Xing Liu

New Jersey Institute of Technology | NJIT · Mechanical and Industrial Engineering

Analytical and empirical solutions to engineering problems are usually preferred because of their convenience in applications. However, they are not always accessible in complex problems. A new class of solutions, based on machine learning (ML) models such as regression trees and neural networks (NNs), are proposed and their feasibility and value a...

To quantitatively study the toughening behavior in two-dimensional (2D) material reinforced ceramics, pull-out experiments were conducted to investigate the properties of the interface between multi-layer h-BN nanosheet and polymer-derived ceramic (PDC). By using nanoindentation-assisted micro-mechanical devices integrated with scanning electron mi...

Significance Data-driven approaches have launched a new paradigm in scientific research that is bound to have an impact on all disciplines of science and engineering. However, at this juncture, the exploration of data-driven techniques in the century-old field of fracture mechanics is highly limited, and there are key challenges including accurate...

Sulfide glasses are emerging as potential electrolytes for solid-state batteries. The mechanical behavior of these materials can significantly impact cell performance, and it is thus imperative to understand their deformation and fracture mechanisms. Previous work mainly reports properties obtained under quasi-static loading conditions, but very li...

Democratized mechanical testing offers a promising solution for decarbonization by enabling the widespread adoption of sustainable materials, such as recycled or renewably sourced feedstocks. These locally sourced materials often exhibit variable mechanical properties, which limits their large-scale use due to tight manufacturing specifications. Wi...

The stresses that evolve during plating and stripping in lithium metal electrodes can have a significant impact on battery performance. We have used several different in situ techniques to investigate these stresses, during electrochemical cycling with both liquid and solid electrolytes. Finite element modelling (FEM) was also employed to interpret...

Ceramic and glass electrolytes are a promising replacement for the liquid electrolytes that are commonly used in Li-ion batteries. Their mechanical properties are known to play a critical role not only in practical issues related to safe cell assembly, but also in the battery cell performance. In this talk, inelastic deformation mechanisms in ceram...

Ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) reinforced by two-dimensional (2D) nanomaterials have shown extraordinary load-carrying capacities, even in the harsh environments required by emerging applications. Their exceptional mechanical performance, especially fracture toughness, primarily arises from their heterogeneous microstructures. The deliberate disp...

Wide ranging mechanical properties — elasticity, plasticity, fracture, and creep — most relevant to the mechanical reliability of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) are systematically investigated. High quality bulk single-crystals of the commonly studied metal-halide perovskites (MHPs) relevant to PSCs are fabricated and studied: CH3NH3PbBr3 (MAPbBr3)...

The two key interfaces in flexible perovskite solar cells (f‐PSCs) are mechanically reinforced simultaneously: one between the electron transport layer (ETL) and the 3D metal halide perovskite (MHP) thin film using self‐assembled monolayer (SAM), and the other between the 3D‐MHP thin film and the hole transport layer (HTL) using an in situ‐grown lo...

Measuring fracture toughness of materials at small scales remains challenging due to limited experimental testing configurations. A recently developed indentation pillar-splitting method has shown promise of improved flexibility in fracture toughness measurements at the microscale, partly due to the occurrence of an unusual fracture instability, i....

The flexibility of insect wings confers aerodynamic benefits, but can also present a hazard if exposed to fog or dew. Fog can cause water to accumulate on wings, bending them into tight taco shapes and rendering them useless for flight. In this combined experimental and theoretical study, we use high-speed video to film the spontaneous folding of i...