CAREER: Mechanics of Next-Generation Composites using Cellulose and Bioinspired Interfaces

这项教师早期职业发展（Career）资助将为引入植物灵感设计以应对下一代复合材料的挑战奠定研究和教育基础。随着现有复合材料达到其功能极限，有时会对地球造成破坏性后果，工程设计需要转向可持续材料。此外，以生物为基础的经济对美国农村的生存也是必要的。该项目的独特定位是通过(1)研究植物细胞壁的基本机制及其界面来推动柔性复合材料的创新，以及(2)教育重点放在农村和美洲原住民社区，以提高他们对未来高技能STEM劳动力的准备。植物生存和适应环境的非凡能力可归因于它们的细胞壁，平衡强度，流体流动和热调节的限制。首要的研究目标是解码快速生长的植物茎细胞壁的这些原理，并用它来设计新的复合材料。这种灵活的植物灵感材料在组织工程、机器人、可穿戴电子产品和国防工业中具有广泛的意义。该项目还将与一个科学博物馆合作，为代表性不足的社区开发和传播文化综合材料科学课程。同时，该项目还将为本科生创造研究机会，以提高他们的参与度和保留率，并为社会带来持久的利益。总体研究目标是为快速生长的植物茎中初生细胞壁结构的组织创造新的工程见解，并利用这些见解指导纤维素增强复合材料的柔韧性和温度敏感性的设计和制造。研究目标是(1)创建一个基于微力学的初级细胞壁多尺度计算框架，以确定驱动其热力学响应的潜在力学，(2)实验研究在可变环境约束下细胞壁内纤维-基质（这里是纤维素-果胶）界面，以指导计算框架并开发预测模型。(3)开发基于电纺丝的制造平台，制造细胞壁启发的柔性纤维增强结构。由于厚壁木质部维管组织具有强度、水传导和温度管理等多种功能，因此将重点研究厚壁木质部维管组织。通过采用系统和整体的方法，从多尺度力学到界面表征和制造，该项目将解决未解决的问题，设计下一代多功能柔性复合材料。该项目的成果将为基于机器学习的预测平台的应用开辟领域，以应用于更广泛的工程系统。该项目由CMMI和促进竞争研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。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。

This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) grant will lay the research and educational foundations to usher plant-inspired design to address challenges for next-generation composites. As existing composites reach their functionality limits, sometimes with disruptive consequences on earth, engineering design needs to shift to sustainable materials. Furthermore, a biobased economy is also necessary for the viability of rural America. The project is uniquely positioned to address both these challenges through (1) research focus on the fundamental mechanics of plant cell wall and their interfaces to drive innovation in flexible composites, and (2) educational focus on rural and Native American communities to increase their preparedness for the high-skilled STEM workforce of the future. The remarkable ability for plants to survive and adapt to their environment can be attributed to their cell wall, balancing constraints from strength, fluid flow, and thermal regulation. The overarching research goal is to decode these principles for the cell wall of a fast-growing plant stem and use it to design new composites. Such flexible plant-inspired materials can have broad implications in tissue engineering, robotics, wearable electronics, and defense industries. The project will also collaborate with a science museum to develop and disseminate culturally integrated materials science curricula for underrepresented communities. Simultaneously, the project will also create research opportunities for undergraduates to increase their engagement and retention, and advance lasting benefits to society.The overall research goal is to create new engineering insights into the organization of primary cell wall structure in a fast-growing plant stem and use these insights to guide the design and manufacturability of cellulose-reinforced composites for flexibility and temperature sensitivity. The research objectives are to (1) create a micromechanics-based multiscale computational framework of the primary cell wall to identify the underlying mechanics driving their thermomechanical response, (2) experimentally investigate the fiber-matrix (here cellulose-pectin) interfaces within the cell wall under variable environmental constraints to guide the computational framework and develop predictive models, and (3) develop an electrospinning-based manufacturing platform to create cell-wall inspired flexible fiber-reinforced structures. The research will focus on the thick-walled xylem vascular tissue due to its multifunctionality for strength, water conduction, and temperature management. By taking a systematic and holistic approach from multiscale mechanics to interface characterization and manufacturing, this project will address unanswered questions to design next-generation multifunctional flexible composites. The project outcomes will open the field for a machine learning-based predictive platform for applications to broader engineering systems.This project is jointly funded by CMMI and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).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.