07/22/2025
By Danielle Fretwell

The Francis College of Engineering, Department of Mechanical Engineering, invites you to attend a Doctoral Dissertation defense by Jamal Husseini on: "Integration of Manufacturing Induced Variation in the Multiscale Analysis of Composite Aerospace Structures."

Candidate Name: Jamal Husseini
Degree: Doctoral
Defense Date: Friday, August 1, 2025
Time: 1 - 3 p.m.
Location: Southwick Hall 240

Committee:

  • Advisor: Scott Stapleton, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell
  • Evan Pineda, Research Aerospace Engineer, Multiscale and Multiphysics Modeling Branch, NASA Glenn Research Center
  • Christopher Hansen, Chair, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell
  • Alireza Amirkhizi, Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Lowell

Abstract:
Fiber reinforced composites are desirable for high performance aerospace applications where structures are required to have high stiffnesses, strengths, and damage tolerance while maintaining low weight. While the application of these materials is known, implementation and certification are difficult because of the uncertainty in mechanical properties. These uncertainties stem from phenomena formed at lower length scales, such as nonuniformity in fiber arrangements, where stress concentrations within fiber clusters can initiate failure and propagate easily through resin-rich regions. To better understand these effects, computational models can be developed that are able to predict the effects of different microstructural arrangements both at the microstructural and macroscale. This work addresses several main challenges in characterizing, generating, and simulating fiber reinforced composite microstructures, as well as multiscale frameworks that allow for macroscale predictions based on microscale fiber arrangement. The developed tools were verified against commercial and research software and experimental microscopy images. Multiscale frameworks were validated using experimental studies, where the goal was to capture and predict the structural variability due to microscale heterogeneities. These simulation tools also enabled large stochastic studies to examine many different fiber arrangements, model geometries, and variations in material properties.

This comprehensive framework advances the predictive capability of composite simulations by bridging microstructural variability, efficient modeling, and experimental validation across multiple length scales.