Composite Materials: A Guided Lesson Dr. Suely Black Professor of Chemistry

Thej Tumkur PhD Candidate, Material Science and Engineering

Thomas Wallin PhD Candidate, Material Science and Engineering

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My Research

Soft Actuators

3D Fabrication

Applications: Flexible sensors, artificial muscles, robotics, low cost energy harvesting and biomedical devices Dr. Robert Shepherd ([email protected])

What is Materials Science and Engineering? • •

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Everything is built out of one material or another “Traditional” materials have been engineered to their performance limits In order to build the devices that meet the needs of the future, we need to fundamentally change what materials we use. Materials Science and Engineering is incredibly multidisciplinary, requiring expertise in chemistry, physics, mathematics, biology and other engineering fields.

Why care about Material Science and Engineering? •

Materials determine the technology. Technology determines the culture. •

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Interdisciplinary nature makes MSE beyond scope of traditional science education •

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Bronze age, Iron age, Silicon Age

Need to expose future scientists to this option

Widespread political/social impact of materials advances • •

Need to educate future voters/consumers “Upstream intervention”

Composites? •

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Simplest way to build new material is to combine two materials to create a third, better performing material Very common •

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3000 BCE: mud + straw to form adobe bricks Concrete + steel rebar Carbon fiber hockey sticks, tennis rackets, fishing rods, etc.

Nanocomposites can yield entirely new, novel properties • •

Nano = one component is 1 billionth of a meter in size Quantum mechanical effects!

Composites (cont.) •

Composites can be designed to improve a material’s •

Chemical properties •

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Electrical propertities •

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(more conductive, better capacity)

Mechanical properties •

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(corrosion resistance)

(stronger, stiffer, ductile)

Economics of manufacture •

(cheaper, weight of material)

Mechanical Properties •

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The study of how materials change shape and respond to applied forces and loads Students have first hand, everyday experience with these concepts But common misconceptions are pervasive •

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Stiffness, Strength, Toughness, Ductile, Brittle, Elastic, Plastic

Not emphasized in standard curriculum Need for new curricula design, lesson plans, and activities!

IGERT-MNM •

Integrative Graduate Education and Research Training •

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National Science Foundation funding meant to enable students to challenge traditional graduate education to train the future scientists and leaders of America.

Collaboration between material scientists at Norfolk State University and Cornell University with Engineering Educators Purdue University Interdisciplinary Research, IP & Ethics, Communication Skills, Pedagogy

Pedagogy Module 2014 •

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Learn about best practices in pedagogy from the Dr. Cox engineering education research group Research Next Generation Science Standards Research Current Resources and Identify Needs Task: Create a targeted lesson plan that delivers some aspect of our PhD research to high schoolers • •

Utilize backwards design, learning centers, authentic assessment strategies (formative and summative) Include both teacher and student resources

Composites: Learning Objectives & Priority After this lesson, students should be able to: • Classify common materials according to basic mechanical property terminology •

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Explain how composite materials can offer improvements over conventional materials and why this is important for future technology •

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Worth being familiar with (provided a review just in case)

Enduring understanding

Identify different design choices during composite material construction •

Enduring understanding

Composites: Curriculum During this lesson, students will: • Make composite materials out of simple materials found in everyday life • Test the mechanical properties of the composite materials • Understand and justify how choosing the right materials, proportions and design choices, leads to better mechanical properties.

Composites: Pre-test •

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Knowledge-based drawing on previous learning and life experiences Can be used as formative assessment to show teacher gaps in prior knowledge

Composites: Stress-Strain Curves Activity • •

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Formative assessment Community-based learning Experiential learners, Visual Learners

Composites: Construct and Test Bricks Activity

Composites: Construct and Test Bricks Activity •

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Community, Learner, Knowledge and Assessment Centered Challenge based problem solving Visual, experiential learners Learning objectives are realistic and achievable in a short period of time. Hands on activities, graphing questions, and real life examples to keep students interested Teachers guide lesson to compare to conventional material, introduce engineering considerations, as well as issues that may arise (potential pitfalls)

Composites: Post-Test

Composites: Student Reflection

Composites: Test Run

Lesson Plan: Strengths and Weaknesses • • • • • •

No expensive equipment required Hands-on, self-directed, challenge based learning Incorporates multiple learning centers Appeals to variety of learners Ongoing assessment that reflects curricular priority Hits on multiple disciplines •

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Science (physics), Math (graphing skills) and Engineering

Potential for disruption Assumes some background knowledge that may be out of current curriculum

Questions?

Educational Outreach Program

Prof. Melissa A. Hines, Director

Many Activities Developed by Cornell Faculty† Marvelous Magnets (Imanes Maravillosos)

Jeevak Parpia

Physics

K-2

Grow Creatures (Polymers)

Chris Ober

Mat Sci

K-3

Tie Dye and the Colors of Chemistry

Barbara Cooper

Physics

2-5

Drop Tubes & the Scientific Process

Joel Brock

Appl Phys

3-5

Electroplating & Electrochemistry

Héctor Abruña

Chemistry

6-8

Build a Crystal Radio

Carl Franck

Physics

6-8

Vitamin C and Titration

Geoff Coates

Chemistry

9-12

Solar Cells from Blackberries

Dieter Ast

Mat Sci

6-12

Isotope Rummy

Hening Lin

Chemistry

9-12

Name that Salt! (Thermodynamics)

Melissa Hines

Chemistry

9-12

Ice Cream & the States of Matter

Pete Wolczanski

Chemistry

All

Activities also developed by students, postdocs and staff †Partial

list

Activities include Standardized Lesson Plans and Student Activity Sheets Author (faculty, grad students and teachers)

New York State Standards Met Vocabulary

Time Required Objectives Materials List

Safety Concerns

Student Activity Sheets

Sharing our Resources Online Lesson Plans • Over 100 documents available for download from our website. • Written by faculty, grad students, teachers, staff and RET teachers

Modules • Kits that include: • Standardized Lesson Plan • Student Activity Sheets

• All materials and supplies • Available through our new webbased Lending Library

Online Lending Library of Educational Modules

We ship to any teacher in the US!

Contact Thomas J. Wallin [email protected] Dr. Suely Black Faculty Lead IGERT-MNM Cornell Center for Materials Research Lending Library ccmr.cornell.edu/lending-library