Dr Oliver Duncan Member of the IMechE (CEng)
Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering
My profile
Biography
Mechanical engineer, PhD in advanced materials, MSc in sports engineering. I develop new materials and structures for impact protection. I co-lead a special interest group on Mechanical Metamaterials, within the UK Metamaterials Network.
Academic and professional qualifications
PhD in Advanced Materials
Chartered Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
Fellow of the AdvancedHE (formerly the Higher Education Academy)
Expert reviewer
Article reviewer for Sports Engineering and Materials journals, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the EPSRC
Editorial Board membership
Guest Editor for a Special Issue on Sporting Protective Equipment in Smart Materials and Structures, and a Topical Collection on Sports Equipment and Materials in Applied Sciences (MDPI)
Membership of Professional Bodies
Chartered Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE)
Member of the International Sports Engineering Association
OTHER DISTINCTIONS
• Submitted for REF 2021.
Organising committee for international and national conferences on auxetic materials, experimental mechanics and metamaterials.
Personal Website
https://metamaterials.network/category/sigs-forums/mechanical-metamater…
Projects
Mechanical metamaterials
Auxetic materials
Finite element analysis
Material characterisation
Experimental mechanics
Sports injury prevention
Teaching
Why do I teach?
Sports engineering, impact testing and novel materials and structures showcase some of the most exciting aspects of solid mechanics, dynamics and materials engineering - with applications including fashion design, protective equipment and manufacturing. I enjoy sharing these interests.
How I’ll teach you
With examples of exciting applications.
Why study…
Sports engineers combine Interdisciplinary engineering with human movement, to improve performance and safety, and promote physical activity. Sports participants often rely on advanced materials to safely improve their performance, lowering concussion risk in extreme sports or contact sports, injuries to the lower limb in running, and even the mass of bicycles. Sports engineers learn about the latest material innovations, and how to design equipment around people.
Postgraduate teaching
Computational Mechanics
Computer Aided Engineering
MEng Group Project
Research Methods and Skills
Subject areas
Sports Engineering and Solid Mechanics
Supervision
Haid, D. Smart materials for ice-hockey helmets, PhD commenced September 2019.
Research outputs
As a PhD student and Postdoc, I developed foams for impact protection and am working with sports brands to implement them. I continue to develop, characterize and apply new materials to impact protection, using novel and established auxetic open and closed cell foam fabrications, 3D printing, finite element modelling, digital image correlation and impact testing.
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Chapters in books
Allen, T., Shepherd, J., Wood, J., Tyler, D., Duncan, O. (2021) 'Wearables for disabled and extreme sports.' Digital Health Exploring Use and Integration of Wearables. Academic Press,
Allen, T.B., Duncan, O., Foster, L., Senior, T., Zampieri, D., Edeh, V., Alderson, A. (2017) 'Auxetic Foam for Snow-Sport Safety Devices.' In Scher, I., Greenwald, R., Petrone, N. (ed.) Snow Sports Trauma and Safety: Conference Proceedings of the International Society for Skiing Safety, 21st Volume. Springer, pp. 145-159.
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Journal articles
Duncan, O. (2024) 'Fast optimisation of honeycombs for impact protection.' International Journal of Impact Engineering, 189
Haid, D., Foster, L., Hart, J., Greenwald, R., Allen, T., Sareh, P., Duncan, O. (2023) 'Mechanical metamaterials for sports helmets: structural mechanics, design optimisation, and performance.' Smart Materials and Structures, 32(11) pp. 113001-113001.
Parisi, M., Allen, T., Colonna, M., Pugno, N.M., Duncan, O. (2023) 'Indentation and impact response of conventional, auxetic, and shear thickening gel infused auxetic closed cell foam.' Smart Materials and Structures,
Duncan, O., Chester, M., Wang, W., Alderson, A., Allen, T. (2023) 'Effect of twist on indentation resistance.' Materials Today Communications, 35pp. 105616-105616.
Haid, D., Duncan, O., Hart, J., Foster, L. (2023) 'Free-fall drop test with interchangeable surfaces to recreate concussive ice hockey head impacts.' Sports Engineering, 26(1) pp. 25-25.
Duncan, O., Foster, L., Allen, T., Alderson, A. (2023) 'Effect of Poisson's ratio on the indentation of open cell foam.' European Journal of Mechanics A: Solids, 99pp. 104922-104922.
Duncan, O., Leslie, G., Moyle, S., Sawtell, D., Allen, T. (2022) 'Developments on auxetic closed cell foam pressure vessel fabrications.' Smart Materials and Structures, 31(7) pp. 074002-074002.
