Catalin Picu: Network Materials, Mechanics of Fiber Networks and Applications

Sous l’égide du programme Medicis

Resume

Many materials have a stochastic network of fibers as their main structural component and are referred to collectively as ‘network materials.’ This class includes all biological connective tissue, the extracellular matrix, the cytoskeleton, paper and cellulose networks, nonwoven textiles and various molecular networks. Molecular networks are thermal, in the sense that thermal fluctuations affect their behavior, while all other examples provided are athermal. This talk reviews the relation between the structure of athermal networks and the material-scale mechanical properties, focusing on the common ground of these very diverse material systems. Properties of interest include the non-linear elastic response, the viscoelastic response, the strength and toughness. The effect of an elastic or viscoelastic matrix on the network behavior will be discussed. Inter-fiber adhesion is important in some applications, and this leads to special effects which will be reviewed, if time permits. The talk provides a comprehensive overview of the mechanics of this broad class of materials.

Biographical sketch

Prof. Picu received his PhD degree from Dartmouth College and spent two years as Research Associate at Brown University. He joined the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1998, where he is now Professor and Associate Department Head. He is the author of a book on Network Materials, the co-author of two other books, 20 book chapters and over 200 journal articles. He is a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and Doctor Honoris Causa of the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania.

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