糖心原创

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Michael Johnson

Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering

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Biography

Dr Michael Johnson is a Professor at the 糖心原创 with over 20 years experience. Mechanical Engineering is his vocation; machine design is his teaching specialism. Structural composites, particularly how to manufacture them, has formed the core of his research since 1992. This encompasses large, low cost fibre reinforced thermoplastics composites and heavily loaded composite shafts. Example include, railway vehicle bodysides and axles, respectively. He is a chartered engineer (FIMechE, CEng) with global work experience and an extensive publication record in rail vehicle lightweighting.

Expertise Summary

Dr Johnson's background is in polymer composites paired with engineering design. Trained as a mechanical engineer (CEng, FIMechE), he has worked internationally at Ford (USA), Atkins (UK) and the CRC-ACS (Australia). Specifically, he devises manufacturing processes for structural composites for use across the transport sector. This has included high volume resin transfer moulding with Ford (UK), fire retardant cabins for Incat (Australia), body-in-white structural aluminium bonding (Aston Martin), resin infusion of nacelles (Safran) and low mass railways axles (Horizon 2020/Shift2Rail and EPSRC). His role as Rail Vehicle Design Manager at Aktins gave him the insight to develop an undergraduate Engineering Design course at the 糖心原创. In addition he established a network within the rail industry which he continues to broaden as a programme board member of the UKRRIN Centre of Excellence in Rolling Stock.

He is Head of the Research Group, a core team of 8 academics specialising in areas of composites manufacturing with an overarching interest in circularity. He is the Academic Board Director for Composites UK, a member of the Aerospace Technology Institutue (ATI) Composites Working Group and active in the European Circular Composites Alliance (ECCA) through EuCIA.

Teaching Summary

Dr Johnson's teaching interests are in engineering design. In 2007 he became convenor for the first year design module (MMME1024) taken by the Mechanical, Manufacturing and PDM cohorts. This module… read more

Research Summary

Dr Johnson is Head of the Composites Research Group and was on the Management Board of the EPSRC sponsored, Future Composites Manufacturing Research Hub (CIMComp), a 拢10.3m investment into UK… read more

Selected Publications

  • JOHNSON, M. S., EVANS, R., MISTRY, P. J., LI, S., BRUNI, S., BERNASCONI, A. and CERVELLO, S., 2022. Composite Structures. 290,
  • MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., LI, S., BRUNI, S. and BERNASCONI, A., 2021. Composite Structures. 267,
  • BRUNI, S., MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., BERNASCONI, A., CARBONI, M., FORMAGGIONI, D., CARRA, G., MACCHIAVELLO, S., FERRANTE, E., KAISER, I., VI脩OLAS, J. and MARAZZI, I., 2022. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 0(0), 1-19
  • MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S. and GALAPPATHTHI, U. I. K., 2020. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 235(3), 390-402

Dr Johnson's teaching interests are in engineering design. In 2007 he became convenor for the first year design module (MMME1024) taken by the Mechanical, Manufacturing and PDM cohorts. This module integrates the strands of engineering design practice, machine element understanding, solid modelling skills and hands on machine tool training. In addition, he tutors second year Mechanical and Manufacturing students through their advanced design module and supervises high level design projects (group and individual) for final year students. Since the inception of the Aerospace Engineering course, Dr Johnson has been a tutor within the years 1 and 2 design modules. He is an AdvanceHE Fellow (FHEA) with teaching roles in the following modules.