Novak, N., Duncan, O., Allen, T., Alderson, A., Vesenjak, M., Ren, Z. (2021) 'Shear modulus of conventional and auxetic open-cell foam.' Mechanics of Materials, 157
Duncan, O., Allen, T. (2021) 'Effect of Compressive Strain Rate on Auxetic Foam.' Applied Sciences, 11(3)
Duncan, O., Alderson, A., Allen, T. (2021) 'Fabrication, characterisation and analytical modelling of gradient auxetic closed cell foams.' Smart Materials and Structures, 30(3) pp. 035014-035014.
Duncan, O., Allen, T., Birch, A., Foster, L., Hart, J., Alderson, A. (2020) 'Effect of steam conversion on the cellular structure, Young’s modulus and negative Poisson’s ratio of closed cell foam.' Smart Materials and Structures, 30(1) pp. 015031-015031.
Duncan, O., Crespo, J., Alderson, A., Montans, F.J. (2020) 'Auxetic orthotropic materials: Numerical determination of a phenomenological spline-based stored density energy and its implementation for finite element analysis..' Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 371
Duncan, O., Naylor, G., M, J.G., Allen, T., Foster, L., Hart, J., Alderson, A. (2020) 'Plantar Pressure Distribution under Uniform and Gradient Foam during Running and Jumping.' The 13th Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association,
Allen, T., Pagan, M., Martin, R., Duncan, O. (2020) 'Effect of Rest Periods on Mechanical Ageing of Running Shoes.' The 13th Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association,
Duncan, O., Clegg, F., Essa, A., Bell, A.M.T., Foster, L., Allen, T., Alderson, A. (2019) 'Effects of Heat Exposure and Volumetric Compression on Poisson's Ratios, Young's Moduli, and Polymeric Composition During Thermo-Mechanical Conversion of Auxetic Open Cell Polyurethane Foam.' Physica Status Solidi (B) Basic Research, 256(1)
Duncan, O., Shepherd, T., Moroney, C., Foster, L., Venkatraman, P., Winwood, K., Allen, T.B., Alderson, A. (2018) 'Review of Auxetic Materials for Sports Applications: Expanding Options in Comfort and Protection.' Applied Sciences, 8(6)
Foster, L., Peketi, P., Allen, T.B., Senior, T., Duncan, O., Alderson, A. (2018) 'Application of Auxetic Foam in Sports Helmets.' Applied Sciences, 8(3)
Allen, T., Hewage, T., Newton-Mann, C., Wang, W., Duncan, O., Alderson, A. (2017) 'Fabrication of Auxetic Foam Sheets for Sports Applications.' physica status solidi (b), 254(12)
Duncan, O., Allen, T.B., Foster, L., Senior, T., Alderson, A. (2017) 'Fabrication, characterisation and modelling of uniform and gradient auxetic foam sheets.' Acta Materialia, 126pp. 426-437.
Duncan, O., Foster, L., Senior, T., Alderson, A., Allen, T.B. (2016) 'Quasi-static characterisation and impact testing of auxetic foam for sports safety applications.' Smart Materials and Structures, 25(5) pp. 054014-054014.
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Non-peer reviewed articles / reviews
Duncan, O., Bailly, N., Laird, K., Shivkumar, M., Bowman, T., Goff, J.E., Scarpa, F. (2024) Focus on smart materials and structures for sporting protective equipment.
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Conference papers
Haid, D., Duncan, O., Hart, J., Foster, L. (2023) 'Adaptable Mechanical Metamaterial for Ice Hockey Helmet Liners.' 13/9/2023 - 15/9/2023. International Research Council on the Biomechanics of Injury, pp. 972-973.
Allen, T., Duncan, O., Pagan, M., Martin, R. (2020) 'Effect of Rest Periods on Mechanical Ageing of Running Shoes.'
Duncan, O., Naylor, G., Godfrey, J.M., Allen, T., Foster, L., Hart, J., Alderson, A. (2020) 'Plantar Pressure Distribution under Uniform and Gradient Foam during Running and Jumping.' In Proceedings 13th Conference of the International Sports Engineering Association. 49. Tokyo/Online, 22/6/2020 - 26/6/2020. MDPI,
Duncan, O., Allen, T.B., Foster, L., Gatt, R., Grima, J., Alderson, A. (2018) 'Controlling Density and Modulus in Auxetic Foam Fabrications—Implications for Impact and Indentation Testing.' 2. 26/3/2018 - 29/3/2018. MDPI,
Duncan, O., Foster, L., Senior, T., Allen, T., Alderson, A. (2016) 'A Comparison of Novel and Conventional Fabrication Methods for Auxetic Foams for Sports Safety Applications.' 147. pp. 384-389.