This is a past event.

ME-EM Graduate Seminar Speaker Series

proudly presents

Beckry Abdel-Magid, PhD

Winona State University

Abstract

The phenomenal, more than twenty-fold, growth of production and use of composite materials in the last 60 years in the US is evidence of the important role these materials play in many sectors of industry across the world. A snapshot of the growth in the composite materials industry and the sectors in which they are applied will be given in this presentation. Furthermore, a summary of two research projects on both thermosets and thermoplastic polymer composites will be discussed. The first is a near decade-long study of E-glass/epoxy and E-glass/polyurethane composites revealing that these materials retain more than 50% of their strength and stiffness properties after seven and a half years in seawater environment. A model was developed to predict their properties for extended applications under seawater. The second is a study of continuous fiber reinforced thermoplastic composites showing that higher mechanical properties of these materials can be achieved with increasing fiber content than currently practiced in industry. Two matrix systems high density polyethylene and polyphenylene sulfide, and two fiber systems glass fiber and carbon fiber were considered. The level of increase in properties depends on the type of fiber and thermoplastic matrix. As expected, a tradeoff in reduction of other properties was observed but an optimum amount of reinforcement can be achieved for different materials.

Bio

Beckry Abdel-Magid is professor, chair, and founding faculty of the composite materials engineering program at Winona State University. His expertise is in mechanics, mechanical characterization, and durability of composite materials. His area of research is in durability of polymer matrix composites in various environments, and the application of fiber reinforced composites in civil and mechanical infrastructure. Dr. Abdel-Magid is a senior research faculty at the Advanced Structures and Composites Center at the University of Maine, and a Fulbright Specialist in composite materials and engineering education.

Invited by: Amir Hussain Idrisi