Borys Drach

Date of Award

Spring 2013

Project Type

Dissertation

Program or Major

Mechanical Engineering

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

First Advisor

Igor I Tsukrov

Abstract

Carbon/carbon composite is a high-performance material with a unique set of physical and thermo-mechanical properties making it irreplaceable for severe environment aerospace applications. Its complex hierarchical microstructure presents materials scientists and engineers with substantial modeling challenges when it comes to predicting material's behavior under various loading conditions. My research has been focused on characterization, mutliscale modeling and mechanical testing of this composite. A set of new elasticity solutions for the carbon fiber surrounded by multiple layers of pyrolytic carbon represented as a multicoated cylinder is presented on the microscale. On the mesoscale, deterministic and statistical approaches to evaluation of contributions of irregularly shaped pores in C/C composites to the effective mechanical properties are proposed. Finally, on the macroscale, tension/compression testing is utilized to estimate elastic moduli of C/C composite specimens. Methods that are presented in this dissertation provide valuable tools applicable not only to carbon/carbon composites, but a wide range of fiber-reinforced composites and materials with irregularly shaped pores and particles.

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