Gregory Batt

Associate Professor
Director of the Sonoco Package Testing Laboratory
Food, Nutrition, and Packaging Sciences Department

Office: 228 P&A Center
Phone: 864-723-0740
Fax: 864-656-0331

Email: gbatt@clemson.edu

Educational Background

Ph.D. Mechanical Engineering
Clemson University 2013

M.S. Packaging Science
Clemson University 2003

B.S. Mechanical Engineering
Universtiy of Massachusetts 1994

Courses Taught

PKSC 4040 Mechanical Properties of Packaging
PKSC 4541 Product and Package Evaluation Laboratory
PKSC 4210 Special Problems in Packaging Science
PKSC 4400 Distribution Packaging
PKSC 4991 Creative Inquiry
PKSC 3201 Package Design Fundamentals

Profile

Originally a Product Design Manager for whitewater kayaks at Perception Kayaks USA, I began my work at Clemson University in 2001 as a Laboratory Technologist. I progressed through the ranks at Clemson serving as Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Instructor, and currently as an Assistant Professor. I serve as the Director of the Package Testing Laboratory which supports undergraduate labs, graduate student research, and industry service projects. I currently serve as the Chair of the Technical Division at the International Safe Transit Association and hold a seat on their Global Board of Directors. I am a member of the Editorial Board for the Journal of Packaging Science and Technology and serve as reviewer for several packaging related journals.

Research Interests

Formal academic research started for me while earning my MS degree in 2002-03. I began taking a leadership role in research with my promotion to Lecturer in 2004. While this was primarily a teaching position, I was able to serve on MS student advising committees. In the following years, my roll at Clemson University has become predominantly focused on research. I have had the opportunity to graduate eight MS students in Packaging Science and one in Bioengineering while serving as primary research or co-research advisor. I am currently serving as major advisor to two MS Packaging Science students and serve on the committee of a third. I am also serving as co-advisor for a PhD student in Bioengineering.

My primary research interests and recent activities have been in the areas of experimental test development and dynamic modeling. My recently completed Ph.D. research captures both of these elements as I developed an experimental method to capture the nonlinear frequency response of cushion materials and developed a distributed parameter model of a nonlinear, viscoelastic cushion material. The focus of the work was on the development of a model capable of capturing the small-strain behavior encountered in typical vehicle vibration applications. The model was developed from the constitutive relations of an axially loaded continuous rod. Verification of the model required an experimental technique sensitive to the nonlinear behavior of expanded polymer cushion materials. Since no industry agreed upon method capable of this exists, a technique was developed and used to capture the softening spring frequency response. This data then served to successfully validate the nonlinear, viscoelastic model developed both in the linear and nonlinear regions of material behavior.

Additional recent research has been in various applications of experimental test development. Several projects were conducted to optimize methods of creating cushion curves from material impact response data. I directed undergraduate student research groups in the application of recently proposed vehicle vibration simulation techniques and the experimental validation of test duration minimization. I managed the work of graduate students in characterizing the in-flight vibration of turbo-propeller aircraft used in overnight shipments.

Publications

Batt, G.S., Gibert, J.M., Daqaq, M. “Small Strain Vibration of a Continuous, Linearized Viscoelastic Rod of Expanded Polymer Cushion Material.” Journal of Sound and Vibration, August 2015. V.349.

Batt, G.S., Gibert, J.M., Daqaq, M. “Primary Resonance Behavior of a Nonlinear, Viscoelastic Model of Expanded Polymer Cushion Material” Journal of Packaging Science and Technology, August 2015. V.28:8 pp.694-709.

Batt, G.S., Gibert, J.M. “Impact Oscillator Model for the Prediction of Dynamic Cushion Curves of Open Cell Foams” Journal of Packaging Science and Technology, March 2015. V.28:3.

Batt, G.S., Gibert, J.M., Daqaq, M. “Reduced-Order Modeling of the Linear Vibration Response of Expanded Polymer Cushion Material” Journal of Packaging Science and Technology, January 2015. V.28:1.

Daum, M., Darby, D., Batt, G., Campbell, L. “Application of the Stress-Energy Method for Generating Corrugated Board Cushion Curves”, Journal of Testing and Evaluation. July 2013. V.41:4.

Paulin, K., Batt, G.S., Daum, M. “Statistical Analysis of the Stress-Energy Methodology Applied to Cushion Curve Determination”, Journal of Testing and Evaluation. May 2013. V.41:3.

Dunno, K., Batt, G.S. “Analysis of In-flight Aircraft Vibration, Part I: Turbo Propeller.” Journal of Packaging Technology and Science. August 2009. V.22:8 pp. 479-485.

Daum, M., Batt, G.S. "Prediction of Cushion Performance Less Than One Inch Thick." Journal of Testing and Evaluation. July 2009. V.37:4.

Marcondes, P., Batt, G.S., Darby, D. and Daum, M. 2008. “Determining the Minimum Sample Size Using a Simplified Method for Determining Cushion Curves.” Journal of Applied Packaging Research. March 2008. V.2:3 pp.191- 198.

Links