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UD Center for Composite Materials: A First-Rate Graduate Research Experience for a Budding Entrepreneur
by Melissa Josef

The Center for Composite Materials (CCM) at the University of Delaware (UD) has been a world leader in composites research and education for almost 35 years and it attracts the best and brightest students and researchers in the field. Gaurav Nilakantan is one of those bright stars.  As Nilakantan was getting ready to finish up his Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Cincinnati in 2006, he already had his mind set on where he’d like to go to continue his graduate education.  Nilakantan, who has left an impressive trail of academic and research achievement in his wake from his undergraduate days at the PES Institute of Technology in India through his graduate studies at Cincinnati, was immediately drawn to the University of Delaware’s Center for Composite Materials, a research facility known for both excellence in composites and a culture that fosters entrepreneurship. In his first year at CCM, Nilakantan was awarded the CCM Progress Award as part of UD Honors Day and also won the second place in the PhD paper competition at the SAMPE ‘08 Long Beach conference.


Gaurav Nilakantan,
Materials Science & Engineering

“CCM is the ultimate destination for anyone interested in composites and who wants to be at the forefront of the latest advances in composites technology.” Nilakantan said, “CCM’s strength and biggest attraction is two-fold: first, the strong industry-academia interaction that is exemplified by the industrial consortium of over 40 companies, and second, the collaborative research environment that is created by the full time CCM research professionals, CCM affiliated faculty, and graduate and undergraduate students, from various departments at UD. Unlike some schools where students may work in isolation or in small research groups specializing only in one field, at CCM there are experts from many diverse fields. When a researcher or student needs assistance or to discuss ideas in a field that they are not knowledgeable in, they can easily do so by reaching out to a colleague.”  This multidisciplinary collaborative research environment has greatly aided Nilakantan in his research and has helped him gain a deeper, more fundamental understanding of the problems posed by his research. For someone like Nilakantan who has a natural entrepreneurial side, the entrepreneurial aspect of the Center also intrigued him. “I have a passion for conceptualizing new ideas and inventions to solve everyday problems – using a creative approach to engineering. CCM has encouraged me to explore this side of myself even if it isn’t directly connected to my research” says Nilakantan, and adds “my knowledge of LS-DYNA allows me to accurately simulate complex real world phenomena to help validate my ideas”.  Nilakantan currently has a provisional patent on an invention he came up with, out of this natural curiosity to solve problems. The invention, entitled Anti Whiplash Seat with an Active Head Restraint for a Passenger Vehicle is now in the process of obtaining a full patent with CCM support. Nilakantan also won a prize at a NASA sponsored design competition for his energy-absorbing seat design with applications in infantry vehicles subjected to a mine blast.

Impact of a 4-layer Kevlar KM2 fabric system

 Some of Nilakantan’s research at CCM is focused on improving the predictability of finite element simulations of the ballistic impact of flexible woven fabric systems. Applications of such fabrics include protective armor for law enforcement and military personnel, spall liners, and turbine fragment containment. An in depth study of the various interactions at the filament, yarn, and fabric level, and mechanisms of energy dissipations will lead to the design of fabric systems with superior projectile penetration resistance. Nilakantan has developed the Hybrid Element Analysis (HEA) which is a new approach to multiscale modeling from the filament to a yarn to a homogenized level using shell and solid elements, and is also developing advanced material and failure models to handle the non-linear viscoelasticity associated with these high strength fabrics; and a probabilistic approach to incorporating the statistical nature of the yarn strength distribution into the simulation environment.

Nilakantan is also working towards developing DYNAFAB, which is an automated in-house finite element (FE) preprocessor with a user friendly GUI (graphical user interface), that is capable of creating FE models of both unidirectional and plain weave fabric models comprised of a yarn level architecture modeled using solid elements. The output of DYNAFAB is an LS-DYNA formatted inputfile of the fabric FE model. The user can customize the yarn geometry and fabric architecture, as well as choose between various types of mesh schemes. It can also be imported into other commercial preprocessors such as Altair Hypermesh®. DYNAFAB creates a high quality mesh consisting of only regular shaped hexahedral elements. The user can also create simple 3-d fabrics by creatively combining the capabilities of the unidirectional and plain weave fabric modules. By directly providing the FE mesh of the fabric model, DYNAFAB skips over the extra effort needed to first create the CAD geometry and then mesh it while ensuring there are no penetrating surfaces present.

With a mission to conduct basic and applied research, to educate scientists and engineers, and to transition technology to industry, Nilakantan has found CCM to be the best possible place to complete his graduate education. Others considering the Center will find six interdisciplinary research areas to choose from: Materials & Synthesis, Mechanics & Design, Processing Science, Sensing & Control, Performance, and Multifunctional Materials. CCM researchers not only conduct world-class research in each of these areas but also work in research teams at the interface between these disciplines to design and optimize new materials and processes that deliver performance and affordability.  The education and research experience that students find at CCM is world-class as they become the future experts in the field of composites research.                       

