Dr. Arun Shukla, URI professor of mechanical engineering, recently won a research grant to conduct research into the processing of polymer-particulate nanocomposites. The cooperative research project will address an in-depth investigation on the processing of polymer-particulate nanocomposites and their mechanical, fracture and multi-functional attributes for two different polymer systems, thermosetting resins and thermo plastics.

The project will involve the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur (IITK) and the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Applied Mechanics at the University of Rhode Island.

The constitutive response of the nanocomposites will be evaluated at high strain rates. The behavior of stationary and propagating cracks in polymer nanocomposites under dynamic conditions will be performed using ultra-high speed photography and optical  interferometry. Evaluation of properties at finer length scales will be attempted leading to the development of predictive models.

The research will involve students, technicians and faculty members from both the institutes resulting in senior projects, technical papers, presentations and theses and dissertations. The visiting faculty members and students will receive valuable exposure to the challenges of material synthesis and various experimental techniques used for mechanical and fracture characterization of novel materials.