The 4th ME Research Poster Competition 2018

Fever to PolyU Mechanical Engineering! In a hot afternoon on 30 May 2018, 22 research students displayed their posters and delivered their insights to us. Academic supervisors were there to give advice, classmates and friends came to learn together. With an objective to provide the Research Postgraduate and Research MSc students of the Department a good opportunity to share their research project results and knowledge with their peers and the PolyU community, the Department has organized the Research Poster Competition on campus. This year, a total of 22 posters covering a wide range of topics were displayed. The posters reflected the participants’ research findings as well as their new and innovative ideas for successful approaches and the potential contribution to the advancement of Mechanical Engineering. During the competition, participants delivered a brief presentation of their research projects to win a vote from attendees including faculty members of the Department, research and MSc students, as well as peers and visitors on campus. Nearly 300 votes were cast and 6 outstanding posters were selected. The Champion, Runner-up and Excellent Poster Awardees won cash prizes of HK$2,000, HK$1,000 and HK$500 respectively. Congratulations to their wonderful presentations and excellent research work! Champion Student: Miss DUONGTHIPTHEWA Anchalee Supervisor: Prof. L.M. Zhou Title: Enhanced multi-functional properties of composites using conductive prepreg for lightning strike protection Runner-Up Student: Miss GAO Yang Supervisor: Dr H.M. Yao Title: Spiral interface: A reinforcing mechanism for laminated composite materials learned from nature Excellent Poster Award Student: Mr FAN Lei Supervisor: Dr Z.B. Jiao Title: Nanoscale precipitation and mechanical properties of particle-strengthened high-entropy alloys Student: Mr LIAO Yaozhong Supervisor: Prof. Z.Q. Su Title: Ultrafast response of spay-on nanocomposite piezoresistive sensing network coating Student: Mr TIAN Xudong Supervisor: Prof. C.Y. Wen Title: Supersonic/Hypersonic boundary layer control using porous coatings Student: Miss ZHOU Quan Supervisor: Prof. C.S. Cheung Title: Effect of fuel composition on laminar flame speed of H2/CO/CH4 biomass-derived syngas More photos on PHOTO GALLERY

ME Students Triumphed in the HKIE Young Engineers Programme 2017/2018

A team of four final-year undergraduate ME students has won the Champion in the Young Engineers Programme (YEP) 2017/2018 which is an annual flagship programme organized by the Manufacturing and Industrial (MI) Division of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE). This year, YEP is supported by China Light and Power Co Ltd. (CLP) with the theme “Redesign Power Plant for Next Hundred Year”. YEP is opened to engineering undergraduates of various engineering disciplines. In this programme, participants (Yeppers) were invited to join multiple seminars and technical visits to enrich their knowledge on power plants operation and to strengthen their business sense. The competition was conducted in research approach. Yeppers were required to read academic journals, identify critical problems in current power plant design, conduct business value analysis and propose comprehensive engineering solutions. After several submission of written reports, 11 teams of Yeppers presented in the first round on 24 March 2018 and the top 5 teams were selected into the final round of presentation on 27 April 2018. Congratulations to PolyU Team 4, with members Mr Chan Kwok Wai, Mr Lau Tak Leong Tony, Mr Law Man Cheong and Mr Lit Hong Tat, awarded Champion in the competition. Throughout the half-year programme, Ir Dr Daniel Ng, Chairman of HKIE – MI Division 2017/2018, acted as a mentor to all Yeppers, while Miss Winky Lui, our PolyU ME graduate and a current ME MSc student, was assigned as the tutor of PolyU Team 4. The team has chosen “Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) with Pre-combustion Carbon Capture” as their research topic with an aim to reduce carbon dioxide emission from power plants and increase the plant efficiency in a cost-effective way. They would like to express sincere thanks to Ir Prof. Wallace Leung for his inspiring guidance and Miss Winky Lui for her zealous support.

