This is the second part in a three-part series about our themes at this year’s Science in the Age of Experience Conference. Stay tuned for our next post, Science is Personal. Read the first post in this series, Science is Discovering.
When we shop for clothes, one of the key things we look for is the material content in the article of clothing. Is it cotton, silk, polyester or a blend of natural and synthetic materials? The material often influences our buying decision due to comfort, affordability, durability or the ability to wash and wear without the need to iron out the wrinkles. What we don’t think about during our shopping is the wealth of science that goes into creating and manufacturing the materials in our clothes and all of the products we use every day.
Some of society’s most pressing problems such as sustainability or plastic pollution in the oceans, are being addressed by scientific research into new, custom and intelligent materials. This research is happening in all industries and includes nanotechnology, biomaterials, plastics, metallurgy and much more. Materials science is also used in forensic engineering and failure analysis to investigate why certain materials fail or do not function as intended thus enabling decisions to use other more suitable materials in the future.
Micromechanics, the study of microscopic behavior of components of materials, has become critical to the design of new advances in material for example in composites for aerospace applications. Multiscale material modeling and simulation offers unique capabilities to explore molecular and physical properties and responses of materials, which is helping researchers understand both the “how” and “why” of their materials’ behavior. The new world of 3DPrinting or Additive Manufacturing is being propelled by the ability to design new materials suited for function not just form & fit.
Exactly how science and engineering are converging to accelerate the development and innovative uses of materials will be one of the main topics at the 2018 Science in the Age of Experience Conference happening this year, June 18-21 in Boston.
One of our keynote speakers is Dr. Byron Pipes, the John Bray Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Schools of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Chemical Engineering and Materials Engineering at Purdue University, and Executive Director of the Composites Manufacturing and Simulation Center.
On Tuesday afternoon, Dr. Pipes will share an overview of new composite materials research and development in aerospace, marine and automotive industries. He will explore how simulation plays a role in developing a virtual twin for evaluating performance and manufacturability. He will discuss various workflows that use 3DEXPERIENCE Design, Simulation, and Biodesign (materials) to develop end-to-end composite manufacturing processes, including validation, to achieve ‘Manufacturing Informed Performance.’
Our Material Modeling Symposium during the conference will focus on micromechanics (multiscale material modeling) and calibration. The symposium will include presentations covering a wide range of industry applications from homogenization methods to composite ply laminates and chopped fibers.
In addition, there will be several breakout sessions on Tuesday and Wednesday featuring technical presentations from Dupont, ATG Tire, Granta Design and others from our partner and user community. These presentations will provide details on how modeling and simulation is being used to explore and improve material behavior to solve engineering and product development challenges.
I look forward to your comments and I hope to meet you at the Science in the Age of Experience to compare notes on what you perceive as the next science driven material breakthrough!
