external electrical input or failure-prone sensors and motors.
Photo by Xianyu (Mabel) Song & Zhao Pan
Second-place: Swirls in a martini glass
Submission by Zhao Pan (MME assistant professor)
We accidentally invented a new drink for Christmas when studying sloshing. When shaking a liquid-filled conical glass, side to side, the fluid inside moves back and forth and creates two focused jets flowing from the rim of the glass to the center. When the jets collide, they redirect, separate, and roll up to form four vortex cells (see the swirls in the glass in the foreground). Pearl dust and red and green food dye is used to visualize this nonlinear flow pattern generated by the linear excitation. This “drinking” trick demonstrates similar physics as rip currents and slosh in tankers.
The key mixology is extra syrup, no olives, and the gentle linear back-and-forth motion with a shallow martini glass. On St Patrick’s Day, you may only want to use green colours to create a four-leaf clover in the glass by shaking at the resonant frequency.
Photo by Supun Pieris, Sean D. Peterson & Serhiy Yarusevych
Third-place: A dancing bubble
Submission by Supun Pieris (MME PhD student)
A snapshot of a laminar separation bubble is visualized using a trail of smoke. From left to right, the flow transitions from laminar to turbulent. In the transition region, the fluid layer becomes unstable and develops a wave-like pattern, which eventually results in the shedding of vortices. These vortices evolve downstream, with some merging together, and burst into smaller vortices. Laminar separation bubbles typically form on low-speed wings like those on drone aircraft and reduce flight performance. Our research focuses on understanding the flow physics of such bubbles to mitigate negative effects on aerial vehicle performance through flow control.
A smoke trail generated using water-glycol on a thin, heated wire is imaged with a digital camera. The smoke is illuminated with a thin laser sheet formed using optical lenses and synchronized with image acquisition to obtain a high-contrast black and white image of the smoke trail.