Marie Curie Actions: Inspiring Researchers - Imdea

with computer-aided design (CAD) tools, and after that they aretransferred to a machine able to form a 3D shape in real time.There’s a box with sand inside, which will be used as a negativefor the mould part.’ So, thanks to the use of sand, the processis cheap and highly versatile.However, sandbox-assisted mould casting is just one aspectof Professor Coatanéa’s research. During the Comode project,he and his colleagues also came up with a metric to measurethe sustainability of a product or service, linking thermodynamicprinciples with a life-cycle perspective, and considering recyclingaspects and the long-term effect of the substances releasedinto the environment.In the case of construction, for example, ‘A house can bebuilt in a forest, so I have to cut down the trees. People willlive in this house for a while. And after maybe one or twocenturies the house will be destroyed,’ Professor Coatanéaexplains. To complete the cycle, ‘we need to rebuild theinitial environment’. Taking into account the consumption ofmaterials and other aspects, the metric provides a measureof the potential negative effect the product – in this case thehouse – will have.Comparing unlike with unlikeWhat is new about this approach is that it manages to coverthe early stages of a product, too, when few numerical data areavailable. In addition, Professor Coatanéa combined the metricwith dimensional analysis. At the end of all of these considerationsand calculations stand dimensionless numbers (without anyphysical dimension) that have two major advantages: theyfacilitate comparisons and similarity analysis. ‘For example, ifI build a bicycle or a car, I will be able to calculate dimensionlessnumbers for both and compare them because they share thesame function – transport – and because they are comparedin the same mathematic space which has been created viathe dimensional analysis,’ he explains. And thus it becomespossible to compare the potential negative impact of a bicycleand a car, in spite of all their obvious differences.Professor Coatanéa’s current research continues to focus onenvironmental and sustainability issues. One of the projects inwhich he is currently involved should facilitate the construction ofecological buildings. But whatever path he takes in his research,he always has to keep the bigger picture in mind. And this isalso what he likes about engineering design. ‘It’s kind of a70