Bio – Dr. Zhiyong (Richard) Liang is the Professor and Director of the FSU High-Performance Materials Institute (HPMI), and the Deputy Director for NASA STRI: Institute for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design. His research expertise is in the areas of advanced composites, multifunctional nanomaterials, and CNT and nanomaterials, including synthesis, chemical functionalization, processing-microstructure-property relationships, and multiscale characterization and manufacturing process modeling. He holds 25 US patents and published more than 145 refereed journal papers.

Abstract Title: Fundamental understanding and optimization of long-range orders in CNT assemblages for high-performance structural composite applications

Abstract Body: This presentation examines our research towards engineering CNT networks to realize high mechanical and electrical performance. We discovered the unique geometrically constrained self-assembling and graphitic crystal packing of flattened and aligned CNTs during the stretching process of CNT networks. The new microstructures can improve the ultimate surface contact among the CNTs to substantially improve load transfer and mechanical properties. This feature provides the potential to realize microstructures capable of achieving desired long-range orders, fewer defects, and ordered crystalline packing, which are essential for fully transferring the CNT mechanical and electrical properties into macroscopic composite materials.