Gregory Freihofer wins 2nd place at the SAMPE CAMX student paper competition
Multiscale mechanics to determine nanocomposite elastic properties with piezospectroscopy
Read our paper in Acta Materialia
Abstract:
The piezospectroscopic (PS) properties of chromium-doped alumina allow for embedded inclusion mechanics to be revisited with unique experimental setups that probe the particles’ state of stress when the composite is under applied load. These experimental investigations of particle mechanics will be compared to the Eshelby theory and a derivative theory. This work discovers that simple nanoparticle load transfer theories are adequate for predicting PS properties in the low to intermediate volume fraction range (⩽20%). By applying the multiscale mechanics to a PS response, the inverse problem was demonstrated to reveal the elastic modulus of the composite. The implications for this technique are damage monitoring through observation of reduced mechanical properties in addition to a method to assist with engineering nanomaterials.