Deformation and Failure Mechanisms of Cellulose-derived Advanced Structures

Abstract

Cellulose, the most abundant natural polymer in the world, has attracted considerable attention recently owing to its superior mechanical properties, biodegradability, and low cost. Various cellulose-based materials have been developed, e.g., cellulose-based films (paper), hydrogels, aerogels, fibers, and composites. These materials feature a broad range of desirable functions such as optical transparency, high strength and toughness, programmable hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity, and electrical/ion/thermal conductivity, with the potential to be used in a wide range of applications such as energy storage, textile engineering, biomedicine, packaging, etc. This research proposal is devoted to advance the understanding of the deformation and failure mechanics of cellulose-derived sustainable materials, specifically, from the aspect of (1) deformation behaviors of cellulose-based functional structure design, including (a) 3D-printed deformable electrodes and separator for Lithium-ion batteries and (b) humidity-responsive, strong and smart cellulosic fiber actuators; (2) enriching the existing parameters to facilitate the mechanistic understanding of cellulose papers; (3) modeling the deformation and failure mechanism of chemically treated wood composite, such as (a) enhanced structural integrity of super wood (b) foldability of moldable wood versus. non-moldable wood (c) multilayered elastic wood for sustainable footwears; (4) failure mechanisms of super wood veneer tubes in the aspects of (a) failure mechanism of the unique petaling behavior of super wood tubes (b) a systematic finite element analysis on the geometrical dependency of failure modes and energy absorption performance of super wood tubes. (c) glue effects on the failure mode and energy absorption performance of super wood tubs under both static and dynamic loading conditions. Hopefully, the mechanistic understandings of cellulose-derived materials in current dissertation will shed light on developing a variety of structural applications for a more sustainable society.