Dr. Richard A. Schapery, P.E.
Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics
Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering No. 7
Brief Narrative
Professor Schapery received a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude) from Wayne State University. His graduate degrees are from the California Institute of Technology in Mechanical Engineering (M.S. 1958) and Aeronautics (Ph.D. 1962). He taught at Purdue University from 1962 to 1969 and at Texas A & M University from 1969 to 1990. He has been at the University of Texas at Austin since 1990, where he holds a Cockrell Family Regents Chair in Engineering.
Dr. Schapery’s major technical interests are in the mechanics of solids with an emphasis on time-dependent deformation and fracture behavior of polymeric composites. Both experiment and theory are used in developing mathematical models for the prediction of mechanical behavior over a broad range of time and temperature. In composites, such as particle-reinforced rubber and fiber-reinforced plastic, the initiation and growth of distributed microcracking have a pronounced effect on how these materials deform and break over time. Models are being developed which account for this damage growth. They use principles from thermodynamics, fracture mechanics and continuum mechanics. The models will provide engineers with some of the basic tools they need to predict performance and long-term durability for a variety of composite structures, ranging from solid rocket motors to offshore structures used by the petroleum industry.
Many structures have to be designed to last for 15 years and longer. Typically this is done using material properties which come from tests that last less than a year, and often much less. In order to reliably predict much longer-term behavior, one must have a good understanding of viscoelastic behavior of polymers and how microcracks and macrocracks develop, grow and interact with one another under realistic environmental conditions and complex loads, as well as understand other factors, such as chemical and physical aging. Professor Schapery and his students are addressing these issues through experiment and theory in their work on composites.
Address:
Center for Mechanics of Solids, Structures & Materials, WRW 110, C0600
The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712
Tel. (512) 471-3924, Fax. (512) 471-5500,
E-Mail: schapery@uts.cc.utexas.edu
Education:
Ph.D. In Aeronautics, 1962, California Institute of Technology.
M.S. Mechanical Engineering, 1958, California Institute of Technology.
B.Sc. Mechanical Engineering (Magna Cum Laude), 1957, Wayne State University
Academic Positions:
Research Assistant, California Institute of Technology, 1958-1962.
Assistant Professor, Aeronautics, Astronautics and Engineering Science, Purdue University, 1962-65.
Associate Professor, Aeronautics, Astronautics and Engineering Science, Purdue University, 1965-68.
Professor, Aeronautics, Astronautics and Engineering Science, Purdue University, 1968-69.
Professor, Civil and Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1969-80.
Director, Mechanics and Materials Center, Texas A&M University, 1972-90.
Distinguished Professor, Civil and Aerospace Engineering, Texas A&M University, 1980-90.
Professor, Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin, 1990-present.
Other Professional Experience
Design Engineer, General Motors Research Lab, Summer 1956.
Environmental Test Engineer, Hughes Aircraft Company, Summer 1957.
Stress Engineer, Aerojet General Corporation, Summer 1958.
Senior Technical Specialist, Lockheed Prop. Company, Summer 1964.
Honors and Awards
IAS Student Award
Machinery's Award for Design
Alumni Distinguished Achievement Award for Research, Texas A&M, 1978.
Alumni Professorship, Texas A&M, 1980-1985.
Distinguished Professor, Texas A&M, 1980-1990.
Texas Engineering Experiment Station Chair, Texas A&M, 1985-88.
R.P. Gregory Chair, Texas A&M, 1989-90.
Cockrell Family Regents Chair, University of Texas, 1990-present.
Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Engineering, Wayne State University, 1993.
Fellow, Society of Engineering Science, October 1994.
Editor-in-Chief, International Journal of Fracture, November 1995-present.
Recent Publications
Park, S. W., Kim, Y. R., and Schapery, R. A., "A Viscoelastic Continuum Damage Model and Its Application to Uniaxial Behavior of Asphalt Concrete," Mechanics of Materials,Vol. 24, pp. 241-255, 1996.
Park, S. W. and Schapery, R. A., "A Viscoelastic Constitutive Model for Particulate Composites with Growing Damage," International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 34, pp. 931-947, 1997.
Schapery, R.A., "Thermoviscoelastic Constitutive Equations for Polycrystalline Ice," Journal of Cold Regions Engineering, Vol. 11, pp. 146-157, 1997.
Schapery, R.A. "Nonlinear Viscoelastic and Viscoplastic Constitutive Equations Based on Thermodynamics,", Mechanics of Time-Dependent Materials, Vol. 1, pp. 209-240, 1997.
Schapery, R.A. "Nonlinear Viscoelastic and Viscoplastic Constitutive Equations with Growing Damage, International Journal of Fracture, accepted.
Ha, K. and Schapery, R.A. "A Three-Dimensional Viscoelastic Constitutive Model for Particulate Composites with Growing Damage and its Experimental Validation," International Journal of Solids and Structures," Vol. 35, pp. 3497-3517, 1998.
Schapery, R.A., "Linear Elastic and Viscoelastic Deformation Behavior of Ice," Journal of Cold Regions Engineering, Vol. 11, pp. 271-290, 1997.
Park, S.W. and Schapery, R.A., "Methods of Interconversion Between Linear Viscoelastic Material Functions. Part I - Numerical Method," International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 36, pp. 1653-1675, 1999.
Schapery, R.A. and Park, S.W.,"Methods of Interconversion Between Linear Viscoelastic Material Functions. Part II - Approximate Analytical Method," International Journal of Solids and Structures, Vol. 36, pp. 1677-1699, 1999.