TOP STORY
2006 CCM Posterbook and Annual Report This year, for the first time, we are presenting CCM's Annual Report in three distinct volumes, to better meet the needs of our readers and constituents. Volume 1, the Executive Summary, provides an overview of the Center, including major programs, financial status, sponsors, facilities, and people. Volume 2, the Poster Book, includes one and two--page posters on each of our research projects. Volume 3, Success Stories, which is not yet available, will comprise short narratives on research projects and programs that have been successfully transitioned to industry and government. We recommend that you review the Executive Summary to learn about the state of the Center, scan the Poster Book for projects of interest, and when it is available, read the Success Stories to see how the results of our integrated research programs are transferred to the user community. |
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"Beam" Me Up, Scotty by Diane Kukich To most middle- and high-school students, engineering is somewhat of a mystery, as they have no opportunity to formally study this subject in school. But a program hosted by the UD Center for Composite Materials, the “Space Beam Challenge,” provides kids this age with the opportunity to see firsthand what composites engineering is all about. The two-day activity is one component in the Delaware Aerospace Academies, a series of camps offered by the Delaware Aerospace Education Foundation to provide students in grades 2 though 10 with hands-on training and experiences in aerospace-related activities and fields. The Space Beam Challenge is part of an academy targeted to eighth, ninth, and tenth graders. |
“Many students choose to major in engineering because they’re good in math and science, and a teacher tells them that engineering would be a good career choice for them,” says CCM Director Jack Gillespie. “But they really don’t know what’s involved in being an engineer. This program provides them with actual experience in the field.”
This year’s program was planned and executed largely by a team of undergraduate and graduate students led by Justin Clews and Solange Amouroux, both Ph.D. candidates in materials science.
The aerospace academy students, known as “space cadets,” began their experience with several demonstrations in the Composites Manufacturing Science Laboratory, including the Center’s thermal camera, the shear-thickening fluid technology (STF) stab demo, and a three-point bending test. They also observed a laser scanner that enables the user to scan a part, import the scan into a CAD program, and generate a drawing.
“These demos give the students an idea of some of the technologies that we use in working with composites,” says Clews. “We also give them an overview of the various types of materials and the reason composites are chosen over traditional materials. The focus in this program is, naturally, on aerospace applications, but we also familiarize the participants with other, everyday applications for advanced composites, such as tennis rackets and golf clubs.”
Finally, the cadets get a comprehensive overview of beam building so that they have the background they need to complete the challenge. “We talk about the various types of beams—including box, truss, and core beams,” says Clews, “and we discuss how composites are used and the advantages of the various materials.”
Most importantly for the beam challenge, the students are informed about strength-to-weight ratios, as this is the primary criterion by which their beams are judged. “They have to understand that lightweight is good, but only if the beam is also strong,” Clews says.
Armed with an assortment of materials including cores and aluminum, steel, and composite facesheets, the students are formed into teams of three or four cadets each and sent off to design their beams. They then glue together the selected materials to make the finished parts.
The real lesson comes when the beams are tested to failure and a winner is declared. “This year, the winning team was just shy of the all-time record with a load-to-weight ratio of 9,333,” says Clews. “The current record is 9,635.”
For Clews and his student colleagues, the Space Beam Challenge is a great opportunity to pique the interest of these young students and perhaps inspire some of them to choose a career in engineering. As President of the SAMPE student chapter, Clews is in charge of the event, but he is grateful for the support of his fellow students as well as for the generous donations of industry.
“Solange updated the presentations we give to the students,” he says, “and she secured the donations from our industrial sponsors. In addition, there were half a dozen other students involved in the demos and testing.”
“We also really appreciate the materials donated by M. C. Gill Corporation and DIAB,” he continues. “It’s great for these kids to have high-quality modern materials to work with in their projects, and it would be very expensive for us to buys these materials.”
Clews also notes that the cadets are growing progressively more sophisticated in their approach to the challenge. “I don’t know whether each group is passing along their knowledge to the next, or whether they’re just more knowledgeable in general,” Clews says. But a question posed by one participant suggests that this generation may just be more technologically savvy than their predecessors: “Are composites used in superconductors?” he asked. |
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CONSORTIUM
CCM would like to welcome PPG Industries Inc., Shelby, NC and EADS, Augsburg, Germany, and Emerald Performance Materials, Akron, OH, to our University-Industry Consortium. We would also like to thank Composite Sourcing Solutions, Yardley, PA, for the recent renewal of their membership.Thanks also to our many other members for continuing to participate in consortium activities. To learn more about our Industry-University consortium, please visit http://www.ccm.udel.edu/Consortium/members.html .
