Mechanics of nanoscale structures and nanocomposites

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Nanotechnologies and nanosciences are widely seen as having significant benefits to areas as diverse as advanced materials, information and communication technologies, mechatronics, biomedical engineering, environmental engineering, etc. Nanotechnologies are the design, characterization, production and application of structures, devices and systems by controlling shape and size at nanometer scale. The development of nanotechnology requires computer-aided analysis and design tools to analyze nanoscale devices and systems. At present, there are very limited such tools to analyze and optimize the performance of nanotechnology-based devices and materials. The proposed research will involve the development of versatile and efficient software for analysis of nanoscale beam, plate and shell structures based on a modified continuum mechanics theory. Such structures are the basic building blocks of many nanoscale devices and systems. The proposed research will also present a new mechanistic framework based on modified continuum mechanics concepts to estimate the effective properties of nanocomposites and will examine the interaction between matrix materials and nanoscale reinforcements to optimize the composite material properties. Carbon nanotubes are known to have many excellent properties and have important applications in nanotechnology. This project will also include a study of some fundamental mechanisms of carbon nanotube growth and simulation of the growth process by using quantum mechanical and molecular dynamics methods. Three PhD students will be trained in nanotechnology research in this project. The work will also involve interaction with researchers from the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering.