Research work by the University of Malta as part of an international research consortium has been awarded the prestigious 'The Engineer - Technology and Innovation Award, 2009' for outstanding engineering industrial and academic research cooperation.
The innovative research work, entitled 'Ironing out the bumps', developed novel computational support tools to predict and reduce deformation and residual stresses in the design and manufacturing of thin plate fusion welded structures. The research predicits and minimises changes in the shape of welded marine, aerospace and automotive structures.
Buckling of such structures under the stress of welding could lead to potentially catastrophic results. The study found ways of tackling this problem during the design and manufacturing stage of the assembly, rather than going through the long process of re-working the structures after they are already welded.
Using these novel techniques results in a significant reduction in the amount of time needed to re-work structures from 25 man-hours per tonne of steel to five man-hours per tonne.
To win the award, the consortium's research work had to overcome stiff competition from other well-known international universities. The award was granted for research and ongoing initiatives in the automotive, rail and marine category, which is primarily concerned with technical development in advanced materials, production technologies and monitoring techniques in this category.
The research consortium involved the universities of Malta, Strathclyde and Newcastle-upon-Tyne as academic collaborators, together with BVT Surface Fleet Ltd, Corus Ltd and NST Welding as industrial partners. Work on this research project in Malta is led by Duncan Camilleri from the Welding Research Unit of the University's Department of Mechanical Engineering.
To date, Dr Camilleri has had over 35 research papers published in international journals and conferences, one of which was granted the Institute of Mechanical Engineering UK's Central Electricity Generating Board Prize. His current research in welding is focused on optimising welding fabrication techniques via numerical and experimental analysis.