MECHANICS OF QUASI-BRITTLE MATERIALS
SUSAN ALEXIS BROWN
PhD Student of Civil Engineering
Northwestern University
Google Scholar ORCID: 0000-0002-7467-3991
The Civil Team at the NU MatSci 5k 2019
Overview
I am a second year PhD student of Civil Engineering, in the Materials, Mechanics, and Structures group at Northwestern University. I received a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Gordon College. My undergraduate research studied the corrosion properties of CuAlM superelastic alloys, for use in seismic applications and improving building resiliency. I received a Master of Science from Northwestern in 2020. My current research focuses on long-term deformation of wood structures.
Current Research
Wood Creep
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Study of the long-term deformation in wood structures due to creep and environmental factors, including development of a database of experimental studies.
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Implementation of creep prediction models derived from the database in FEA modeling.
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Extension of the standard creep model to include orthotropic behavior and transient moisture effects.
Cross-Laminated Timber
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Mechanics of timber structural elements such as cross-laminated timber (CLT) and glue-laminated beams.
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Application of previously developed creep model to laminated structures, with the incorporation of glue creep between the layers
Hybrid Structures
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Scaling of previous simulations to structure-sized models.
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Uses existing work done by this group on concrete creep modeling to simulate hybrid wood-concrete structures, a common building design technique.
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Studies the effects of hybrid design, such as differential shortening.
