Huirong Le

Teaching interests
(1) MECH306 Failure Mechanisms & Mechanics;

(2) DSGN313 Engineering Design and Computation Methods - FEA;

(3) MATS344 Advanced Materials;

(4) MECH516 Simulation of Engineering Systems;

(5) MECH527 Strcutural Analysis with FEM. 

Research interests

PhD or MRes applications in the following topics or related fields are welcome. Limited funding may be available from industries.

(1) Ceramics-polymer hybrid composites for biomedical implants;

(2) Advanced surface coatings for offshore structures and pipelines;

(3) Mechanics of composite pressure vessels and pipelines;

(4) Tribology in power transmission systems.

 

Grants & contracts

1.      “Development of micro-systems for cell and tissue manipulation”; 2007-2011; £83k ; EPSRC CASE PhD studentship with IDB Technologies Inc. (PI)

2.      “Nano-mechanical characterisation of epithelial cells”; 2008-2009; £15k; Royal Society of London (PI)

Publications

Book Chapters:

Chang-An Wang, Huirong Le and Yong Huang (2010). Rapid Assembly Processes of Ordered Inorganic/organic Nanocomposites. Biomimetics Learning From Nature, Amitava Mukherjee (Ed.), ISBN: 978-953-307-025-4, INTECH, Austria. Published available from: http://sciyo.com/articles/show/title/rapid-assembly-processes-of-ordered-inorganic-organic-nanocomposites

J. A. Williams, H. R. Le (2005). Some aspects of tribological behaviour at the micro-scale—with particular reference to MEMS and MMAs. Tribology and Interface Engineering Series (Professor Brian Briscoe), Volume 48, 2005, Pages 77-87.

Book Review:

‘Tribology on the small scale’, Proc IMechE Journal of Engineering Tribology, Volume 223, Number 2 / 2009.

Refereed Journal Papers:

1.  H R Le, S Y Qu, R E Mackay, R A Rothwell (2012), Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Chitosan Composite Membrane Containing Hydroxyapatite Particles. Journal of Advanced Ceramics, under review.

2.    Z J Shou, H R Le, S Y Qu, R A Rothwell, R E Mackay (2012). Fabrication and Mechanical Properties of Chitosan-Montmorillonite Nanocomposite. Key Engineering Materials, accepted.

3. F Stewart, H R Le, J A Williams et al (2012). Characterisation of Friction and Lubrication Regimes in Premium Tubular Connections. Tribology International. DOI: 10.1016/j.triboint.2012.04.011.

4. H R Le, K Y Chen, C A Wang (2012). Effect of pH and Temperature on the Morphology and Phases of Co-precipitated Hydroxyapatite. Journal of Sol-gel Science and Technology 61, 592-599. DOI : 10.1007/s10971-011-2665-7.

5.  H R Le, A Howson, M Ramanauskas, J A Williams (2012). Tribological Characterisation of Air-sprayed Epoxy-CNT Nanocomposite Coatings. Tribology Letters, 45, 301-308 . DOI: 10.1007/s11249-011-9889-0.

6. H. R. Le, A. Howson, M Ramanauskas (2012). Development of Plannar Tribology Tester for Evaluation of Polymer Based Composite Coatings. World Journal of Engineering, accepted.

7.      R E Mackay, N Lionis, H R Le (2011). 3D Surface Topography and Reflectivity of Anisotropic Etched Silicon Micromirrors for BioMEMS. Microsystem Technologies, 17, 1763-1770.

8.      R E Mackay, H R Le, R. P. Keatch (2011), Design optimisation and fabrication of SU-8 based electro-thermal micro-grippers. Journal of Micro-Nano Mechatronics, Volume 6, Issue 1-2, 13-22.

9.      Chang-An Wang, Keyu Chen, Yong Huang, Huirong Le (2010), Electrochemical Synthesis of Layer Structured Nanocomposite Films of Polypyrrole and Montmorillonite, J Mater Res. Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 658-664.

10.      Min-Fang Han, Zhibin Yang, Ze Liu, Hui-Rong Le (2010), Fabrication and Characterizations of YSZ Electrolyte Films for SOFC. Key Engineering Materials Vols. 434-435, pp 705-709.

