Dear Colleague: Please consider submitting your nanomechanics related abstract to Symposium 4-1 ("Nanomechanics: Beyond Modulus and Hardness") of the 47^th Annual Technical Meeting of Society of Engineering Science, which takes place October 4-6, 2010 at Iowa State University, Ames, IA. The deadline for abstract submission is 5:00pm CST, Monday, June 7, 2010. The meeting's homepage can be found at www.ucs.iastate.edu/mnet/ses2010/home.html.

Applicants are invited for an immediate opening of a postdoctoral

researcher position at Northwestern University. This researcher will work on

a research project on vibration energy harvesting that involves close

collaborations with experimentalist. Candidates should possess an earned

Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering, Physical sciences, Electrical Engineering,

Material Science, or related disciplines. Candidate should have a strong

theoretical background in solid mechanics and previous experience in solving

Register to attend this free webinar:

Tuesday, April 27 - 11 a.m - 12 p.m. EDT



Learn how to evolve linear dynamics methods using the accurate, realistic

simulation technology of Abaqus FEA.



>> Register today for this free webinar

http://www.simulia.com/events/webinar_adv_noisevib_aeo_oe.html





Engineering groups have traditionally relied on linear, finite element analysis

 Dielectric elastomer can undergo giant deformation, but are susceptive to various failure modes. i.e electrical breakdown.

Some experimental papers (Kofod, Plante, Chen, see the attachment) reported the dielectric strength of VHB material (a kind of dielectric elastomer) under difference pre-stretch, equal bi-axially or unequal bi-axially. And the strength (maximum voltage can be applied before breakdown) has be greatly improved by these mechanical stretches.

 So here comes the question: is the dielectric strength dependent or independent of stretch？

As the 2010 SIMULIA Customer Conference approaches, it reminds me of a thought-provoking presentation given by Dale Berry of SIMULIA at the 2009 SCC in London.

He reminded the audience, of engineers and researchers, that Realistic Simulation is not only good for evaluating mechanical behavior of product performance, but it’s also an indespenible tool for driving innovative research that improves our lives and society.

These notes belong to a course on fracture mechanics

A crack pre-exists in a body. When the body is loaded, the two faces of the crack may simultaneously open and slide relative to each other. The crack is said to be under a mixed-mode condition. When the load reaches a critical level, the crack starts to grow, and usually kinks into a new direction. Subsequently the crack often grows along a curved path.