Computational Design Tool Development for Multilevel Optimization of Product-Material Systems Under Uncertainty

该奖项的研究目标是开发一种计算设计工具，用于不确定条件下分层产品-材料系统的多级优化。通过对计算材料模型的系统分解，可以定制微结构-性能关系，以满足相互竞争的系统级设计目标，如性能、可靠性和健壮性。需要一致的自上而下的需求级联，以及自下而上的能力和不确定性的传播，跨越从纳米到微观、从微观到中观和从中观到宏观的长度尺度。开发用于近似因果关系的高级元模型将提高设计工具的效率，同时解决与高度非线性和噪声响应相关的关键优化问题。将利用网络基础设施将这些组成部分整合为一个综合工具，有效地形成一个多学科研究的虚拟组织。设计工具的有效性将通过调查一些基准问题进行评估。如果成功，这项研究的结果将通过扩大我们对材料微结构设计作为产品设计过程中不可或缺的一部分的知识，促进现代工程设计方法的发展。这项研究将为探索和了解材料微观结构元素之间的相互作用及其对外部影响(例如，静态或动态加载)的敏感性提供一个平台。此外，它还将导致复杂的网络基础设施和相关技术的发展，这些基础设施和相关技术将有助于用不同类别的材料设计产品，如先进的轻质合金、纳米纤维增强聚合物复合材料、金属基复合材料和粉末金属。研究生和本科生参与这项研究，并将相关主题整合到设计优化、航空航天结构设计和弹塑性等课程中，将扩大拟议研究的影响。代表不同人口结构的初中生和高中生将被招募参加这项研究，其中包括代表人数不足的群体。这项研究的结果将通过在档案期刊上发表和在国家会议上的介绍来传播。

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.If successful, the results of this research will enhance modern engineering design methodology by expanding our knowledge of material microstructure design as an integral part of the product design process. This research will provide a platform for the exploration and understanding of interactions among the elements of material microstructure and their sensitivities to external influences (e.g., static or dynamic loading). Moreover, it will result in the development of a sophisticated cyberinfrastructure and associated technologies which will contribute toward the ability to design products with vastly different classes of materials such as advanced lightweight alloys, nanophased fiber-reinforced polymer composites, metal-matrix composites and powder metals. Involvement of graduate and undergraduate students in this research and the integration of related topics into courses in design optimization, aerospace structural design and inelasticity will broaden the impact of the proposed research. Middle and high school students representing different demographics including underrepresented groups will be recruited to participate in the research through summer internship opportunities. The results of the research will be disseminated through publication in archival journals and presentations at national conferences.