Coordinator: Université de Franche-Comté – FEMTO-ST (France)
The institution
The University of Franche-Comté - UFC - is a multidisciplinary university established in different parts of the Franche-Comté region (North-East France) with 27 laboratories. Some of them are defined as “UMR” - Joint Research Units, JRU – mixing university with different types of research institutions such as the CNRS, CEA, INSERM and INRAE. The chair of the university is located in Besançon, France. The main research areas are: Humanities, Medical, Environmental and Engineering Sciences.
UFC is the second French university to be awarded “HR Excellence in Research” by the European Commission. It has implemented an effective human resources strategy for research, including the principles of the European Charter for Researchers and the Code of Conduct for the Recruitment of Researchers.
A dedicated EU Affairs Unit gives financial, administrative, and legal support to researchers. UFC is part of the Euraxess network and has mobility center which takes care of foreign researchers’ administrative tasks.
The laboratory
The Department of Applied Mechanics of FEMTO-ST counts 120 researchers and is part of the FEMTO-ST institute which employs 700 researchers. FEMTO-ST is one of the largest research laboratory in Engineering Sciences in France. Its research is focused on the development of micro and nanotechnologies. It aims to increase the density of functions and integrate intelligence for the engineering of components and systems with optimized performances. Its activities cover a wide scientific spectrum including Engineering Sciences, Information and Communication Technology and Physics, from single molecules to systems. FEMTO-ST has a clear multi and interdisciplinary vocation and a culture of innovation from basic research to industrial partnership and spin-offs. FEMTO-ST and the Department of Applied Mechanics have always obtained the highest possible rank delivered by the French evaluation agency.
The research work within SSUCHY on behalf of UFC will be carried out within the T2DC team “Damage Tolerance and Durability of (Bio) Composites” directed by Dr. Ing. Vincent Placet and D-SMART team “Dynamics of Architectured Structures and Materials for Vibro-acoustics” directed by Pr. Morvan Ouisse belonging to the Department of Applied Mechanics. The focus of the T2DC team is on the multi-scale characterization and modelling of plant fibres and plant fibre composites behaviour and damage under mechanical and environmental loadings. Activities aim at facilitating the development of innovative composite solutions in high-technology sectors. The team is composed of 8 staff members (1 full professor, 4 associate professors and 3 research engineers) and 6 post-doc and PhD students. The D-SMART team’s objectives are based on the use of architecturing strategies, namely periodicity, gradients, but also links and joints for the design of structures for vibroacoustic control and the use of materials with thermos - (or electro-) mechanical couplings in order to pilot their behavior. The team is composed by 3 full professors, 2 associate professors and 1 research engineer. The two teams constitute the central part of the DEMO1/Metacomposite action within the Labex ACTION, recognized as a laboratory of excellence dedicated to smart systems integrated into physical structures.
Main tasks in SSUCHY
Within SSUCHY, UFC is the project coordinator. UFC is involved in all the WPs. The T2DC team contributes to WPs 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10. Its main tasks are the mechanical characterization and modelling of biopolymers, plant fibres and plant fibre composites. The D-SMART team contributes to WPs 8 and 9, in particular for the strategies related to the control of the behaviour of the composite structures designed in the project, in terms of structural dynamics (damping control), vibroacoustic (acoustic radiation, absorption and transmission loss), in collaboration with UoB.
Significant infrastructure and equipment
The set of experimental facilities of Department of Applied Mechanics are grouped into four experimental platforms (Material and Structures, Micro characterisation, Forming, Vibration and Acoustics). Researchers involved in this project will be free to use all these facilities. The Material and Structures platform is dedicated to the mechanical characterization of composite and polymeric materials. It comprises 6 commercial or custom-made machines for static and fatigue, uniaxial and multiaxial testing. These testing machines are equipped with climatic chambers (temperature, relative humidity), instruments for measuring strains (clip-on, high-temperature and contactless extensometers, DIC…) and non-Destructive testing systems: infrared thermography (CEDIP JADE), acoustic emission systems with six channels (MISTRAS group). It also includes home-made tensile stages for the characterization of plant fibres under controlled environment.
The Vibration and Acoustics facilities include two large seismic platforms, a 3D scanning vibrometer, various electromagnetic shakers and sensorless actuators, a large set of accelerometers and acquisition systems from 4 to 128 inputs. Acoustic measurements may be performed in the anechoic room or using dedicated setups like impedance tube or acoustic intensity probes.
PhD and Post-docs involved in SSUCHY:
Taiqu LIU, PhD student (taiqu.liu@femto-st.fr)
Benjamin SALA, PhD student (benjamin.sala@femto-st.fr)
Fadhel CHATTI, Post-doc (fadhel.chatti@femto-st.fr)
Xavier GABRION, Post-doc (xavier.gabrion@univ-fcomte.fr)
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