Publications related to Mechanical properties of highly filled latex-based polystyrene/laponite nanocomposites

Two-dimensional quasi-static delamination in composite laminates under Mode-I and Mode-II conditions

Fiber-polymer composites consist of a polymer matrix and reinforcing fibers made of various materials. These composites exhibit exceptional properties, such as a high strength-to-weight ratio and excellent corrosion resistance, which has led to their incre ...

EPFL2024

Numerical investigation of two-dimensional Mode-II delamination in composite laminates

Thomas Keller, Anastasios Vassilopoulos, Congzhe Wang

Existing standards for delamination tests on composite materials typically employ one-dimensional (1D) beam specimens. However, such specimens may not represent real delamination scenarios in composite structures, where cracks tend to propagate in two dime ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2024

Strategies for energy-efficient frontal polymerisation processing and microstructural evaluation of fibre reinforced composites

Jacobus Gerardus Rudolph Staal

Liquid composite moulding methods are widely applied for manufacturing of fibre reinforced polymer (FRP) composites and consist of two main stages: impregnation of fibrous reinforcements by a liquid monomer resin and curing of this resin. This thesis work ...

EPFL2023

Incorporation of Lignin in Bio-Based Resins for Potential Application in Fiber-Polymer Composites

Mário Alexandre De Jesus Garrido, Mateus De Assunção Hofmann

Bio-based resins, obtained from renewable raw materials, are a more sustainable alternative to oil-based resins for fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) composites. The incorporation of lignin in those resins has the potential to enhance their performance. This ...

MDPI2023

Understanding the mechanisms of adhesive wear for heterogeneous materials through atomistic simulations

Jean-François Molinari, Sacha Zenon Wattel, Antonio Joaquin Garcia Suarez

When two rough surfaces slide against each other, two main behaviors can be observed at the asperity level: A ductile behavior where the asperities tend to smooth out or a brittle behavior where the asperities detach and form debris. Recently, a critical l ...

2022

Hydraulic fracture growth in quasi-brittle materials

Dong Liu

Hydraulic fracturing is a technique often used in the oil and gas industry to enhance the production of wells in low-permeability reservoirs. It consists of fluid injection at a sufficiently large injection rate to create and propagate tensile fractures in ...

EPFL2021

Design and Development of Injectable, Tough and Intrinsically-Adhesive Hydrogels for Biomedical Applications

Peyman Karami

Despite the development of hydrogels with a wide range of mechanical properties, insufficient adhesion between these materials and biological surfaces limits their use in the biomedical applications. Most recent advancements in highly adhesive hydrogel sys ...

EPFL2021

Improving delamination resistance through tailored defects

John Botsis

Delamination is a well-known damage mode exhibited by laminated composites which has been extensively studied in unidirectional laminates (UD). In this work, a novel strategy consisting of the introduction of a small interlaminar defect to enhance the frac ...

2020

Phase behaviour and structure of a model biomolecular condensate

Julian Charles Shillcock

Phase separation of immiscible fluids is a common phenomenon in polymer chemistry, and is recognized as an important mechanism by which cells compartmentalize their biochemical reactions. Biomolecular condensates are condensed fluid droplets in cells that ...

2020

Planar hydraulic fracture growth perpendicular to the isotropy plane in a transversely isotropic material

Brice Tanguy Alphonse Lecampion, Fatima-Ezzahra Moukhtari, Haseeb Zia

The configuration of a hydraulic fracture (HF) propagating perpendicular to the isotropy plane of a transversely isotropic (TI) material is encountered in most sedimentary basins. We account for both elastic and fracture toughness anisotropy, and investiga ...

2020

Propagation of fluid driven fractures in transversely isotropic material

Fatima-Ezzahra Moukhtari

The propagation of fluid driven fractures is used in a number of industrial applications (well stimulation of unconventional reservoirs, development of deep geothermal systems) but also occurs naturally (magmatic dyke intrusion). While the mechanics of hyd ...

EPFL2020

Fault Stability Across the Seismogenic Zone

François Xavier Thibault Passelègue

Across the seismogenic zone, the transition from brittle to plastic deformation corresponds to a semibrittle regime where brittle fracturing and plastic flow coexist at high strength conditions. Thorough experimental investigations on brittle-plastic trans ...

AMER GEOPHYSICAL UNION2020

Impact of the anisotropy of fracture toughness on the propagation of planar 3D hydraulic fracture

Brice Tanguy Alphonse Lecampion, Haseeb Zia, Weihan Zhang

Sedimentary rocks often exhibit a transverse isotropy due to fine scale layering. We investigate the effect of the anisotropy of fracture toughness on the propagation of a planar 3D hydraulic fracture perpendicular to the isotropy plane: a configuration co ...

2018

Supershear bursts in the propagation of a tensile crack in linear elastic material

Jean-François Molinari, Fabian Barras, René Carpaij

Since the early years of the linear elastic theory of fracture [linear elastic fracture mechanics (LEFM)], scientists have sought to understand and predict how fast cracks grow in a material or slip fronts propagate along faults. While shear cracks can tra ...

2018

Size limitations on achieving tough and healable fibre reinforced composites through the use of thermoplastic nanofibres

Véronique Michaud, Amaël Maximilien Cohades, Lode Geeraard Daelemans

Phase-separated blends of epoxy and poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) provide crack repair in composites after a thermal treatment at 150 °C, but decrease the material’s fracture toughness. This article investigates the combination of healing with interlaminar fr ...

2018

The relationship between low-temperature toughness and secondary crack in low-carbon bainitic weld metals

Cyril Cayron, Roland Logé, Rui Cao, Gaojun Mao

This paper aims to reveal the relationship among low-temperature toughness, microstructure and secondary crack from both microstructural and crystallographic perspectives. Instrumented Charpy tests were carried out in the upper platform, transition tempera ...

2018

Stretchable and Highly Bendable Thin Film Transistors Based on Atomically Thin Chemical Vapor Deposited Molybdenum Disulfide

Yen-Cheng Kung

Two-dimensional (2D) materials have received tremendous research attention recently, as they possess peculiar physical properties in their monolayer and few-layer forms, which further lead to novel applications. A wide range of 2D materials covers insulato ...

EPFL2018

Strength and fracture of silicon second-phase particles in aluminium casting alloys

Martin Guillermo Mueller

The mechanical behaviour of metallic materials that have a microstructure composed of a brittle phase embedded in a ductile matrix is dictated by a complex interplay of factors such as local phase properties, cohesive properties, geometrical characteristic ...

EPFL2017

Effect of an adhesive layer on the mode I delamination in unidirectional CFRP bonded joints

Nassima Nasri

Several toughening mechanisms, such as fibre bridging, can occur during delamination of fibre reinforced composites. In structures made of composite bonded joints, delamination can occur either in the composite or in the adhesive layer. In the first case c ...

EPFL2017

Fracture of thin-ply composites : effects of ply thickness

Guillaume Frossard

The demand for carbon/epoxy laminated composites is continuously increasing due to their high specific modulus and strength. Among them, laminates made of particularly thin layers (from t=0.015 to 0.150 mm) and called thin-ply composites are gaining in int ...

EPFL2017