Opportunity: Mechanical Response of Advanced Materials in Extreme Environments

Modern Army systems rely on advanced materials that must withstand extreme operational environments, including intense thermal exposure, severe mechanical loads, and physical impacts. Characterizing how novel high-temperature materials, advanced protective systems, and additive manufacturing (AM) components deform and fail under these diverse conditions is a critical engineering challenge. The objective of this summer research project is to evaluate the mechanical response of these next-generation materials across various loading rates and environmental conditions, while optimizing the diagnostics used to measure them. In this effort, you will work alongside multidisciplinary researchers to conduct mechanical characterization experiments—spanning quasi-static to dynamic loading rates—using non-contact Digital Image Correlation (DIC) to capture full-field, transient strain and displacement data in real-time. To accomplish this, you will utilize state-of-the-art instrumentation, including mechanical load frames, dynamic impact tools, and advanced DIC analysis software. The expected deliverables include experimental datasets and analytical models that describe the material response across a range of loading rates and environmental conditions.