John D. Whitcomb

Professor

Dept. of Aerospace Engineering
Texas A&M University
3141 TAMU
College Station, TX 77843-3141

E-mail: whit@aero.tamu.edu jdwe@tamu.edu
Phone: 979.845.4006

Departmental Website

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS

Actively involved in damage mechanics of composite materials. The broad goal is to develop analytical models to explain the response of composites to static and fatigue loads. Also involved in predicting non-mechanical behaviors, such as moisture diffusion and permeability to cryogenic fuels. Ultimately, the goal is to predict the response of potential composite structures without the need for extensive experimental effort. The analytical models range from simple closed form analyses to fully
three dimensional nonlinear finite element analyses.

EDUCATION

1988 - Ph.D. in Materials Engineering Science, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

1976 - M.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Stanford University

1973 - B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, North Carolina State University

WORK EXPERIENCE

Director of Center for Mechanics of Composites (since January 2002)

Professor in the Aerospace Engineering Department at Texas A&M University (since December 1989)

Research Engineer at NASA LangleyResearch Center, Mechanics of Materials Branch from January
1974 to November 1989

PUBLICATIONS

63. Tang, X., Whitcomb, J., Kelkar, A. and Tate, J., “Progressive Failure Analysis of 2x2 Braided Composites Exhibiting Multiscale Heterogeneity. Composites Science & Technology. Composites Science and Technology, Volume 66, Issue 14, November 2006, Pages 2580-2590. 64. Tang, X., Whitcomb, J., Li, Y. and Sue, H., “Micromechanics Modeling of Moisture Diffusion Behavior in Woven Composites” Composites Science and Technology, Vol. 65, Issue 6, May 2005, pp. 817-826. 65. Noh, J.H. and Whitcomb, J.D., “Effect of Delaminations on Opening of Transverse Matrix Cracks " Journal of Composite Materials, August 2005, Vol. 39, Number 15, p. 1353-1370. 66. Noh, J.H. and Whitcomb, J.D., "Prediction of Delamination Growth and Opening near Intersection of Transverse Matrix Cracks and Delamination" Journal of Composite Materials, August 2005, Vol. 39, Number 15, p. 1335-1352. 67. Woo, K., Suh, Y. and Whitcomb, J., “Effect of Phase Shift on Engineering Properties of [±? ] Plain Weave Laminates” Journal of Composite Materials, Vol. 39, No. 6, pp. 479-495 (March 2005). 68. Goyal, D., Tang, X., Whitcomb, J. and Kelkar, A., “Effect of Various Parameters on Effective Engineering Properties of 2x2 Braided Composites” Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, April 2005, Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 113-128. 69. Goyal, D. and Whitcomb, J. D., “Analysis of Stress Concentrations in 2x2 Braided Composites” Journal of Composite Materials OnlineFirst®, published on July 12, 2005 as doi:10.1177/0021998305055268. Also appeared in Journal Of Composite Materials, vol. 40, no. 6, pp. 533-546, March 2006. 70. Peddiraju, P., Noh, J., Whitcomb, J. and Lagoudas, D., “Prediction of Cryogen Leak Rate Through Damaged Composite Laminates”. Journal Of Composite Materials, Vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 41-71, January 2007 71. Tate J., Kelkar A. and Whitcomb, J., “Effect of Braid Angle on Fatigue Performance of Biaxial Composites”. International Journal of Fatigue, Vol. 28, Issue 10, October 2006, Pages 1239-1247. 72. Varghese, J. and Whitcomb, J., "Effective Properties of Composites Whose Reinforcement has Microstructure". Journal for Mechanics of Advanced Materials and Structures, May-June 2006, Vol. 13, Number 3, pp. 227-235. 73. Varghese, J., Whitcomb, J., Goyal, D., and Tang, X., “Hierarchical Analysis of Woven Composite C:\Users\icantu\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Content.Outlook\S0OR6VT0\resume.doc 07/07/09 13 DCB Specimen”. Journal of Composite Materials, April, 2007, Volume 41, Number 8, pages 931-950. 74. H. Jiang, G.T. Lim, J.N. Reddy, J.D. Whitcomb and H.J. Sue, “Finite Element Method Parametric Study on Scratch Behavior of Polymers,” Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics. Journal of Polymer Science Part B: Polymer Physics, Volume 45, Issue 12, 1435-1447, May 2007. 75. Lim, J., Whitcomb, J., Boyd, J., Varghese, J., "Transient Finite Element Analysis of Electric Double Layer Using Nernst-Planck-Poisson Equations with a Modified Stern Layer", J. of Colloid and Interface Science, Volume 305, Number 1, pages 159-174, January 2007. 76. Goyal, D., Whitcomb, J., “Effect of Fiber Properties on Plastic Behavior of 2x2 Biaxial Braided Composites”, Composites Science and Technology. Available online at http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.compscitech.2007.08.002 (January, 2008). 77. Goyal, D., Whitcomb, J., Tang, X., “Validation of Full 3D and Equivalent Tape Laminate Modeling of Plasticity Induced Non-Linearity in 2x2 Braided Composites”, accepted for publication in Composites Part A, February 2008. 78. Sue, J. and Whitcomb, J., “Effect of Sandwich Design on Behavior of Honeycomb Core” Journal of Sandwich Structures and Materials, Vol. 10, No. 4, pp. 311-329, July 2008. 79. Kumazawa, H. and Whitcomb, J., “Numerical Modeling of Gas leakage Through Damaged Composite Laminates”, J. Composite Materials, Vol. 42, No. 16, August 2008. 80. Jiang H., Browning R., Whitcomb J.D., Ito M., Shimouse M., Chang T.A. and Sue H.-J., "Mechanical Modeling of Scratch Behavior of Polymeric Coatings on Soft and Hard Substrates", Submitted to Wear. 81. Goyal, D. and Whitcomb, J., “Load Flow in Plain Woven Composites”. Accepted by J. Composite Materials July 13, 2008. 82. Lim, J., Whitcomb, J., Boyd, J., Varghese, J., “Effect of Electrode Pore Geometry Modeled Using Nernst-Planck-Poisson-Modified Stern Layer (NPPMS) Model”. Accepted for publication in J. Computational Mechanics July 2008. 83. Varghese, J., Whitcomb, J., “Micromechanics of Oxidation in Composites with Impermeable Fibers”, J. Composite Materials. (accepted 11/18/08) 84. Owens, B. C., Whitcomb, J., Varghese, J., “Effect of Finite Thickness and Free Edges on Stresses in Plain Weave Composites”, Journal of Composite Materials, submitted November, 2008. 85. Jiang, H., Whitcomb, J., Sue, H., “Effective Remeshing Methodology for Finite Element Modeling of Polymer Scratch”. (submitted to Computer Methods in Applied Mechanics and Engineering, March 2009)