"Toughening of bonded interfaces in composite joints – a sustainable transition to biobased adhesives" - November 30, 2023, Thursday, 2:00 pm, Pavilhão de Mecânica II, amphitheatre AM

Date: November 30, 2023, Thursday
Time: 2:00 pm
Place: Pavilhão de Mecânica II, amphitheatre AM

Short Program

2:00 pm – 2:10 pm Prize Delivery "Professor Júlio Montalvão e Silva" (Winner of 2021-2022 edition)
2:10 pm – 2:55 pm Seminars@DEM - Sofia Teixeira de Freitas
2:55 pm – 3:10 pm Moment open to discussion

• Speaker: Sofia Teixeira de Freitas (IST/DEM/Scientific Area of Mechanical Design and Materials in Engineering)

• Title: "Toughening of bonded interfaces in composite joints – a sustainable transition to biobased adhesives"
_{(Seminar delivered in English Language, to be more inclusive)}

• Abstract:

Adhesive bonding is a suitable joining technology for both single and multi-material structures as it can deliver high performance structural joints without penalizing the substrate materials. However, the potential sudden failure and limited crack arresting capability of the current bonded joints, as well as the inability of non-destructively detecting interface failure, are limiting their application in load-bearing structures. Developing innovative toughening mechanisms is crucial to improve the reliability of bonded joints. These are currently refocused on interface and adhesive patterning, substrate design and in inclusion of microstructures and no longer limited to changes in the adhesive material or on conventional rivets to stop a growing crack. At the same time, the world is seeking for decreasing its dependency on oil-based products. High performance adhesives are often using oil-based chemical components. Biobased counterparts often deliver poor performance. This leads to the key question of how to improve the reliability of bonded joints while transitioning to biobased materials and hence contribute to the decarbonization of our planet.

• Short Biographic Note:

Sofia Teixeira de Freitas is an Associate Professor at Instituto Superior Técnico in the University of Lisbon, Portugal. Her research focuses on the fracture and damage mechanisms of interfaces and layered materials with the mission to generate sustainable load bearing structures. She is the recipient of the Young Talent innovation award by the Dutch Organization for Scientific Research (VENI) and the Delft Technology Fellowship. Among other research projects, she has been the Chair of the COST Action CERTBOND which gathers 30 European countries and +100 members on the topic of composite bonded joints. She is also an accredited group facilitator and a strong ambassador of Diversity and Inclusion in the academic environment. Sofia believes that developing an academic world grounded in cooperation and inclusion is crucial to break the technology limits to truly achieve a sustainable society.

This is another seminar of the “Seminars@DEM” cycle.