In Febraury Ms. Sunita Kruger presented a paper that she delivered in Boston at the 2008 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition on “Indoor climate comparison of detached and multi-span greenhouses”.
Mr. Daniel Madyira made a research proposal for his PhD studies on “Investigating the effects of high speed machining on the fatigue performance of titanium alloy components” and Mr. Michael Minnie presented the progress made on his study of “Optical fibre to matrix bonding in composites" for his Masters degree.
There were interesting presentations by Professor Andre Nel on Risk and Revenue Management Research, Professor Johan Meyer on Photonic Research and by Mr. Francois du Plessis on Unmanned Aerial Vehicle research group
The Photonics Research Group and UAV Research Group hosted a seminar on 14 May 2009. The purpose of the seminar was to showcase the current activities, progress and revival of the Photonics Research Group at the University of Johannesburg. Prof. W Clarke presented an overview on the Centre for Applied Information Processing, Prof. J Meyer gave an outline of recent developments in the Photonics Research Group and Mr. F du Plessis discussed some of the activities within UAV Research Group.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering Science hosted the Faculty Research Forum on 22 May 22. An overview of the research activities within the department was presented, with Prof. A. Nurick highlighting the main activities of the Energy Research Group. Mrs. S Kruger outlined the use of Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in commercial applications. Prof. J van Wyk gave a summary on optical fibre sensor research being conducted at the Department and Prof. RF Laubscher presented a brief introduction to the current research efforts of the Material Research Group.
The Mechanical Engineering Research Forum (MERF) at Kingsway hosted a research colloquium for staff and post graduate students to present their research activities in a congenial, informal fashion. Presentations were made by four of the master’s students currently enrolled at Mechanical Engineering Science
Students
According to Mr. P. Ellis: “Electrical Engineering students recently made a breakthrough by successfully flying an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) propelled by a hydrogen fuel cell. A model J3 Piper cup airframe was fitted with a 100w fuel cell and a brushless DC motor for the testing.
The UAV took off under battery power, using lithium polymer cells for this purpose, as the fuel cell does not deliver enough energy for this phase of the flight. Once airborne and the climb out to altitude achieved, the fuel cell was activated. Once the cell stabilized, the electronic speed control was switched from battery power to the fuel cell and altitude was maintained under the power supplied by the fuel cell. After the hydrogen was depleted the power was switched back to the on board battery for a successful landing.”
• UJ got the SAIMech “Best student award” For Mr. GM Schwab with an overall mark of 81, 89%
• Best BTech student (across all disciplines) in the country Miss.Tebogo Pilgrene Phetla: Chemical Engineering
• Best BTech Student at UJ (Across all Disciplines), Mr. Herman Ntini: Chemical Engineering
2007- 2008
The number of formal research groups in the Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment has grown from 12 to 15 during 2007.
Dr Mark van Ryneveld and Dr Sharon Biermann (CSIR) performed collaborative research on settlement planning and urban sprawl.
Mr Ferdi Fester received a SANPAD Research Capacitation Initiative Bursary to improve the research capacity of local researchers.
Mr Wellington Thwala delivered an invited paper at the UNESCO Forum on Higher Education, Research and Knowledge Second Regional Seminar for Africa in Ghana.
Prof. Hendrik Ferreira qualified for an NRF B1 rating in Jan 2008.
Prof. HC Ferreira acted as Convener of the NRF Evaluation and Rating Panel for Engineering during 2008. The panel handled 49 applications of researchers in all disciplines of engineering and from all academic, comprehensive and technical universities over South Africa during 2008.
The appointment of Prof. Mike Case as research consultant encouraged six members of staff to start postgraduate studies.
New capital equipment was received for research and assistance to SMEs through the Technology Station in Engineering Metallurgy.
In the Department of Mechanical Engineering Science, Prof. Rolf Laubscher won an Advanced Manufacturing and Technology Strategy grant for research into high-performance light metal machining.
Prof. Japie van Wyk negotiated a three-year research contract for R3m on smart health monitoring composites and Prof. Zvi Katz carried out collaborative research with institutions in Sweden, the USA and Hungary.
Engineering News@UJ
EngineeringNews@UJ– October issue
EngineeringNews@UJ – September issue
Learners design projects – Mechanical Engineering technology design projects
Common Wealth Scholarships Read more
Special Projects
Metal Casting Technology Station: Enhancing SME Training and Competitiveness Through Technology
Women in Engineering and the Built Environment