Alan Lesser

Research Interests

Deformation and fracture of polymers and composites; Strength and Durability; Micromechanics of polymer blends and composites, nano and molecular composites; Constitutive Modeling of Polymers in complex stress states.

Current Research

Polymers and polymer-based composites represent the largest and fastest-growing area of materials for engineering and other structurally-demanding applications. However, a significant investment in molecular and morphological design, mechanical and physical property testing and product evaluation is necessary before new materials can be introduced into these applications. The goal of our research group is to develop a new set of theoretical and experimental tools that enable the streamlined design, optimization, selection, and evaluation of polymeric materials for such applications. The research initiatives in our group focus on determining what basic molecular, morphological, and physical characteristics govern the engineering performance of polymers and polymer-based composites. The Lesser research group utilizes unique experimental techniques to probe the mechanical behavior of polymeric materials. One of these techniques includes the use of a tension-torsion test machine specially modified to apply internal pressure to hollow cylinder specimens (show in the Figure). This facility allows for investigations of polymer behavior in controlled multi-axial stress states.