OTHER NEWS

Call for Papers for Second World Conference on 3D Fabrics and their Applications
Abstract Deadline - November 30, 2008

The Conference will be held April 6-7, 2009 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, Greenville, South Carolina, USA.   The conference is organized by TexEng Software Ltd., Manchester UK in association with the University of Manchester, UK, and the Center for Composite Materials, University of Delaware, USA.  Chair of the Organising and Programme Committee is Professor John Hearle of TexEng Software Ltd. And the University of Manchester, UK.    International Advisory Committee Chair is Professor John W. Gillespie, Jr. of University of Delaware Center for Composite Materials.

Online Abstract Submission

CCM Hosts Visitors from Korea

On October 1, Mayor Ha-Jin Song of Jeonju City, the capital of Jeollabuk-do province visited UD-CM.  As a part of their campaign to promote and attract composites industries and support an active program to manufacture carbon fibers, the Mayor and his entourage of research engineers and public officials were particularly interested in visiting a leading research institution such as CCM and discussing the possibilities of establishing a cooperative relationship.

Philip Roach
CCM Laboratory
Coordinator

UD-CCM Recognized for Excellence in Eye Injury Prevention

Congratulations to Philip Roach, CCM Laboratory Coordinator,  and the CCM Safety Committee for being recognized by the University of Delaware, Occupational Health and Safety Department as Department of the Month for the month of October.  Says Robin Elliott, Director, Occupational Health and Safety,  “ Since October is National Eye Injury Prevention Month, Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) wanted to select a unit that has achieved excellence in its eye safety program.  The Center for Composite Materials (CCM) is one such unit that has shown diligence with safety in their labs.  Your Safety Committee has a zero tolerance stance towards the lack of use or misuse of eye protection and works hard to assure that all laboratory occupants don the appropriate level of protection.”  The CCM eye safety program is part of a comprehensive safety program the continues to be recognized for excellence in safety performance.

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CONSORTIUM MEMBERS

CCM would like to thank LGS Bell Labs Innovations, Florham Park, NJ, for becoming our newest consortium member. We also wish to thank Arkema, King of Prussia, PA, and Sioux Manufacturing Corporation, Fort Todden, ND, for the recent renewal of their consortium memberships.

To learn more about the benefits of becoming a member, please visit us on the web at

www.ccm.udel.edu/Consortium/benefits.html

 

PUBLICATIONS

Conference Proceedings

Abu Obaid, A., S. M. Andersen, and J. W. Gillespie, Jr. (U of D), B. Dickinson, A. Watson, G. Chapman, and R. A. Coffelt (3TEX, Inc.), “Effects of Weaving on S-2 GlassTM Tensile Strength Distribution,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Alms, J. B., J. L. Glancey, and S. G. Advani, “Experimental Determination of Permeability of Woven Fiber Glass During the Vacuum Induced Preform Relaxation (VIPR) Process,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Deitzel, J., “Mechanical Properties of High Performance Fibers and Textiles,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Gawandi, A., E. Thostenson, and J. W. Gillespie, Jr., “Experimental Investigation of Tow Pullout Behavior or Aramid Fabric,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Nilakantan, G., M. Keefe, J. W. Gillespie, Jr., and T. A. Bogetti, “Modeling the Material and Failure Response of Continuous Filament Fabrics for Use in Impact Applications,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Nilakantan, G., M. Keefe, J. W. Gillespie, Jr., and T. A. Bogetti, “Simulating the Impact of Multi-layer Fabric Targets using a Multi-scale Model and the Finite Element Method”, TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Schuster, J., C. Schonborn, and G. Schneider (University of Applied Sciences Kaiserslautern,), D. Heider (University of Delaware), K. Sharp (3TEX, Inc.), and M. Glowania (RWTH Aachen, Institut fur Textiltechnik), “Analysis of Thermal Conductivities of Three-Dimensionally Woven Fabric Composites,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Steggall, C., P. Simacek, S. Yarlagadda, and S. G. Advani, “A Model to Describe Thermoplastic Resin Impregnation in a Unit Cell of a Fiber Tow Within a Textile Preform,” TEXCOMP9, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, October 13-15, 2008.

Thostenson, E. T., L.M. Gao, and T-W. Chou, “Carbon Nanotube Networks: In situ Sensing of Damage Evolution in Fiber Composites,” Proceedings of the 40th International SAMPE Technical Conference, Memphis, TN, September 8-11, 2008)

Journals

Thostenson, E. T. and T-W. Chou, "Carbon Nanotube-Based Health Monitoring of Mechanically Fastened Composite Joints," Composites Science and Technology, 68(12), pp. 2557–2561, 2008.

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