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International Conference on Experimental Mechanics, ICEM 16

Organised by BSSM on behalf of the European Society for Experimental Mechanics, the ICEM series of Conferences are the premier events to showcase novel and innovative research in Experimental Mechanics. The ICEM16 conference took place in Cambridge in July 2014 with the technical sessions held at Robinson College and the West Road Concert Hall. 

The Conference covered all areas in experimental solid mechanics and abstracts were welcome on any topic that falls within this broad scope. The conference programme included three tracks covering key areas of current interest in experimental mechanics - on the Assessment of composite materials and structures, Volume-based experimental solid mechanics and High strain rate, shock, impact and blast testing, which incorporated the Hopkinson pressure bar centenary symposium organised by DYMAT. The conference also had a wide variety of other sessions on specialist and emerging areas in experimental mechanics, organised by international leaders in their field.

Other highlights included a 2 day interactive exhibition of state of the art instrumentation, EMex, which ran in parallel with the Conference, and the BSSM Young Stress Analyst competition which gave early career researchers the opportunity to showcase their work. The Conference also coincided with the 50th Anniversary celebrations for BSSM and the journal Strain.

Social activities included the Conference Reception at the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Conference Banquet under the wings of Concorde at the world famous Duxford Museum, and an opportunity to see the Tour de France cycle race, which had a UK start in Cambridge on the first day of the Conference.  

In total over 500 delegates from 30 countries attended and the Conference was a great success.

Organising Committee

Prof. Janice Barton (Conference Chair) University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Prof. Fabrice Pierron (Chair of the scientific committee) University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Dr. Vincent Lozano (Web administrator), LTDS ENISE, France
Dr. Jerry Lord National Physical Laboratory, United Kingdom
Prof. Margaret Lucas University of Glasgow, United Kingdom
Dr. Simon Quinn University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Prof. Ole Thybo Thomsen University of Southampton, United Kingdom
Prof. Chris Truman University of Bristol, United Kingdom
Dr. Stephen Walley University of Cambridge, United Kingdom 

 

Keynote Presentation

"Ground Vibration Testing at NASA Armstrong, Emphasizing on Passive Aeroelastic Tailored Wing Ground Vibration Test using Fixed Base Correction Method"
Natalie Spivey, NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center

Conference award dinnerNatalie Spivey is an Aerospace Engineer at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center in Southern California. She works in the Structural Dynamics Group within the Aerostructures Branch and has been involved in aircraft structural dynamics airworthiness, modal testing and flight flutter testing for twenty years. She obtained her BS degree in Aerospace Engineering from Iowa State University (ISU) in 2000 and received her MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in 2006. She has supported numerous flight research programs as either a structural dynamics engineer or lead for programs such as the X-53 Active Aeroelastic Wing, Boeing’s Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle, X-43 Hyper-X, F-15B Quiet Spike, X-48 Blended Wing Body, Global Hawk, DC-8, SOFIA, X-56 Multi-Use Technology Testbed, various F-15 and G-III flight experiments, Passive Aeroelastic Tailored Wing, and currently working on X-57 Maxwell and X-59 Low Boom Flight Demonstrator.

With her role as a technical lead on many of those projects she is highly sought after from NASA projects due to her wide range of hands-on modal testing, airworthiness clearance and flight testing control room experience. Natalie has been a recipient of numerous NASA project awards and currently serves as a member of the NASA Engineering Safety Center (NESC) Loads & Dynamics Technical Discipline Team.

Keynote Presentation

"Strain rate dependency of materials: characterisation and identification of models parameters. From standard procedure to advanced inverse methods based on full field measurements"
Bertrand Langrand, ONERA

Bertrand Langrand is a Research Director at ONERA, The French National Aerospace Research Centre, in Structural and Solid Mechanics. He works in the Dynamic Resistance Group within the Materials and Structures Department. He serves also as Scientific Deputy Director. He obtained his PhD degree in Solid Mechanics and Mechanical Engineering in 1998 and his Habilitation degree in 2011.

Bertrand has more than 20 years of experience in crashworthiness, impact and blast-loaded structure problems. He has been involved in many research programs with different technology readiness levels for the aerospace industry or aviation authorities. Main achievements include the development of advanced numerical and experimental methods. His research focuses on material behaviour characterization, parameter identification, assembly modeling and Fluid/Structure interaction.

BSSM Measurement Lecture

"Challenges and opportunities in high rate characterisation of soft material"
Professor Clive Siviour, University of Oxford

Clive Siviour is a Professor of Engineering Science at the University of Oxford, where he performs research and teaching in Mechanical Engineering.  He completed his undergraduate degree in Physics in 2001 and his PhD, High strain rate properties of materials using Hopkinson bar techniques, in 2005, both from the University of Cambridge. In 2005, he moved to the University of Oxford, where he took up a permanent position in 2008.

His main research interests are in characterisation of materials under dynamic loading, in particular the development and application of experimental procedures to elucidate and understand strain rate dependence.  He has worked on a wide range of materials, including metal alloys for aerospace applications (e.g. titanium, nickel alloys), foams and composites, and has a long-standing interest in high speed imaging.  

A major area of research has been on impact response of polymers, in particular the use of time-temperature superposition to validate and replicate properties under high rate deformation.  He also has an interest in deriving and interpreting quantitative measurements of material response from measurements of wave propagation, particularly for low modulus materials.

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