CAREER: Mechanics of Interfaces in Soft Materials

该学院早期职业发展计划(CALEAR)项目将通过建立一个新的多尺度和多物理建模和仿真平台来支持软材料界面力学的基础研究。软和硬材料(软-硬)或软和软(软-软)材料之间的界面在自然界和工程应用中普遍存在，例如用于承载的骨骼上的肌腱，用于捕获猎物的舌头上的粘液，在支架上生长组织，以及用于可伸展电子设备的弹性体上的粘结硅。对软材料界面力学的基本了解将有助于诊断生物关节的失效，设计水下粘贴片、柔性电子器件和强韧轻质复合材料，这些都是促进国家健康、繁荣和福祉所迫切需要的。综合教育计划包括一个互动教学模块，展示肥皂泡、儿童贴纸和用于外展项目的塑料面团，参加高中生暑期研究实习生项目，以及将计算工具整合到锡拉丘兹大学的研究生和本科课程中。曼留斯图书馆每年都会为K-12学生和普通公众组织一项“科学与游戏”的推广计划，以促进STEM教育。此外，锡拉丘兹大学的女性科学与工程项目将被用来鼓励来自代表性不足人群的学生参与。软材料界面力学的一个主要挑战是，他们的力学行为本质上是多尺度和多物理的相互作用，这不仅由界面上的微观结构决定，而且由表面和整体变形的非线性强耦合决定。这一挑战将通过将不同尺度的模型技术无缝地集成到一个具有高并行计算效率的统一框架中来解决。具体任务包括：(1)通过格子模型连接粗粒度模型和有限元方法，并在大型原子/分子大规模并行模拟器(LAMMPS)中实现该模型；(2)在宏观水平上将软-软界面的变形构型与其分子结构、非线性变形和表面应力联系起来，研究多尺度耦合如何控制软固体大变形湿粘附力；(3)研究宏观变形约束和能量耗散、介观空化、原纤化和不稳定性以及微尺度的分子和聚合物结构协同决定了软硬界面的强度和韧性，并得出了软胶粘合剂的微观结构和界面力分离定律。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) project will support fundamental research on the mechanics of interfaces in soft materials by establishing a novel multiscale and multiphysics modeling and simulation platform. Interfaces between soft and hard materials (soft-hard) or soft and soft (soft-soft) materials are ubiquitous in nature and engineering applications, such as tendon on bone for load-bearing, mucus on tongue for prey capture, growing tissues on scaffolds, and bonding silicon on elastomers for stretchable electronics. A fundamental understanding of mechanics of soft material interfaces will help diagnose failures of biological joints and design underwater adhesive patches, flexible electronics, and strong, tough and lightweight composites, which are urgently needed to advance the national health, prosperity, and welfare. The integrated education plan includes an interactive teaching module with demonstrations of soap bubbles, kids' stickers and poly dough for outreach programs, participations in summer research intern programs for high school students, and integration of computational tools in the graduate and undergraduate curriculums at Syracuse University. A "Science and Play" outreach program for K-12 students and the general public will be organized in the Manlius Library annually to promote STEM education. Furthermore, the Women in Science and Engineering program at Syracuse University will be leveraged to encourage the participation of students from underrepresented populations.A major challenge in the mechanics of interfaces in soft materials is that their mechanical behaviors are intrinsically multiscale and multiphysics interactions, which are determined not only by microstructures at interfaces but also the nonlinear strong coupling of surface and bulk deformations. This challenge will be tackled by seamlessly integrating model techniques at different scales in a unified framework with high parallel computation efficiency. Specific tasks include: (1) to bridge coarse-grained models and finite element methods through lattice models and implement the model in the large-scale atomic/molecular massively parallel simulator (LAMMPS), (2) to link deformed configurations of soft-soft interfaces with their molecular structures and nonlinear deformation and surface stress at macroscale levels and study how multiscale couplings govern forces in wet adhesion with large deformation of soft solids, (3) to investigate how macroscale deformation confinement and energy dissipation, mesoscale cavitation, fibrillation and instabilities and microscale molecular and polymer structures synergistically determine the strength and toughness of soft-hard interfaces and derive microstructures informed interfacial force-separation law for soft adhesives.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.