Executive Summary : | The present proposal deals with understanding and characterising the electromechanical coupling through the flexoelectric effect in the dielectric solids and membranes including two-dimensional nanomaterials. It may be noted here that, any dielectric material possesses electromechanical effects due to breakage of crystal symmetry under strain gradients, whereas for the dielectric material to be piezoelectric materials, it must have non-centrosymmetric crystal structures. The electromechanical coupling effects arising in the dielectric material due to nonhomogeneous deformation is known as a flexoelectric effect. The goal of the proposed research work is to explore and develop the constitutive models for the dielectric materials, integrate the constitutive models with the finite element method for the numerical simulation of the dielectric solids and membranes, and exploring on their energy harvesting applications from the supplementary oscillatory motion of the structure through numerical simulations and experiments. The determination of the flexoelectricity elasticity tensor for the curved membrane, which possesses flexoelectric effects, due to breakage of π-bond symmetry, will also be undertaken considering atomic interactions. The constitutive model for the two-dimensional nanomaterial will also be developed through the multiscale computational framework and will further be integrated with the finite element method for the numerical simulation of two-nanomaterials under large deformation and extreme electric field. The theoretical experiments will also be done for enhancing the electromechanical coupling response of the different two-dimensional nanomaterials by breaking the centrosymmetry in the crystal structures through doping of external agents and blending of different 2D nanomaterials or by introducing defects in the perfect crystalline nanomaterials. The findings of the proposed research proposal will be helpful for the advancements in the design of the sensors and actuators on basis of electromechanical coupling. The materials under investigation can also be blended to develop advanced flexoelectric coating nanomaterials which can be used for energy harvesting from turbine blades of windmills. The proposed will deliver advances in the understanding of the electromechanical coupling for dielectric solids and membranes and generate new results on these important nanomaterials, which will assist the development of new sensors and actuators based on the principle of electromechanically coupling. The accuracy of the proposed continuum models will be investigated against the molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. To perform all the necessary computations, computer programs will be developed using FORTRAN and MATLAB frameworks. |