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Current Projects
ORNL-CVDM
General Dynamics Robotics Systems
Symposium of Predictive Science and Technology in Mechanics and Materials
CAE Fabric II
Virtual Organization for Cyber Design
NSF Powder Proposal: Collaborative Proposal: Bridging and Coupling Particle...
Halter Marine
TARDEC High Rate
TARDEC Polymer
SimBRS WD 05-Multi-scale Metal Component Reliability/Safety
$499,997.41 Awarded by the US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) for the SimBRS WD 05-Multi-scale Metal Component Reliability/Safety program
Southern Regional Center for Lighweight Innovative Design - Budget Period 2...
$1,980,000.00 Awarded for continuation of the Southern Regional Center for Lightweight Innovative Design (SRCLID) Budget Period 2
SimBRS WD 06-Material Database and FEA Material Model Development for Polym...
$568,133 awarded from US Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC)
CAE Fabric I
A Multiscale Approach to Virtual Design and Manufacture of Materials
Experimentation by itself is expensive and progresses slowly. High-performance computing applied to physics based multiscale simulations have the capability for bottom up design, prototyping, and optimization of advanced materials. The mechanical response of a material is given at the engineering scale using an internal state variable and in some occasions the description of mechanical properties needs to be improved in a specific region of the specimen to capture the complex nature of the material. More...
Multiscale Dislocation Dynamics
Due to computer performances, atomic simulations are restricted to a few hundred millions of atoms. The upper bound for the volume of the investigated systems using molecular dynamics is therefore in the order of one tenth of µm³. Such a volume is large enough to investigate the interaction of a small number of dislocations but too small to look at the collective behavior of dislocations which is one mechanism at the origin of plastic deformation in metallic materials. At the engineering scale, plasticity is described using an internal state variable model. Nevertheless, these models are mainly phenomenological and consequently the physical meaning of the plasticity is lost. In order to develop dislocation based crystal plasticity models, discrete dislocation simulations were developed over the last fifteen years. More...
Powder Metalurgy Performance Modeling
Computer and mathematical based modeling of the thermo-mechanical behavior of metal powders during compaction and sintering densification processes is recognized as a significant contribution to improving efficiency, quality and cost of current production and to generating new business opportunities for powder metallurgy industry. Here, we evaluate and develop numerical modeling techniques to predict mechanical properties throughout P/M component sections. The transition of current materials/design requirements to advanced structural P/M components has created a need to predict the properties of components in all sections of design. In addition, design processes should consider the least cost, lowest mass product designs and reduced development lead-time. We extend existing math-based frameworks with the abilities to predict P/M component structures and properties accurately throughout the compaction and sintering processes (section size, density variation, dimensional tolerances, potential for cracking), and with the input of alloys and process parameters (machine functions, tool and powder temperatures, friction and pressure). The history of a P/M part is captured through its pressing, sintering, and life-cycle performance using a developed multiscale methodology. The final goal is to determine quality control process factors (powder properties, press settings, tooling design, and furnace conditions) for P/M parts production in terms of design and performance optimization, and of their impact on process variations and quality improvement.More...
Run Flat (Morgan)
Program to determine the minimum design critiera and general specifications for run-flat devices for military vehicles. This effort is primarily focused on ridge internal devices to provide extended vehicle operations in the event of tire deflation.
REU: Highrate Material Modeling
REU: Multiscale Highrate Materials Modeling
Southern Regional Center for Lightweight Innovative Design (SRCLID) - 2nd y...
LENS modeling system modification 5
Finite Element Analysis of the Plastic J-Bracket used in the ZW Vertical
Internal State Variable Model for Powder Metal/Laser Engineered Netshaping ...
DARPA Prognosis Modeling - Phase II
Simulation and Characterization of Biologically Inspired Materials
Integration of Damage Models With Miltec's Models - Phase III
CVMD
Composites testing and simulation
Southern Regional Center for Lightweight Innovative Designs
Magnesium USAMP/ICME Front End Research and Development
Structure-Property Relations of Injection Molded Polymers
60K$ nine months funding awarded by American Chemistry Council
CFD analysis of the Jarvik pediatric blood pump
SPONSOR: University of Maryland Medical Center (subcontract) More...
