Professor Gethin has made research contribution in the scientific areas that support net shape manufacturing and printing and coating technology.  Following graduation and a period in industry, he completed a PhD in Superlaminar Flow in Journal Bearings that provided the opportunity to develop skills that combine fundamental research in numerical methods with experimentation.

In net shape manufacturing, he has contributed significantly in developing and applying numerical and experimental techniques in casting process variants.  Working closely with industry, this has led to documented experimental studies that may be used to benchmark simulation.  Recent work has also led for the first time to an integrated system to simulate the direct variant of the squeeze casting process together with an exploration of optimisation techniques that may be used to define process control.  Professor Gethin has made significant contributions in fundamental work in the area of powder forming.  He was one of the first to develop and apply numerical schemes to simulate the compaction process using a continuum approach and to support this by exploring methods to characterise the mechanical response of powder together with gathering pressing data for validation.  More recently, he has undertaken research to develop and apply the combined discrete and finite element approach to powder forming, with emphasis on tabletting.  Uniquely, this uses a discrete scheme to capture gross particle movement and a finite element analysis to compute particle deformation, including the ability to use different material models for each particle.

His work in printing and coating research is undertaken within the Welsh Centre for Printing and Coating.  During the last ten years, this Centre has undertaken fundamental scientific work on high speed, high volume graphics printing processes.  This has revealed the fundamental understanding that is required to develop these processes scientifically (historically these developments were based on craft knowledge).  In this work, he has drawn on his knowledge of thin film hydrodynamics to develop simulation methods and experiments to establish the fundamental process understanding.  This work is now being taken forward with current application in the field of polymer electronics and with a future emphasis on biopolymers and biosensing devices.

Professor Gethin has published about one hundred and eighty articles that describe and document his research and he was awarded a senior doctorate in 1997.  He is also a member of the editorial board for a number of International Journals.

Example Publications

• RW Lewis, EW Postek, Z Han and DT Gethin; A Finite Element Model of the Squeeze Casting Process; International Journal for Numerical Methods in Heat and Fluid Flow, 16,  2006, p539-572. – recipient of outstanding paper award 2007.
• RW Lewis, DT Gethin, XS Yang and RC Rowe; A Combined Finite-Discrete Element Method for Simulating Pharmaceutical Powder Tabletting,  IJNME, 62, 2005, p853-869.
• DT Gethin, X-S Yang and RW Lewis; A Two Dimensional Combined Discrete and Finite Element Scheme for Simulating the Flow and Compaction of Systems Comprising Irregular Particulates; Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, 195, 2006, p5552-5565.
• IM Cameron, DT Gethin and JH Tweed; Friction Measurement in Powder Die Compaction by a Shear Plate Technique; Powder Metallurgy, 45, 2002, p345-353.
• IM Cameron and DT Gethin; Discrete Model of Friction; J of Physics, Modelling and Simulation in Materials Science and Engineering, 9, 2001, p289-307.
• DT Gethin, P Mosbah, et al; Comparison of Computer Models Representing Powder Compaction Process; Powder Metallurgy, 42, 1999, pp301-311.
• SM Hamblyn, EH Jewell, TC Claypole and DT Gethin; An Investigation into Screen Printing Using UV Process Colour Inks, Surface Coatings International, Part B: Coatings Transactions, 85, 2002, p95-104.
• IJ Fox, TC Claypole, MFJ  Bohan, EH  Jewell and DT Gethin; Ink Film Thickness Prediction in Half Tone Screen-Printing, Proc IMechE (E), 217, 2003, p345-359.
• IJ Fox, EH Jewell, TC Claypole and DT Gethin; An Experimental Investigation into Ink Transfer Using a Roller Squeegee in High Speed Screen Printing; Proc IMechE(E), 217, 2003, p307-321.
• MFJ Bohan, IJ Fox, TC Claypole and DT Gethin; Influence of non-Newtonian fluids on the performance of a soft elastohydrodynamic nip contact with surface roughness IMechE part J, vol 217, pp 447-459, 2003.
• EH Jewell, TC Claypole and DT Gethin; The Effect of Exposure to Inks and Solvents on Squeegee Performance., Surface coatings international Part B: Coatings transactions, Journal of the Oil and Colour Chemists Association, 87, 2004.