Marcelo Dias

Damage propagation in architected materials

In this talk, we will discuss damage propagation in architected materials. Traditionally, elastic-brittle materials undergo catastrophic failure due to stress concentrations within a short process zone size. On the other hand, architected materials offer an avenue to manipulate damage propagation, mitigate defects, and control the fracture process zone size from geometry and topology. We shall attempt to elucidate the underlying principles that govern the control of damage processes, mostly in 2D lattices, and allude to their potential engineering applications in the context of conceptual structural joints. We will also offer a view on how modelling of architected materials may necessitate homogenisation techniques that capture non-local effects. In simplifying this challenge, we leverage Cosserat elasticity, thus refining the standard elastic foundation theory to accommodate materials exhibiting micropolar behaviour.