strength

Twenty years in since their introduction, it is now plain that the regularized formulations dubbed as phase-field of the variational theory of brittle fracture of Francfort and Marigo (1998) provide a powerful macroscopic theory to describe and predict the propagation of cracks in linear elastic brittle materials under arbitrary quasistatic loading conditions. Over the past ten years, the ability of the phase-field approach to also possibly describe and predict crack nucleation has been under intense investigation.

Job description: We are seeking innovative and highly motivated PhD candidates to join the FROG lab in the mechanical engineering department at the University of Ottawa.

http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2015/07/01/1502870112.full.pdf?with-ds...

H. Zhu*, S. Zhu*, Z. Jia*, S. Parvinian, Y. Li, O. Vaaland, L. Hu, T. Li, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Early Edition, 2015 (DOI:10.1073/pnas.1502870112)

Silicon devices are ubiquitous in many micro- and nano-scale technological applications, most notably microelectronics and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).  Despite their widespread usage, however, issues related to uncertain mechanical reliability remain a major factor inhibiting the further advancement of device commercialization.  In particular, reliability issues related to the fracture of MEMS components have become increasingly important given continued reductions in critical feature sizes coupled with recent escalations in both MEMS device actuation forces and harsh usage

Hi all,

I am going simulate a plate of porous material (SiC) to evaluate its strengh.

Would someone share some knowledge on the mechanics of the porous materials.

Thanks.

 /Hao