TOP STORY
 Tsu-Wei Chou, Pierre S. DuPont Chair of Engineering |
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For the past 20 years the Japan Society for Composite Materials has presented the National Hayashi Award to outstanding young Japanese researchers in the field of composite materials. The inaugural Hayashi Memorial International Award was given this year at the 11th US-Japan Conference on Composite Materials to recognize promising international researchers. The award, which is funded through a donation from Professor Hayashi, will be presented at all future US-Japan conferences that are held in Japan |
Dr. Erik Thostenson, who earned his master’s and Ph.D. degrees as a CCM-affiliated student, has been named recipient of the first Hayashi Memorial International Award.
Thostenson is now a postdoctoral researcher working with Tsu-Wei Chou, Pierre S. DuPont Chair of Engineering, on processing, characterization, and modeling of carbon-nanotube-reinforced composites.
“This is a great honor for Erik as well as for the Composites Center,” said Director Jack Gillespie. “Professor Hayashi was a founding father of composite materials in Japan and a co-winner of the first Medal of Excellence in Composite Materials, an award given by CCM since 1982. I think it’s very fitting that one of our students was chosen to win the inaugural Hayashi Memorial International Award.” [More – jump to printable]
Thostenson joined CCM as a master’s degree student working under Chou’s advisorship on microwave processing of thick-section composites. After finishing his MME, Thostenson chose to continue as a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. Still advised by Chou, he began to work with carbon-nanotube-reinforced composites.
“As an engineer, what has always intrigued me about composite materials is the unique capability to tailor composites for specific properties at various scales,” says Thostenson. “In traditional fiber composites, we not only design the macroscopic shape of the part but can tailor the fiber/matrix interface, prescribe the ply stacking sequence for lay-up, utilize different fibers to create hybrid composites, or bend and twist fibers together using textile techniques.”
“At the microscopic scale,” he continues, “we are tailoring the local stiffness, strength, toughness, and other properties through controlling the fiber orientation, type, and volume fraction. Recent advances in producing nanostructured materials with novel material properties have stimulated research to create macroscopic engineering materials by designing the structure at the nanoscale.”
The approach Thostenson and Chou are bringing to nanotube-reinforced composites is analogous to the one they use in their work with traditional composites. “We’re taking an integrated approach,” says Thostenson, “with an aim to establishing processing-structure-property relationships. Our ultimate goal is to develop a fundamental understanding of these materials and their unique mechanical and physical properties.”
“What’s great about being involved with CCM is that the work can be very basic,” Thostenson continues, “but from an engineering perspective, there is always an eye toward designing materials for real-world applications.”
“We’re very grateful for CCM’s support of Erik,” Chou says, “in terms of space, equipment, and the overall environment, which is unique and has played an important role in his development as a researcher.”
In turn, the Center has benefited from Thostenson’s many contributions. “Erik is not only an intelligent and innovative researcher,” says Gillespie, “but also a leader and role model for other students. He has been proactive in interacting with visitors from industry, government, and academia. He has worked with the ‘Space Cadets’ program, organized CCM Research Reviews, and served on the Center’s Safety Committee. Erik cares about the organization and has tremendous knowledge of the CCM tradition.”
Winning awards is not a new experience for Thostenson. He was the recipient of the 2004 Allan P. Colburn Prize for outstanding dissertation in the engineering and mathematical sciences, the 2004 Roy L. McCullough Scholars Award, and the 2002 Society for the Advancement of Material and Process Engineering (SAMPE) Outstanding Graduate Student Award. The prizes in the SAMPE competitions provided him with expenses-paid trips to both Los Angeles and Paris to present his research in nanomaterials at international conferences.
Gillespie is not surprised that a student advised by Chou has achieved such recognition. “Tsu-Wei Chou is an internationally recognized leader in the field of composites,” he says, “and he is committed to excellence in research and education.”
But all of Chou’s pride is focused on Thostenson. “It has given me tremendous pleasure to work with Erik and see him grow into an accomplished researcher making pioneering developments in nanocomposite materials. He has already made substantial contributions to the scientific literature, and his publications have attracted a lot of attention and been cited by dozens of other researchers. As a postdoc, he has now advanced to the next level, serving as a PI and co-PI on grants and working as an independent researcher.”
“It’s a great honor for me to have received awards memorializing Prof. McCullough and Prof. Hayashi,” Thostenson says. “They are legends in composites research in their respective countries.
