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SUMMARY:Aspects of the Mechanics of Thermoplastic and Thermoset Polymer Na
 nocomposites
DTSTART:20130611T131500
DTEND:20130611T141500
DTSTAMP:20260924T120602Z
UID:3007416d8592906781a3c5ab1521ed7d24f01b3ef64485c425cc14a1
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Catalin R. Picu\nBio : Prof. Picu received his PhD degree from
  Dartmouth College and spent few years as Research Associate at Brown Univ
 ersity. He joined the Department of Mechanical\, Aerospace and Nuclear Eng
 ineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1998\, where he is now Pro
 fessor and Associate Head. He is the author or co-author of two books\, mu
 ltiple book chapters and over 100 journal articles. His research focuses o
 n mechanics of materials\, and in particular\, on understanding the macros
 copic material behavior based on physics taking place on multiple scales. 
 He is a fellow of ASME.\nThis talk will address various issues related to 
 the multiscale mechanical behavior of nanocomposites with thermoplastic an
 d thermoset resin base. Some key mechanisms leading to exceptional propert
 ies of thermoplastic resin-based nanocomposites will be discussed first. B
 oth experimental and modeling data will be presented to demonstrate how th
 ese mechanisms operate on multiple scales. This behavior will be contraste
 d with that of nanocomposites with thermoset matrix. Epoxy filled with car
 bon nanotubes and with graphene will be considered for this purpose\, and 
 data will be provided to demonstrate substantial enhancement of fatigue re
 sistance in nanocomposites relative to the unfilled matrix. It will be sho
 wn that carbon nanotubes promote crazing on the nanoscale – a phenomenon
  not observed macroscopically in thermosets. The macro- and nanoscale cree
 p of epoxy-graphene will be also discussed. A set of experiments providing
  the modulus and strength of individual graphene sheets with controlled co
 ncentration of defects will be presented. A by-product of this work is a m
 ethod that can be used to predict the strength of graphene in a given samp
 le exclusively based on the Raman spectrum. The talk will close with a bri
 ef overview of other research projects ongoing in this group.
LOCATION:CM 1 106 http://plan.epfl.ch/?room=CM1106
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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