About Me

Who am I

I am currently a PhD student at the Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen. Currently, my research interests are metamaterials, composite materials, and optimization algorithms. I started my PhD research “Programmable design of active cellular metamaterials” in 2020. This project focuses on exploring the relationship between mechanical properties and geometric architecture, developing mechanical and acoustic metamaterials in a programmable manner, and verifying the design results experimentally.

Educational Experience

November 2020 - Present

Ph.D. Student, Mechanical Metamaterials
Faculty of Science and Engineering
University of Groningen, the Netherlands.
Thesis: Programmable and Automated Design of Active Cellular Metamaterial

September 2017 - May 2020

M.Sc., Solid Mechanics
School of Aeronautic Science and Engineering
Beihang University, Beijing, China.
Thesis: Programmable Design of Novel Honeycomb Structures

September 2013 - June 2017

B.Sc., Aircraft Manufacture Engineering
School of Aerospace Engineering and Applied Mechanics
Tongji University, Shanghai, China
Thesis: Study on Bearing Failure Behavior of Composite Laminates Containing Pin-loaded Holes

Awards and Scholarships

1. Academic Scholarship: 2^nd Prize, Beihang University, China, 2017-2019
2. Excellent Student Cadres, Beihang University, China, 2018
3. SAMPE International Super Lightweight Student Contest Award, 1^st Prize, California, US, 2016
4. National Student Composites Contest Award, 3^rd Prize, China, 2015
5. National Future Aircraft Design Competition Award, Shanghai, China, 2016
6. Annual Excellent Student, Tongji University, China, 2017
7. Scholarship of Excellence, 1^st Prize, Tongji University, China, 2016
8. Scholarship of Excellence, 2^nd Prize, Tongji University, Chin, 2015
9. Scholarship of Social Practice, Tongji University, China, 2014
10. Best Bio-Robot Design Award, Bio-inspired Robotics Challenge, Taipei, China, 2015
11. Applied Mechanics Innovation Competition, 1^st Prize, Tongji University, China, 2015
12. Undergraduate Innovation Programs Award, 3^rd, Tongji University, China, 2016

Projects

1. Study on the haptic perceptibility of sawbones (Cooperation, 2021)
2. Study on meso-mechanical methods of weave composite materials (Cooperation, 2018)
3. Study on the mechanical behavior and thermophysical properties of graded carbon fiber network insulation materials (Cooperation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, 2020)
4. Mechanical test and analysis of weave composites with meso-/macro- defects (Cooperation, 2019)
5. Design and simulation optimization of a flexible porous material model for 3D printing (Cooperation, 2018)
6. A structural improvement scheme for UAV of high load-to-weight ratio (Group leader, 2016)
7. A preliminary exploration of micro-/nano- satellites (Group leader, 2015)

Conferences

1. Zhang Z., Krushynska A.O., “Rose mechanical metamaterial with tailorable Poisson’s ratio”, poster presentation, EUROMECH 610 Colloquium “Emerging topics in acoustic and mechanical metamaterials”, Benicàssim, Spain, 2022.
2. Zhang Z., Krushynska A.O., “Soft cellular metamaterial with programmable deformation-controlled shape”, poster presentation, International Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Milano, Italy, 2021.
3. Zhang Z., Yang Z., Lu Z., “Design of novel honeycomb structures with controllable curvature”, oral presentation, Chinese Congress of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Hangzhou, China, 2019.
4. Zhang Z., Yang Z., Lu Z., “Gradient optimization and design of honeycomb structure with controllable curvature”, oral presentation, 1st National Metamaterial Congress, Xi’an, China, 2019.
5. Zhang Z., “A programmable design method of honeycomb structures based on controllable curvature”, oral presentation, 4th International Conference in Aerospace for Young Scientists, Beijing, China, 2019.

Publications

1. Zhang Z., Krushynska A.O., “Programmable Shape-morphing of Rose-shaped Mechanical Metamaterial”, APL Materials, submitted, 2022.
2. Zhang Z., Cui S., Tan A., Yang Z., Lu Z. “Modeling of Void Defects in C/C-SiC Satin Weave Composites and Simulation of Their Tensile Properties”, Acta Materiae Compositae Sinica, 37(8):1969-1980, 2020.
3. Yang Z., Zhang Z., Cui S., Lu Z. A method for simulating the random distribution of void defects in weave composites, China Patent, ZL 2019 1 0939599.8.

Academic Skills

Finite Element Analysis: COMSOL, ABAQUS, ANSYS
Geometric Modelling: SOLIDWORKS, Blender, CATIA
Coding: Python, MATLAB, C++, JS
Experiment: Tension, Compress, Fatigue, DIC, Acoustic, etc.

Hobbies

Photography: Nature, Building, Portrait, etc.