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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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Irregularities in hydrogen fuel cell catalysts
The increasingly evident consequences of climate change are a major motivation for the development of low-carbon technologies, among which fuel cells, using hydrogen as fuel, hold great promise. One of the obstacles to the wider commercialization of the technology is the use of expensive and rare platinum in catalysts, which is why effort goes into trying to reduce the amount of platinum used while preserving the relevant properties of these materials. For the oxygen reduction reaction, one of the reactions in a fuel cell, we use catalysts with alloyed nanoparticles containing platinum and cheaper transition metals. Since certain defects in the nanoparticle structure can occur during the preparation of the catalyst, the effects of all aspects of the structure on the performance in the fuel cell need to be studied in detail.
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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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Project »FEATURE«: Far-from-Equilibrium ATtractors at Ultra-Relativistic Energies
One of the grand challenges facing the high-energy physics community is understanding the far-from-equilibrium evolution of quantum chromodynamics (QCD). This new postdoctoral Marie Skłodowska-Curie project, carried out at the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, will take the critical step to bring theoretical understanding to the level of complexity required for realistic phenomenology, by fully characterizing the properties of the QCD attractor without resorting to simplifying assumptions done in the current preliminary studies. This will be done via the inclusion of fermionic degrees of freedom and by relaxing simplifying spatial symmetries.
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Mathematical physicist Prof. Dr. Tomaž Prosen has become the first in Slovenia to receive his second prestigious European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant (ERC ADG)
The awarded ERC AdG, which is aimed at established researchers, is undoubtedly the most prestigious scientific project that an individual researcher can receive. For Prof. Dr. Tomaž Prosen, this is already his second such project, this time titled QUEST (Quantum Ergodicity: Stability and Transitions). In addition to being a top-level success on a global scale for the researcher, it is also an outstanding achievement for the Faculty of Mathematics and Physics at the University of Ljubljana - primarily for its exceptionally high-quality research environment that it provides for researchers and their groups.
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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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New method for predicting adult height
Researchers from Jožef Stefan Institute and Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, developed a new method for predicting adult height of children and adolescents. The method uses large population data collected in the framework of the SLOfit program over decades. It compares the growth curve of a child with those of the most similar individuals and substantially outperforms the existing height predicting methods.
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A research breakthrough in the dating of historical books
Heritage scientists can now date historical paper using only infrared light and computational analysis of spectroscopic data. In the research of postdoctoral researcher Dr. Floriana Coppola and colleagues, which is published in the top scientific journal 'Journal of the American Chemical Society', shows that it is possible to date paper extremely accurately, even to 2 years. An uncertainty this low is not possible with any other method, much less with a non-destructive method.
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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.
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Chronic disease risk prediction with artificial intelligence
Project SmartCHANGE - an innovative solution for drastically reducing the risk of chronic non-communicable diseases.
Although the future may seem like something we can only speculate about, the Jožef Stefan Institute, in collaboration with the SLOfit research group of the Faculty of Sport of the University of Ljubljana, within the Horizon Europe program, is starting to develop an innovative solution that would enable better prediction and drastic reduction of the risk of developing chronic non-communicable diseases (NCDs; e.g. cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, various forms of cancer) with the help of artificial intelligence. -
The innovative solutions for the use of flexibility in the power system
The increasing share of renewable distributed energy resources (DERs) in the power system is becoming a key for the decarbonization of the European energy sector and thus achieving the EU's energy and climate change policy objectives. The variability and uncertainty of the DERs generation present significant risks and challenges related to the stability and reliability of the entire interconnected European power system, as well as national and even small local networks while opening new opportunities for the development of new energy concepts and solutions.
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Shocking in the field of pressure metrology
Accurate measurements of time-varying pressure are important to many industrial sectors. The most stringent requirements for accurate high-frequency pressure measurements come from the automotive, aerospace and ballistics industries, where pressure with frequencies up to few hundred kHz must be accurately measured. To provide dynamic calibrations of pressure meters in the required frequency range and therefore enable accurate measurements in the most demanding industries, many national metrology institutes worldwide are developing a primary dynamic measurement standard for pressure based on the shock tube. In the shock tube, the calibrated pressure meter can be excited by an almost ideal pressure step change generated by the reflection of the shock wave from the end wall of the shock tube. Such an extremely rapid reflection of the shock wave, in addition to generating the high-frequency pressure, inevitably also excites unwanted mechanical vibrations, which can produce spurious output signals of the pressure meter being calibrated.
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Inductive response of phase separating battery materials
Understanding the processes in batteries is crucial for their proper design, control, management and analysis of the state of charge, health and safety. Physical sensors are a very important support for the advanced development and operation of batteries, and their combination with virtual models enables the exploitation of multiplicative effects, as mechanistically based models reveal a deeper insight into the phenomenology of the processes and enable their in-depth understanding.
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Tribological Research on Surfaces and Contacts for Green Mobility
Mobility GT: The largest project at the faculty of mechanical engineering of UL so far – CoFund project of Horizon Europe was awarded the Seal of Excellence, with which Prof. Mitjan Kalin, PhD, who will coordinate a project of 24 postdoctoral research projects worth 7.6 million euros.
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SIMBA innovation in the fight against superbacteria
Innovation offers faster and cheaper solution in finding new active substances in the fight against superbacteria
The growing phenomenon of superbacteria, as we call bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics, is a global health problem. The problem is exacerbated by the merging of bacteria in biofilms, which offers them protection and survival in very harsh conditions and facilitates the transmission of resistance. For this very reason the global development of new antibiotics is focused on their effects on other properties of the bacteria, such as attaching bacteria to the surface, movement or interaction between bacteria, and not just on survival. The new orientation of development urgently requires a new methodology. -
New method for structural health monitoring and failure
Lightweight structures such as wind turbines and aircraft are exposed to high dynamic loads during operation. Due to these operating conditions and their low mass, they vibrate. This is comparable to musical instruments, which produce sounds due to induced vibrations.