PECASE: Visualization of Constitutive Models in Geomechanics: A New Generalized Development and Learning Environment

9984125这个教师早期职业发展（Career）研究和教育项目涉及一种新的交互式可视化开发和学习环境，用于材料本构关系，称为VizCoRe。计算机和信息技术的进步允许工程师在日常基础上使用数值模拟来支持他们的设计工作。在岩土工程中，数值模拟被用来研究城市地区土壤和岩石对建筑活动的复杂反应。这些模拟依赖于以本构方程的形式准确地表示地面的荷载-变形材料响应；传统上难以理解、开发和使用的概念，除了少数专家。该项目通过利用信息技术和计算机图形学的快速发展，对当前的方法进行了根本性的转变。它将本构关系以及应力和应变量的表示从一系列数学方程和矩阵量转换为多维几何/视觉对象，在动态交互的丰富色彩的显示环境中。复杂的数学公式转化为易于理解和操作的视觉效果图。这个环境是作为一个软件工作台开发的，它是基于Internet的，独立于计算机平台的，并且易于在桌面计算机系统上使用。它允许多个用户在协作环境中查看和学习模型。它本质上是一个教育项目，因为它将大大简化专家和非专业用户本构关系的使用。它可以用一种简单直观的方法，向广大学生和实习工程师讲授本构关系及其在数值模拟中的意义。它在万维网上的可用性，以及它的多用户特性，促进了学生和工程师之间的协作学习环境。该项目包括与伊利诺伊大学厄巴纳-香槟分校的国家超级计算应用中心（NCSA）合作。

9984125This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) research and education project addresses a novel interactive visualization development and learning environment for material constitutive relations, referred to as VizCoRe.Advances in computer and information technology permit engineers to use numerical simulations on a routine basis to support their design work. In geotechnical engineering, numerical simulations are used to study the complex response of soil and rock in urban areas to construction activities. These simulations depend upon the accurate representation of the load-deformation material response of the ground in the form of constitutive equations; concepts that traditionally have been difficult to understand, develop and use, except by a few specialists.This project initiates a fundamental shift in the current approach by taking advantage of rapid advancements in information technology and computer graphics. It transforms the representation of constitutive relations, as well as stress and strain quantities, from a series of mathematical equations and matrix quantities into multidimensional geometric/visual objects in a dynamic interactive color-rich display environment. Complex mathematical formulations are transformed into visual renderings that are easily understood and manipulated. This environment is being developed as a software workbench that is Internet based, computer platform independent, and easily used on a desktop computer system. It allows multiple users to view and study models in a collaborative environment.It is an inherently educational project, as it will greatly simplify the use of constitutive relations for both the expert and non-expert user. It can be used to teach a wide audience of students and practicing engineers about constitutive relations and their significance in numerical simulations, using a simple intuitive approach. Its availability on the World Wide Web, and its multi-user features, fosters a collaborative learning environment amongst students and engineers. The project involves collaboration with the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.