iMechanica

If you have ever had to study and teach classical mechanics, then one of the challenges is to explain the equivalences of distinct formulations of the equations of motion for discrete mechanical systems. It is not transparent, particularly in the presence of constraints, how the Newton-Euler equations, Lagrange’s equations, Gibbs-Appell equations, Maggi's equations, Kane’s equations, Boltzmann-Hamel equations, and several other fomulations, are equivalent.

A post-doctoral position in the general area of continuum level simulations of high-strain rate impact phenomena and thermo-mechanical modeling in moving boundary problems is available in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Northeastern University. The specific goals of this post-doctoral research opportunity are to investigate the causes of residual stresses in metal additive manufacturing based on cold-particle gas spray technology and to design strategies to optimize its distribution.

How can we induce twist in tubular structures without applying a torque?

In nature, such behavior is enabled by material anisotropy. In our new work, we show that isotropic bi-layer tubes with twist incompatible layers can twist upon inflation and extension.
Interestingly, the direction of twist can spontaneously reverse as the load increases!

Check out our new paper at EML:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352431621000766

Cambridge University Engineering Department is seeking applicants for the "Ashby Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mechanics and Materials". This Fellowship has recently been established in honour of the pioneering research by Prof. M F Ashby CBE, FRS, FREng. The Fellowship is for 3 years.

Dear colleagues,

Esteemed Colleagues,

this post is to invite you all to attend the next free on-line global live TAFMech webinar on Fracture Mechanics-related topics that will take place this Friday (28/05) at 2.30 PM GMT (3.30 PM BST). The webinar’s details are as follows:

Þ Prof. René de Borst – University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK

Dear colleagues,
We invite you to see the preprint of our new paper "Flexoelectricity in soft elastomers and the molecular mechanisms underpinning the design and emergence of giant flexoelectricity" that will appear in PNAS. Here we present a molecular-to-continuum scale theory for the flexoelectric effect in elastomers. The theory unveils a mechanism for achieving giant flexoelectricity--which finds support in prior experimental results; it is then leveraged for designing elastomers for 1) piezoelectricity, 2) tuning the direction of flexoelectricity, and 3) flexoelectricity which is invariant with respect to spurious deformations (https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2102477118).

The recent literature of finite eignestrains in nonlinear elastic solids is reviewed, and Eshelby's inclusion problem at finite strains is revisited. The subtleties of the analysis of combinations of finite eigenstrains for the example of  combined finite radial, azimuthal, axial, and twist eigenstrains in a finite circular cylindrical bar are discussed. The stress field of a spherical inclusion with uniform pure dilatational eigenstrain in a radially-inhomogeneous spherical ball made of arbitrary incompressible isotropic solids is analyzed.

TL;DR, MIT Short Course, Live Virtual June 21-25, 2021; a hands-on bootcamp on multiscale mechanics, ML/AI, additive methods, biomaterials and bio-inspired materials and design. Registration closing soon - sign up now!

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The Executive Committee of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division is pleased to announce and congratulate Professor Michael P. Païdoussis, Thomas Workman Emeritus Professor in Mechanical Engineering, McGill University, as the recipient of the 2021 Thomas K. Caughey Dynamics Award.

The Executive Committee of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division is pleased to announce and congratulate Professor Gerhard A. Holzapfel, Professor of Biomechanics and head of the Institute of Biomechanics, Graz University of Technology in Austria, as the recipient of the 2021 Warner T. Koiter Medal.

The Executive Committee of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division is pleased to announce and congratulate Professor Markus Buehler, Jerry McAfee (1940) Professor in Engineering, MIT, as the recipient of the 2021 Daniel C.

The Executive Committee of the ASME Applied Mechanics Division is pleased to announce and congratulate Huajian Gao, Distinguished University Professor of the College of Engineering and College of Science, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, as the recipient of the 2021 Timoshenko Medal.  This award, which includes a medal, a plaque, and an

Please join us next week for a free virtual symposium on mechanics of gels. Click the link below for the symposium program and the Zoom links to all 12 sessions.

https://sites.utexas.edu/iutam2021/program/

The East Europe Conference on AM materials (EECAM21) to be held in Belgrade, 2nd-4th September 2021, is aimed at spreading the knowledge on Additively Manufactured materials to Eastern European countries, promoting the establishment of new scientific collaborations for joint publications and for perspective participation to competitive research funding calls.
The general aim of the conference is to promote international collaboration and share the current knowledge on additively manufactured materials and related disciplines. Of particular interest is the understanding of the role of the AM printing conditions and parameters on the final reliability and safety of AM materials, especially those to be used in load-bearing applications.
The conference is open to any contribution addressing the problem of characterizing AM materials for traditional as well as for advanced applications in a broad range of technological fields such as biomechanics, electronics, engineered materials, metamaterials, etc.