SimBRS WD 15 Multi-Scale Human Body Simulation: Assessing Brain Damage at H...
Our team is examining brain tissue under mechanical loads and tracking damage of neuronal cells for the proposed development of a constitutive model of brain.
SRCLID--BioInspired Design
Objective: To determine the structure-property relationships of both soft biological tissues and animal outer armor. Use the relationships to develop material models for implementation into finite element codes. More...
Computational Design Tool Development for Multilevel Optimization of Produc...
The research objective of this award is to develop a computational design tool for multilevel optimization of hierarchical product-material systems under uncertainty. Through systematic decomposition of computational material models, microstructure-property relationships can be tailored to satisfy competing system-level design goals such as performance, reliability, and robustness. A consistent top-down cascading of requirements and bottom-up propagation of capabilities and uncertainties that span length scales ranging from nano-to-micro, micro-to-meso, and meso-to-macro is desired. Development of advanced metamodels for approximation of cause-effect relationships will enhance the efficiency of the design tool while addressing key optimization concerns related to highly nonlinear and noisy responses. Cyberinfrastructure will be used to integrate the components into a comprehensive tool, effectively forming a virtual organization for multidisciplinary research. The effectiveness of the design tool will be evaluated by investigating a number of benchmark problems.More...
Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication
Computational modeling and experimental study of the Electron Beam Freeform Fabrication process (EBF3)
Bio Inspired Design
Establishing a sound understanding of the material properties in soft tissue is important. This understanding may enable more effective design and manufacturing of tissue engineered constructs as well as assist in the development of soft tissue finite element models that have a mechanical response close to that of human tissues. More...

Past Projects
Cadillac Control Arm Lightweight Design
Employ computational modeling to reduce the weight of a Cadillac control More...
Multi-Pass Reverse Hot Rolling Process Simulation
A greater volume of metal is processed by rolling than by any other method. This work is to investigate the non-uniform texture distribution,recrystallization, and grain growth during multi-pass hot rolling. More...
Damage & Failure Modeling
Macroscale equations accounting for void growth and coalescence are based on two-dimensional finite element analysis. Since voids in materials are three-dimensional volumes, can these equations correctly account for void growth and coalescence? More...
Multi-Objective Optimization of Roadside Safety Barrier Design
Optimize highway roadside safety barrier using high fidelity computer simulations in concert with full-scale crash testing. More...
Dodge Neon Crash Simulation
Develop a modeling capability that captures high fidelity physics for every representative component that affects occupant safety in a car crash. More...
Springback in Stamped Aluminum Alloy Sheets for Auto-Body Panels
Sheet metal forming processes require a detailed prediction of springback to avoid assembly problems. Springback is reported in the literature to be influenced by processing parameters and material microstructure. However, understanding the rate controlling parameter for a specific application is not well understood. More...
Computational Modeling of Fatigue, Fracture, and Ductile Failure Mechanisms...
Microstructure-based multiscale modeling of mechanical failure mechanisms by fatigue crack growth, fracture, and damage mechanics using computational methods. More...
Corvette Engine Cradle Design
Through the use of microstructure – property modeling, finite element analysis and optimization techniques, provide accurate failure prediction and redesign of light weight structural cast magnesium engine cradle for GM Corvette. More...
Multiscale Modeling of Metal Casting
To develop models describing the importance and role of oxide bi-films in initiating porosity formation and hence postulate potential methods of minimizing this effect. More...
Chemomechanical Material Damage Modeling
To develop a continuum theoretical frame work for numerical tools to quantify material damage caused by chemical environmental effect. More...
Experimentally Quantified Microstructure-Property Relations for Modeling
To quantify microstructure-property relations using various microscopy techniques and experimental results. From these results material characteristics can be determined using a plasticity-damage model. These characteristics can then be implemented into various finite element analysis codes and optimization programs to develop improved design parameters. More...
Ballistic Impact Modeling of Fabrics for New Protective System - Experiment...
Mechanical behavior of Nylon 6.6 and Kevlar 29 from yarn to fabric scales under various More...