Blog posts

Onto resolving spurious wave reflection problem with changing nonlocality among various length scales

R. Rahman, J. T. Foster

We welcome applications for a post-doctoral position in the Multiscale Computational Mechanics Laboratory (MCML) at Vanderbilt University. MCML is a part of the interdisciplinary Multiscale Modeling and Simulation (MuMS) facility.

In order to improve the properties of metallic glasses (MG) a new type of MG structure, composed of nanoscale grains, referred to as nanoglass (NG), has been recently proposed. Here, we use large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of tensile loading to investigate the deformation and failure mechanisms of Cu64Zr36 NG nanopillars with large, experimentally accessible, 50 nm diameter. Our results reveal NG ductility and failure by necking below the average glassy grain size of 20 nm, in contrast to brittle failure by shear band propagation in MG nanopillars.

Abstract: Brittle materials propagate opening cracks under tension. When stress increases beyond a critical magnitude, then quasistatic crack propagation becomes unstable. In the presence of several precracks, a brittle material always propagates only the weakest crack, leading to catastrophic failure. Here, we show that all these features of brittle fracture are fundamentally modified when the material susceptible to cracking is bonded to a hydrogel, a common situation in biological tissues.

This mini-symposium is a part of the Interpore 2016 conference.

Dear Colleagues,

I want to share with you our work on geometric instabilities in thin films, which was recently accepted in Soft Matter.

at the Institute of Applied Mechanics at the University of Stuttgart (http://www.mechbau.uni-stuttgart.de/ls1/index.html). We are looking for a highly motivated young researcher with a background in engineering or mathematics and with experience in continuum modeling of solids. Applications should be sent to Christian Miehe via email (christian.miehe (at) mechbau.uni-stuttgart.de).

A zinc oxide (ZnO)/polyurethane (PU)-based generator composite was fabricated and its piezoelectric performances were examined in the present work. In addition, the influence of multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) and copper powder incorporation on the piezoelectric performance of composites was also studied. The performance level of the composites with various ratios of the constituents was compared in terms of piezoelectric responses obtained from three different tests, i.e., foot stamping, vehicle loading, and cyclic wheel loading tests.