SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure - Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation
Nima Rahbar
My research activities in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering are in mechanics, materials, and structures. At WPI, my favorite teaching aspect is working one-on-one with graduate and undergraduate students on research projects. I like to excite students’ curiosity toward discoveries and creative scientific advancements. In our research group, we focus on the fundamental principles that control the behavior of materials in engineering and biology at multiple scales. I am particularly interested in the bioinspired design of materials and structures. In this field, studying biological materials leads to the design of high-performance materials and structures. For example, we have created a new paradigm in self-healing concrete using an enzymatic mechanism. Using the same mechanism, we have now produced a Carbon-Negative Enzymatic Construction Material (ECM), which sequesters 18 lbs of CO2 per cubic yard in comparison to concrete which emits around 700 lbs of CO2 per cubic yard. ECM also holds the record in compressive strength as a carbon-negative alternative structural material at around 15 MPa. I encourage you to see the details of our research activities on my group's website.
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities - Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable
Scholarly Work
Nanoscale structure and mechanical properties of cross-linked hydrogels H Salahshoor, M Tootkaboni, N Rahbar Journal of Nanomechanics and Micromechanics 5 (2), A4014007
Interfacial fracture of dentin adhesively bonded to quartz-fiber reinforced composite RM Melo, N Rahbar, W Soboyejo Materials Science and Engineering: C 31 (4), 770-774
Numerical Modeling of Coupled Consolidation and Contaminant Transport in a Deformable Porous Medium N Rahbar Northeastern University Boston
Experimental and numerical measurements of adhesion energies between PHEMA and PGLYMA with hydroxyapatite crystal S Youssefian, P Liu, S Askarinejad, F Shalchy, J Song, N Rahbar Bioinspiration & biomimetics 10 (4), 046011
Mechanical behavior of a glass fiber-reinforced polymer sandwich panel with through-thickness fiber insertions T Lanssens, C Tanghe, N Rahbar, P Okumus, S Van Dessel, T El-Korchi Construction and Building Materials 64, 473-479
An Investigation of Thermal Shock in Porous Clay Ceramics FW Nyongesa, N Rahbar, SK Obwoya, J Zimba, BO Aduda, WO Soboyejo ISRN Mechanical Engineering 2011
University of Massachusetts
Wright-Patterson Air Force Laboratory
Princeton University