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Collaborative Research: Exploring the Role of Ultra-Soft Inclusions in the Mechanics of Fibrous Materials

合作研究：探索超软夹杂物在纤维材料力学中的作用

基本信息

批准号：
2235856
负责人：
Berkin Dortdivanlioglu
金额：
$ 42.46万
依托单位：
University of Texas at Austin
依托单位国家：
美国
项目类别：
Standard Grant
财政年份：
2023
资助国家：
美国
起止时间：
2023-09-01 至 2026-08-31
项目状态：
未结题

来源：
https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2235856&HistoricalAwards=false
关键词：
Collaborative Research Exploring Role Ultra

项目摘要

In nature, fibrous materials such as biological tissues can display adaptive behaviors. These include tunable density, stiffness, and permeability, which allow them to carry mechanical loads, respond to environmental stimuli, and heal wounds. These behaviors are achieved through ultra-soft inclusions like cells and platelets, and their interactions with the surrounding fibrous network, collectively lending their host materials specialized functions. Mimicking such functions in engineered materials requires a deep understanding of the mechanical role of ultra-soft inclusions in fiber networks at large deformations. This award supports fundamental research on how ultra-soft inclusions interact with a network of fibers and how these small-scale interactions affect the overall deformation behavior of the host material. The findings from this investigation will not only provide new insights into the design and fabrication of bio-inspired, adaptive materials for diverse applications in smart textiles and wearable technology, wound healing, filtration membranes, and soft robotics, but it will also lead to a better understanding of physiological and pathological processes in biological tissues that are driven by ultra-soft inclusions in the form of cells and cell-like particles, consequently advancing the national health, prosperity, and welfare. In addition to benefitting the broader scientific community, this work will also support undergraduate and graduate education through new, interdisciplinary class modules, research opportunities, and a trans-institutional visitation program. An additional broader impact will be through an education outreach program aimed at middle school students in collaboration with a Department of Defense-affiliated STEM youth program in Austin, TX, inspiring the students to recognize the universality of many engineering principles spanning from biomedical engineering to civil and mechanical engineering.Micron-sized, ultra-soft inclusions in fiber networks are ubiquitous in natural materials and play a critical role in the overall mechanical properties despite their small size. This award aims to understand how controlled microscale, local and non-local interactions of highly deformable inclusions with semi-flexible fiber networks lead to emergent behaviors at macroscales in engineered materials. The focus is on polymeric (fibrous) host materials for their importance in both engineering applications and nature. Computational approaches combine surface-enriched numerical tools accounting for bulk and surface adhesion, elastocapillary effects, soft solid-beam contact phenomena, and data-driven homogenization to predict the mechanics of polymer-particle composites. Critically, this project develops a controllable, experimental microgel platform to make and study ultra-soft inclusions with highly tunable mechanical properties. An iterative feedback loop between theory, computations, and micro- and macroscale experiments using the microgel material platform is central to the project for validating predictions and informing the model development. Ultimately, this project will provide a quantitative knowledge base and a microgel synthesis platform to demonstrate that the material design space of composites with ultra-soft inclusions can be precisely tuned through control of the nonlinear local/nonlocal interactions between ultra-soft inclusions and fibrous networks.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.

在自然界中，纤维材料如生物组织可以表现出适应性行为。这些包括可调的密度、刚度和渗透性，使它们能够承受机械负荷，对环境刺激做出反应，并愈合伤口。这些行为是通过细胞和血小板等超软内含物以及它们与周围纤维网络的相互作用来实现的，它们共同赋予宿主材料特殊的功能。在工程材料中模拟这种功能需要对纤维网络中超软夹杂物在大变形下的机械作用有深刻的理解。该奖项支持超软夹杂物如何与纤维网络相互作用以及这些小规模相互作用如何影响宿主材料的整体变形行为的基础研究。这项研究的结果不仅将为仿生自适应材料的设计和制造提供新的见解，这些材料可用于智能纺织品和可穿戴技术、伤口愈合、过滤膜和软机器人等领域的各种应用，而且还将有助于更好地理解生物组织中由细胞和细胞样颗粒形式的超软内含物驱动的生理和病理过程。从而促进国家的健康、繁荣和福利。除了使更广泛的科学界受益外，这项工作还将通过新的跨学科课程模块、研究机会和跨机构访问计划支持本科和研究生教育。另一个更广泛的影响将是通过与德克萨斯州奥斯汀市国防部下属的STEM青年项目合作，针对中学生的教育推广项目，激励学生认识到从生物医学工程到土木和机械工程的许多工程原理的普遍性。微米级、超软的纤维网络夹杂物在天然材料中普遍存在，尽管它们的尺寸很小，但对整体力学性能起着至关重要的作用。该奖项旨在了解高度可变形的内含物与半柔性纤维网络之间的受控微尺度、局部和非局部相互作用如何导致工程材料在宏观尺度上的紧急行为。重点是聚合物（纤维）宿主材料，因为它们在工程应用和自然界中的重要性。计算方法结合了考虑体积和表面粘附、弹性毛细管效应、软固体束接触现象和数据驱动的均质化的表面丰富数值工具来预测聚合物颗粒复合材料的力学。关键是，该项目开发了一个可控的实验微凝胶平台，用于制造和研究具有高度可调机械性能的超软夹杂物。使用微凝胶材料平台的理论，计算和微观和宏观尺度实验之间的迭代反馈循环是验证预测和通知模型开发的项目的核心。最终，该项目将提供定量知识库和微凝胶合成平台，以证明可以通过控制超软夹杂物和纤维网络之间的非线性局部/非局部相互作用来精确调整含有超软夹杂物的复合材料的材料设计空间。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。