Multiresolution mechanics and ultra large-scale multiscale simulation of nano/micro-structured materials

Within the past decade, the emphasis of scientific research worldwide has shifted to the study of the behavior of materials at the atomic scale of matter. The proliferation of scientists and engineers studying matter at this length scale has led to the coining of the phrase nanotechnology. With the confluence of interest in nanotechnology, the availability of experimental tools to synthesize and characterize systems in the nanometer scale, and computational tools widely accessible to model microscale systems by coupled continuum/molecular/quantum mechanics, we are poised to unravel the traditional gap between the atomic and the macroscopic world in mechanics and materials. We present a multiscale continuum model that is proposed in which a material is physically and mathematically decomposed to each individual scale of interest. Material deformation can subsequently be resolved to each of these scales. The overall material properties at each scale can be determined without resorting to empiricism. The talk will also cover the development of a multiscale simulation framework using high performance computing techniques to bridge both the space and time scales through hierarchical coupling of simulation methods. Hence various scales of physical phenomena can be studied.