Dr. Zherui Martinez-Guo —Research Assistant Professor Ballistic & Hypervelocity impact; Energetic materials; Armor systems optimization; Solid mechanics; Synchrotron X-rays in the Purdue University Aeronautics and Astronautics Department

Abstract: Under high strain rate loading conditions such as collisions or ballistic impact, the transient deformation and failure modes can be drastically different due to mechanical wave propagation within the material. Characterization of a system's mechanical response under a broad range of strain rates is necessary for a complete understanding of material behavior, and X-rays are often used to observe the temporal evolution of material behavior and failure within the sample. The Purdue Impact Science Lab has a long history of collaborating with the scientists at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) synchrotron at Argonne National Laboratory to develop advanced diagnostics and experimentation methods with high speed imaging (up to 5 million fps), high strain rates (approx. 10^6/s), and high velocities (~ 600 m/s). Prior efforts include simultaneous high-rate X-ray imaging and diffraction, visualizing dynamic failure modes of polymers and biomaterials at sub-micron resolutions, and quantifying crack behavior of high performance ceramics under ballistic impact.

Biography: Dr. Zherui Martinez-Guo is a research assistant professor with Purdue's School of Aeronautics & Astronautics and the current head of the Impact Science Laboratory. He graduated from Purdue University in 2020 with a Ph.D. in Aeronautics and Astronautics Engineering, focusing on the ballistic impact and performance optimization of protective armor systems. Prior to coming back to Purdue, he was a Russell L. Heath Distinguished Fellow with Idaho National Laboratory's National & Homeland Security directorate. His multi-disciplinary research combines experimental efforts in impact dynamics, solid mechanics, composites science, and advanced materials characterization methods using synchrotron X-rays to develop design optimization and materials.