Mechanics of Low Dimensional Materials Based Composites

轻质纳米复合材料具有优异的力学性能和独特的热、电、磁性能，在许多行业有着广泛的应用。对于工业上所有可能的广泛应用，寻求具有高强度/重量比的复合材料是可取的。该奖项支持基础研究，以进一步提高轻质纳米复合材料的强度，并探索这些复合材料的新制造方法。在汽车工业中，这类复合材料可用于车门面板、发动机罩和轮胎，从而提高油耗。在能源和航空航天领域，高强度/重量比的复合材料被用于制造风车叶片和飞机部件，而在生物医学领域，轻质复合材料被用作植入物。在教育方面，该奖项将培养工程学研究生，他们将进一步推动轻质复合材料领域的发展。此外，该奖项还将通过阿肯色州西北部的少数族裔和代表性不足的马绍尔美国学生参与STEM培训K-12学生。提高轻质纳米复合材料强度的挑战在于界面力学，它在这些复合材料的设计和应用中发挥着关键作用。一维材料属于低维材料的范畴，由于其无缺陷的结构和独特的化学键，是迎接这一挑战的理想候选者。本研究采用多尺度计算模型和实验相结合的方法，研究一维材料在金属表面的界面和力学性能，为低维材料基纳米复合材料的设计和制备提供理论依据。作为迈向这一目标的一步，研究将利用从头算和多尺度方法，预测机械和表面特性，以确定如何利用一维材料的长度、大小、取向、结合和形状来获得最佳和所需的机械和表面特性。计算建模将确定所需的设计参数，并将指导低维材料基复合材料的制造。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。

Lightweight nanocomposites have tremendous application in many industries due to their superior mechanical, and unique thermal, electrical and magnetic properties. For all broad applications possible in industry, the quest for composites with high strength to weight ratio is desirable. This award supports fundamental research to further enhance the strength of lightweight nanocomposites and explore novel manufacturing methods for these composites. In the automobile industry, this class of composites can be used for door panels, engine covers and tires, thus improving gas mileage. In the energy and aerospace sectors, composites with high strength to weight ratio are desirable to make windmill blades and aircraft components, while in the biomedical area, lightweight composites are used as implants. On the education side, this award will train graduate students in engineering who will further advance the field of lightweight composites. Moreover this award will train K-12 students in STEM by involving minority and under represented Marshallese American students in northwest Arkansas.The challenge with enhancing lightweight nanocomposite strength lies with interface mechanics, which plays a critical role in the design and application of these composites. One-dimensional materials, which belong to the class of low dimensional materials, are an ideal candidate to meet this challenge due to their defect free structure and unique chemical bonding. Using an integrated multiscale computational model and experiments, this research aims to study the interface and mechanical properties of one-dimensional materials on metallic surfaces, which will lead to design and manufacturing of low dimensional materials based nanocomposites. As a step toward this goal, the research will utilize ab initio and multiscale methods, which will predict the mechanical and surface properties to determine how the length, size, orientation, bonding and shape of one-dimensional materials can be leveraged towards obtaining optimal and desired mechanical and surface properties. Computational modeling will determine the required design parameters and will guide the manufacturing of low dimensional materials based composites.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.