Lead Investigator: Dr. Chandra
The area of computational materials holds great promise as the next major growth area of computational mechanics. This paradigm shift is felt in designs ranging from nano-structures and micro-machines to large composite armored vehicles.
FSU has been internationally recognized as one of the leaders in applying computational mechanics to the problem of superplastic materials and metal matrix composites. Computational models and design tools have been developed from atomistic scales (using molecular dynamics), grain scales (using crystal plasticity), to macroscopic scales (using non-linear finite elements). These research efforts have been supported since the late eighties by Federal agencies (NASA, NSF, US Army, AFOSR) for their scientific merit and by industrial corporations (ALCOA, General Dynamics, Pratt & Whitney, Boeing) for their practical benefits.
These modeling concepts are currently being applied in the study of personal body armor, composite armored vehicles, and aircraft engines by DoD agencies. However, there is currently no integration of the computational tools for each of these scales, hindering advanced applications such as materials by design.
The advanced multi-scale problems that need to be solved require the simultaneous simulation at atomistic and continuum length scales along with their mutual interactions. The current great challenge is to combine the individual solutions at various scales, (that are governed by different sets of field equations and solution algorithms), into integrated computational methodologies that can simulate the interactions between the material properties at all scales.
In order to combine their capabilities for solving critical engineering problems, a variety of issues in the areas of mechanics, physics, materials and computational methods must be resolved. Only then can we progress from the current state in which numerical methods are used to analyze devices and structures built from already known materials and processes towards a future in which we can custom design new materials and processes to create products not previously conceivable. The proposed center will enable us to progress towards this next stage.
Because of the need to solve problems at different hierarchical scales using different codes, it becomes an absolute necessity to use large-scale high-performance computational facilities such as the FSU SP-3, and to leverage available resources by interacting with other faculty that are addressing similar problems, to our mutual benefit.