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Revolution in manufacturing: Machine learning improves the precision of sheet metal stamping
Advancements in sheet metal stamping processes are creating new opportunities in industrial production. Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana have developed an advanced method that uses machine learning to improve accuracy and reduce material waste.
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Top Research News of 2024
In 2024, readers of the Research Achievements published on the University of Ljubljana website were most impressed by the news articles “A New Discovery Important for Research and Treatment of Dementia and ALS” and “Harnessing the Low Temperatures of Space for Environmentally Friendly Cooling of Buildings and Devices in Remote Locations.”
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Greentech: Hybrid Technologies for Factories of the Future and the Green Transition
A reduction of CO2 emissions by 17 million tons, energy savings of nearly 9 billion kWh, and a decrease in material consumption by approximately 800,000 tons over ten years. These are the expected outcomes of the groundbreaking Greentech program, which brings together 11 partners from academia and industry. The program is led by the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana.
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A completely new concept for harnessing waste heat and solar energy
Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, led by Assistant Professor Dr. Primož Poredoš, in collaboration with researchers from the ITEWA Innovation Team at Shanghai University, have developed a new concept for utilizing ultra-low temperature (waste) heat by simultaneously introducing solar energy and low-temperature heat into the system. They are the first in the world to present an entirely new concept for producing distilled water from saline, untreated water using thermally driven membrane distillation (MD).
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National awards and prizes for University of Ljubljana scientists
The Ministry of Higher Education, Science and Innovation has announced the recipients of this year’s Zois and Puh awards and the Slovenian Ambassador of Science award. University of Ljubljana scientists are among the recipients.
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Questioning the standardized cavitation erosion test
Mechanical engineers often rely on standardized procedures when testing materials. Since the standardized cavitation erosion test ASTM G32 has repeatedly been shown to be inaccurate in the past, researchers at the Laboratory for Water and Turbine Machines (LVTS) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Ljubljana, have closely examined it and uncovered its shortcomings.
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Improving the Quality of Life in Arid Areas with a System for Generating Electricity and Fresh Water
In parts of the world where water is increasingly scarce, it is crucial to establish effective and sustainable systems for energy and water supply. The interdisciplinary project PV-W2WFresh is changing the way we think about solar energy and water scarcity, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 6 and 7) by promoting clean energy and water availability in rural and underserved regions. This cutting-edge research combines concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technology with an innovative evaporation desalination process, creating a system that not only generates electricity but also provides a continuous source of clean drinking water.
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New methods for removing algae from drinking water
How to remove algae from drinking water? Since traditional methods, such as coagulation and sedimentation, are usually ineffective, Prof. Dr. Matevž Dular from the Laboratory for Water and Turbine Machines (LVTS) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, together with colleagues from Yangzhou University, sought a solution in the use of ultrasound and advanced carbon-based materials.
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Comprehensive Overview of Plasma Electrolytic Polishing
Additive technologies are increasingly used for the production of metal components as they allow for efficient shape customization in a short time and with reduced material consumption. However, the lower surface quality of printed parts limits their direct industrial use. The growing demand for post-processing of metal parts produced by additive technologies highlights the potential of PeP technology as an environmentally friendly and efficient polishing method.
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Sustainable Use of Soil with E-MOTIKA
Tillage machines are a necessity in agriculture, but they compact the soil and do not allow smaller farmers and growers to till and weed in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner. Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the University of Ljubljana, together with project partners on the Accelerated Vegetable Hoeing project - "MOTIKA," addressed this challenge by developing a hoeing machine specifically for smaller farmers and crop growers.
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Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Successful in MSCA Doctoral Networks Call
The University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, has been successful in the Horizon Europe Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Doctoral Networks call with the project UPCYCLE – Dissemination of Advanced Conversion Routes for Hard-to-Recycle Biogenic Waste. As part of the project, 15 doctoral candidates will be trained, three of whom will be based in Slovenia. The project is coordinated by Politecnico di Milano, with UL FS participating as a partner.
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Artificial intelligence for predicting process condition variations in laser powder bed fusion of metals
Assistant professor Dominik Kozjek, a researcher in the Laboratory for Mechatronics, Production systems, and Automation (LAMPA) at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL, in cooperation with researchers from Northwestern University (Illinois, United States), the United States Army Research Laboratory, and the company DMG MORI Advanced Solutions, developed a new method of predicting meltpool temperature variations in the laser-powder bed fusion of metals (PBF-LB/M) process.
