Malcolm Thomas

Malcolm attended Fish Hoek High School, where he matriculated with a distinction in 2017, and received full colours for sport. He went on to study a BSc in Mechanical Engineering at UCT in 2018. As his final year research project, Malcolm conducted a post-test investigation into a planetary centrifugal mixer prototype that had been developed at UCT. This included modal analysis of the vibrations in the device, as well as finite element simulations to assess the loading conditions. He completed his practical experience at Kelp Products, shadowing their plant maintenance team. During his time there he also conducted a capability study on their bottling line, to assess the performance of their machinery. He graduated with honours in 2021.

He is currently an MSc candidate at BISRU, under the supervision of Dr Govender and Dr Cloete. His project entails designing, building, and commissioning a tensile split Hopkinson pressure bar. This apparatus aims to gather high strain rate data for material characterisation, improving the accuracy of finite element simulations. This design is an improvement on the currently used tensile bars at BISRU, as it is fully momentum trapped and allows for complete specimen recovery.