The environmental impact of animal agriculture has increased the demand for more sustainable alternatives to conventional meat products. Plant-based meat alternatives offer a promising option, but reproducing the characteristic fibrous structure and texture of meat remains challenging. High-moisture extrusion (HME) is widely used to create fibrous structures in plant-based meat alternatives, yet the mechanisms underlying structure formation across different length scales remain insufficiently understood. The aim of this thesis was to investigate how multiscale structure develops during HME of plant-based proteins, with particular emphasis on nm-to-µm scale structural rearrangements and their role in larger scale structure formation and the final texture of the extrudates. To achieve this aim, SAS techniques were used alongside complementary structural and textural characterisation methods, employing both ex situ and in situ approaches. In Chapter 2, we demonstrated that the complementary use of SANS and (U)SAXS is essential for SPC systems because each method provides different SLD contrasts. Under HME conditions, moderately unfolded yet globular proteins assemble into nano-aggregates that grow in the screw section until reaching a stable size (∼30 nm); these aggregates likely serve as building blocks for protein fibrils. Alignment of protein fibrils is observed at length scales larger than individual nano-aggregates, with greater alignment in the cooling die, especially near the colder walls. In Chapter 3, we confirmed that nm-to-µm scale alignment is already established within the extruder barrel, whereas the development of the lamellar phase-separated structure takes place predominantly in the cooling die. The use of a breaker plate promotes a more homogeneous distribution of structure and temperature in the protein melt. In Chapter 4, we investigated the effect of pH-shifting on multiscale structural anisotropy and texture. pH-shifting was shown to have a pronounced, non-monotonic effect. At the nm scale, SAS indicates that at pH > pI protein nano-aggregates increase in size and a transition from particulate to fibrillar-like aggregation takes place. Aligned lamellar structures emerge at pH > pI and diminish again at pH ≫ pI. In Chapter 5, we clarified mechanisms of structure formation by linking the heat-set gelation behaviour of fractionated 11S and 7S soy globulins to the multiscale structures. 7S globulin promotes deformability and facilitates flow-induced alignment, whereas 11S globulin contributes to network strengthening through covalent crosslinks. In Chapter 6, we developed a custom ‘neutron-transparent’ cooling die to enable direct in situ SANS measurements. The results show that protein aggregation in the extruder barrel is primarily governed by protein charge. Notably, partial relaxation of nanoscale alignment in the cooling die does not eliminate the macroscopic lamellar pattern, demonstrating that the final mm-scale structure reflects the early alignment state established at the cooling die entrance. ... Read more

Reusing oil and gas reservoirs for geothermal energy production in the Dutch offshore could be an interesting energy resource for the energy transition. The Dutch offshore contains a large number of abandoned, and producing wells that are connected to hydrocarbon reservoirs. These reservoirs have undergone significant amounts of research, and large datasets are available on them. This reduces the need for expensive and extensive research. Additionally, developed reservoirs already have the necessary infrastructure used for production built around them, such as a platform, wells and technical equipment.

In this report a portfolio of reservoirs is constructed that have the highest probability of displaying an adequate geothermal potential for producing electricity. This is done by 1): assessing the reservoir wells on the temperature in the reservoir formation and 2): plotting the wells that show an adequate temperature over an interpolated permeability map. From this map the reservoirs with the highest formation temperatures and permeabilities are selected. The geothermal electricity production potential of the selected reservoirs is then evaluated by estimating their power output with DoubletCalc. To do so, the reservoirs are assumed to be laterally homogeneous on rock type, porosity, and permeability.

Of the 325 offshore reservoirs in the Netherlands, only 6 reservoirs met the required temperatures of over 120C and an expected permeability of over 40mD. These cut-off values were introduced based on the fact that below these values the economic potential of a reservoir becomes riskful. Using the available data on NLOG an estimate of the power output could be made, which unfortunately resulted in low expected thermal power outputs (P50 < 1MW). This results from the low permeabilities in the aquifer layer, and lead to a low flow rate in the production well. As the thermal energy needs to be converted to electricity, which only returns around 14% for a Binary conversion system, the electrical power estimates are not sufficient to make such projects economically viable. The reservoirs selected in this study are thus not suitable for development of geothermal electricity production. The output is too low and the costs to realize such a project would most likely be much larger than the potential of the project.

As these reservoirs were the best case scenario reservoirs from the reservoir selection process, the conclusion can be drawn that the hydrocarbon reservoirs in the dutch offshore are not good enough to reuse, as is. Further research should therefore be done on Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS). Here the permeability is enhanced through methods such as 'fracking', which could potentially increase the reservoir power output due to higher flow rates. ... Read more

Offshore wind maintenance requires decisions under uncertain component health, weather-driven accessibility, logistical constraints, and costly downtime. This thesis develops a framework to investigate how prognostic information can
support such decisions. It compares optimization-based maintenance planning using mixed-integer linear programming with learning-based planning using deep reinforcement learning. The results highlight their respective strengths and
limitations, supporting the development of more adaptive, reliable, and cost-effective offshore wind O&M decision-support systems. ... Read more

Physics-based models of biomolecular systems that explicitly represent biomolecular structure and mechanics, such as atomistic molecular dynamics simulations, are well established because experimental data have been available to iteratively improve and validate models. Now, simulations of the biological mesoscale are growing in importance because of the improvements in experimental tools to visualize this regime. This includes techniques such as cryo-electron microscopy and tomography, microscopies that follow individual proteins in their cellular contexts, in situ scattering to follow the dynamic evolution of biomolecular assembly, and omics tools. Together, these approaches, alone and in combination, have revealed the importance of interactomes that bridge multiple scales. Here, we describe the theoretical, computational, and cultural challenges that need to be overcome to gain an understanding of the biological mesoscale and offer potential solutions. This commentary is the result of a joint CECAM/CCPBioSim discussion workshop on how the community should address the challenges of biomolecular simulations at the mesoscale, held in Trento, Italy, in the summer of 2024. The aim is to provide a broad overview of the tools and techniques relevant to the biological mesoscale and to signpost readers to more detailed discussions in the cited literature. ... Read more

Hybrid beamforming networks lack flexibility due to severe limitations of analogue design. Recent research did not adequately break down the problem, focusing only on RF circuit design. Indeed, optimisation was the main focus instead of mathematics and physics. In this paper, generating orthogonal weight coefficients is considered first. This new approach enables independent design of the three components of the system: Antenna, then Beamforming, and finally Beamformer. Single-port excitation is enabled, allowing multiple beamformer topologies to be considered. A new method for incorporating mutual coupling correction into the generation of orthogonal weight coefficients is developed and studied for the first time. Simulations were conducted using Matlab and then CST to select the most efficient Beam Forming Network architecture. Finally, a $4\times 8$ BFN prototype was manufactured for demonstration. Overall, this new method reduces imprecision across the entire system. It extends steering capability and simultaneously improves the final Signal-to-Interference Ratio and beam shape, enabling better connectivity and efficiency in 5G telecommunication systems. ... Read more