Nanoscale Near-Surface Deformation Response in Nanostructured Materials

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The research objective of the award is to combine materials science and engineering and computational tools to elucidate the basic mechanisms underlying nanoscale mechanically-induced damage in nanostructured materials at multi-length scales. The concepts developed will enable fabrication of advanced polymeric materials that are characterized by a combination of high modulus and strength with the ability to experience high elastic recovery, together with the benefit of inherent transparency. These properties are desired for a variety of future defense-related applications such as scratch-tolerant face shields. Mechanical models with predictive capabilities for a wide range of polymeric material systems based on the inter-relationship between the internal structure and mechanical properties will be developed. The potential impact of research relates to the mechanistic understanding of nanoscale mechanical damage in nanostructured materials that will have far reaching implications in nanotechnology because of the widespread usage of polymeric materials in applications including magnetic storage devices, biomedical components, and micro-electromechanical systems. Graduate and undergraduate engineering students will benefit through involvement in research and integration of research with existing curriculum. High school students and teachers working together with graduates and undergraduates will obtain first hand research experience, which will motivate them to advanced level of learning and considering science and engineering as their career, while the high school teachers will benefit in designing experiments for classroom demonstration.