Undergraduate Research in Engineering Mechanics

Some ENGM faculty support undergraduate students, usually during the summer, to carry out undergraduate research projects. If you are interested in learning more about these possibilities, contact the faculty member with whom you would like to work.

Below is a sample of a summer research project.

Thermomechanical testing to characterize the behavior of cross-linked glassy polymers around their glass-transition temperature

Advisor: M. Negahban

The project involved the experimental and computer analysis of the thermomechanical behavior of an aircraft grade cross-linked acrylic. This project is one phase in a process intended to model the thermomechanical behavior of this polymer over a ran ge of temperatures which define its processing and service conditions.

The long term goal would be to develop models which can be used in the computer simulation of processes used to manufacture products out of these materials. In particular, at the glass-transition temperature polymers start to rapidly soften and, as a result, go from a glass like material to a rubber like material. For this reason, many processing methods take advantage of this transition and heat the polymer to above the glass-transition for processing.

The students were responsible for the setup, calibration and maintenance of the testing facility, were involved in preparation of samples and the completion of a set of mechanical experiments, were involved in the supervision of the development of grips, and conducted computer analysis of the experimental results.