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Harnessing the low temperatures of space to cool buildings and equipment in remote locations in an environmentally friendly way
Doc. dr. Professor Primož Poredoš, in collaboration with colleagues from the Laboratory for Environmental Technologies in Buildings at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, UL, and researchers from the ITEWA innovation team at Shanghai University, has developed a concentrator based on the AsymSkyCool method that enables cooling of buildings and appliances without the use of electricity. The concentrator takes advantage of the 'cold of space' – the extremely low temperatures of deep space, which can be as low as minus 15°C compared to the surrounding environment – and uses a special method to concentrate it and direct it towards a heat source. Using space as a cooling source enables environmentally friendly, efficient and sustainable cooling of devices that consume large amounts of electricity, such as LED lights, batteries and electric motors.
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Campus Center project: a solution to the space problems of faculties and a better quality of life in the city centre
The University of Ljubljana presented the Campus Center project, in which students of the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Ljubljana, under the mentorship of Prof. Jurij Sadar, Asst. Prof. Ana Kreč and researcher Jure Hrovat, carried out a spatial survey of the existing buildings with the project task of placing the UL member programme in the existing buildings of the University on Aškerčeva Street after the relocation of the UL Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the UL Faculty of Pharmacy to the new buildings.
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Doc. dr. Jaka Tušek from UL FS recieves ERC funding to support his research on elastocaloric technology
Dr. Jaka Tušek, Assistant Professor at the University of Ljubljana’s Faculty of Mechanical Engineering (UL FS), and his research team are developing elastocaloric cooling and heating technology. The ground-breaking research carried out under the ERC Starting Grant (StG) as part of the SUPERCOOL project has been rewarded with a successful application for an ERC Proof-of-Concept (PoC) Grant with the E-CO-HEAT project, providing support for the innovation potential of research achievements. This makes Tušek the sixth ERC researcher in Slovenia, and the second at UL FS, to receive additional support to develop the innovative potential of his research. The E-CO-HEAT project will be based on the elastocaloric device developed in the SUPERCOOL project, which was the first in the world to demonstrate sustained dynamic performance and record-breaking cooling and heating characteristics, and whose specific characteristics exceed all caloric cooling devices built to date. The ERC PoC funding will enable the technology to be further developed and, together with the relevant business strategy and intellectual property, to be transferred into everyday use.
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3D Printing of Piezoelectric Sensors Unaffected by Electromagnetic Interference
Researchers from the University of Ljubljana have developed a unique method for printing advanced sensors that are not affected by electromagnetic interference. The 3D printing of sensors allows for their rapid and adaptable integration into other 3D printed structures, even in hard-to-reach places, which is particularly important in medicine, such as in customized prosthetics. At the same time, these sensors can be used to monitor the lifespan of other 3D printed structures, such as parts for the automotive industry.
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The thin line of sheet metal forming
The production of thin-walled components from sheet metal is an integral part of the automotive, aerospace and other industries. Forming the initial sheet metal into the desired final shape of the product requires overcoming reaction forces and thinning of the sheet metal, which can lead to fractures. Knowing the influence of many parameters of the forming process allows controlled change of the shape of the workpiece, thus achieving the target shape of the final component.
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Treating wastewater through cavitation and understanding the effects of bubbles on bacterial cells
Increasing environmental pollution and drinking water shortages are a growing socioeconomic problem, in which cavitation technology can contribute to a cleaner and greener approach to wastewater treatment. Cavitation is a physical phenomenon that describes the phase change from liquid to vapour and back at constant temperature. The mechanical, thermal and chemical effects of cavitation can be utilised for various purposes, including to inactivate microorganisms in drinking water and wastewater. It has been proven that cells are subjected to damage in the immediate vicinity of a bubble. Further numerical analysis has identified the formation of microjets as a possible mechanism of bacterial cell damage.
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Hydrodynamic cavitation can be used to inactivate enveloped viruses
Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Ljubljana, led by Prof. Dr. Matevž Dular, have shown in an experimental study that the phi6 virus, which belongs to the viruses with a lipid envelope, can be successfully inactivated using hydrodynamic cavitation. The study is significant in that it shows that hydrodynamic cavitation has the potential to inactivate pathogenic enveloped viruses in water under ambient conditions. Although the primary mode of transmission for enveloped viruses is not water, the recent pandemic has reminded us that we need to be prepared for the worst, given the possibility of the emergence of enveloped viruses or virus strains that can be transmitted through water in the future.
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Using cavitation to break down invisible water pollutants
Researchers from the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the National Institute of Chemistry conducted an experimental study in which they achieved the degradation of a water-soluble synthetic polymer - poly(vinyl alcohol) PVOH - by acoustic and hydrodynamic cavitation. The use of PVOH is rapidly increasing, and as a result, increasing amounts of this material are being released into the environment. PVOH is widely used in the textile and paper industries, as well as in households, for example in the form of detergent pods. It is estimated that thousands of tons of it are washed into the aquatic ecosystem every year.
