Ph.D. Thesis Defense Announcement

MULTI-SCALE ARCHITECTED MATERIAL STRUCTURAL OPTIMIZATION FOR LIGHTWEIGHT STRUCTURES AND ELASTO-STATIC CLOAKING: FROM DESIGN TO ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING

By Fernando Vasconcelos da Senhora

Advisor:

Prof. Glaucio H. Paulino (Princeton University)

Committee Members:  Dr. Emily D. Sanders (ME), Dr. Graeme J. Kennedy (AE), Dr. Aditya Kumar (CEE), Dr. Vikram Deshpande (University of Cambridge)

Date and Time:  June, 27th, 2024.  10:00 am - EDT

Location: Mason Building, Room 5134 / https://gatech.zoom.us/j/95365406015

ABSTRACT
The ever-growing demand for high-performance structures and materials has
pushed traditional design to its limits. The challenges that humanity will face in the
coming centuries in space exploration, biomedicine, and resilient infrastructure
necessitate the development of new structures and materials that surpass our
current capabilities. We propose a multi-scale, multi-material structural optimization
framework featuring locally-varying architected material properties, offering a
promising avenue to address the structural challenges of the future. This research
brings structural optimization and architected materials closer to real-life engineering applications by addressing theoretical, computational, and
manufacturing challenges in the field. We have developed architected material
models with versatile and enhanced mechanical properties while studying the effect
of disorder on their microstructure. Concurrently, we have expanded structural
optimization techniques to accommodate a diverse set of locally-varying
architected materials and design requirements during the optimization for
applications such as extremely light structures with high strength-to-weight ratios
and elasto-static cloaking. To improve computational efficiency, we have
incorporated a machine learning-enhanced framework that achieves optimized
structures at a fraction of the cost of traditional techniques. Simultaneously, we
have advanced manufacturing capabilities to ensure the feasibility of the multi-scale
micro-architecture embedded structures by integrating digital light processing
additive manufacturing techniques within the architected material setting to
fabricate the optimized results. Finally, the manufactured parts undergo mechanical
testing with 3D Digital Image Correlation to evaluate the developed designs. The
proposed engineering framework takes into account all stages of production, from
design to manufacturing. The development of lightweight, high-strength materials
and structures with tailored properties can lead to significant improvements in
efficiency, performance, and sustainability in various applications, with the potential
to impact a wide range of industries, from aerospace to biomedical.