Technical Seminar “Breakthrough on Nanofiber Technologies to Air Purification and Solar Cells” by Ir Prof. Wallace Leung

Co-organized by the Mechanical, Marine, Naval Architecture & Chemical (MMNC) Division, Gas and Energy (EG) Division, Materials Division of The Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE), The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET – Hong Kong Branch) and the Mechanical Engineering (ME) Department of The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), a technical seminar with the theme “Breakthrough on Nanofiber Technologies to Air Purification and Solar Cells” was delivered by Ir Prof. Wallace Leung, Chair Professor of Innovative Products and Technologies of ME Department of PolyU, on 25th April 2018. Over 100 HKIE and IET members participated in the seminar. Nanofiber is non-woven, randomly oriented very fine fiber with a fiber diameter less than 1000 nanometer. Prof. Leung started by introducing the physical features, materials and production methods of nanofiber. Then, he divided his presentation into two main topics: Nanofiber in Energy and Nanofiber in Environment. For the first topic, he talked about application of nanofiber on solar cells. He introduced an environmental-friendly PV technology, the dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC), which uses an organic dye to effectively harvest solar energy and convert photons to electrical charges efficiently. Three technologies on nanofiber-based DSSC along improvements in light trapping, light harvesting and charge transport have been discussed. The adoption of bilayer TiO2 nanofibers, CuPC co-sensitization and carbon nanotube in TiO2 nanofibers brings significant efficiency improvement of DSSC. Nanofiber technology also gives remarkable contribution in air quality improvement. Filtration using nanofibers arranged in novel configurations can remove particulate pollutants and air borne viruses as small as 10-100 nm with high capture efficiency, high aerosol holding capacity, low-pressure drop and stable performance. These nanofiber technologies present a wide range of applications, from facemask, respirators, cabin filter, HVAC, engine, turbine, hospital wards to industrial uses. Besides, novel nanofiber photocatalysts, which are made of composite semiconductor such as TiO2-ZnO, can purify gases effectively by breaking down harmful substance to carbon dioxide and water vapor, after harvesting both UV and visible light. The seminar came to a successful end with an interactive Q&A session and last but not least, souvenirs were presented to Ir Prof. Leung by the HKIE and IET representatives, Miss Winky Lui and Mr. Victor Chan, to thank Ir Prof. Leung for his informative and inspiring sharing.

ME Scholar won Gold Award in International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva

Prof. Zhongqing SU of the Department of Mechanical Engineering won a Gold Medal in the 46th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, Switzerland in April 2018. Sprayable Smart Sensing Network Coating for Structural Health Monitoring Principal Investigators: Prof. Zhongqing SU (Department of Mechanical Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) Prof. Zhong ZHANG (CAS Center for Excellence in Nanoscience, National Center for Nanoscience and Technology, Beijing) Prof. Limin ZHOU (Interdisciplinary Division of Aeronautical and Aviation Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University) This innovative, first-ever, nanocomposites-inspired smart sensor is made of carbon black (CB), 2D graphene and polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF). The sensors made of this new breed of nanocomposites can be directly sprayed on any engineering structure to form a highly dense smart sensing network, which can acquire in-situ broadband ultrasounds of up to 1 MHz for damage detection. Lightweight, flexible and highly responsive, the sensing network can quantitatively evaluate invisible, undersized defect and damage in the structure, such as cracks caused by metal fatigue. This new sensing technology retrofits conventional ultrasonic sensing philosophy, and blazes a new trail for next generation of in-situ structural health monitoring. The 46th International Exhibition of Inventions of Geneva, held from 11-15 April 2018, has attracted 822 exhibitors from 40 countries/regions, showcasing around 1,000 or so innovations. Under the patronage of the Swiss Federal Government, the State and the City of Geneva as well as the World Intellectual Property Organization, it is the biggest event of its kind globally.

ME PhD student won the Best Student Presentation Award at the 22nd Annual Conference of HKSTAM

Mr Jimin FU, a PhD student from the PolyU Department of Mechanical Engineering, got the Best Student Presentation Award at the 22ndAnnual Conference of HKSTAM on 14 April 2018. The 22nd Annual Conference of HKSTAM 2018 in conjunction with the 14th Shanghai-Hong Kong Forum on Mechanics and Its Application was co-organized by the Hong Kong Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (HKSTAM), the Shanghai Society of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics (SSTAM) and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU). The conference topics cover mechanics and its application in all science and engineering disciplines. The one-day conference featured 5 distinguished lectures and 38 presentations in eight parallel sessions. Student participants were provided opportunities to present their research work during the presentation sessions. Based on the assessment results by referees, eight best students were awarded the Best Student Presentation Award. The topic of Jimin’s presentation is “Microscopic ridge-like surface morphology: An antifouling strategy learned from nature”. Jimin is a fourth-year PhD candidate. He is devoted to the study on micro-and nanomechanics of natural biomaterials under the joint supervisions of Dr Haimin YAO and Prof. Sanqiang SHI.

