Project Description:

From soft robotics to drug delivery, there has been significant recent interest in the mechanics of active and responsive solids. One promising approach to such novel materials is magneto-rheological elastomers (MREs). Extending our understanding of nonlinear viscoelastic constitutive relationships to account for magnetic fields responsiveness will lead to interesting new physics. For example, MREs can be used to actuate shape-programmable matter in a "hands off" manner for applications ranging from microfluidics to active dampers. This mechanism is particularly enticing for applications at the intersection of medicine and engineering due to the safe operation of magnetic fields in the medical setting.

In this project, the Gilbreth fellow will work hand-in-hand with an experimental soft matter scientist and a theoretical continuum mechanician to design, characterize, predict and rationalize the nonlinear mechanics of responsive viscoelastic soft solids. They will prepare MRE samples, perform bulk mechanical deformation tests utilizing 3D digital image correlation to quantify the full field deformation of these materials, and design experiments to investigate the magneto-responsiveness of these unique materials. The project seeks to extend the state by analyzing, via experiment, theory and novel data-driven methods, the nonlinear dynamics of MREs subjected to external magnetic fields. We will develop higher-fidelity continuum models of these novel materials by fusing full-field experimental measurements with continuum mechanics via machine learning (e.g., physics-informed neural networks).

Start Date:

Summer or Fall 2023

Postdoc Qualifications:

The postdoctoral researcher should have a PhD in Materials Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Applied/Computational Mathematics, or equivalent. The research requires a good grasp of polymer physics, proficiency in the lab (sample preparation, mechanical and materials properties characterization, etc.), an understanding of continuum mechanics of soft materials, data management skills, and a willingness to learn new approaches based on machine learning.

Co-Advisors:

Chelsea Davis (chelsea@purdue.edu, MSE, polymerinterfacialmechanics.com)
Ivan Christov (christov@purdue.edu, ME, tmnt-lab.org)

Bibliography:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/apr/01/magnetic-turd-scientists-invent-moving-slime-that-could-be-used-in-human-digestive-systems

Magnetorheological elastomers — An underestimated class of soft actuator materials,https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1045389X21990888

Nonlinear Viscoelastic Solids—A Review, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1081286509103660

Soft hydraulics: from Newtonian to complex fluid flows through compliant conduits, https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-648X/ac327d