11.      J. H. He, J. K. Luo, M. Hopcroft, H. R. Le, D. F. Moore (2009), Nanomechanical characterisation of MEMS thin film materials, International Journal of Computational Materials Science and Surface Engineering 2009 - Vol. 2, No.3/4  pp. 342 - 354.

12.  Wei Lin, Chang-An Wang, Huirong Le, Bin Long, Yong Huang (2008), Special Assembly of Laminated Nanocomposite That Mimics Nacre. Mater. Sci. Eng. C, 28, 1031-1037.

13.  Ruifeng Chen, Chang-an Wang, Yong Huang, and Huirong Le (2008), An Efficient Biomimetic Process for Fabrication of Artificial Nacre with Ordered-nanostructure, Material Science and Engineering C: Biomimetic and Supramolecular Systems , Vol. 28, 218-222.

14.  H R Le, J A Williams, J K Luo (2008), Characterization of tribological behaviour of silicon-based materials from micro-scale to meso-scale. International Journal of Surface Science and Engineering, 2, pp.1-13.

15.  J. K. Luo, Y. Q. Fu, H. R. Le, J. A. Williams, S. M. Spearing, A. J. Flewitt and W. I. Milne (2007), Diamond-Like Carbon MEMS, Journal of Micro-mechanics and Micro-engineering, 17, S147-163.

16.  J A Williams, H R Le (2006), Tribology and MEMS, Journal of Physics – D Applied Physics 39, R201-R214, Invited Review.

17.  H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe (2006), A multi-scale model for friction in cold rolling of aluminium alloy. Tribology Letters 22, 95-104.

18.  J. H. He, J. K. Luo, H. R. Le and D. F. Moore (2006), Mechanical Characterization of Biocompatible thin film Materials by Scanning Along Micro-machined Cantilevers for Micro-/Nano-System, Materials Science and Engineering A423, 134-142.

19.  L. G. Ma, Y. Huang, J. L. Yang, H. R. Le, Y. Sun (2006), Control of the inner stresses in the green body formed by gelcasting, Ceramic International 32(2) pp93-98.

20.  J A Williams, H R Le (2005), Some aspects of tribological behaviour at the micro-scale—with particular reference to MEMS and MMAs. Tribology and Interface Engineering Series, Volume 48, Pages 77-87.

21.  H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe, P Wang, G T Burstein (2005), Surface generation and boundary lubrication in bulk forming of aluminium alloy. Wear 258 (10), pp.1567-1576.

22.  H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe, J A Williams (2005), Friction and material transfer in micro-scale sliding contact between aluminium alloy and steel. Tribology Letters 18 (1), pp. 99-104.

23.  A. Stephany, H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe (2005), An efficient finite element model of surface pit reduction on stainless steel in metal forming processes. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, Vol 170/1-2 pp 310-316.

24  P Wang, G T Burstein, H R Le, and M P F Sutcliffe (2005), The electrode potential of freshly generated aluminium surfaces in lubricating oil. Tribology Letters 18(4), pp. 487-491.

25  L. G. Ma, Y. Huang, J. L. Yang, H. R. Le, Y. Sun (2005), Effect of plasticizer on the cracking of ceramic green body in gelcasting. Journal of Materials Science 40 (18): 4947-4949.

26  H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe, P Z Wang and G T Burstein (2004), Surface oxide fracture in cold aluminium rolling. Acta Materialia, 52/4, pp.911-920.

27  H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe (2004), The effect of surface deformation on lubrication and oxide scale fracture in cold metal rolling. Metallurgical and Materials Transactions 35B, pp. 919-928.

28  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe (2004), Finite element modelling of the evolution of surface pits in metal forming. Journal of Materials Processing Technology, 145/3, pp. 391-396.

29  Y Huang, J Yang, H R Le, L Ma (2004), Improving the homogeneity and reliability of ceramic parts with complex shapes using pressure-assisted gel-casting. Materials Letters, 58/30 pp. 3893-3897.

30 H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2003). A friction model for cold strip rolling with two-wavelength surface roughness in the 'mixed' lubrication regime. ASME Journal of Tribology, 125/3, pp. 670-677, 2003.

