Dynamic Behavior of Pre-Fractured Brittle Materials

了解脆性材料的动态破坏在加拿大的许多行业都很重要，包括国防中使用的陶瓷防弹衣，以及石油和天然气以及采矿业中使用的岩石爆破和破碎作业。这些应用涉及动态加载条件，并涵盖许多类型的陶瓷和岩石。这些材料在加载过程中会表现出不同的行为和失效，这受到其微观结构和性能的影响。在本研究计划中，我们希望了解微观结构和材料性能如何与动态失效过程中激活的机制联系起来。该计划的短期目标是开发预测模型的压缩强度和破碎的预断裂脆性材料，结合微观结构和机械性能。这将通过一系列表征、实验和理论任务来完成。最终，我们希望通过控制脆性材料的失效、强度和破碎来改善加拿大工业中使用的脆性材料的性能。这是通过设计新的先进材料和改进的工业流程来实现的。 通过未来五年，该计划将培养两名博士生，每学期一名本科生，我们将为NSERC定义的两个战略研究领域做出贡献： 1.制造-材料系统：这些见解将通过控制和优化其化学和物理结构，应用于设计用于防弹衣的更轻，更有效的陶瓷材料。现代士兵在执行任务时携带超过120磅的装备和30磅的防弹衣，这严重影响了他们的机动性。通过开发新材料，我们将提高士兵的战术效率，更重要的是，挽救生命。 2.自然资源-优化资源开采、收获和更新：见解将应用于提高石油和天然气以及采矿行业中使用的爆破和破碎作业的效率。目前，这些操作占世界电能消耗的5%，并且非常低效，约1%的输入能量用于破碎岩石。通过我们的研究，我们将能够通过确定更有效的操作制度来改善当前的工业流程，从而减少产生理想的碎片化结果所需的能源量。因此，这将为加拿大带来数百万美元的经济效益，并将减少我们对环境的影响。 该计划的长期目标是建立能源和国防以外的专业化，重点是健康相关的挑战（例如，用于肾结石破碎的X射线的有效递送）。

Understanding the dynamic failure of brittle materials is important in many Canadian industries, including ceramic body armor used in defense, and blasting and crushing operations of rock used in the oil and gas, and mining industries. These applications involve dynamic loading conditions and cover many types of ceramics and rocks. These materials will behave and fail differently during loading, and this is influenced by their microstructures and properties.In this research program, we want to understand how the microstructure and material properties are linked to mechanisms that are activated during dynamic failure. The short-term objective of the program is to develop predictive models for the compressive strength and fragmentation of pre-fractured brittle materials that incorporate microstructure and mechanical properties. This will be accomplished through a series of characterization, experimental and theoretical tasks. Ultimately, we want to improve the performance of brittle materials used in Canadian industry by controlling their failure, strength, and fragmentation. This is accomplished through the design of new advanced materials and improved industrial processes. Through the next five years, the program will train two PhD students, and one undergraduate student per semester, and we will make contributions to two strategic research areas defined by NSERC: 1. Manufacturing- Material Systems: Insights will be applied to the design of lighter and more effective ceramic materials used for body armor by controlling and optimizing their chemical and physical structures. Modern soldiers carry upwards of 120 lbs in gear and 30 lbs in body armor during missions, which severely burdens their mobility. By developing new materials, we will increase the tactical efficiency of soldiers and, more importantly, save lives. 2. Natural Resources- Optimizing Resource Extraction, Harvesting, and Renewal: Insights will be applied to improving the efficiency of blasting and crushing operations used in the oil and gas, and mining industries. Currently, these operations account for 5% of the world's electrical energy consumption, and are extremely inefficient with ~1% of the input energy being used to fracture the rock. Through our research, we will be able to improve current industrial processes by identifying more effective operating regimes so as to reduce the amount of energy needed to yield desirable fragmentation outcomes. As a result, this will yield multi-million dollars in economic benefits to Canada, and will reduce our environmental impact. The long-term objective of the program is to establish specializations beyond energy and defense, focusing on Health-related challenges (e.g., effective delivery of X-rays for kidney stone fragmentation).