Within the framework of the Cluster of Excellence Engineering of Advanced Materials at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg the materials modeling group of the Institute for General Material Properties is inviting applications for postdocs in the field of atomistic simulations of mechanical properties.  The research projects will focus on the role of interfaces on the plastic deformation and fracture of nanostructured materials.

The Atomistic Materials Modeling group of Prof. Erik Bitzek is inviting applications for a fully funded PhD position at the Institute for General Materials Properties within the Department of Materials Science of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg in Erlangen, Germany. The objective of the PhD project is to use atomistic simulation methods to study the influence of topological anisotropy on the mechanical properties of inorganic glasses.

The Institute for General Materials Properties of the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) is seeking outstanding candidates for the project “microK_Ic – Microscopic Origins of Fracture Toughness”, which is funded by an ERC Consolidator Grant.

Dear Colleagues, if you are interested in the state-of-the-art R&D in composite materials, you might want to attend the American Society for Composites Anuual Meeting at Purdue (10/22-25, 2017). The registeration is open at https://cdmhub.org/groups/asc2017/registration

Dear Mechanician,

A novel method for the identification of higher-order continua equivalent to a Cauchy composite has been published, as a result of the collaboration between the following two ERC projects:

http://erc-instabilities.unitn.it

http://musam.imtlucca.it/CA2PVM.html

Full paper:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mechrescom.2017.07.002

Abstract:

The candidate will work in a project related with smart manufacturing of composite materials by injection/infusion techniques. The project will consist in a joint collaboration between Data Mining Research Group from Universidad Politécnica de Madrid (UPM) and IMDEA Materials Institute.The research activities will be focussed on the application of simulation techniques (computational fluid mechanics) to the optimization of manufacturing process of composite materials by liquid moulding, including the creation of a physical demonstrator.

These two papers have recently been published in Int. J. Mech. Sci. and Acta Mech.:

1) Analytical Models for the Impact of a Solid Sphere on a Fluid-Filled Spherical Shell Incorporating the Stress Wave Propagation Effect and their Applications to Blunt Head Impacts

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0020740317308949

2) A non-classical model for an orthotropic Kirchhoff plate embedded in a viscoelastic medium

http://dx.doi.org/10.1039/C7NR04455K Graphene has excellent mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. However, there are limitations in utilizing monolayers of graphene for mechanical engineering applications due to its atomic thickness and lack of bending rigidity. Synthesizing graphene aerogels or foams is one approach to utilize graphene in three-dimensional bulk forms. Recently, graphene with a gyroidal geometry has been proposed.

Load separation curves between self-affine rough surfaces have been studied by means of extensive numerical simulations. The results of the comparison with the two main contact mechanics theories have been reported. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-07234-4

Rong Long

Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder