Designing precision gas flows
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Innovation Funding Researchers Marie Skłodowska Curie actions Bulgaria France Germany Greece Ireland Italy Netherlands United Kingdom Nanotechnologies, advanced materials, advanced manufacturing & processing, and biotechnologydate: 09/10/2014
Project: Gas flows in micro electro mechanical sy...
acronym: GASMEMS
See also: CORDIS
Contact: Contact
The European Union (EU)-funded project GASMEMS investigated some of the key issues surrounding miniaturised gas devices and helped address problems linked to gas flows and heat transfer, paving the way for a new generation of applications in areas as diverse as vacuum extraction for biological samples, temperature micro-sensors and the cooling of electronic components.
“Designing these miniaturised gas devices requires a very precise control of the flow and heat transfer, and so we needed accurate models of the dynamic and thermal behaviour of gases on a very small scale,” says Stéphane Colin, GASMEMS’s project coordinator and professor at the Toulouse-based National Institute for Applied Sciences (INSA Toulouse).
GASMEMS researchers studied the control of flows, separation and mixing, as well as heat transfer management of gases in devices with internal dimensions of just one micrometer. The team then developed models and simulations to better understand these processes, which could lead to novel applications. “GASMEMS research helped improve our understanding through efficient networking and an innovative collaboration between scientists coming from different fields,” explains Colin. “As a result,” he says, “Europe is now recognised as an active player in this field, along with both the United States and Japan.”
GASMEMS project was part of the EU’s Marie Curie training programme for research fellows. The collaboration among researchers – which resulted in a landmark conference on gas micro- flows and a website for technical exchanges – also led to numerous scientific papers.
In Colin’s words “the collaboration offered the fellows mobility to meet and work with other researchers from different countries, and gave them a broad training in modelling, simulation, and experimental techniques.” The involvement of industrial partners in the project also ensured that each research fellow received training in industrial aspects and applications, during summer schools and/or during internships at industrial partners’ companies.
“But the main value of the project was to build a collaborative spirit at a European level,” believes Colin. “The grant helped the young researchers develop open-mindedness, both from a scientific and a cultural point of view. All of them are now very well trained for scientific presentations and self-confident in their capacities,” he adds.
The GASMEMS team gathered 15 PhD students and 5 postdoctoral researchers from a network of 17 European laboratories and industrial partners.
“Designing these miniaturised gas devices requires a very precise control of the flow and heat transfer, and so we needed accurate models of the dynamic and thermal behaviour of gases on a very small scale,” says Stéphane Colin, GASMEMS’s project coordinator and professor at the Toulouse-based National Institute for Applied Sciences (INSA Toulouse).
GASMEMS researchers studied the control of flows, separation and mixing, as well as heat transfer management of gases in devices with internal dimensions of just one micrometer. The team then developed models and simulations to better understand these processes, which could lead to novel applications. “GASMEMS research helped improve our understanding through efficient networking and an innovative collaboration between scientists coming from different fields,” explains Colin. “As a result,” he says, “Europe is now recognised as an active player in this field, along with both the United States and Japan.”
GASMEMS project was part of the EU’s Marie Curie training programme for research fellows. The collaboration among researchers – which resulted in a landmark conference on gas micro- flows and a website for technical exchanges – also led to numerous scientific papers.
In Colin’s words “the collaboration offered the fellows mobility to meet and work with other researchers from different countries, and gave them a broad training in modelling, simulation, and experimental techniques.” The involvement of industrial partners in the project also ensured that each research fellow received training in industrial aspects and applications, during summer schools and/or during internships at industrial partners’ companies.
“But the main value of the project was to build a collaborative spirit at a European level,” believes Colin. “The grant helped the young researchers develop open-mindedness, both from a scientific and a cultural point of view. All of them are now very well trained for scientific presentations and self-confident in their capacities,” he adds.
The GASMEMS team gathered 15 PhD students and 5 postdoctoral researchers from a network of 17 European laboratories and industrial partners.