Undergraduate Courses:

  • MMME1024-Engineering Design and Design Project (Co-Convenor)
  • MMME2044-Design, Manufacture and Project (Design Tutor)
  • MMME1049-Aerospace Design and Materials (Design Tutor)
  • MMME2033-Aerospace Design and Manufacture (Design Tutor)
  • MMME3083-Individual BEng Project (Project Supervisor)
  • MMME4086-MEng Individual Project (Project Supervisor)
  • MMME4085-Group Design and Make (Project Supervisor)

Postgraduate Courses:

  • H798-Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in Composites Manufacture (Course Director)

Current Research

Dr Johnson is Head of the Composites Research Group and was on the Management Board of the EPSRC sponsored, Future Composites Manufacturing Research Hub (), a 拢10.3m investment into UK composites manufacturing. As part of the Hub he chaired the Postgraduate Development Committee which oversaw the training and progression of PhD and EngD research students, delivered the International Exchange programme, and managed Researcher development through the a bespoke Vitae programme.

Dr Johnson's research is in the design and manufacture of polymer composites primarily for the purpose of rail vehicle lightweighting.

This research segregates into two themes:

1. Carbon Fibre Shafts - TALON (Primary Application: Railway vehicle axles).

While hollow carbon fibre (CF) reinforced composite driveshafts for torque transmission are well understood, the design of annular CF tubes subject to transverse/radial/bending loads largely is unresearched. A mathematical tool based on classical laminate theory (CLT) has been implemented to determine fibre failure (according to Tsai-Wu, Maximum Stress, Maximum Strain and other failure criteria) within the tube under combined loading. This permits CF shaft optimisation with respect to mass or geometric constraints in a matter which is less user and computationally intensive than with Finite Element Modelling. Associated research topics include high cycle fatigue failure, dynamic characteristics, impact damage and joining of shaft elements. While a focus has been on railway vehicle axles, applications are ubiquitous and include aeroengine gearboxes, wind turbine shafts as well as space machinery.

2. Large, Low Cost Fibre Reinforced Thermoplastic Structures - HyVR (Primary Application: Railway vehicle bodysides, roofs, intermediate ends and cabs).

Thermostamping of preconsolidated fibre reinfroced thermoplastic (FRTP) sheet has attracted research interest due to the attractive properties of the thermoplastic matrix including reformability, low FST (fire, smoke and toxicity) properties and corrosion resistance. However, for low to medium volume component manufacture (approximately <30,000 parts per annum) the cost of high stiffness steel tooling and associated manipulation is prohibitive. A manufacturing technique (HyVR) has been developed to form FRTP sheet by combining the diaphragm and incremental sheet forming processes. The technique equally can be used for manufacturing CF prepreg using infrared (IR) heating, bulk vacuum shaping and robotic precision forming. Research areas include the coding of a thermo-mechanical simulation tool to incorporate pixelated IR heating for overcoming geometric part variations as well as supplementing FRTP shaping and slippage across the mould surface. The primary focus has been on rail vehicle carbody applications, however, automotive panelling, aerospace surfaces and marine hatches equally are within scope of the HyVR forming process.

Past Research

Dr Johnson's early career focussed on high volume applications for resin transfer moulding. This included the integration of an in-line microwave resin preheating system to minimise mould quench at the injection gate so that cycle times were reduced. Wider research in liquid moulding included infusion of phenolic resins as well as real-time control of the vacuum infusion process. More recently his liquid moulding knowledge was applied to nacelle manufacture with an emphasis on controlling the mould surface quality. Composite joining using reactive adhesives is an ongoing interest which initiated through work with Aston Martin. Gaining a fundamental understanding of their epoxy adhesive for aluminium BIW bonding of the DB9 permitted removal of the oven "degas" stage from their production process, saving significant cost in both capital equipment and manufacturing cycle time.

Dr Johnson has always maintained an interest in composite lightweight for the rail industry. This included infusion of coal freight wagons in the late 1990's and more recently ballast impact performance of pressurised rail freight vehicles. Constant interaction with rail companies in the East Midlands rail corridor through the 2000's has enabled Dr Johnson to work on diverse topics including pantograph to carbody electrical arcing, railcar ingress/egress solutions, tape laying machines for braking trials, thermal energy harvesting of seating and many others. In the mid 2010's he worked with Bombardier Transportation to identify components on a standard multiple unit having a life-cycle business case for replacement in composites. This seminal work was the foundation for his current work in large, low cost, fibre reinforced thermoplastics. In addition, an interest in wheelset mass reduction spawned by the Shift2Rail project, NextGear, gave basis to his current work in lightweight composite shaft design as demonstrated in the CaFiAX project.

