Francisco López Jiménez
Assistant Professor, Smead Aerospace
Wednesday, Sept. 22 | 12:00 P.M. | Zoom Webinar
Abstract: Deployable space structures are compacted and stowed during launch, and unfurled to their full dimensions once in space, enabling the large systems necessary to advance space science and technology. They often rely on the bending deformation of thin elements, and benefit from materials that can achieve large curvatures before failure.
In recent years, the industry has started relying on high strain composites: thin fiber composite laminates, whose failure curvature is underpredicted by traditional failure analysis of composites. This is due to several effects that can be neglected in thick laminates, but are relevant for these thin laminates. However, the lack of predictive tools makes the development of new designs expensive and time consuming.
We will present results from recent experiments characterizing the failure properties of high strain composites, and discuss the specific micromechanics taking place. We will share preliminary efforts to develop predictive tools, and their application in new deployable systems.
Bio: Francisco López Jiménez is an Assistant Professor in the Ann and H.J. Smead Department of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. He received his Ph.D. in Aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology in 2011. Prior to joining the faculty in 2017, he held postdoctoral research appointments at the Laboratoire de Mécanique des Solides (École Polytechnique, France) and the Massachussets Institute of Technology. His research focuses on the mechanics of lightweight and slender structures.