OTHER NEWS
| CCM Trailer Part of Awards for Composites Excellence Product Showcase at Composites 2004 |  |
The Advanced Lightweight
Trailer Technology Demonstrator developed by CCM, the US Army’s Tank-Automotive,
Research, Development, & Engineering Center (TARDEC), the National Composites
Center (NCC) and Webcore Technologies will be displayed at Composites 2004 in
Tampa, FL, October 6-8. The trailer is entered in the Awards for Composites
Excellence (ACE) Product Showcase and Competition. Developed as a demonstration
article to highlight the benefits of applying composite materials and advanced
processing methods to Army Trailers and Wheeled Vehicles, the trailer was first
displayed at the 2003 AUSA Show in Washington, DC. The trailer was constructed
using advanced carbon fiber performs using NCC’s P4 process, TYCOR®
3-dimensionally reinforced core materials from Webcore, and was infusion molded
in two individual components (flat bed and trailer box) to demonstrate parts
consolidation, corrosion resistance, light weight, and durability. [Jump to
printable]
The development effort focused on creating a “modular” trailer design where a base flat-bed platform could be coupled (through a modular attachment system) to accept a large variety of load modules or mission platforms including liquid and solid storage and delivery tanks, a standard trailer “box”, a genset, weapons and equipment, or modular containerized cargo. This approach provides the military with the utmost mission utility in a single platform.
The design and construction of the trailer focused on part count reduction, producibility, and durability. The flat-bed section of the trailer is a single piece molding with an integrated titanium wishbone frame, while the cargo box is of similar construction. The use of the P4 preform and TYCOR® ensures that the performing and infusion process is scalable to volume production, and the durability requirements of the structure will be met.
This trailer, and the technology
applied in its design and construction, is now serving as the basis, and example
upon which the Army is initiating its “Trailer Transformation” to
reduce the number of individual trailer variants, and ensure that future trailers
incorporate the best technology to ensure their compatibility and mobility is
consistent with that of the next generation of prime movers.
| Shear-Thickening Fluids Website |  |
A new area of the CCM website highlights shear-thickening fluids research and licensing opportunities through the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the University of Delaware. Research on shear-thickening fluids and their use for personnel protection has received several awards including the Paul A. Siple Memorial Award at the 2002 U.S. Army Science Conference. A number of articles in the press, ranging from USA Today to Discover to the London Mail, that feature this research are tabulated and linked, as part of the new website. Enter STF Site
Undergraduate
Research Review
CCM's annual review on August 19 highlighted research by the summer interns.
This event is not only an opportunity to discover the summer's accomplishments
but also a learning experience for presentation skills including how to respond
to a difficult question. Twenty-two undergraduates presented projects that covered
much of the overall scope of the Center's research. Each of the presentations
will be turned into a poster and added to the CCM website and to the annual
posterbook.
CCM in the News
 |
World
Business Review CCM was featured on World Business Review, hosted by General Alexander Haig. The segment can be viewed on CCM's website. Filmed in June, the segment aired twice in early July and has also presented on United Airlines flights. View Video (RealPlayer required) |
Composite
Replacement Hoods
The U.S. Army Tank and Automotive
Research, Development, and Engineering Center (TARDEC) has provided 20 composite
M35A3 hoods to Red River Army Depot (RRAD), as reported in a TARDEC newsletter.
These hoods are identical to the hoods that were installed on M35A3s in Germany
earlier in the year. Development and production of these hoods resulted in creation
of a capability for future secondary items procurement. Currently the item manager
has no source for replacement hoods. These composite hoods are more durable,
non-corrosive, and lighter than the existing steel hoods.
Distance
Learning
Russ Conte was awarded the first Master of Engineering, Mechanical degree earned
entirely through distance courses from the University of Delaware, as well as
a Graduate Certificate in Composite Materials.
More information.
EVENTS CALENDAR
CONSORTIUM
GE
Power Systems Composites, LLC (Newark, DE) is welcomed as a new member of
the CCM Industrial Consortium. Also during September, Greene,
Tweed & Company (Kulpsville, PA) and
Materials Sciences Corporation (Horsham, PA) have renewed their memberships.
To find out more about this program and the various benefits offered to participants,
please go to www.ccm.udel.edu/Consortium/
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Patents
Delanoy, C. and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Composite Carbon Fiber Material
and Method of Making Same,” U. S. Patent No. 6759352, issued July 6, 2004.
Journal Articles
Heider, D., and J. W. Gillespie, Jr. “Automated VARTM Processing of Large-Scale
Composite Structures,” Journal of Advanced Materials, Vol 36, No. 4, October
2004.
Lopatnikov, S. L., and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Phase Transition Induced by a Two-Wall Competition Effect in a Thin Slab of Nematic Liquid Crystals,” Technical Physics Letters, Vol. 30, No. 18, pp. 70-78, September 2004.
Mahdi, S., and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Finite Element Analysis of Tile-Reinforced Composite Structural Armor Subjected to Bending Loads,” Composites Part B: Engineering, Vol. 35, pp. 57-71, 2004.
Lopatnikov, S., P. Simacek, J. W. Gillespie, Jr., and S. G. Advani, “Closed Form Solution to Describe Infusion of Resin under Vacuum in Deformable Fibrous Porous Media,” Modelling and Simulation in Materials, Science and Engineering, 12, pp. S191-S204, May 2004, Institute of Physics Publishing, PII: S0965-0393(04)72427-4.
Tierney, J., and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Modeling of Heat
Transfer and Void Dynamics for the Thermoplastic Composite Tow Placement Process,”
Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 37, No.19, pp. 1745-1768, 2003.
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