Introduction of JRC

          The Joint Research Centre (JRC) for Design and Net-shape Forming of Micro-/Meso-scaled Surface Functional Structures (MSFSSs) was funded by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU) and Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU) in 2023. It's operated by the Department of Mechanical Engineering of PolyU and the School of Mechanical Engineering of SJTU.

Introduction

         With the development of industrial civilization, high-performance surface microstructures with unique physical, electromagnetic, thermal, and chemical functions have important applications in new energy, aerospace, defence equipments, etc., attracting global research attentions. However, how to truly translate the latest scientific advances in functional surface microstructures into industrial progress relies on the innovations in the precision and efficient fabrication methods of those high-performance surface micro structures. Committed to that goal, the lab Centre focuses on the innovations in trans-scale precision manufacturing science and technology, including surface micro structure functional design, material multi-scale mechanism, micro manufacturing size effect, complex micro-configuration processing strategy, trans-scale efficient precision manufacturing technology for large area micro features and micro structure manufacturing quality control. By proposing cutting-edge theories and original technical methods in those scenarios, we are devoted to solve practical engineering problems within the application of the advanced functional microstructures in new energy, aerospace, medical devices, etc. Our works are expected to build the bridge between research frontier and industry, leading the technological innovation and progress of manufacturing industry in China, Asia Pacific and the world.

Background

          Functional surface micro/meso structures are fabricated with advanced manufacturing technology for different morphology, scale, composition and dimension on the surface of components to achieve unique performance of components. Surface functional micro/meso structure is a frontier multidisciplinary research field developed in recent years. As the research progresses, more micro structures with unique functions are designed to meet different functional requirements such as mass transfer, heat transfer, hydrophilic/hydrophobic, resistance enhancement/ reduction, electromagnetic wave absorption/reflection, which have important applications in new energy, flexible electronics, aerospace and other fields. But how to truly translate the latest scientific advances in those scenarios into industrial and technological progress relies on innovations for the precision and mass-productive manufacturing of the trans-scale functional surface micro structures. As the frontier of science, the research institutes and technology centres for functional micro structures worldwide are concentrated in the U.S., Europe, Japan, etc., which mainly focus on the design and function development of surface micro structures. However, the transformation from excellent functional properties in the lab to practical industrial applications rely on the innovation in trans-scale manufacturing methods of the massive surface micro structures. Even though many research institutes are dedicated to the functional surface micro structures related technologies, few of them focus on the innovations in manufacturing, which delays the application of advanced high performance surface micro structure components.
          Based on the technologies accumulated by the lab Centre in the field of micro manufacturing, the Lab Centre will make comprehensive use of various fabrication methods instead of being limited by a single fabrication method, in order to meet comprehensive requirements of surface functional micro structures in terms of material, microstructure and configuration. The Lab Centre will focus on the efficient fabrication requirements of multi-scale large-area functional micro structures, propose innovative and targeted technical solutions, establish an efficient analysis method of multi-scale large-area micro structure detection-rapid evaluation-feedback control, and propose quality control methods for large-area micro structures. The innovative manufacturing technology will be used for practical applications in bipolar plates of gradient materials for fuel cell vehicles, composite substrate electrode sheets for high-security lithium batteries, anti-icing and resistance-reducing skins for commercial aircraft, and micro-nano composite hydrophobic films, providing practical support for national new energy strategies and major equipment development.

Objectives

          (1) Manpower development: Both partners will co-supervise PhD students and PDF researchers and develop the theories and technologies via this joint effort. 
          (2) Development of multi-scale surface functional microstructure design method: Considering the effect of microstructure topology, organization and discrete distribution on the surface structure functions, the integration of interdisciplinary knowledge is employed to develop trans-scaled and integrated design methods aiming practical application in fuel cell vehicles, commercial aircraft and other key equipment development for performance improvement and technological progress.
          (3) Study of functional microstructure composition and structural size effect: The coupling effects of gradient material microstructure and structural size on the performance of the developed surface structure will be studied to support the development of new gradient material and micro-manufacturing technologies. 
          (4) Investigation of multi-scale functional structure manufacturing and application: Utilizing the developed theories and methods, the efficient fabrication requirements of multi-scale large-area surface functional structures, innovative manufacturing process and application will be generated and developed aiming at the detailed applications.