Transient mechanical phenomena such as propagation of waves and interaction between materials at high strain rates are studied. Experimental methods for determination of mechanical quantities such as impact force, impact response, mobility, complex modulus, dissipation, dynamic fracture stress and compressibility are current areas of interest. Important applications are measurement of dynamic processes in materials and structures. Fracture mechanics of wood . A new area of research is failure mechanisms in the natural composite wood, and in wood-polymer composites.
Wood is a highly heterogeneous material containing interfaces and long cylindrical pores.
Polypropylene based composites, having poor mechanical properties especially at low temperatures, are being improved by adding wood fibers. The resulting mechanical properties such as strength, elongation to failure impact strength are still poor. In this activity the mechanical properties will be studied after adding small amounts of compatibilitizers that modifies the properties of the interface between the wood fibers and the polypropylene. Our work includes modeling of porous materials and materials at high strain-rate conditions. The behavior of irradiated boron carbide have been of particular interest.