Events Calendar

Astani CEE Department Seminar

Speaker: Wing Kam Liu, Walter P. Murphy Professor, Director of NSF Summer Institute of Nano Mechanics and Materials Northwestern University, Department of Mechanical Engineering

Talk Title: Multiresolution Mechanics for Materials Design

Abstract: Nanomechanics and nanomaterials have an overall potential for the betterment of our society, for example in national defense, homeland security and private industry. These fields can make our manufacturing technologies and infrastructure more sustainable in terms of reduced energy usage and environmental pollution.

Optimized material performance and lower material design cycle times can be achieved by establishing a clear link between a material’s underlying microstructure and the resulting material properties such as strength and toughness. Material properties are inherently a function of the microscale interactions at each distinct scale of deformation. We are developing the next generation of computer-aided design (CAE) simulation software that integrates nano and micro mechanisms into CAE capabilities for life-cycle design and manufacturing of products.

The multiscale method starts at the most fundamental level of material behavior, the strength of the bonds between atoms which is used to determine sub micro-scale behavior in important regions. Progressively coarser and larger domains are concurrently solved by performing in-situ atomic scale homogenization or by using a preformulated homogenized constitutive relation. In this manner, the deformation and constitutive behavior become more highly resolved as more scales of analysis are included. This facilities a smooth transition between a purely continuum treatment at coarser scales and an atomic scale resolution at finer scales. Hence, the estimation of the overall strength and toughness of the material is performed in terms of the important microstructural features and mechanisms.



Biography: Dr. Wing Kam Liu, Walter P. Murphy Professor at Northwestern University and Director of NSF Summer Institute on Nano Mechanics and Materials, received his Ph.D. from Caltech. His research activities include bridging scale computational mechanics and materials, multi-scale analysis, and computational biology. Selected Liu's honors include the Gustus L. Larson Memorial Award, the Pi Tau Sigma Gold Medal and the Melville Medal, all from ASME; the Thomas J. Jaeger Prize by the International Association for Structural Mechanics in Reactor Technology; the SAE Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award; the Computational Structural Mechanics Award and Computational Mechanics Award from USACM and IACM, respectively; and the JSME Computational Mechanics Award. Liu serves on both the executive committee of the ASME applied mechanics division (Chair 2005-2006) and the International Association for Computational Mechanics. He was the past president of USACM. Liu is cited by Institute for Scientific Information as one of the most highly cited, influential researchers in Engineering, and an original member, highly cited researchers database. He is the editor and honorary editors of many Journals. Dr. Liu has acted as a consultant to many organizations.



Host: Prof. Roger Ghanem

Location: Kaprielian Hall (KAP) - 209 Conference Room

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Evangeline Reyes