About this role
NASA seeks to develop and transition technology that will reduce the cost and risk of applying advanced composite materials in aerospace structures. High-fidelity analysis methods that can reliably predict the onset of damage and damage progression leading to ultimate failure in composite structures are an important contribution to this goal. These models can augment or de-risk the testing used for the design and certification of primary aircraft structures.
Students will conduct research activities to further understanding of the requirements for accurate and robust finite element-based predictions of damage propagation in polymer matrix composites. A key component will be development, verification, or validation activities using the NASA CompDam material model (https://github.com/nasa/CompDam_DGD). Potential student work activities include: 1) post-processing experimental data to improve understanding of damage mechanisms, 2) building, running, and post-processing finite element models to evaluate damage modeling approaches, 3) developing new material modeling approaches for predicting the strength and life of composite structures, and 4) developing scripts to automate manual tasks for processing experimental and analytical data.
**Eligible Applicants:** Student
**Academic Level:** Undergraduate Senior, Graduate Master's, Graduate Doctoral, Post Doctoral
**Activity Type:** In-person
**Citizenship:** US Citizen Only
**Type:** Internships