Future Research

Full exploitation of TALON and the HyVR process (see Research Summary) are envisaged for the medium term. Both technologies align with lightweighting within the transport sector for reduced CO2 emissions and improved sustainability. More fully, TALON addresses wheelset lightweighting, minimising track impact damage which affords a significant savings to Great British Railways (GBR) while benefiting passengers through less track outages. Also, HyVR is a fully reversible process which solves end of component life difficulties normally associated with thermoset composites. Specifically, a HyVR 3 dimensionally formed FRTP component has an associated digital twin which lends itself to reversing the HyVR process (DeForm) so that a two dimensional FRTP sheet results with fibre angles reinstated to the original orientations.

Full optimisation of the composite tube design in relation to mass as well as high cycle fatigue and shaft element attachment are ongoing. This will broaden to studies on rotating shaft dynamics (for railway wheelsets) and impact damage (due to track ballast).

Dr Johnson welcomes enquiries from potential PhD candidates from Home, EU and International countries who are interested in the following research areas: Manufacture of polymer composites with an emphasis on thermoplastic sheet forming.

  • SHUGUANG LI, MICHAEL S. JOHNSON, ELENA SITNIKOVA, RICHARD EVANS and PREETUM J. MISTRY, 2023. Thin-Walled Structures. 182, 110153
  • PARSONS, A. J., GONCIARUK, A., ZENG, X., THOMANN, F. S., SCHUBEL, P., LORRILLARD, J. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2022. Polymer Testing. 107,
  • JOHNSON, M. S., EVANS, R., MISTRY, P. J., LI, S., BRUNI, S., BERNASCONI, A. and CERVELLO, S., 2022. Composite Structures. 290,
  • CARRA, G., FORMAGGIONI, D., JOHNSON, M. S., MISTRY, P. J., BERNASCONI, A. and BRUNI, S., 2022. Applied Science and Engineering Progress. 15(2),
  • BRUNI, S., MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., BERNASCONI, A., CARBONI, M., FORMAGGIONI, D., CARRA, G., MACCHIAVELLO, S., FERRANTE, E., KAISER, I., VI脩OLAS, J. and MARAZZI, I., 2022. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 0(0), 1-19
  • MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., BRUNI, S., BERNASCONI, A., CARBONI, M. and CERVELLO, S, 2022. The design and development of a lightweight composite railway axle In: World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR), 6-12 Jun 2022.
  • STREET, G. E., MISTRY, P. J. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2022. Impact resistance of fibre reinforced composite railway freight tank wagons In: World Congress on Railway Research (WCRR), 6-10 Jun 2022.
  • ELKINGTON, M. P., MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S. and OU, H., 2022. Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites.
  • MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., LI, S., BRUNI, S. and BERNASCONI, A., 2021. Composite Structures. 267,
  • STREET, G. E., MISTRY, P. J. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2021. Journal of Composites Science. 5(6), 152
  • MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., MCROBIE, C. A. and JONES, I. A., 2021. Journal of Composites Science. 5(3), 12
  • MISTRY, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S. and GALAPPATHTHI, U. I. K., 2020. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 235(3), 390-402
  • MISTRY, P. J. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2019. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Part F: Journal of Rail and Rapid Transit. 234(9), 958-968
