Prof.
Gal
deBotton Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, 1993 Phone: (972) 8 - 647 7105 Fax: (972) 8 - 647 7106 or 2813 e-mail: debotton@bgumail.bgu.ac.il |
•
Modern
actuators are made
out of exotic materials such as shape
memory alloys (SMA)
and electroactive
polymers
(EAP).
The origin of the shape memory effect is the heterogeneous
microscopic structure of these special alloys. In
recent experiments it was found that electromechanical coupling in
EAPs
can be dramatically enhanced by considering polymers with two or
more
phases. (top of page)
The actuation strains of composite EAPs are 50% higher than the actuation of their phases ! [with Limor Tevet-Deree and Esteban Socolsky, SPIE 06] | A coupled electro-mechanical finite element simulation of the actuation of a unit cell of a composite EAP. [with Esteban Socolsky and Limor Tevet-Deree, MAMS 06] |
The stresses in the collagen fibers of a reinforced tissue are determined (curves) and compared with FE simulations (marks). [with Ilia Hariton and Esteban Socolsky, JMPS 06] | The
evolution of the direction
of collagen fibers
in an artery are determined and compared with experimental
results.
[with I.
Hariton, T.
C.
Gasser and G.
A. Holzapfel BMMB 06] |
With the
right microstructure,
an abrupt impact on one side of the composite can be
smoothen and turn
into a moderate acceleration at its other side. [with Dan Shaine, 2006] |
Bounds
on
the behavior of
nonlinear polycrystals are compared with classical results
of
Hill 1951, Hutchinson 1976 and Willis et
al. 1991. [with P. Ponte
Castañeda, PRSL 95] |