Personal Homepages

1. Scalable polymer-based manufacturing methods for metamaterials
2. Processing and characterisation of ceramics for armour applications
3. Processing and properties of magnesium diboride superconductor
4. Manufacture and characterisation of novel graded multilayer ceramics
5. Fabrication of ceramic nanocomposites

 

The Quest for Ultimate Electromagnetics using Spatial Transformations (QUEST)
Dr C E J Dancer, Dr E Edwards, Prof. C R M Grovenor, Prof. P S Grant
Recent UK-led breakthroughs in the theory of STs, such as the possibilities concerning cloaking and invisibility, have caught both the scientific and popular imagination, and have stimulated a huge growth in related research around the world. The potential of the underlying ST approaches, however, have much wider applicability than cloaking alone, in arguably more important applications that span communications, energy transfer, sensors and security. However, theory and concepts are outstripping practical demonstration and testing, leading to a mismatch in what may be theorised and computed and what can be realised for impact in society and commerce. We contend that the timing is now ideal for UK theorists, modellers, manufacturers and engineers to work together to maintain the UK strength in this field, with a clear focus on the reduction to practice and demonstration of potentially radical new concepts and devices. Collaboration with the University of Exeter, University of St Andrews, and Queen Mary, University of London.

Understanding and Improving Ceramic Armour
Dr. C.E.J. Dancer, H. Curtis, S. Bennett, S. Falco*, S. Huang**, Dr. S. Ghosh**, Dr. H. Wu**, Dr. B. Vaidhyanathan**, Professor J. Binner**, Dr. N. Petrinic*, Dr. R.I. Todd
Ceramic materials are used for both personnel and vehicle armour since they can be very effective at stopping ballistic projectiles by breaking and eroding them. However, such armour is generically fairly heavy and does not have multihit capability due to its fragmentation during impact. The development of new ceramics for armour is further hindered by the limited understanding of the mechanisms involved in their success and therefore what the characteristics of the ideal ceramic should be. We are taking a holistic approach to this problem, by combining modelling and experimental studies on traditional monolithic and novel nanocomposite ceramics. Testing a range of ceramics with systematically differing characteristics will give comparative information about which microstructural features and mechanical properties successful ceramics possess, as well as enabling the development of a fundamental understanding of the high strain rate performance. This will then be used to produce armour with improved properties. (*Department of Engineering, University of Oxford; **Department of Materials, Loughborough University)

2 public active projects

10. A trapped field of >3T in MgB2 fabricated by uniaxial hot pressing
J H Durrell, C E J Dancer, A Dennis, Y Shi, Z Xu, A M Campbell, N H Babu, R I Todd, C R M Grovenor and D A Cardwell
Superconductor Science and Technology 25 (2012) 112002

9. A New Anisotropic Constitutive Model for Ceramic Material Failure
S Falco, C E J Dancer, R I Todd, N Petrinic
Developments in Strategic Materials and Computational Design III pp. 93-103(2013)

8. Residual Stress Distribution in a Functionally Graded Alumina-Silicon Carbide Material
C E J Dancer, M Achintha, C J Salter, J A Fernie and R I Todd
Scripta Materialia 67(3) (2012) 281-4
link to paper

7. Ceramic Processing for Dense Magnesium Diboride
C E J Dancer, R I Todd and C R M Grovenor
Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings 32(9) (2011) 111-20

6. Measurement of Deformation in Alumina Samples Indented at High Strain Rates
C E J Dancer, H M Curtis, S M Bennett, N Petrinic and R I Todd
Ceramic Engineering and Science Proceedings 32(5) (2011) 227-36

5. High Strain Rate Indentation-Induced Deformation in Alumina Ceramics Measured by Cr3+ Fluorescence Mapping
C E J Dancer, H M Curtis, S M Bennett, N Petrinic and R I Todd
Journal of the European Ceramics Society 31 (2011) 2177-87
link to paper

4. Effects of Attrition and Ball Milling on the Properties of Magnesium Diboride
C E J Dancer, D Prabhakaran, A Crossley, R I Todd and C R M Grovenor
Superconductor Science and Technology 23 (2010) 065015
link to paper

3. Levitation force at different temperatures and superconducting properties of nano-structured MgB2 superconductors
E Yanmaz, K Ozturk, C E J Dancer, M Basoglu, S Celik and C R M Grovenor
Journal of Alloys and Compounds 492 (2010) 48-51
link to paper

2. Fabrication and Properties of Dense Ex Situ Magnesium Diboride Bulk Material using Spark Plasma Sintering
C E J Dancer, D Prabhakaran, M Basoglu, E Yanmaz, H Yan, M Reece, R I Todd and C R M Grovenor
Superconductor Science and Technology 22 (2009) 095003
link to paper

1. A Study of the Sintering Behaviour of Magnesium Diboride
C E J Dancer, P Mikheenko, A Bevan, J S Abell, R I Todd and C R M Grovenor
Journal of the European Ceramic Society 29 (2009) 1817–1824
link to paper