Behavior of Biological Tissues Under High Strain Rate Loading
Research to improve armor design by studying how soft body tissues react to extreme forces like blasts and impacts.
This grant is no longer accepting proposals
NRC Research Associateship Programs has archived this opportunity.
Funder: NRC Research Associateship Programs
Due Dates: May 1, 2025 (Naval Research Laboratory opportunity)
Funding Amounts: $99,200 stipend plus $3,000 travel allowance; relocation assistance available for eligible awardees.
Summary: Postdoctoral fellowship to develop experimental and computational techniques for quantifying the behavior of soft biological tissues under high strain-rate loading conditions relevant to blast and impact.
Key Information: Open to U.S. citizens and permanent residents; requires Ph.D. earned within 5 years; research conducted at Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.
Description
This fellowship opportunity at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) focuses on addressing a critical knowledge gap in the development of human digital twins for armor design and testing. Specifically, it aims to study how soft biological tissues respond to high strain-rate loading conditions such as blasts and impacts, which are relevant to personal protective equipment (PPE) performance.
Soft biological tissues exhibit viscous behavior, meaning their material properties change significantly with the rate of loading. Existing data mostly covers static or low strain-rate conditions, which are insufficient for simulating the rapid dynamic events that cause blast and impact injuries. This research seeks to experimentally and computationally determine tissue behavior under these high strain-rate conditions to improve the accuracy of digital twin models and enhance armor design.
Key research themes include biological tissue mechanics, high strain-rate material properties, blast and ballistic effects, and computational modeling.
