Collaborative Research: A Multiscale Thermo-Hygro-Mechanical Investigation of Fibrous Porous Materials

这项合作研究将探索温度和湿度的隔离微尺度限制如何影响纤维状多孔材料的机械性能，如口罩。在复杂环境下，纤维多孔材料在航空航天、生物工程、能源、电子等现有和新兴技术中的应用急剧增长，需要深入了解和量化这些系统的热和湿度对机械性能的影响。该项目致力于开发一种数值框架，揭示纤维多孔材料的微观力学及其对其宏观性能的影响。该项目的成果将是第一个通过机器学习(ML)信息的均化来捕捉纤维状多孔材料在现实环境中的力学效应的热-湿-机械本构模型。这项研究项目还将为女性和代表性不足的少数族裔参与STEM提供特殊机会，使其成为数据工程技术的未来领导者和创新者。该项目旨在开发计算模型，能够准确预测纤维材料在真实环境中的性能，该环境具有不同的温度和湿度。纤维多孔材料的性能将高度依赖于其固有的微观结构特征，如随时间变化的水蒸气和水分传输、纤维与水蒸气的相互作用、纤维变形、破坏机制和微观结构演变。该项目的目标是：1)通过严格的数值研究，揭示以前尚未详细探索的涉及复杂的瞬变多物理相互作用的微观现象中的新知识；2)开发一种结合基于物理的ML算法来绘制热-湿-力学关系的新方法；以及3)建立一个虚拟材料测试平台，使未来能够设计出具有高机械效率和高性能的纤维状多孔材料。这些目标将回答以下两个科学问题：1)在热和湿条件共存的微观受限区域中局部变形的主要机制是什么？2)暴露在环境条件下的纤维的微观力学是如何通过宏观尺度表现出来的？回答这些问题将在微观层面上促进对纤维与其周围环境之间的相互作用的基本理解，以及湿度、温度和纤维结构之间的相互作用如何定义纤维多孔材料的整体性能。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 collaborative research will explore how an isolated microscale confinement of temperature and humidity impacts the mechanical performance of a fibrous porous material such as face masks. Dramatic growth in the application of fibrous porous materials in existing and emerging technologies in aerospace, bioengineering, energy, electronics, etc. under complex environments demands an in-depth understanding and quantifying the thermal and moisture effects on mechanical performance of such systems. The project is focused on developing a numerical framework that unveils the micro-mechanics of fibrous porous materials and the impacts on their macroscopic performance. The outcome of this project will be a first-of-a-kind thermo-hygro-mechanical constitutive model through machine learning (ML) - informed homogenization that captures the mechanical effects of fibrous porous materials in a realistic environment. This research project will also provide exceptional opportunities for STEM participation of women and underrepresented minorities to become the future leaders and innovators of data-enabled engineering technologies.This project is to develop computational models that can provide accurate prediction of a fibrous material’s performance in the confinement of a real-world environment with varying thermal and humidity. The fibrous porous material performance will be highly dependent on the inherent microstructural features such as time-dependent vapor and moisture transports, fiber-vapor interactions, fiber deformations, failure mechanisms, and microstructure evolution. The objectives for this project are: 1) uncovering new knowledge in microscale phenomena that have not previously been explored in detail involving complex transient multi-physics interactions through rigorous numerical investigations, 2) developing a novel approach that combines the physics-based ML algorithms to draw thermo-hygro-mechanical relationships, and 3) establishing a virtual material testing platform that enables the future design of fibrous porous materials with high mechanical efficiency and performance. These objectives will answer the following two scientific questions: 1) what are the principal mechanisms of localized deformation in a micro-confined domain with the co-existence of thermal and moisture conditions? 2) how does micromechanics of fiber exposed to environmental conditions manifest through macroscale? Answering these questions will advance the fundamental understanding of interactions between fiber and its surrounding environments at a micro-level and how the interplay between humidity, temperature, and fiber structures defines the performance of fibrous porous materials as a whole.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.