Evaluating and modeling the mechanical response and behaviour of high performance composite materials

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In today's rapidly increasing technological world, the application of high performance composite materials is enormous. As a result, the applicant is interested in the evaluation and modeling of composite materials, in particular the role of imperfections and inclusion geometry, in order to understand the mechanical response of advanced materials. When developing or testing new structures built from these novel materials it is often less expensive and more convenient to construct a model (either numerical or theoretical) instead of testing the actual structure. The latter can thus be used to predict and anlyze the mechanical behaviour of a real physical system. The information obtained from the model is extremely useful when developing or applying new techniques when designing with advanced composite materials. In this research, the applicant will develop and analyze new physical models that examine the effects of material imperfections (such as cracks, voids, inclusions) and material type (such as elastic, poroelastic). The results of this work will be significant in providing physical insight with a wide perspective on what implications these effects will have on the overall mechanical response of composite materials. Also of interest will the the investigation of scattering of elastic waves by mutliple arbitrary inclusions. This is extremely significant for studies of wave attenuation and determination of effective constants for elastic and poroelastic composite materials. In addition, the results will be of significant importance to problems in geophysical exploration. Furthermore, the applicant will investigate multiscale modeling of the mechanical behaviour of nano-reinforced composite materials. In particular, it is well documented that bone cement is susceptible to cracking. However, with the addition of carbon nanotubes into the cement will utlimately improve the mechanical properties while retaining its structural capabilities. The outcome of this research is to educate highly skilled graduates such that their training will allow them to take leadership positions in industry, government laboratories and academia thus addressing the concerns of shortages of talented engineers in Canada.