Achievement

Design of adaptive composite materials is a focus of our IGERT. Such materials include shape memory alloys and piezoelectrics with potential uses as micro-actuators, shape-adaptive aircraft parts, etc. For improved strength or temperature response, development of composites of these materials is crucial for many applications. The team for this focus includes a funded MURI “Functionally Graded Multifunctional Hybrid Composites” (Lagoudas (PI), Karaman, Whitcomb), NIRT collaboration (Lagoudas, Karaman, Zhang), and trainees Lester, Bufford, Maxwell, Volk, Hartl. This year Lester and Lagoudas developed new models for high-temperature composites, working in direct conjunction with team members fabricating the materials, and at NRL performing micro-tomography. The model provides improved understanding of the transformation response and in turn can be used for better composite design. Lester presented these results in a new publication and international conferences in Arizona and Greece.