31 H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2003). Evolution of surface pits on stainless steel strip in cold rolling and strip drawing. ASME Journal of Tribology, 125, pp. 384-390, 2003.

32  M P F Sutcliffe, H R Le and D Farrugia, (2003). Simulation of transfer layer formation in strip drawing of stainless steel. Wear, 254, pp.523-531, 2003.

33  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2002). Measurements of friction in strip drawing under thin film lubrication. Tribology International, 35, pp. 123-128, 2002.

34  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2002). Rolling of thin strip and foil: Application of a tribological model for “mixed” lubrication. ASME Journal of Tribology, 124, pp 129-136, 2002.

35  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2001). A Robust Model for Rolling of Thin Strip and Foil. International Journal of Mechanical Sciences, 43(6), pp. 1405-1419, 2001.

36  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2001). A Semi-empirical Friction Model for Cold Metal Rolling. STLE Tribology Transactions, 44, pp. 284-290, 2001.

37  M P F Sutcliffe, H R Le and R. Ahmed, (2001). Modelling of micro-pit evolution in rolling or strip-drawing. ASME Journal of Tribology, 123, 4, pp. 791-798, 2001.

38  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2000). Analysis of Surface Roughness of Cold Rolled Aluminium Foil. Wear, 244, pp. 71-78, 2000.

39  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, (2000). A Two-Wavelength Model of Surface Flattening in Cold Metal Rolling with Mixed Lubrication. STLE Tribology Transactions, 43, 4, pp. 595-602, 2000.

40 M P F Sutcliffe and H R Le, (2000). Measurements of Surface Roughness in Cold Metal Rolling in the Mixed Lubrication Regime. STLE Tribology Transactions, 43, No. 1, pp39-44, 2000.

41 C Westwood, J. Pan, H R Le, S Kucherenko and A. Cromombe, (2000). A Simplified Model for Cavity Growth along a Grain-Boundary by Coupled Surface and Grain-Boundary Diffusion. European Journal of Mechanics, A/Soilds, 19, pp. 17-30, 2000.

42  J Pan, H Le, S Kucherenko and J A Yeomans, (1998). Model for the Sintering of Spherical Particles of Different Sizes by Solid State Diffusion. Acta Materialia, 46, No. 13, pp 4671-4690, 1998.

43  Z Zhang, Y Huang, Huirong Le, Zuozhao Jiang, Jingyin Yong and Xiaoyan Yie, (1992). Effects of Surface Composition and Coatings on Oxidation Resistance for SiC Whisker. Materials Science Progress, 6/5, pp. 409-413, 1992.

International Conference Proceedings
1.      R E Mackay, H R Le, L Zhang, Fabrication and Micromechanical Testing of Polymer Micro-grippers with Compliant Force Sensing, Proceedings of 19th Annual International Conference on Composites or nano Engineering, Shanghai, China, 24 – 30 July 2011.

2.      H R Le, A Howson, M. Ramanauskas, Mechanical and Tribological Properties of Epoxy-CNT Nanocomposite Coatings. Proceedings of 19th Annual International Conference on Composites or nano Engineering, Shanghai, China, 24 – 30 July 2011. (presenter).

3.      H. R. Le, S. Pranti-Haran, K. Donnelly and R. P. Keatch, Microstructure and Cell Adhesion of Hydroxyapatite/Collagen Composites. Proceedings of 11th International Congress of the IUPESM, Sept 7-12, 2009, Munich, Germany. (presenter).

4.      R. E. Mackay, H. R. Le, R. P. Keatch, Q. Zhao, Manufacture of SU-8 Micro-grippers for Mechanical Characterization of Gut Epithelial Cells. Proceedings of 11th International Congress of the IUPESM, Munich, Germany, Sept 7-12, 2009.

5.      Mackay RE, Le HR. Micro-gripping of Small Scale Tissues. 2008.  IFMBE Proceedings 4th European Congress for Medical and Biological Engineering. Antwerb, Belgian, 23-27 November 2008.

6.      Ruth E Mackay, Huirong Le, Development of Micro-tweezers for Tissue Micro-manipulation, International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering, Shanghai, China, May 16-18, 2008 (presenter).

