Nicola Pugno
Organization: University of Trento
Role in my organization: I am Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at the University of Trento, Italy and there Founder and Head of the Laboratory of Bioinspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials & Mechanics (as well as Full Professor of Materials Science at the Queen Mary University of London). See https://pugno.dicam.unitn.it/

Nicola Pugno is a highly esteemed professor who holds dual positions of Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at the University of Trento in Italy and Full Professor of Materials Science at Queen Mary University of London. He is also the founder and head of the Laboratory of Bioinspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials & Mechanics at the University of Trento, where he leads a team of researchers in the field of solid and structural mechanics.

His work at the University of Trento is centered around the modeling and simulation of recycled rubber nanocomposites for specific applications just as in the Life Green Vulcan Project. This research area has gained significant attention due to the growing concern for environmental sustainability and the need for innovative materials that can be used in various industries. The team’s efforts have already resulted in promising outcomes that align with the project goals and objectives, and Professor Pugno has shared his insights and findings through this short interview.

Short Bio & role in the Life Green Vulcan project:

I am Full Professor of Solid and Structural Mechanics at the University of Trento, Italy and there Founder and Head of the Laboratory of Bioinspired, Bionic, Nano, Meta Materials & Mechanics (as well as Full Professor of Materials Science at the Queen Mary University of London). Our activity has been mainly related to the Design and optimization of the rubber nanocomposites. University of Trento is involved in the project Actions and leader of ACTION A.1: Calibration of physically based rubber compound simulation tool. This activity started in September 2020 and ended in February 2021, and it aimed at the definition of a set of parameters describing the needed ingredients to achieve the desired mechanical (and tribological) properties of recycled rubber nanocomposites, useful as input for the subsequent optimal design of devulcanized masterbatches of RUBBER CONVERSION and related products of STELLANTIS (spring pads) and BRIDGESTONE (tyres). Accordingly, this tool has supported the project partners to design, optimize and fabricate the devulcanized masterbatch recipes and realted cited final products.

What are your activities within the project?

Our activity was mainly related to Modelling and simulations for the design of the recycled rubber nanocomposites for the specific applications. Promising results have already been achieved, in line with the planned project activities.

What are the main tasks performed and the main results?

The main outcome achieved is the formulation of an advanced code (TRIBO) for the recycled rubber nanocomposites design and optimization and its application for the fabrication of the masterbatches (RUBBER CONVERSION), spring pads (STELLANTIS) and tyres (BRIDGESTONE).

What are your expectations of the project?

I hope the project will provide us the ability of better designing recycled rubber nanocomposites not only helping the project partners but more in general also other European leading end users.