A
combination of experiment and theory shows that dielectric elastomers exhibit
complex interplay of nonlinear processes. Membranes of a dielectric elastomer
are prepared in various states of prestretches by using rigid clamps and
mechanical forces. Upon actuation by voltage, some membranes form wrinkles
followed by snap-through instability,
others form wrinkles without the snap-through instability, and still others
fail by local instability without formingwrinkles.Membranes surviving these
nonlinear processes are found to attain a constant dielectric strength,

The Department of Engineering Science at Oxford University has recently obtained funding for a project to develop novel experimental techniques for characterising and modelling the response of rubber-like materials to impact loading.  The project will support two studentships, supervised by Dr Clive Siviour in the Solid Mechanics and Materials Engineering Group.

PhD
in Biomedical Engineering

Applications are invited for a postgraduate degree by research (PhD)
in Biomedical Engineering at the National University of Ireland Galway. The
project is funded by the European Research Council.

You can enrich your online articles by providing supplementary MATLAB figure files with the .FIG file extension. These files will be visualized using an interactive viewer that allows readers to explore your figures within the context of the article. The FIG files can be uploaded in our online submission system, and will also be available for downloading from your online article on SciVerse ScienceDirect.

For more information, go to http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-the-mechanical-behavior-of-biomedical-materials/journal-news/option-of-including-matlab-fig-files-now-available/

Fifth International Conference on Engineering Failure Analysis, 1-4 July 2012, Hilton Hotel, The Hague, The Netherlands

To register, go to http://www.icefaconference.com

Hi All,

I am glad to inform you that:

A post-doctoral research position is available at the Geomechanics Group of
Monash Civil Engineering Department. You will be expected
to undertake numerical modelling into fracture of soil, in particular modelling
of crack evolution during desiccation. You will have a recent PhD in geomechanics, applied mechanics or in a related
field. Other qualifications include a strong background in
continuum/discontinuum mechanics and numerical modelling. Experience in
fracture mechanics modelling is desirable...

Further information about this possition can be found at:

In many practical problems of solid mechanics, it is sufficient to characterize material deformation by the small (or linearized) strain tensor. But there are also many problems where the finiteness of strain must be taken into account. These are of two kinds: 1) Large nonlinear elastic deformations possessing a potential energy (exhibited, e.g., by rubber), in which the stress components are obtained as the partial derivatives of potential energy; and 2) inelastic deformations possessing no potential, in which the stress-strain relation is defined incrementally and the stress increment or rate must be formulated objectively (i.e., independently of coordinate rotations). The present paper reviews the latter kind.

 A funded Ph.D. positionin Mechanical Engineering is available at Polytechnique in Montreal, Canada. The work combines experimentations and theoretical modelling. The goal of the project is to use a fluid instability to fabricate intricate patterns at the microscopic scale. By fabricating fibers this way, interesting mechanical properties can be obtained depending on the parameters of the instability.

 See attached file for more details.

Dear all,

We are pleased to announce the forthcoming Summer
School on “Hardening and Damage of Materials under Finite Deformations:
Constitutive Modeling and Numerical Implementation”, which will take place in
Dortmund, Germany from September 3rd to 7th, 2012 and is organized by Prof.
Dr.-Ing. A. Erman Tekkaya of TU Dortmund and Dr. Tudor Balan of LEM3,
ENSAM Metz.

Lecturer
MIT - School of Engineering

The MIT Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering seeks to fill a Lecturer position in structural engineering with the opportunity to build strong ties with MIT Department of Architecture. Position is full-time for a three-year period starting September 1, 2012.

Responsibilities include teaching graduate level subject(s) in modern structural engineering and supervision of student projects and theses in the M.Eng. High Performance Structures Program http://cee.mit.edu/meng involving structural design and architecture. Projects involve teams of four to six students and are collaboratively taught, while theses are written and supervised individually.

The Department of Engineering and St Hugh's College at Oxford University
have a University Lectureship available in the area of Solid Mechanics
and Materials Engineering.  The closing
date for applications is 31st May 2012.  Further information can be
found in the attached files.

We look forward to receiving your application.

Alan Cocks

The scratch test, using nano loads, has become widely used for the study of adhesion strength and marring resistance of thin films and coatings. This same test can also be used to study fracture behavior on brittle substrates similar to a marring resistance test approach. This can provide an in-depth observation of failure on delicate substrate materials at precisely controlled and recorded loads.

Application Note: http://www.nanovea.com/Application%20Notes/fracture-resistance.pdf

Post Doc description:

Soil, as a typical natural material, has very complex behaviour which is very difficult to be accurately modelled. In geotechnical engineering, about half of the accidents are caused by insufficient designs. The soil’s constitutive model is the fundamental issue for modelling and analyzing soil-related engineering systems.

Choon Chiang Foo, Soo Jin Adrian Koh, Christoph Keplinger, Rainer Kaltseis, Siegfried Bauer, Zhigang Suo.

Performance of dissipative dielectric elastomer generators.
Journal of Applied Physics 111, 094107 (2012)

The Soft Materials Mechanics Laboratory
and the Glaucoma Center of Excellence invite applications for a postdoctoral
position in the area of experimental biomechanics to characterize the mechanical
behavior of eye tissues, particularly the sclera and optic nerve head, in mouse
models of glaucoma. The postdoctoral researcher will be involved in a funded
project aimed at understanding how the structure and mechanical behavior of the
sclera and may influence the development and progression of glaucoma. An
initial appointment will be for a 12-month period with future renewal contingent
on performance. Salary will be based on the level of experience. Review of

Hermite WENO-based limiters for high order discontinuous Galerkin method on unstructured grids

Zhen-Hua Jiang, Chao Yan, Jian Yu, Wu Yuan

The U. S. National Committee on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics solicits proposals to host the 18th US Congress on Theoretical and Applied Mechanics in 2018.  See attachment.

Announcing an open position at Penn State University - starting August 12. The research topic involves biaxial testing of plant cell walls. The applicant must have experience in basic fabrication (lithography, wet and dry etching, deposition) techniques and background on mechanical properties/testing. Please send a pdf copy of your CV to:

Aman Haque, Professor of Mechanical & Nuclear Engineering, Penn State University, mah37@psu.edu 

There is an available applied research position for an FE analyst and code developer for nonlinear mechanics problem including, but not limited to blast, impact, fatigue, and fire on a wide variety of structures. See attachment for a complete job description and how to apply. 

For Scopes and Topics about this conference, go to www.wearofmaterialsconference.com

WOM 2013, Portland, Oregon, USA 14-18 April 2013

Applications are invited for a postdoctoral position in the Micro and Nano Mechanics Laboratory within the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Northwestern University. Successful candidates will participate in a vibrant interdisciplinary research group and be involved in projects pursuing MEMS and probe-based techniques for biological studies at the single-cell level including chemo-mechanics and pathway studies. Collaborations are in place with investigators at the Northwestern Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center, the Feinberg School of Medicine, the International Institute for Nanotechnology, and Argonne and Sandia National Laboratories.