  • HARPER, L. T., BURN, D. T., JOHNSON, M. S. and WARRIOR, N. A., 2018. Journal of Composite Materials. 52(9), 1155-1170
  • BURN, D. T., HARPER, L. T., JOHNSON, M., WARRIOR, N. A., NAGEL, U., YANG, L. and THOMASON, J., 2016. Journal of Materials Science. 51(16), 7699-7715
  • CHAN, P. H., TSHAI, K. Y., JOHNSON, M. S., CHOO, H. L., LI, S. and ZAKARIA, K., 2015. Journal of Composite Materials. 49(6), 749-756
  • CHAN, P. H., TSHAI, K. Y., JOHNSON, M. S. and LI, S., 2015. Composite Structures. 133(2015), 312-321
  • JOHANSON, K., HARPER, L. T., JOHNSON, M. S. and WARRIOR, N. A., 2015. COMPOSITES PART A-APPLIED SCIENCE AND MANUFACTURING. 68, 304-312
  • GALAPPATHTHI, U., JOHNSON, M. S. and ASSINDER, G., 2015. Evaluation of the static and dynamic performance of aluminium and composite joints for rail vehicle applications In: ICCM20 The 20th International Conference on Composite Materials, Copenhagen, Denmark.
  • CHAN, P. H., TSHAI, K. Y., JOHNSON, M. S. and LI, S., 2014. Journal of Reinforced Plastics and Composites. 33(6), 514鈥�525
  • CHAN, P. H., JOHNSON, M. S., TSHAI, K. Y. and LI, S., 2014. Chapter 9: Finite element analysis (FEA) modelling of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) repair in offshore risers. In: KARBHARI, V. M., ed., Rehabilitation of pipelines using fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites Woodhead Publishing.
  • BURN, D. T., HARPER, L. T., JOHNSON, M. S., WARRIOR, N. A., YANG, L. and THOMASON, J., 2014. The influence of coupling agent, fibre sizing and matrix degradation on the interfacial shear strength between carbon fibre and polypropylene In: ECCM16 The 16th European Conference on Composite Materials, Seville, Spain.
  • CONSTANTIN, H., KENNEDY, A. R., HARPER, L. T., JOHNSON, M. S. and WARRIOR, N. A., 2014. The effect of nickel coating of carbon fibre on the infiltration pressure required to produce fibre reinforced aluminium In: ECCM16 The 16th European Conference on Composite Materials, Seville, Spain.
  • CHAN, P. H., TSHAI, K. Y., JOHNSON, M. S. and CHOO, H. L., 2014. Advanced Materials Research. 875-877, 1063-1068
  • JOHANSON, K., HARPER, L. T., JOHNSON, M. S., KENNEDY, A. and WARRIOR, N. A., 2013. 糖心原创ing the heterogeneity of discontinuous fiber composites using a new full-field strain measurement In: ICCM19 The 19th International Conference on Composite Materials, Montreal, Canada.
  • CHAN, P. H., TSHAI, K. Y., JOHNSON, M. S., CHOO, H. L. and LI, S., 2012. Advanced Materials Research. 557-559, 2239-2242
  • CHAN, P. H., JOHNSON, M. S., TSHAI K. Y., CHOO, H. L. and LI, S., 2012. A finite element study of the influence of coupled loadings on offshore pipe riser repaired with fibre reinforced composite laminates In: ACCM8 The 8th Asian-Australian Conference on Composite Materials, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • NORTON, T. W., PUJOL, S., JOHNSON, M. S. and TURNER, T. A., 2011. The Journal of Adhesion: Special Issue of ACE-X 2010, The 4th International Conference on Advanced Computational Engineering and Experimenting, Paris, France, 8-9 Jul 2010. 87(7-8), 858-883
  • ALOBAIDANI, A. D., FURNISS, D., JOHNSON, M. S., ENDRUWEIT, A. and SEDDON, A. B., 2010. Optics and Lasers in Engineering. 48(5), 575-582
  • BOND, K., EASTWICK, C., JOHNSON, M. S. and PRENTICE, J., 2010. In: EE2010 The Engineering Education 2010 Conference.
  • MODI, D. K., JOHNSON, M. S., LONG, A. C. and RUDD, C. D., 2009. Composites Science and Technology: Special Issue on the 12th European Conference on Composite Materials (ECCM12), organized by the European Society for Composite Materials (ESCM). 69(9), 1458-1464
