Advanced Materials and 3D Printing Lab at Masdar Institute invites applications for Project-Postdoctoral Positions to work on a multi-disciplinary collaborative project funded by GASCO (ADNOC), Abu Dhabi.  Successful candidate(s) will work in the Institute Center for Energy (iEnergy) and will be based in Mechanical and Materials Engineering (MME) department at Masdar Institute. These positions warrant regular communication with the international collaborative team (MIT, TAMU and Lockheed Martin). 

The 27th Annual "Robert J. Melosh" Competition for the best student paper on finite element analysis, will be held at Duke Univeristy on April 29, 2016. Please check the attached flyier if interested in participating. 

Aneurysms are local dilations of the arterial wall that are prone to rupture with high mortality risks. The biochemical mechanism of the aneurysm development is not clear. The mechanical mechanism of the aneurysm rupture is not clear either. I attach three papers that study two possible mechanisms of the aneurysm rupture.

We have just published a new paper, 1st in the series, that presents a computational model to understand the microstructural changes in the filled elastomers as a consequence of mechanical forces. A heterogeneous (or multiphase) constitutive model at the mesoscale explicitly considering filler particle aggregates, elastomeric matrix and their mechanical interaction through an approximate interface layer is presented. An innovative lego-set method is discussed for generation of random microstructures that can be used for simple stochastic analysis.

In our recent Extreme Mechanics Letter, we present a simulation consisting of 53.8 Billion finite elements with 28.1 Billion nonlinear equations that is solved on 393,216 computing cores (786,432 threads). The excellent parallel performance of the computational homogenization solver is demonstrated by a strong scaling test from 4,096 to 262,144 cores.

Multiple PhD Positions in the areas of computational mechanics and biomechanics are available. All qualified applicants are encouraged to send their CV with a brief description of research interests, and copy of their representative publications to hatami [at] uic.edu).

More information about these positions can be found at http://cbrl.lab.uic.edu/. 

A postdoctoral position is available in the area of computational and experimental analysis of biological materials. The primary objective of this project is to use numerical and experimental methods to investigate the mechanical response of (bio-)composite structures. We are interested in applicants with expertise in the area of mechanics of materials and previous experience with computer programming (e.g. FORTRAN/C++), FEM, and multiscale modelling. The ideal candidate should also have a background in experimental studies. 

Rechargeable batteries are usually charged by applied voltage. Here we demonstrate that mechanical bending can charge a thin-film lithium ion battery and removing the bending discharges the battery. Bending and relaxation (or bending in the opposite direction) thus realizes mechanically rechargeable battery, or more generally, mechanical energy harvester. 

What should be expected when an elastic rod is forced to slip inside a sliding sleeve and against an obstacle?

After buckling, configurational forces play a strong role, so that a force reversal is observed!

Enjoy the injection of an elastic rod at http://www.ing.unitn.it/~bigoni/injection.html