The University of Sheffield
Department of Mechanical Engineering

Dr Matt Carré

MEng, PhD

Dr Matt Carre

Senior Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering

Second Year Tutor

Department of Mechanical Engineering
Sir Frederick Mappin Building
Mappin Street
Sheffield
S1 3JD
UK

Telephone: +44 (0) 114 222 7839
Fax: +44 (0) 114 222 7890

email : M.J.Carre@sheffield.ac.uk

Profile

Matt is an alumnus of the department, having completed a Masters degree here in 1996 and a PhD in 2000. He is now a senior lecturer in the department and second year tutor. He has previously acted as editor of the international journal, Sports Engineering.

Research Interests

Matt's research interests involve applying mechanical engineering concepts to situations that involve human interactions with products, devices and surfaces. This has developed from past research which focused on the development of sports equipment and surfaces and can now be considered as five main themes:

Shoe-Surface Interactions

This research theme was originally concerned with sports shoes and surfaces (particularly for football and tennis) but has since diversified to include pedestrian slips leading to collaboration with health and safety labs. Work so far has included modelling of stud-soil interactions; the development of new biomechanically informed shoe-traction measurement devices; and an improved understanding of the tribological mechanisms at play in a variety of human-floor interactions.

Tribology of Human Skin

Work on this area was initially carried out as an undergraduate project on rugby ball handling performance. This has since led to the completion of four PhD studies and numerous papers on the fundamental understanding of the effects of surface roughness, moisture and loading on skin tribology, as well as a range of medical and consumer applications (in collaboration with Dr Roger Lewis).

Human-Object Interactions

Matt's research on human-object interactions is generally concerned with the interface between the hand and a product or device. Recent work has included vibrations felt in hand-held objects and devices that use vibro-tactile feedback to communicate (e.g. mobile phones). This has led to collaboration with the Department of Psychology and the Centre for Assistive Technology and Digital Healthcare.

Modelling Damage to Human Bones

Work on modelling damage to human bones began as a collaborative undergraduate project with Dr Gwen Reilly from Engineering Materials. A PhD study and seed-corn cross-faculty funding has since led to work on a protocol for assessing non-accidental bone damage in children.

Design Methodologies for Sports Equipment and Surfaces

This research area is driven by real problems experienced by industry and/or sports governing bodies. Solving these problems aids the improvement of sports products and, ultimately, enhances people's enjoyment of sport.

Research projects

Current and recent research projects led by or involving Dr Carré include:

Teaching

Journal articles

Chapters

  • Barber S & Carré M (2009) Soccer ball aerodynamics In Peters M (Ed.), Computational Fluid Dynamics for Sport Simulation (pp. 83-102). Berlin Heidelberg: Springer.

Conferences

  • Clarke J, Carre M, Damm L & Dixon S (2012) The influence of surface characteristics on the tribological interactions at the shoe-surface interface in tennis. ENGINEERING OF SPORT CONFERENCE 2012, 34, 866-871.
  • Mylon P, Carré MJ, Lewis R & Martin N (2011) Review of test methods relevant to medical glove design. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 700-704.
  • Clarke J, Carré M, Richardson A, Yang Z, Damm L & Dixon S (2011) Understanding the traction of tennis surfaces. Procedia Engineering, 13, 402-408.
  • Clarke JD & Carre MJ (2010) Improving the performance of soccer boots on artificial and natural soccer surfaces. ENGINEERING OF SPORT 8: ENGINEERING EMOTION - 8TH CONFERENCE OF THE INTERNATIONAL SPORTS ENGINEERING ASSOCIATION (ISEA), 2(2), 2775-2781.
  • Nunns M, Dixon SJ, Clarke JD & Carre MJ (2009) Boot-insole effects on heel and fifth metatarsal loading for running and turning in soccer.. Footware Science, 1(1: Proceedings of the Ninth Footwear Biomechanics Symposium), 27-28.
  • Clarke JD, Carre MJ & Kirk RF (2008) A comparison of test methodologies to enable the improved understanding of soccer boot traction. ENGINEERING OF SPORT 7, VOL 1, 605-611.
  • Barber S, Seo K, Asai T & Carre MJ (2008) Experimental investigation of the effects of surface geometry on the flight of a non-spinning soccer ball. IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SPORTS II, 397-402.
  • Tomlinson SE, Lewis R & Carre MJ (2008) Friction between players' hands and sports equipment. ENGINEERING OF SPORT 7, VOL 1, 27-34.
  • Carre MJ & McHutchon MA (2008) Human perception of different aspects of field hockey stick performance. IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SPORTS II, 485-490.
  • Tomlinson SE, Lewis R & Carre MJ (2008) Improving the understanding of grip. IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON SPORTS II, 129-134.
  • Young C, Fleming PR, Dixon S & Carre MJ (2008) Shoe signature monitoring for advanced running technique (P145). ENGINEERING OF SPORT 7, VOL 2, 35-43.
  • Kirk B & Carre M (2007) Applying engineering principles to improve the performance of sports equipment: Recent developments at the University of Sheffield. Proceedings of UK-China Sports Engineering Workshop, 9-14.
  • Seo K, Barber S, Asm T, Carré M & Kobayashi O (2007) The flight trajectory of a non-spinning soccer ball. Impact of Technology on Sport II, 385-390.
  • Griffiths IW, Evans CJ & Carre MJ (2007) The measurement of all the important 3-d parameters of a spinning football by optoelectronic methods. CHALLENGES IN REMOTE SENSING, 33-38.
  • Clarke JD, Carre MJ, Nunns M & Dixon S.J () A player-perception study of the comfort of soccer boots. The Impact of Technology on Sport 3, 201-205.

Other

  • Carre M & Lewis R (2012) Special Issue on Tribology of Sport. PROCEEDINGS OF THE INSTITUTION OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERS PART J-JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING TRIBOLOGY, 226(J7), 587-587.