  • BROOKS, R., JOHNSON, M. S. and LIU, X. B., 2009. Prediction and Video Tracking of Damage Accumulation in Hybrid Thermoplastic Composite Structures In: ICCM17 The 17th International Conference on Composite Materials, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • ALOBAIDANI, A. D, JOHNSON, M. S. and FURNISS, D., 2009. Optimisation and spectroscopic experiments of cationic epoxy formulations for the application of photocuring of deep resin mediums using side emitting optical fibres In: ICCM17 The 17th International Conference on Composite Materials, Edinburgh, Scotland.
  • ENDRUWEIT, A., ALOBAIDANI, A.D., FURNISS, D., SEDDON, A.B., BENSON, T., JOHNSON, M.S. and LONG, A.C., 2008. Optics and Lasers in Engineering. 46(2), 97-105
  • ENDRUWEIT, A., LONG, A. C. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2008. Smart Materials and Structures. 17(1), 015004
  • ALOBAIDANI, A. D., FURNISS, D., ENDRUWEIT, A., JOHNSON, M. S., BENSON, T. and SEDDON, A. B., 2008. Enhancement of the side emission efficiency of commercial PMMA optical fibres in the UV-A and visible blue spectrum for photocuring of epoxy resins In: ECCM13 The 13th European Conference on Composite Materials, Stockholm, Sweden.
  • ENDRUWEIT, A., RUIJTER, W., JOHNSON, M.S. and LONG, A.C., 2008. Polymer Composites. 29(7), 818-829
  • MODI, D. K., CORREIA, N., JOHNSON, M. S., LONG, A. C., RUDD, C. D. and ROBITAILLE, F., 2007. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 38(5), 1271-1287
  • MODI, D. K, JOHNSON, M. S, LONG, A. C. and RUDD, C. D., 2007. Plastic, Rubber and Composites: Macromolecular Engineering. 36(3), 101-110
  • PUJOL, S, JOHNSON, M. S., HILL, D. J., WARRIOR, N. A. and KENDALL, K. N., 2007. The effects of processing parameters on reactive epoxy adhesives In: ICCM16 The 16th International Conference on Composite Materials, Kyoto, Japan.
  • SCHUBEL, P. J., JOHNSON, M. S., WARRIOR, N. A. and RUDD, C. D., 2006. Composites. Part A, Applied Science and Manufacturing. 37(10), 1757-1772
  • ENDRUWEIT, A., MCGREGOR, P., LONG, A.C. and JOHNSON, M.S., 2006. Composites Science and Technology. 66(11-12), 1778-1792
  • ENDRUWEIT, A., JOHNSON, M. S. and LONG, A. C., 2006. Polymer Composites. VOL 27(2), 119-128
  • TANSLEY, G. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2006. The value of indeterminate design tasks in teaching undergraduate engineers World Transactions on Engineering and Technology Education. 5(2), 307-310
  • ENDRUWEIT, A, JOHNSON, M. S and LONG, A. C., 2006. Textile composites with embedded optical fibres: quantification of bending losses in transmitted light intensity using a Monte-Carlo ray-tracing method In: TEXCOMP8 The 8th International Conference on Textile Composites, Nottingham, UK.
  • ENDRUWEIT, A., LONG, A. C. and JOHNSON, M. S., 2006. Properties of polyester-glass fibre laminates produced by ultraviolet curing In: ECCM12 The 12th European Conference on Composite Materials, Biarritz, France.
  • BROOKS, R., JOHNSON, M. S., LIU, X. B and LONG, A. C., 2006. Predicting damage and failure in hybrid thermoplastic composite structures In: The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Europe 27th International Conference.
  • MODI, D. K., JOHNSON, M. S., LONG, A. C. and RUDD, C. D., 2006. Active control of the vacuum infusion process In: FPCM8 The 8th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials, Douai, France.
  • MODI, D. K., JOHNSON, M. S., LONG, A. C. and RUDD, C. D., 2006. Comparison of the pressure profile and flow progression between radial flow VI and RTM processes In: ECCM12 The 12th European Conference on Composite Materials, Biarritz, France.