NEW PUBLICATIONS Miller, M. E., C. W. McChalicher, and R P. Wool. “The Carbonization of Chicken Feathers.” American Physical Society MarchMeeting, Baltimore, MD March 16, 2006.Miller, M. E., C. W. McChalicher, and R. P. Wool, “Carbonization of Chicken Feathers for use in Biocomposites.” Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference, Washington D.C., June 28, 2006.
Neacsu, V. A., J. Leisen, S. G. Advani, “Investigation of Capillary Flow Across a Bank of Aligned Fibers, FPCM8 International Conference on Flow Processes in Composite Materials, Douai, France, July 11-14, 2006.
Su, D., M. H. Santare, G. A. Gazonas, “Numerical Modeling of Anisotropic Effective Moduli of Media with Microcrack Damage,” 14th APS Conference on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, 2006.
Wool, R. P. Plenary Lecture, “Bio-based Polymers and Composites”, Proceedings of the ACS Biennial, “Polymer Innovation at the Emerging Boundaries of Science and Engineering”, Key Biscayne, FL, May 21-24, 2006.
Wool, R. P. and A. Campanella, “Bio-based Polymers and Composites from Soybeans”, Plenary Address, Proceedings of the Congress Mercsoja , Rosario, Argentina, 2006.
Wool, R. P., “Molecular Scale Modelling”, Proceedings of Multiscale Modelling for Carbon Fiber Reinforced Composites, SAMPE, Long Beach CA, May 4, 2006.
Wool, R. P., Plenary Lecture, “Development of a Bio-based Materials Manufacturing Plant, Symposium on Bio-Based Materials” Proceedings of the Green Chemistry and Engineering International Meeting, Washington DC, June 26-30, 2006.
Santare, M. H., “Damage Effects on Wave Propagation in Functionally Graded Materials,” ASME International Congress and Exposition, Orlando, FL, November 2005.
Santare, M. H., “Numerical Modeling of Anisotropic Effective Moduli of Media with Microcrack Damage,” Presented by D. Su, 14th APS Conference on Shock Compression of Condensed Matter, Baltimore, MD, August 2005.
Santare, M. H., “Micromechanical Damage Propagation in Functionally Graded Materials,” ASME International Congress and Exposition, Anaheim, CA, November 2004.
Santare, M. H., “Computational Modeling of Wave Propagation in Functionally Graded Materials,” Seminar, Johns Hopkins University, Center for Advanced Metallic and Ceramic Systems, Baltimore, MD, March 2004.
Santare, M. H., “The Effect of Material Grading on Damage Propagation in Functionally Graded Materials,” ASME International Congress and Exposition, Washington, DC, November 2003.
Santare, M. H., "Use of Graded Finite Elements to Model Wave Propagation in Continuously Nonhomogeneous Materials," ASME International Congress and Exposition, New Orleans, LA, November 2002.
Santare, M. H., “Stress Wave Propagation in Functionally Graded Materials Using Continuously Graded Finite Elements,” 14th US National Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Blacksburg, VA, June 2002.
Thamburaj, P., Santare, M.H., Gazonas, G.A., “Stress Wave Propagation in Functionally Graded Materials Using Continuously Graded Finite Elements,” Proceedings of the14th US National Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, p. 617, 2002
Lu, .J, R. P. Wool, Novel Thermosetting Resins for SMC Applications from Linseed Oil: Synthesis, Characterization, and Properties,” Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 99 (5), pp. 2481-2488, March 2006.
Xiao, J. R. and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Nanomechanics of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotubes as Composites Reinforcement,” Polymer Engineering and Science, 46 (8), pp. 1051-1059, July 2006.
Vinson, J. R., Invited Seminar, “Instructive Forensic Engineering Cases-2006,” for a graduate course in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Villanova University, Villanova, PA, July 18, 2006. The professor in charge of this course of 25 graduate students is Dr. David Dinehart, who received his Ph.D. degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware.
Wool, R. P. Invited Lecture, “Rigidity Percolation Model of Fracture and Fatigue”, Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Deformation, Yield and Fracture of Polymers, Kerkade NL, pp. 26-31, April 10-13, 2006.
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