Art of Engineering and Architecture research photo contest winners

First-place: Chaotic but not disordered

Submission by Shakiba Samsami (CHE graduate student)

Nature has learned to be simple and energy-efficient in creating multi-material architectures. Chaos is one of nature's key inspiring strategies that facilitates the creation of multi-layered structures. Inspired by nature, chaotic printing is a novel approach that enables us to develop predictable multilayered filaments with finely tunable internal micro-architecture in a cost-effective way. This straightforward technique uses laminar chaotic flows to create highly ordered structures with extensive shared interfaces that can be mathematically modeled and predicted. This fluorescence microscopic view of our multi-layered filament exhibits how simplicity generates complexity. Our system allows us to co-extrude two inks continuously with only one printhead. Such structure can go as far as the depth of the synergy between the involved materials. Also, it endows the final structure with vast amounts of interface between two materials.

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Second-place: Ultralight weight 3D printed aerogel

Submission by Milad Kamkar (CHE professor)

A photo captured with a smartphone showcases a 3D printed aerogel resting delicately on a dandelion clock, vividly illustrating the remarkable lightweight nature of these structures. This intricate scaffold is composed of sustainable nanomaterials, including plant-based cellulose nanocrystals and highly conductive electrochemically-synthesized graphene nanosheets (EGNs). Notably, the EGNs were synthesized in water without the use of any chemicals, rendering this aerogel one of the most sustainable electrically conductive aerogels to date. These innovative ultra-light aerogels have the potential for diverse applications, such as lightweight electronics or as shields to mitigate invisible electromagnetic pollution.

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Third-place: Guano on silver

Submission by Cassandra Lesage Fongue (ARCH graduate student)

In the photographic process, an image is created when light reacts with a light sensitive surface. Silver halides are permanently converted to elemental silver, matter is changed by other non-human matter. Used without a camera, analog film is exposed to weeks worth of UV light, rain, erosion, and decomposition. The chemistry of the soil acts similarly to a photographic developer to alter the colour of the film, and mycorrhiza from the guano rich environment bloomed within the gelatin silver emulsion.

Used in this manner, the film surfaces an image of processes invisible to the eye or camera based photographic imaging.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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