Mark Knackstedt Kimberly-Clark Distinguished Lectureship
Professor Mark Knackstedt
Australian National University
An outstanding porous media scientist, Prof. Knackstedt is in the Department of Applied Mathematics, Research School of Physics and Engineering. His research interests include, among others, 3D imaging of complex real-world materials, pore-scale characterisation of sedimentary rocks and soils, and digital materials analysis.
Title: Digital Materials Design
Abstract:
Digital materials design (DMD) coupled with new manufacturing techniques are emerging technologies that have the potential to revolutionize product realization on a global scale. The key to DMD is access to efficient facilities and tools to characterise material structure and function at multiple scales (from nanometers to structural sizes), in multiple states (relaxed vs under compression, before/after reaction or dissolution) and with multiple probes (multiple x-ray spectra, SEM, chemical imaging with infrared spectroscopy, etc.). Experimental data can then be used to support and validate multiscale simulation work within a DMD environment.
This presentation will outline the development of an integrated DMD workflow based on 3D multiscale imaging, analysis and modelling for geomaterials. The key aim was to “image and compute” - imaging and digitising the pore space and mineral matrix of natural rock and then numerically simulating various physical processes in this digital object to obtain macroscopic rock properties including multiphase flow, electrical conductivity, and elastic response. The presentation discusses the potential for the technology to have a much broader reach beyond the geoscience arena—touching companies and industries and giving rise to a wide range of machines, products, or services. Examples of wider applications that will be discussed include:
- Forward modelling of quasi static and high strain rate compaction/tension experiments in complex materials (rocks & foams)
- Designing new customized materials and components with improved system performance
You can read an extended abstract on digital materials design here.