  • MODI, D. K, JOHNSON, M. S, LONG, A. C. and RUDD, C. D., 2006. Investigation of the pressure distribution in a radial flow vacuum infusion process In: The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Europe 26th International Conference.
  • TANSLEY, G. and JOHNSON M. S., 2006. In: CDIO2 The 2nd International Conceive, Design, Implement, Operate Conference, Link枚ping, Sweden.
  • MODI, D. K., JOHNSON, M. S., LONG, A. C., ROBITAILLE, F. and RUDD, C. D., 2005. Controlled vacuum infusion of heterogeneous fibrous preforms In: ICCM15 The 15th International Conference on Composite Materials, Durban, South Africa.
  • LONG, A. C., MODI, D. K., JOHNSON M. S. and RUDD, C. D., 2005. Flow process control for liquid composite moulding using "real-time" process modelling In: The Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Europe 25th International Conference.
  • RUDD, C. D., JOHNSON, M. S., HILL, D. J. and BLANCHARD, P. J., 1998. High speed, low investment liquid composite moulding-a technology review Materials Technology. 13(1), 15-21
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and HILL, D. J., 1998. Composites Part A: Applied Science and Manufacturing. 29(1-2), 71-86
  • HILL, D. J., JOHNSON, M. S. and RUDD, C. D., 1998. Design and application of a cylindrical TM020 mode applicator for the in-line microwave preheating of liquid thermosets Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy. 33(4), 216-230
  • RUDD, C. D., DUFFY, C. M., JOHNSON, M. S. and BLANCHARD, P. J., 1998. In: 1998 Society of Plastics Engineers Regional Technical Conference. 177
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and HILL, D. J., 1997. Effects of microwave resin preheating on the quality of RTM laminates In: ICCM11 The 11th International Conference on Composite Materials, Gold Coast, Australia.
  • LONG, A. C., JOHNSON M. S., RUDD, C. D. and BLAGDON, M., 1997. Experimental analysis of fabric deformation mechanisms during preform manufacture In: ICCM11 The 11th International Conference on Composite Materials, Gold Coast, Australia.
  • RUDD, C. D., JOHNSON, M. S., HILL, D. J. and BLANCHARD, P. J., 1997. Towards high speed, low investment liquid moulding In: Advanced Composites Conference and Exposition.
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and HILL, D. J., 1997. Polymer Composites. 18(2), 185-197
  • DUFFY, A. P., JOHNSON, M. S., HILL, D. J. and BENSON, T. M., 1996. IEE Proceedings-Science, Measurement and Technology. 143(6), 362-368
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and BLANCHARD, P. J., 1996. Cycle time reductions in RTM based on resin preheating and phased initiators In: ECCM7 The 7th European Conference on Composite Materials, London, UK. 291-296
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and HILL, D. J., 1996. Microwave assisted resin transfer moulding In: FPCM4 The 4th International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials, Aberystwyth, Wales. 1-29
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and HILL, D. J., 1995. Cycle time reductions in resin transfer moulding using microwave preheating Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. Part B, Journal of Engineering Manufacture. 209(B6), 443-453
  • JOHNSON, M. S. and RUDD, C. D., 1995. High volume automotive manufacturing and liquid composite moulding In: Materials for Lean Weight Vehicles. 189-198
  • JOHNSON, M. S., RUDD, C. D. and HILL, D. J., 1995. Microwave resin preheating for the resin transfer moulding process In: ICAC95 The 4th International Conference on Automated Composites, Nottingham, UK. 291-298
  • JOHNSON, M. S. and GREIF, R., 1991. The Journal of Engineering Materials and Technology (ASME). 114(1), 77-80

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