7.      Johnny H. He, H. R. Le, J. K. Luo, Y. Q. Fu and D. F. Moore, A Critical Comparison and Development of Nano-Mechanical Characterization on MEMS/NEMS Thin Film Materials. Proceedings of SPIE -- Volume 6111. Reliability, Packaging, Testing, and Characterization of MEMS/MOEMS V, Danelle M. Tanner, Rajeshuni Ramesham, Editors, 61110T (Jan. 5, 2006)

8.      M. P. F. Sutcliffe, F. Liu, L. Cheng, H. R. Le, Process map development for chemical mechanical polishing with low-k material, Proceedings of World Tribology Congress III, Washington, D. C., Sep 12-16, 2005.

9.      Johnny H. He, Alfred Chuang, Huirong Le and David F. Moore, Mechanical Characterization of Biocompatible thin film Materials by Scanning Along Micro-machined Cantilevers for Micro-/Nano- System, Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Materials for Advanced Technologies, Singapore, July 2005.

10.  J. J. He, J. K. Luo, H. R. Le, D. F. Moore, MEMS/NEMS mechanical characterization on different thin film materials by scanning along micro-machined cantilevers. On: Proc. SPIE Vol. 5836, p. 208-219, Smart Sensors, Actuators, and MEMS II; Carles Cane, Jung-Chih Chiao, Fernando Vidal Verdu (Eds.), July 2005.

11.  J A Williams, H R Le, Some aspects of tribological behaviour at the micro-scale – with particular reference to MEMS and MMAS. On: Life Cycle Tribology, D. Dawson et al. (Eds.), Elsevier B.V., pp.77-87, 2005. Invited Paper on Leeds-Lyon Tribology Conference, Leeds, Sep 2004.

12.  H R Le, M P F Sutcliffe, P Z Wang, G T Burstein, Development of metal-to-metal Contact in forming of aluminium with boundary lubrication. The 2nd International Conference of Tribology in Manufacturing Processes, Nyborg, Denmark, June 16-18, 2004.

13.  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, Evolution of surface pits on stainless steel strip in cold rolling and strip drawing. ASME/STLE Joint International Tribology Conference, Cancun, Mexico, October 27-30, 2002 (presenter).

14.  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, The role of lubricant entrapment in the evolution of surface pits in metal forming. EuroMech435: Friction and Wear in Metal Forming, Valenciennes, France, June 18-20, 2002, pp. 47-54 (presenter).

15.  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, Rolling of thin strip and foil: Application of a tribological model for “mixed” lubrication. ASME/STLE Joint International Tribology Conference, San Francisco, USA, October 21-24, 2001(presenter).

16.  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, A Semi-empirical Friction Model for Cold Metal Rolling. ASME/ STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, Seattle, USA, October 1-4, 2000 (presenter).

17.  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, A Two-Wavelength Model of Surface Flattening in Cold Metal Rolling with Mixed Lubrication. ASME/ STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, Florida, USA, October 11-13, 1999 (presenter).

18.  M P F Sutcliffe and H R Le, Measurements of Surface Roughness in Cold Metal Rolling in the Mixed Lubrication Regime. ASME/ STLE International Joint Tribology Conference, Florida, USA, October 11-13, 1999.

19.  H R Le and M P F Sutcliffe, Surface Finish of Cold Rolled Aluminium Foils, IOM Conference on Modelling of Metal Rolling Process, London, December 1999, pp468-476.

20.  H R Le, Y Huang, J G Wu, Toughening of Silicon Carbide Whisker in Silicon Nitride Matrix Composites at High Temperatures. On: Transactions of the Materials Research Society of Japan, 1994, Vol.16, Ch.355, No. A &, pp.849-851. Presented on the 3rd IUMRS International Conference on Advanced Materials (ICAM), Japan, Aug 31- Sep 4, 1993.

21.  J Chen, Y Huang, J B Li, H Guo, H R Le, Preparation and Properties of La-Y-Si-O-N Oxynitride Glasses. On: Transactions of the Materials Research Society of Japan, 1994, Vol.16, Ch.355, No. A &, pp.31-34. Presented on: The 3rd IUMRS International Conference on Advanced Materials (ICAM), Japan, Aug 31- Sep 4, 1993.