Presentations addressing the following topics are particularly welcome:
- AM and 3D printing technology
- Fatigue of AM materials
- Simulation of AM processes
- Structural integrity assessment of AM materials
- Testing of AM materials
- Theoretical and numerical models for AM materials
All materials are concerned, particularly: metals and alloys, ceramics, polymers, gel, biomaterials, sintered materials.

The conference is framed within the European Twinning Project SIRAMM, funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020, H2020-WIDESPREAD-2018-03 under the grant agreement No. 857124.

http://www.siramm.unipr.it/Conference_EECAM21.htm

A one-year post-doc position is available in our research group at the University of Houston with a start date of 1 September 2021. 

We are interested in understanding how microstructural aspects govern material failure. Our approach relies on formulating theoretical frameworks that are informed by experiments and implementing them computationally.

Join us to expand in more novel directions:

(i) Data-driven plasticity and failure;

(ii) Phase-field approaches to plasticity and failure;

Dear All,

The 32th Annual Robert J. Melosh Competition for the Best Student Paper in Computational Mechanics will be held at Duke University on October 21-22, 2021. A hybrid format is envisioned at this point, compatibly with Duke University’s policies on gathering under the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mechanical performance of silicon nanopillars with homogeneous and gradient nanotwinned structures are investigated through a series of molecular dynamics simulations. The most observed Σ3 twin boundary (TB) with two preferable (lowest surface energy) planes of {111} and {001} are used to generate homogeneous and gradient nanotwinned structures. Simulations of compression and tension of nanotwinned pillars reveal an extra strengthening behavior due to the addition of Σ3 TBs when compared to the single crystalline nanopillar without any TBs.

Keep EML Webinar going by donating at: 

https://www.gofundme.com/f/keep-eml-webinar-going

We gratefully acknowledge the financial support for Season 2 of EML Webinar by (as of 18 May 2021):

Denian Zhuang, Jimmy Hsia, Zhigang Suo, Ruobing Bai, Teng Li, Liqing Jiao, Shengqiang Cai, Grace Gu, Xin Wen, Jianyu Li, Jin Yang, Nitesh Arora, and anonymous donors. 

EML Webinar (Season 2) on 19 May 2021 will be given by Eduard Arzt, Saarland University. Designing with gaps – functional surfaces for sustainable gripping. Discussion Leaders: Huajian Gao, Nanyang Technological University

Time: 10 am Boston, 3 pm London, 10 pm Beijing on 19 May 2021

Leuphana University of Lüneburg stands for innovation in education and scholarship based on the values of a humanistic, sustainable and entrepreneurial university. The collaborative search for knowledge and viable solutions in the areas of education, culture, sustainability as well as management and entrepreneurship defines the university model with its award-winning College, Graduate School and Professional School. Methodological diversity and interdisciplinary cooperation characterize our academic understanding.

Dr John Biggins is establishing a new experimental and theoretical research activity in the area of liquid crystalline elastomers and glasses (LCE/Gs). These remarkable soft-solids can undergo large reversible and programmed shape changes upon heating or illumination, and the group will target novel mechanics and "artificial-muscle" applications in shape-changing devices.

Energy, Control and optimization lab(ECO) at Stevens Institute of Technology has two immediate post doc positions.

The candidate should have a PhD degree in Mechanical Engineering. Knowlege of Radiation Heat transfer and Energy tranfer in Micro/nano materails is necesssary. 

Please send your CV to shima.hajimirza@stevens.edu, if you have the right background and you can work as post-doc immediately.

The Sustainable Infrastructure, Geotechnics, and Materials (SIGMa) Lab at Howard University invites applicants for a Ph.D. position in multiscale simulation and characterization of polymer composites starting January 2022. Highly motivated individuals with strong computational, machine learning, microscopy and communication skills are encouraged to apply.

Responsibilities

The plant cell wall possesses an unusual combination of strength and ability to expand without weakening or breaking (a quality required for plant growth), but the molecular basis for these traits has long been unclear. In a collaborative study led by Prof. Sulin Zhang and Prof.