During the lockdown we decided to take a theoretical look at one of the most commonly used methods of (supposedly) measuring ice adhesion: the Zero Degree Cone Test (ZDCT). Using two cohesive zone models, Kamran and Majid were able to show that most previous measurements were actually incorrect! Perhaps one of the reasons it has taken so long to innovate anti-icing materials is that even measuring their ice adhesion properties is quite difficult. Check it out:
Our collaborative work with Dr. Zarifi and the OMEGA lab has produced its first publication related to hazard sensing. Wouldn’t it be nice if PPE could not only protect you from all hazardous liquids and gases, but also tell you which kinds were present in your vicinity? Well check out Oleophobic textiles with embedded liquid and vapor hazard detection using differential planar microwave resonators to learn more! Excellent work Ben, Kiana, Anu, Sadaf, and Roozbeh!
Did you know most pilots detect ice growing on an airplane wing visually? There’s gotta be a better way. And there is! Ryan and co-authors’ work on detecting ice underneath anti-icing coatings is now published! Another exciting collaborator with Dr. Zarifi’s group, combining surface science and surface sensing for excellent engineering.
Congratulations to Letícia for successfully passing her MASc defense. I think I speak for the entire committee in saying that we were all very impressed by your work. I’m looking forward to another four years of excellence as you start your PhD!
Arif’s work understanding whether models of wettability, derived for idealized surface textures, can be applied to randomly rough surfaces is now published! We call this the Statistical Heuristic Wettability Analysis for Randomly Textured Surfaces (SHWARTS) method, and for certain surfaces it works quite well at predicting wettability without ever touching a liquid!
Ever wondered how to move low surface tension liquids across a surface? Quite a bit more complex than simply transporting water. During the COVID-19 lockdown Mohammad and I wrote up a review of this fascinating topic. Check it out!
Anisotropy-induced directional self-transportation of low surface tension liquids: a review
UBCO is getting closer and closer to their new Innovation Precinct, a multidisciplinary building housing several research groups. A couple OPERA members even made it into the curated photos!
https://ok.ubc.ca/okanagan-stories/space-to-innovate
Prof. Golovin was honoured to give a Plenary talk at this year’s CCEC Emerging Leaders in Chemical Engineering session. You can watch his TED-style talk on replacing perfluorocarbons below!
Congratulations to Arif for successfully defending his MASc thesis! Arif’s work merging statistical metrology with superhydrophobicity will hopefully be published soon!
Over the COVID-19 pandemic we decided to publish how to build some of our custom ice adhesion measurement systems, starting with our tensile ice adhesion device. If you want to measure ice adhesion in tension, and accurately, precisely, and with high-throughput, check out our latest article co-first-authored by Kiana and Kamran!
A high throughput tensile ice adhesion measurement system