22.  Y Huang, H R Le, J B Li, and J G Wu, Mechanical Properties of Silicon Carbide Whisker-Reinforced Silicon Nitride Matrix Composites. Fall Meeting of the Materials Research Society, Pittsburgh, PA, USA, Nov 30-Dec 3, 1992, Vol. 287, pp 493-497.

23.  J B Li, H R Le, Y Huang, LL Zheng, and JG Wu, Interface Design and a New Process to Produce SiC(w)/Si3N4 Ceramic Composite. The 4th International Symposium on Ceramic Materials and Components for Engines, Goteborg, Sweden, June 10-21, 1992, pp.781-788.

Conferences organised
Session Chair - General Applications, 19th International Conference on Composite Engineering/Nano Engineering, Shanghai, China, 24-30 July 2011.
Session Chair - Biomimetic Materials and Technology, BIT' s 1st Annual World Congress of NanoMedicine-2010 (NanoMedicine-2010), Beijing, China, 23-25 October 2010.
 

Other academic activities
(1) Mechanical testing and modelling of particulate or fibre reinforced composites;

(2) Metal or polymer based composite coating processes for offshore structures and pipelines;

(3) Design, fabrication, microstructure and mechanical modelling of ceramic-polymer hybrid nanocomposites;

(4) Nanomechanical characterisation of ultrathin surface coatings;

(5) Modelling of tool-workpiece contact mechanics and tribology in metal forming processes;
 

Additional information
4-7 November 2011    Invited talk on Chinese International Conference of Advanced Ceramics 2011, Xiamen, China.

9 August 2011    PhD candidate - Ruth MacKay passed the viva and awarded PhD.

24-30 July 2011    Conference Session Chair - 19th International Conference of Composite and Nano Engineering 2011, Shanghai, China

12 May 2011    PhD candidate - Ruth Mackay submitted her thesis awaiting for viva voce

3 April 2011    Postdoc Associate - Richard Rothwell transferred to Plymouth

1 April 2011    PhD candidate - Fiona Stewart transferred to Plymouth

22 March 2011    Awarded Pump Priming funding by School Research Committee for research in  Nanomechanics and Erosion of PolyimideClay Nanocomposite Coatings.

23-25 October 2010    Chaired Track 2-3 Biomimetic Nanomaterials & Bio-inspired Nanotech on BIT's 1st Annual World Congress of NanoMedicine-2010, Beijing, China. 

10 August 2010     Richard Rothwell joined the group as Postdoc KTP Associate.

6 August 2010    Environment and Energy Management:http://enviroireland.com/?s=Huirong+Le&x=35&y=16

28 July 2010    Offshore Magazine: http://www.offshore-mag.com/index/article-display/2321043277/articles/offshore/drilling-completion/north-sea-northwest-europe-2/2010/07/university-examines.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=KTP

27 July 2010    The Times – Need to know – Engineering: http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/public/needtoknow/article2660680.ece

27 July 2010    Press and Journal: http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1844256?UserKey=

Nov 2009    Awarded second KTP with Hunting Ernergy Service with Hunting Energy Services by TSB.

Sep 2009    Fiona Stewart joined the group as KTP Associate and PhD candidate.

June 2009    Awarded a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Hunting Energy Services by TSB.

June 2008    Awarded a Research Grant by Royal Society to develop mechanical test method of epithelial cell.

May 2008    Awarded International Travel Grant by Royal Academy of Engineer to attend ICBBE 2008 in Shanghai, China.

June 2007    Awarded an EPSRC CASE PhD studentship in collaboration with IDB Technologies Inc.

Jan 2007    Paper with Professor John Williams "Tribology of MEMS", Journal of Physics – D 39 (2006) R201-R214 - Highlighted by IOP as one of the most referenced articles published in Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics in 2006.

Links
School of Marine Science and Engineering: http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/

Advanced Composites Manufacturing Centre (ACMC): http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/sme/acmc/

Performance, Reliability and Integrity of Structures and Materials (PRISM): http://www.tech.plym.ac.uk/Research/PRISM/index.htm