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UROP: Project 02
Computational Design of Biomimetic Microvascular Material
Faculty Advisor:
Alejandro Aragon (PhD student in CEE): aaragon2@uiuc.edu
Prof. Philippe H. Geubelle (AE): geubelle@uiuc.edu
Project Description
Inspired by a multitude of natural systems (leaves, human body, etc.), microvascular materials constitute a new class of artificial materials consisting of a polymeric matrix with an embedded network of microchannels with diameters as small as 30 microns. These materials have shown to have a lot of potential in self-healing, self-healing and self-sensing applications. The development, design, manufacturing, analysis and testing of these new materials constitute the focus of this Air Force supported project involving faculty members and students from the fields of fluid and solid mechanics, materials science and chemistry.
The objective of this particular project is to develop and implement a set of computational tools to achieve the optimal design of 2-D and 3-D microvascular networks for self-cooling applications. This involves a combination of advanced finite element tools for the solution of the resulting thermal problem and optimization schemes based on genetic algorithms (GA), which are able to search for the optimal solution is the very large design and constraint space.
Some recent examples of network designs obtained solely for optimum flow properties are shown in Figure 1. Current activities include combining flow analysis tools with thermal finite element solver to predict the effect of the embedded network on the temperature field in the microvascular material subjected to a variety of thermal loading conditions.
Student Background and Expected Research Activities
We are looking for a motivated student with an interest and with good programming skills. Previous experience in finite element modeling is a plus but is not required. The student will work closely with A. Aragon and P. Geubelle on the further development and application of the multiphysics optimization GA tool.
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