You are cordially invited to attend the following special seminar sponsored by the Department of Mechanical Engineering

The Jerzy L. Nowinski Lecture
(1975-2005)

THE MECHANICS OF CARBON NANOTUBES AND THEIR COMPOSITES

May 5, 2005

Room 106, Center for Composite Materials
2:00 PM

Dr. Tsu-Wei Chou
Pierre S. du Pont Chair of Engineering 

Department of Mechanical Engineering
University of Delaware
Newark, DE 19716 

Multi-scale multi-phenomena modeling of the structure-property-function relations for carbon nanotubes and their composites requires a consideration of modeling hierarchy bridging the lengths from nano- to micro- to macro-scale.  The first part of the presentation focuses on the atomistic modeling of carbon nanotube behavior.  Using a molecular structural mechanics approach, we have simulated nanotube static and dynamic properties.  Thermal properties of carbon nanotubes, such as specific heat and thermal expansion, are studied by quantizing the vibrational modes of carbon nanotubes.  The applications of nanotube-based mechanical sensors are also discussed.  Knowledge of the nanotube performance is relevant to the second part of this presentation, which focuses on a micromechanical approach for predicting the nanocomposite elastic behavior as a function of the constituent properties, reinforcement geometry, and nanotube structure.  The experimental characterization results of a model composite system of aligned multi-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in a polystyrene matrix highlight the structure/size influence of the nanotube reinforcement on the properties of the nanocomposite.  The presentation concludes with a few brief remarks on key areas for future research.