CAREER: Linking Nanoscale and Macroscale Viscoelastic Responses of Cementitious Materials

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The overall purpose of both the educational and research components of this CAREER plan is to foster an improved understanding of multi-scale material behavior in the civil engineering community. The principal objective of the research plan is to link the inherent, aging viscoelastic properties of the nanometric, cement paste phases to macroscale viscoelastic response of portland cement paste. The research plan will utilize an integrated experimental, analytical, and computational materials science approach to model the inherent aging viscoelastic properties of the nanometric phases of hydrating portland cement. Subsequently, the aging viscoelastic properties of bulk cement paste will be modeled using composite microstructural finite element models. The principal objective of the education plan is to develop an ?analogy inventory? for improved education of future civil engineers with analogies as teaching tools of abstract multi-scale materials science concepts. The proposed research and education plan will ultimately transform the way concrete is designed, resulting in safer, more sustainable concrete infrastructure. The educational component will revamp materials science curricula for future engineers so that they have an improved grasp of the influence of nanoscale properties on macroscale behavior of engineering materials, allowing the findings from multi-scale material research to be rapidly adopted in practice. The framework developed for the creation of analogy inventories will be applicable to alternative disciplines, ultimately affecting engineering education as a whole. Additionally, the methodology developed in this project for modeling nanoscale aging viscoelastic properties will be applicable to several other fields of study including biomechanics and polymer science.