Events Calendar

Aerospace & Mechanical Engineering Dept. Seminar

Speaker: Lorenzo Valdevit , Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department, University of California, Irvine

Talk Title: Hierarchical Architected Materials as a Platform for Novel Multifunctional Systems

Abstract:

Periodic cellular materials are desirable for applications requiring high specific stiffness and strength. If the architecture is open-celled, a number of multifunctional attributes can be added, with potential for multi-objective optimization. Although conventional industrial technologies limit the achievable unit cell complexity, recent progress in advanced manufacturing is enabling fabrication of hierarchical cellular materials of nearly any topology with wide dimensional bandwidth (i.e., the ratio of the dimension of the largest to the smallest feature in the architecture).

Hierarchical unit cell designs with wide dimensional bandwidth are showing particular promise, often revealing unique mechanical behavior. Furthermore, if the smallest feature in the architecture is at the sub-micron scale, unique size effects in plasticity can further improve the mechanical response.

In this presentation, I will discuss novel ultra-light micro-architected nickel hollow-truss lattices with unprecedented combinations of density, stiffness, strength and damping characteristics. Results of extensive experimental investigations (both at the nano and macro-scale) will be presented, alongside numerical models and optimal design tools. Some preliminary work on ceramic and hybrid architected materials manufactured by 3D printing will also be discussed. Collectively, all these investigations indicate that a strong synergism among advanced manufacturing, materials science, multi-scale experimental and computational mechanics and sophisticated optimization tools is required to reach the full potential of hierarchical architected materials.


Biography: Lorenzo Valdevit received his MS degree (Laurea) in Materials Engineering from the University of Trieste, Italy (in 2000) and his PhD degree in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering from Princeton University (in 2005). He worked as an intern at the IBM T.J. Watson Research Center and as a post-doctoral scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara. He is presently an Assistant Professor in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at the University of California, Irvine (with a joint appointment in Chemical Engineering and Materials Science). He is a member of Pi Tau Sigma and Tau Beta Pi and is the recipient of the 2007 Faculty Award from IBM Corporation. His primary research goal is the optimal design, fabrication and experimental characterization of micro-architected materials with superior combination of properties. His group has recently developed novel micro-mechanical test frames and numerical algorithms to help achieve this overarching goal.

Host: Prof. Andrea Hodge

More Info: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/9-19-12-valdevit.shtml

Location: Seaver Science Library (SSL) - Room 150

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: April Mundy

Event Link: http://ame-www.usc.edu/seminars/9-19-12-valdevit.shtml