Concrete is of fundamental importance to construction, a sector that provides 18 million jobs and makes up to 9% of EU’s GDP. It is thus not surprising that European countries invest billions of euros each year in maintaining and repairing concrete infrastructure. A major reason for concrete repair is the development of cracks, which lead to poor durability of concrete or its reinforcement. Many concrete structures are partly or fully embedded in the ground (e.g. foundations, tunnels, sheet pile walls). Detecting or repairing cracks in structures embedded in the ground is difficult; therefore, developing concretes that can self-heal/repair when cracks form is very useful for geotechnical infrastructure applications. MAGIC is an interdisciplinary project that aims to realise self-healing concrete structures for ground engineering applications, using novel biobased processes. The techniques developed in MAGIC will be tested both in the laboratory and in the field and will be evaluated in terms of sustainability. The proposed research addresses the environmental impact and costs of infrastructure maintenance, in line with the European Green Deal and EU priorities for decarbonisation, green and resilient civil infrastructure, resource efficiency and waste minimisation.

When prototyping or producing a machine or its parts, several methods of manufacturing are used, such as machining, additive manufacturing, laser cutting or welding. These manufactured parts are investigated for their manufacturing tolerances upon production via quality control systems, such as a coordinate measurement machine. However, at the current state of the art, one production machine can only perform its one designated process. Additionally, these machines are generally large and bulky computer numerical control systems. As a result, these manufacturing machines are heavy and non-portable products with high investment costs. For these reasons, small investors or start-ups cannot invest in these machines, or very few of them can invest in only one type of manufacturing machine. The aim of this project is to develop a lightweight, portable and low-cost manufacturing cell that can perform precise manufacturing and quality control. This challenge can only be solved by the collaborative work of interdisciplinary partners. Inspired by this action, Izmir Institute of Technology (IZTECH) has been firmly committed to developing and promoting enabling technologies for robotic and manufacturing systems. However, IZTECH could not fully exploit its technological and innovation potential in this field due to limited resources in research and project management. There is a clear need for concrete partnership between IZTECH and internationally leading counterparts to bring this potential into play, and thus to spread scientific excellence in robotics and manufacturing systems over the European Research Area and industry. In this way, Türkiye's excellence capacity and resources can be improved, and the research and innovation gap between Türkiye and the European Union can be closed in this specific area. As a consequence of this project, IZTECH's reputation and capacity to carry out advanced research are expected to grow due to this collaboration.

none

Feeling sexual inside and out: bodies and boundaries in forensic mental health It is widely acknowledged that positive experiences of sexuality and intimacy play a key role in recovery from mental health challenges, and can also be areas of complexity and anxiety for service-users. In forensic mental health settings the lived experiences of service-users’ sexuality and relationships have remained overshadowed by legal and medical concerns surrounding risk and reoffending, and yet, there is a distinct lack of policy in this area. The proposed project involves conducting qualitative empirical pilot research to investigate how service-users, in secure and community forensic mental health settings, experience and make meaning around their sexuality, sensuality and intimate relationships. It aims to identify the role of sexuality in recovery, and examine barriers that might exist with respect to sexual and emotional expression within these settings. Data will be collected from approximately 30 service-users, via semi-structured one-to-one interviews. Interviews will involve using visual and creative methods, such as drawing and modelling, which help participants' embodied, relational experiences. Visual and verbal data will be analysed by drawing on phenomenological and process theory, which helps make sense of the person-in-context, with special emphasis on embodiment, affectivity and intersubjectivity.

Abstracts are not currently available in GtR for all funded research. This is normally because the abstract was not required at the time of proposal submission, but may be because it included sensitive information such as personal details.