ME students won the Champion and the Best Innovative Award in the HKIE Joint Student Chapters Competition 2018

A team of Mechanical Engineering students of the undergraduate final-year capstone project in the title of “Design and Construction of an Innovative Energy Conversion Device” – Ms. Fung Man Yi, Ms. Wong Hei Wa and Ms. Pang Wei Fong under the supervision of Dr. Lam Chun Ki has won the Champion and the Best Innovative Award in the HKIE Joint Student Chapters Competition 2018. The competition was organized by the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers (HKIE) and held at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on 14 April 2018. The theme of this year is “Engineering a Utopia”. The topic should be related to Sustainable Development, and should fulfill at least one of the scopes of Intelligent Building, Green Construction and Methodology and Energy Efficiency and Management. Top universities in Hong Kong have participated in this annual competition. The judging panel marked the competitors based on design innovation, design methodology, potential for commercialization and presentation skills during the presentation session. The winning innovative design for the team is an eco-friendly portable fridge powered up by energy conversion on a bike.

PolyU ME Robot triumphed in IMechE 2018

Bravo! The PolyU student team won the Champion and the Most Innovative Awards in the 7th IMechE Greater China Design Competition held at Guangzhou on 24-25 March 2018. Organized by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) – Hong Kong Branch, this year challenge was to design an unmanned robot for relief. Eight top universities, including The University of Hong Kong, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, University of Macau, South China University of Technology and PolyU, participated in this annual competition. The PolyU team, comprised of third year undergraduate students, Ji-ho SHIN, Hung Ming Roy CHOW and Rudra SOMESHWAR, under the supervision of Dr Henry CHU and Ir Dr Curtis NG of the Department of Mechanical Engineering, designed and created a robot, which can successfully move across different terrains for material transport. “Our students were wholly dedicated to this challenge. They were highly self-motivated to work on the prototypes and well-prepared for the competition.” Dr Curtis NG said. The judging panel marked the competitors based on design innovation, design methodology, potential for commercialization, presentation skills, as well as the technical performance of the prototype design during the demonstration session. The PolyU team robot stood out from the rest. The robot topped off the challenge in the competition with the full smoothness and highest efficiency. “Students feel fabulous with their achievement and we are highly proud of them.” Dr Henry CHU exclaimed. Watch the video to see how the mission was beautifully done!   Selected to be the POLYU OUTSTANDING WORK BY STUDENTS. Click to learn more …

3 ME Staff received Faculty Awards for Outstanding Performance/ Achievement in 2016/17

The PolyU Faculty of Engineering Spring Reception cum Faculty Awards Presentation Ceremony was held on 9 March 2018. Three staff members from the Department of Mechanical Engineering were awarded for their outstanding performance and achievement. Prof. SHI San-Qiang, Head of Department of Mechanical Engineering and Prof. CHENG Li, Chair Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering received the “Faculty of Engineering Research Grant Achievement Award 2016/17”. Since 2003, the award has been set up by the Faculty Research Committee torecognize the outstanding performance of FENG academic staff members in securing external competitive research grants. Prof. CHENG Li was also awarded the “Faculty Award in Research and Scholarly Activities – Merit Award (Individual) 2016/17”. Prof. LEUNG Chun Wah, Adjunct Professor of Department of Mechanical Engineering was awarded the “Faculty Award in Services – Outstanding Award (Individual) 2016/17”. The awards are established to encourage and recognize excellent practices in teaching, research and scholarly activities, and services. Winners of the awards has demonstrated high level of professionalism and dedication in their respective areas and contributed to the achievements of the Faculty.

105th Departmental Advisory Committee Meeting

The 105th Departmental Advisory Committee (DAC) meeting took place on 8 March 2018, under the chairmanship of Ir Conrad Wong, Vice Chairman of Yau Lee Group. It was a very useful meeting as members, with their wide range of expertise, had a fruitful discussion, sharing their expectations on our students and graduates, and provided very constructive views and suggestions to the Department of its efforts in the future development in teaching and learning, research and consultancy and strategic development.

ME Team Building Social Gathering cum Spring Lunch

A fun time for team building, re-energizing and communicating. On 6 March 2018, ME Department organized a Spring Lunch cum bowling ball game for all academic, administrative and technical support staff as well as research personnel. We had over 100 participants joining the event. People were in their causal dressed, light-hearted mood and smiles on their faces. The buffet lunch came with the bowling games definitely gave all ME members a wonderful and joyful break!