Unit for Innovation and Research in Engineering

As relevant work has been conducted in all the main areas of UnIRE, the 5 most relevant contributions (MRC) of the integrated members are grouped by the R&D unit areas: 

Design, Materials and Manufacturing

MRC #1: Recently, increasing attention has been given to bacterial cellulose-based membranes to be applied as dressings for healing purposes. Bacterial cellulose (BC) is an attractive biomaterial due to its unique structural characteristics such as high porosity, high water retention capacity, high mechanical strength, low density, and biodegradability. One drawback of bacterial cellulose hydrogels is that, after the first dehydration, the water retention capacity is hindered. Hydrated and de-hydrated BC membranes for biomedical applications were produced, modified, and characterized. Two crosslinking methods were adopted (using citric acid and epichlorohydrin as crosslinking agents), and the results obtained from the characterization, such as water retention capacity, mechanical properties or contact angle, were compared to those of unmodified bacterial cellulose. It was concluded that the cross-linked bacterial cellulose membranes present physical properties suitable to be used as wound dressings when hydrated, or as exuding wound dressings, when dehydrated. 

MRC #2: The difference in the physical properties of aluminium and stainless steel makes the joining of these materials particularly difficult, even using non-conventional welding processes such as Explosion Welding. So, until the development of the present research, the usual procedure to increase the weldability of this pair of materials consisted of placing an intermediate plate of almost pure aluminium. However, due to the low mechanical strength of this material, the mechanical efficiency of the welds obtained was particularly low. So, it became necessary to define a material that could be used as an intermediate plate and that lead to obtaining joints with excellent mechanical performance. This study concluded that the use of a carbon steel intermediate plate provides excellent dissimilar welding of aluminium to stainless steel. This is, therefore, an extremely important technological advance, as the low weldability of these materials has been overcome by using a low-cost solution, which makes it especially appealing at an industrial level.  

Industrial Management and Control Systems

MRC #3: A new automated system for washing and inspecting the inside of ISO tanks has been developed. This system, compared to other existing solutions, aims at a distinct structural concept, based on a robot arm suspended by a gantry robot, in order to overcome the constraints imposed by the geometry of ISO tanks. The new concept allows the washing of different configurations of ISO tanks, provides a fully automatic mode of operation, and the ability (intelligence) to evaluate the washing process carried out, a feature that does not exist in current solutions. In fact, the robotic washing system is responsible for moving a washing head, a component that projects multiple jets of water and detergent in all directions with high impact. The purpose of the robotic manipulation is to insert washing head  into the ISO tank and move it automatically inside the tank. Once inside the tank, the washing head is activated, and the actual washing takes place. The robotic system for this purpose comprises two conceptual modules: i) a gantry robot responsible for the movement in the horizontal plane, and ii) a robotic arm that performs the movements of insertion into the ISO tank and movement inside it. All operations are carried out automatically. This TRL-7 research was developed under the scope of CISROBCLE - Development of an intelligent robotic system for washing tanker trucks (POCI-01-0247-FEDER-039764) project. This project, which was developed in partnership with CARMONA company, was funded by Agência Nacional de Inovação (273.259,53 €). 

Sustainability, Environment and Energy

MRC #4: The FCT-supported project, PTDC/BTM-ORG/32187/2017, “pulsed electric fields for valorisation of platelets with no therapeutic value into a high biomedical potential product” (225.703,38 €), was led by an integrated member of this R&D unit. The project consisted of using pulsed electric fields technology in blood platelets with no therapeutic value (i.e., outdated), which otherwise would be discarded, to contribute for identifying new biological products, with high therapeutic potential and commercial value. The research developed under the scope of this project has contributed to find an alternative to the high economic, ethical and environmental impact of biological waste disposal. During the project, the use of compatible biological materials, such as teflon and titanium, was assessed for the treatment chambers, where the platelets were subjected to PEF. Also, new techniques for generating HV pulses from solid-state modulators were developed. The research also included the optimization of PEF protocols to enhance the electrical efficiency of the process, considering a future scale-up and commercial utilization by blood centres. 

Informatics Systems and Digitalisation

MRC #5: Service-oriented (SOA) and open architectures and interfaces following open standards proved to be the way toward multivendor solutions. One example is the research project developed in partnership with Grupo Brisa/Via-Verde, which was led by an integrated member of UnIRE, resulting in an open-SOA interoperability bus (ITSIBus) moving the Electronic Toll Collection system from a silo to an open multi-supplier system of systems. The research facilitated Grupo Brisa to move from tolling to a mobility services company. Subsequently, the National Road Safety Network (SINCRO) research project with National Road Safety Authority (2010-2012), with a new phase in 2021-2024, has also been founding a multivendor integrated system of systems. The research evolves, extending SINCRO with red lights violation and occupation of public Bus lanes events. Based on previous ITSIBus research with Grupo Brisa, the project is validating adopting the Informatics System of Systems (ISoS) framework towards a governed multivendor IT. The research challenge further considers the hypothesis of unifying the cyber part of a cyberphysical system as a Service. Integration research further extends to Collaborative Networks requiring a cross IT coordinated interoperability.