AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Abstract

Fracture is not only an intriguing scientific topic but also of great importance in practical engineering. The

atomic-level understanding of material failure may help design new toughening method to control fracture. In this talk, we will discuss modeling fracture in a variety of material systems including metallic glasses, oxide glasses, polymeric glasses, various composites, and silk, using molecular dynamics simulations. The effect of different mechanical loading modes, such as uniaxial tension/compression, shear, cyclic loading, and static fatigue, will be discussed. Finally, brittle-to-ductile transitions observed in the MD simulations will be discussed which may help devise useful toughening strategy.

Speaker

Dr. Yunfeng Shi

Professor at the Materials Science and Engineering Department at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Dr. Shi received his B.E. from Tsinghua University in 2000, M.S. from the University of Illinois in 2002, and Ph.D. degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 2006, all in materials science. Prior to joining RPI in 2008, he spent two years at North Carolina State University as a Postdoctoral Research Associate. Dr. Shiʼs research focuses on simulation and modeling of complex materials systems. He was an inaugural Gordon S. Fulcher Distinguished Researcher at Corning Inc., where he spent his sabbatical in 2015.