Developing Viscosity Modelling - Innovate UK Grant
Molydyn has been awarded a £50,000 Transformative Technologies grant to expand on existing work predicting the viscosity of new chemical formulations.
As the price of electricity and raw materials rise, there is a keen interest in doing more with less. Composite material manufacturers particularly feel the pinch of high electricity bills as high-pressure pumps and heating are often needed to infuse viscous, honey-like resin into the fibres. Resin with an optimised viscosity would flow like water and reduce the cost, environmental impact, and difficulty, of manufacturing composite parts.
Molydyn is partnering with the University of Sheffield Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) and Bitrez to develop a viscosity modelling capability for Atlas, Molydyn’s accessible simulation web platform. This work is funded by the Innovate UK Transformative Technologies grant, and builds upon previous collaborations with the AMRC.
Chemical simulation allows researchers to test new materials quickly with virtual experiments, screening out candidates that aren’t worth taking into the lab. This saves laboratories time and money, and is a more sustainable: no disposable gloves, single use plastics, or solvents are needed to test materials virtually.
“It’s good to be back working with the AMRC again, and tackling a major problem like viscosity. We’re hoping to expand Atlas and can give materials scientists a tool to help them design better composite materials. Composites are shaking up many sectors with the environmental benefits of lightweighting, so we’re keen to help get better composites to market faster!” said Matthew Bone, Molydyn CEO.
The AMRC, part of the High Value Manufacturing (HVM) Catapult network of research centres, will conduct empirical lab testing from its innovation cluster in Rotherham. Using its knowledge of working with composite materials, the AMRC will characterise the same set of polymers Molydyn is simulating, to act as a validation data set for current, and future, simulation research. Creating a broad dataset of viscosity measurements will give Molydyn an extensive pool to simulate and explore.
Development engineer for composites at the AMRC, Alex Brahinets, says this project is expected to provide more detailed insight into material simulation by testing Atlas-designed formulations in the lab, and, in turn, using physical testing results to verify virtual simulation.
Alex added: “From our experience, a material's processability can be a decisive factor in selecting suitable material for a customer's application. For thermoset resins the right viscosity is critical since it determines a material's processability via common methods like infusion or resin transfer moulding (RTM). That is why predicting viscosity is essential for designing a new generation of sustainable materials.”
Bitrez is contributing to the project with a range of polymer formulations for testing and simulating. This includes a number of its popular bio-based materials, helping Molydyn to showcase how simulation performs on the next-generation of sustainable polymers. Working with commercial formulations will help to prove how capable modern chemical simulation is for real world materials.
Paul H. Jones, managing director of Bitrez, said: “We are always looking for opportunities to contribute and support the scientific community in turn changing the face of industrial practice and rectifying anthropogenic damage.
“We are pushing boundaries with disruptive bio-based polymers and assisting in this project to aid efficient conversion of our matrix systems and working with Molydyn and the AMRC is a pleasure and complements our Sustainable Development Goals.”
